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Liberty graduate Courtney Alexander has found footing after transfer

There are so many moments during the week when Courtney Alexander smiles.

It’s when she takes the soccer field for practice. It’s when she’s in her university’s football stadium singing Garth Brooks’ song Calling Baton Rouge with what she calls 90,000 of “your best friends.” It’s when she’s attending a Fellowship of Christian Athletes function.

For Alexander, it’s hard to imagine a better place to be than Louisiana State University, where she is a midfielder on one of the top 20 NCAA Division I women’s soccer teams in the country.

How the 2006 Liberty graduate arrived at LSU involved some difficult experiences, but the benefits have far outweighed the trials of getting to Baton Rouge, La.

“It’s great to be a part of something great here,” said Alexander. “LSU has given me the opportunity that I wanted out of college. It has great academics, pride and tradition. We have incredible fan support. I like being part of starting a legacy of being one of the top soccer teams in the country.”

Alexander feels a long way from Cape Girardeau, where she spent her first two years of college playing for Southeast Missouri State. Alexander excelled for the Redhawks in both seasons, earning Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-OVC honors in her sophomore year with nine goals and six assists.

But Alexander wasn’t comfortable off the field at Southeast. She grew frustrated and began searching for another place to land.

“I had a rough last semester at SEMO,” Alexander said. “I did love my two years there, but I wasn’t happy and I wanted to leave. I really didn’t enjoy school there.”

A student trainer at Southeast had some LSU ties and suggested Alexander should inquire about making a move. She also put out some feelers to Big 12 and Big 10 Conference schools.

“I wanted to go a place where I would fit in pretty well,” Alexander said. “Also, I wanted to go to a place where I would also enjoy going to school.”

LSU was interested, and Alexander decided to take a leap of faith.

“It was extremely rough telling my coach and teammates (at Southeast) that I was transferring. But I am a true believer that things happen for a reason.”

It didn’t take long for Alexander to find her way in Baton Rouge. Players who transfer from one Division I school to another have to sit out a season and Alexander used her redshirt year regaining her focus on what was important to her.

“I didn’t have soccer for awhile, and I was able to learn so much about myself through the process,” Alexander said. “I’ve grown spiritually through this. For two years, I had been away from God, and I found myself dead spiritually.

“Through the hard times, I found myself in Christ. I got plugged into (Fellow of Christian Athletes) and other local college ministries, and it changed my life around. I didn’t have soccer and yet I was happy.”

Alexander has found the athletic atmosphere around the LSU campus intoxicating.

“Everyone who grows up in Louisiana is an LSU fan,” Alexander said. “We are in the top 10 nationally in soccer attendance. We have over 1,000 people show up for Friday night games. The community support is amazing. And we get to give back to the community and get to hang out with kids who come to the game. They give us so much, and we get to give back to them.”

Once Alexander was able to get back on the field, she was inserted right into the starting lineup. The junior midfielder started all 24 games for the Tigers this season, scoring two goals and adding six assists.

Alexander improved in the heat of competition in the tough Southeastern Conference.

“Playing and practicing in that atmosphere makes you a better player,” Alexander said. “We have All-American defenders, and competing against them made me feel like I could play with anybody. Our practices are so competitive. It’s that competitiveness that’s making us one of the top teams in the country.”

The Tigers finished 15-4-5, losing to Texas A&M on penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

It was LSU’s third straight appearance in the NCAA tourney.

It wasn’t the perfect end to her first season, but Alexander knows she’s in the right place at the right time. The kinesiology and pre-med major is already looking forward to her senior season.

“In many ways, this year has been the greatest of my life so far,” Alexander said. “We still have work to do here. We want to make it to a final four. We want to be mentioned as one of the best teams in the country. We are still building something.”

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