May 20, 2003
Baltimore, Md. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team had five players selected to the Brine Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA)/US Lacrosse Division I Mid-Atlantic Region Team for the 2003 season. The Irish placed three players – the most ever – on the first team and two on the second team.
The five players selected are the most the Irish have ever placed on the all-region team. Selected to the first team is freshman attack standout Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.). She becomes the first Irish freshman ever selected to the all-region team in the program’s history. She is joined on the first team by defensive standout Andrea Kinnik (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) and senior attack star Danielle Shearer (Sr., Hampstead, Md.). Representing the Irish on the second team are midfielder Meredith Simon (Jr., Flemington, N.J.) and goalkeeper Jen White (Sr., Annapolis, Md.). Three of the five Irish players will return to Notre Dame for the 2004 season next spring.
Foote became a regular in the Irish lineup midway through season and finished the year third on the team in scoring with 27 goals and 11 assists for 38 points. In six games as a starter, Foote racked up 18 goals and eight assists for 26 points including back-to-back six-point games versus Georgetown (4g, 2a) and Davidson (3g, 3a). Her 27 goals tie her with Lael O’Shaughnessy (2001) for the most by an Irish freshman and her 38 points were second to O’Shaughnessy’s 41 as a freshman.
Kinnik became Notre Dame’s top defender in her first season as a starter during the 2003 season. The team’s top match-up defender, she used her speed and tenacious style of play to regularly shut down the opposition’s top offensive players. She led the Irish with 44 ground balls and 22 draw controls for the year. She turned in her top ground ball games versus Duke (6) and then Rutgers (7) while recording three caused turnovers in three different games on the year.
Shearer makes her second appearance on the all-region team after leading the Irish in every offensive category. A two-time first team all-BIG EAST selection, Shearer recorded career-highs in assists (26) and points (61) while recording 35 goals on the year. She also led the team with 33 draw controls and was second with 34 ground balls on the year. A second team All-American in 2002, Shearer finished second in overall scoring in the BIG EAST and led the league in six BIG EAST contests with 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points. She finished her career with a 36-game scoring streak (85g, 51a) and was the BIG EAST offensive player of the week three times in 2003. A Tewaarton Trophy candidate as a senior, Shearer finished her Notre Dame career as the school’s all-time leader in goals (130) and points (196) while finishing second in assists with 68 in her career.
Simon enjoyed the best season of her Notre Dame career finishing second in scoring with 27 goals and 14 assists for 41 points on the year. She was second on the team with 29 draw controls and third with 31 ground balls. A first team all-BIG EAST choice, the junior midfielder finished eighth in overall BIG EAST scoring with 41 points and was sixth in league games with 12 goals and six assists for 18 points in six contests. She scored two or more goals in nine of 15 games for the Irish including a career-best seven-point game (4g, 3a) versus Ohio University in March.
White turned in a solid season in goal for the Irish with an 8-7 record, a 9.86 goals-against average and a .504 save percentage after starting all 15 games on the season. She turned in career-best saves versus Cornell (16) and Georgetown (19), stopping five of 10 free-position shots versus the Hoyas in an overtime loss. The backbone of a young defensive corps, White kept the Irish in games until the high-powered offense would take over. A second team all-BIG EAST selection, the senior goalkeeper finished her career as Notre Dame’s all-time leader in games played, wins, saves, goals-against average after being the team’s starter in goal for three consecutive seasons.
Notre Dame finished the season with an 8-7 overall record and were 4-2 in the BIG EAST, good for third place. The Irish finished the season ranked 16th in the IWLCA polls.
The 2003 All-American teams will be announced next week. Players selected to the three first team all-region squads (Northeast, South and Mid-Atlantic) are eligible for All-American honors. Last season, Shearer and 2002 graduate Kathryn Lam became Notre Dame’s first-ever All-Americans as they took second-team honors at the national level.