Women's Soccer's Pruzinsky, Wagner Honored By BIG EAST

Sept. 4, 2001

Notre Dame junior Vanessa Pruzinsky (Trumbull, Conn.) and senior Liz Wagner (Spring ,Texas) have been honored by the BIG EAST Conference as the league’s defensive player and goalkeeper of the week, after helping the Irish women’s soccer team post wins last week over 8th-ranked Penn State (2-1) and No. 25 Hartford (2-0).

In other news, Notre Dame moved up in the national polls-with the Irish rising from fourth to third in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Pruzinsky anchored the Notre Dame defense from her central marking back position, with the Irish trying a variety of players alongside Pruzinsky at the other central spot that was shared last season by 2001 graduates Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker. Pruzinsky played all 90 minutes in both games at Notre Dame’s Key Bank Classic while helping keep Penn State’s national player-of-the-year candidate Christie Welsh from scoring and holding Hartford All-America forward Katrina Lardiner without a point. Named the Key Bank Classic defensive MVP, Pruzinsky helped limit Hartford to four shots (one in the second half) during a tense battle that saw the Irish forward and midfield units affected due to injury.

Wagner likewise played a key role in the Irish defensive effort at the Key Bank Classic, highlighted by six saves vs. Penn State-including one in which she charged out to stop Welsh’s breakaway just moments after PSU had scored for a 2-1 game. Wagner totaled nine saves for the weekend, with Penn State scoring on a quick redirection shot into the upper left corner of the net. She posted the seventh solo shutout of her career in the Hartford game.

POLL NOTES – Notre Dame has been ranked first, second or third in 59 of the last 88 NSCAA preseason or regular- season polls (67.1 pct.), also ranking in the top five in 72 of the last 88 polls and in the top 10 of 87 of the last 88 (dating back to 1993) … the Irish moved up a spot this week, with Portland falling from third to fifth due to its 1-0 loss to second-ranked UCLA … ND plays two more home games this week (Friday night vs. Indiana, Sunday afternoon vs. Wisconsin) before heading to the Bay Area next week for a pair of challenging games at current No. 7 Santa Clara and 16th-ranked Stanford … looming on the horizon is a Tuesday-night showdown (Sept. 25) at Alumni Field vs. current No. 5 Nebraska (the Irish knocked the Cornhuskers out of the NCAA Tournament in 1997, ’98 and ’99).

2001 NSCAA Women’s Soccer Division I Poll (Sept. 3)

Also receiving votes: Wake Forest, BYU, Harvard, Georgia, Baylor, San Diego, Oakland.