Sept. 23, 2002
Three Notre Dame women’s soccer players have been honored by the BIG EAST Conference for their roles in last week’s pair of 1-0 Mid-Atlantic Division wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall. Junior forward Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) has been named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week for the second time in her career while sophomore Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) was named the defensive player of the week and freshman Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) earned goalkeeper-of-the-week honors.
Warner’s goal ended the Rutgers game with 9:17 left in the second and final overtime, as the team tri-captain ran onto a thru-ball from Maggie Manning and arched a crossing shot into the upper left corner of the net. Two days later, Warner’s leftside cross initiated a double-header sequence, with Boland scoring on the diving header for the game’s only goal in the win over Seton Hall.
The versatile Boland started both games at left back, limiting RU and SHU to a total of seven shots on net during the weekend action. She also shifted into the midfield during the second half of the Rutgers game, filling in for injured senior Ashley Dryer (the team’s top defensive midfielder). Boland picked up where Dryer left off, as the Irish limited RU’s top player Carli Lloyd to just one shot for the entire game. Boland continued to show her versatility in the Seton Hall game, running onto the play and diving low for the header goal midway through the first half.
Bohn – the first freshman to start in the nets for the Irish since Jen Renola in 1993 – made six saves and stopped several other RU scoring chances in the first game of the weekend while helping foil several potential chances in the SHU game. She dropped her season goals-against average to 0.66, good for second in the BIG EAST, behind Villanova sophomore Chrissy Dolan (0.46). Bohn’s six starts include three shutouts, two games with one goal allowed (vs. Portland and Hartford) and two goals allowed versus Maryland.
Warner also was named BIG EAST player of the week on Oct. 8, 2001, after totaling three goals in action vs. St. John’s and Miami.
Boland is Notre Dame’s second player to earn BIG EAST defensive player-of-the-week honors in 2002, as her classmate Gudrun Gunnarsdottir was so honored after the opening wins over Providence (3-0) and Virginia Tech (5-0).