Aug. 27, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Following a pair of solid wins last weekend, three Notre Dame women’s soccer players earned recognition for their contributions to those victories with various national and BIG EAST Conference honors, it was announced Monday.
Freshman defender Katie Naughton (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week after starting and going the full 90 minutes in both Friday’s 2-0 win at Tulsa and Sunday’s 5-0 victory at home over East Carolina. With Naughton anchoring the Notre Dame back line, the Fighting Irish allowed a total of nine shots on goal in the two shutouts, but just one of those shots on frame came from inside the penalty area.
Naughton is the third Notre Dame freshman in as many seasons to earn her way onto the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week, and the first since current sophomore forward Lauren Bohaboy (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) was chosen on Oct. 3, 2011. What’s more, Naughton is the first Fighting Irish player from any class to make the TDS squad since Oct. 24, 2011, when Melissa Henderson copped her second nod of the season, and the last of nine in her storied career.
Another Notre Dame freshman also earned accolades on Monday, as goalkeeper Elyse Hight (Edmond, Okla./Bishop McGuinness) was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week. Hight did not allow a goal in 164:04 of action last week, making five saves in a solo shutout of Tulsa, and then three saves in the first 74:04 of the win over East Carolina. Hight also posted her first career win and solo clean sheet at Tulsa (two hours northeast of her hometown), becoming the first Fighting Irish rookie netminder to register a solo shutout since Aug. 22, 2006, when Kelsey Lysander blanked Iowa State, 9-0 at old Alumni Field.
Hight is the first Notre Dame freshman to earn BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honors since Sept. 23, 2002, when Erika Bohn claimed the award. Hight also is the first Fighting Irish player from any class chosen as BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week since Sept. 6, 2010, when Nikki Weiss garnered the second of her two citations that season.
Rounding out this week’s trio of Notre Dame award recipients is junior midfielder/tri-captain Elizabeth Tucker (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny), who played her way into a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Tucker netted both goals in the win at Tulsa, becoming the first Fighting Irish player since 2004 (Amanda Cinalli) to score Notre Dame’s first two goals of the season. It also was Tucker’s third career multi-goal match, and first since Nov. 26, 2010, when she posted a brace at Oklahoma State in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, helping the Fighting Irish to a 2-0 win during a successful run to the program’s third NCAA national championship.
Notre Dame returns to the pitch at 7:30 p.m. (ET) Friday when it plays host to No. 25/21 Santa Clara on the first night of the 20th annual adidas Invitational at Alumni Stadium. Connecticut will take on No. 14/19 North Carolina in the tournament opener at 5 p.m. (ET) before the opponents switch on Sept. 2 — UConn meets Santa Clara at 11 a.m. (ET), followed by Notre Dame and North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. (ET). Both Fighting Irish matches will be webcast live and free of charge through the official Notre Dame athletics web site, UND.com.
To purchase a season pass or single-match tickets for the 2012 Notre Dame women’s soccer season, call the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office at (574) 631-7356, visit the official Notre Dame athletics ticketing web site, UND.com/tickets or stop by the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office windows during normal business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday). Tickets also can be purchased at Alumni Stadium on match days.
For more information on the Fighting Irish women’s soccer program, follow Notre Dame on Twitter (@NDsoccer or @NDsoccernews), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/NDWomenSoccer) or sign up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the main page at UND.com.
— ND —