April 10, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame goalkeeper Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) has been selected the BIG EAST defensive player of the week for her play in the week ending April 9. The fifth-year goalkeeper made 31 saves in a win over Ohio State and a loss to fourth-ranked Duke.
On Wed., April 5, Dixon notched her 10th win of the season by making nine saves in a 13-6 win at Ohio State. She made two saves in the first half as the Irish built a 9-2 lead, then stopped seven in the second to prevent the Buckeyes from rallying in the 13-6 victory.
The Irish played game three of five in a row on the road on Sunday, April 9 and again Dixon stood tall in goal, setting a personal and Notre Dame school record with 22 saves in a tough, 11-10 loss to the fourth-ranked Blue Devils. Duke out shot Notre Dame, 44-25, but Dixon held the Irish in the game all afternoon.
Her previous career best came on Feb. 26 when she made 16 saves in a double-overtime, 12-11 win at Stanford. In that game, Dixon played over 67 minutes. Her career best in a 60-minute game was 15 and was set on April 24, 2005 at Johns Hopkins University.
For the season, Dixon has played 658:16 and owns a 9.98 goals-against average and a .511 save percentage while guiding Notre Dame to a 10-2 overall record and a 2-0 mark in BIG EAST play.
A team captain for the second year, the talented goalkeeper goes into this week having started 44 consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2004 season. In that span, she has played all but 55:28 minutes in her career and owns a 25-19 record with a 9.79 career goals-against average and a .489 save percentage.
Dixon is on the verge of becoming Notre Dame’s all-time leader in several categories. She is currently second in career games played (47), second in wins (25), second in minutes played (2,730:56) – just 59 minutes off the school record held by Jen White `93 (2,789:15) – second in saves (426), just six behind White’s 432, second in goals-against average (9.79) and fifth in save percentage (.489).
Dixon and her teammates return to BIG EAST action this weekend, Saturday, April 15, when the Irish travel to Georgetown to face the third-ranked Hoyas in a battle for first place in the conference. Game time at Georgetown is 12:00 noon. Both teams come into the game with a 2-0 record in the BIG EAST.