Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney was named first team All-BIG EAST for the 2010 season.  She has been an all-BIG EAST choice in each of her three seasons at Notre Dame.

Five Irish Players Selected To All-BIG EAST Teams

May 5, 2010

New Brunswick, N.J. – Five members of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team were named to the BIG EAST all-conference first and second team on Wednesday night at the season-ending awards banquet held at the Hyatt Regency New Brunswick.

Three members of the team – junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney (Stony Brook, N.Y.), defender Jackie Doherty (Jr., Ellicott City, Md.) and senior attack Gina Scioscia (Summit, N.J.) – were selected first team all-BIG EAST. They were joined on the second team by junior midfielder Kailene Abt (Huntington, N.Y.) and defender Rachel Guerrera (Sr., Wantagh, N.Y.). Blaney, Scioscia and Guerrera were all preseason all-BIG EAST selections in February.

For Blaney, this marks her third consecutive year named all-BIG EAST (second team in 2008, first team in 2009 and 2010) while Scioscia was named for the second consecutive year, taking second team honors in 2009. For Doherty, Abt and Guerrera this is their first time being honored by the conference.

An All-American candidate, Blaney leads Notre Dame with 36 goals this season and is third in scoring with 39 points. One of the top midfielders in the nation, she makes an impact all over field as she leads the Irish in draw controls (31) and is second in ground balls (34) and caused turnovers (35). In three seasons, Blaney ranks fourth all-time in draw controls (120), fifth in caused turnovers (75), fifth in goals (123) and ninth in points (139). She was a second team IWLCA All-American following the 2009 season.

Doherty is the leader of Notre Dame’s defense and is a dominant player in the defensive end of the field. She leads the Irish in ground balls (49), is second in draw controls (29) and leads the team with 36 caused turnovers and has helped the team to its third-best goals-against average (9.38) in the program’s 14-year history. Doherty leads the BIG EAST in both ground balls and caused turnovers. On the national level, she is ranked fourth in caused turnovers (2.25 per game) and 12th in ground balls (3.06 per game).

Scioscia picks up her first, first team selection after taking second team honors in 2009 and was the 2010 BIG EAST preseason offensive player of the year selection. She leads Notre Dame in scoring this year with 34 goals and 20 assists for 54 points. She comes into the BIG EAST Tournament with a 35-game point streak (83g, 60a, 143 pts.) and in the regular-season finale on May 1 versus Connecticut became the first Notre Dame player to player to record 100 career assists and 100 career goals. She is one of four Notre Dame players to have 200 points for her career. She ranks first all-time in assists (102), seventh in goals (111) and fourth in points (213). She was a second-team IWLCA All-American following her junior season.

Abt collected second team honors after finishing the regular season ranked fourth in scoring with 27 goals and 10 assists for 37 points. The junior midfielder also is third on the squad with 25 draw controls, fourth with 17 caused turnovers and fifth with 22 ground balls. Her 10 assists are a career high and earlier this season Abt moved into the top 10 at Notre Dame in goals scored with 80 and went over the 100-point mark for her career as she now has 101 points.

Guerrera joins Abt on the second team after being a preseason all-BIG EAST selection in February. One of the conference’s top defensive players, Guerrera is fourth on the team with 27 ground balls and third with 19 caused turnovers. An IWLCA second team West/Midwest regional selection in 2009, she is in her third season as a starter on Notre Dame’s defense. This season, the Irish are giving up just 9.40 goals per game, the third-lowest mark in the program’s history and on April 9 helped Notre Dame record the BIG EAST’s first shutout as the Irish blanked Villanova, 16-0. Guerrera is a nominee for ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. She was selected to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll following her junior year.

Notre Dame goes into the BIG EAST Tournament as the second seed with an 11-5 record and a 6-2 mark in the BIG EAST. The Irish will face Syracuse (12-5, 6-2) in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 6 at Rutgers’ Yurcak Field. The opening semifinal game will start at 5:30 p.m. with top seed, Georgetown (11-5, 8-0) facing Loyola (11-6, 5-3). The championship game is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 8. CBS College Sports will televise all three games of the BIG EAST Tournament.

          The 2010 BIG EAST All-Conference Teams:
First Team Second Team
Kelly Barnes, So., D, Georgetown Kailene Abt, Jr., M, Notre DameShaylyn Blaney, Jr., M, Notre Dame Emily Dashiell, Jr., M, LouisvilleBrooke Cantwell, Sr., A, Rutgers * Cara Filippelli, Jr., M, LoyolaJackie Doherty, Jr., D, Notre Dame Caitlin Formby, Sr., GK, GeorgetownChristina Dove, Sr., M, Syracuse * Emily Gibson, Sr., M, LoyolaEileen Finn, Sr., D, Syracuse Rachel Guerrera, Sr., D, Notre DameBergan Foley, Jr., A, Louisville Anna Heneberry, So., D, LoyolaMolly Ford, Sr., A, Georgetown * Ashley King, Sr., D, LouisvilleGrace Gavin, Jr., A, Loyola * Jordy Kirr, Jr., A, GeorgetownLiz Hogan, Jr., GK, Syracuse * Tee Ladouceur, Jr., A, SyracuseAshby Kaestner, Sr., M, Georgetown Halley Quillinan, Sr., M, SyracuseLogan McGraw, Jr., D, Georgeto>wn Abby Rehfuss, Jr., M, LoyolaGina Scioscia, Sr., A, Notre Dame Catherine Rodriquez, Jr., D, Syracuse
2010 BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Awards
Attack Player of the YearGrace Gavin, Jr., A, Loyola
Defensive Player of the YearLiz Hogan, Jr., GK, Syracuse
Midfielder of the YearChristina Dove, Sr., M, Syracuse
Coach of the YearRicky Fried, Georgetown