April 28, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame senior defender Shannon Burke (Timonium, Md.) has been named the womenslacrosse.com defensive player of the week for her pay last weekend in the 2009 BIG EAST Championship held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The first team all-BIG EAST selection was a force on the Notre Dame defense all weekend long as she helped the Irish limit Syracuse to just two second-half goals in the 16-10 semifinal win and then held Georgetown to two first-half goals in a 12-10 win in the title game.
Against Syracuse, Burke was all over the field as she was credited with five caused turnovers, grabbed four ground balls and had three draw controls. She also set up Ansley Stewart’s (So., Alexandria, Va.) second-half goal that made it 12-8 and helped seal the 16-10 win.
In the championship game against Georgetown, Burke caused three turnovers and had one ground ball as the Irish stopped a late Hoya charge to hold on for the 12-10 win. She was named to the BIG EAST all-tournament team for her efforts.
Burke, one of Notre Dame’s team captains, has had a strong, all-around season in leading the Irish defense. She leads the team with career highs in ground balls (50) and caused turnovers (36) while her 29 draw controls rank fifth on the team. During the BIG EAST Tournament, he eight caused turnovers helped her set a new Notre Dame single-season record with 36 caused turnovers. That moved her past Kathryn Lam `02, who held the mark with 35, set in 2000. Burke also has contributed to the offense this season with three goals and four assists for seven points in 16 games.
For her career, she ranks third all-time in draw controls (119), is third in ground balls (129) and second in caused turnovers with 98.
Burke and the Irish close out the 2009 regular season on Saturday, May 2 when Notre Dame travels to Ithaca, N.Y., to face the Cornell Big Red in a 12:00 noon contest. The Irish are now 14-4 on the year while Cornell comes into the week with a 9-6 record.