Dec. 14, 2003
Notre Dame senior women’s soccer player Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) has been named a first team All-American – the first forward ever so honored in the Irish program’s history – while senior defender Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ontario) has been named to the second team All-America squad, as selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Warner and Tancredi also were named to the NSCAA first team all-Great Lakes Region squad, with junior forward Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) and sophomore goalkeeper Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) earning second team all-region honors (both of those players earlier were named second team Academic All-Americans).
Notre Dame women’s soccer players now have combined for NSCAA All-America honors 31 times (by 15 players), with 27 of those selections coming in the last decade. Only North Carolina (34) has totaled more NSCAA All-Americans during the last 10 years (’94-’03), with Portland a distant third on that list (18).
Notre Dame was one of nine schools in the nation with multiple players on the 2003 NSCAA All-America squad (first, second or third team), with only national champion UNC (4) totaling more selections. Notre Dame also joined UCLA and Rutgers as the only schools with both men’s and women’s players on the ’03 NSCAA All-America teams, with ND senior forward Justin Detter earning third-team honors.
The BIG EAST Conference dominated the NSCAA women’s soccer All-America teams, with nine players from six BIG EAST schools earning the nation’s top honors. The Atlantic Coast Conference (7) and the Big-10 (5_were the only other conferences with more than three All-Americans while no conference could claim more than three schools with All-America players (half of the BIG EAST representation).
Warner and Tancredi earlier were among the 15 final candidates for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, the official NSCAA player-of-the-year award for Division I players. Tancredi – who can apply for a fifth year of eligibility in the 2004 season – would be considered one of the favorites for the 2004 award, with just five of the other 14 candidate set to return in ’04.
Warner – who finished 12th in the nation with a career-best 12 assists in 2003 – is a four-time all-Great Lakes Region selection (2nd team in ’02, 3rd team in ’00 and ’01) and became the sixth BIG EAST player ever named to the all-BIG EAST team four times. She was the leader of the nation’s third-ranked scoring offense in 2003 (with ND averaging 3.04 goals per game) and finished her career ranked 12th in the Irish record book for goals (37), 14th in total points (99, including 25 assists) and ninth in game-winning goals (11) while logging 82 career games (74 starts). The speedy forward started 64 consecutive games before an ankle injury sidelined her for the 2003 BIG EAST semifinals, with the second-ranked Irish (20-3-1 final record) losing two of their final three games with their leading scorer (10G-12A) out of the lineup.
Tancredi – the 2003 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year – burst onto the national scene in 2003 while leading Notre Dame’s dominating backline from her central defender spot. The Irish allowed just 12 goals in 24 games, finished fifth in the nation with a 0.49 goals-against average (good for third in ND history) and fourth nationally with 15 shutouts, compiled a 981-minute shutout streak that ranks 5th in NCAA history, totaled 20 more goals (73) than opponent shots on goal allowed (53), set an ND record for consecutive games without facing a deficit (16) and tied another team mark for consecutive games without allowing multiple goals (24). A converted forward, Tancredi also totaled four goals and five assists while pushing into the attack in 200, with her limited late-season play (due to injury) contributing to the Irish losing three of their final five games.
Warner is the fourth Notre Dame forward ever to earn NSCAA All-America honors, joining two-time honoree Jenny Streiffer (third team in ’96 and ’99) as the program’s only All-America forwards since ’94 (when Rosella Guerrero was a second-teamer, with Alison Lester also on the second team in ’93).
Tancredi follows three-time All-American Kate Sobrero (1st team in ’97, 2nd team ’96, 3rd team ’95), four-timer Jen Grubb (1st team ’97, 2nd team ’96, 3rd team ’98 and ’99) and second-teamer Monica Gonzalez (’01) as Notre Dame’s fourth defender to earn NSCAA All-America honors.
Boland joined Warner and Tancredi on the 2003 first team all-BIG EAST squad while leading the Irish in goals (12) and game-winning goals (5), in addition to her 3.87 cumulative GPA and four Dean’s List semesters as a psychology major.
Bohn – a 3.67 student and business major – led the nation in goals-against average for most of the 2003 season, finishing sixth with a 0.49 GAA (good for third in the ND record book).