June 2, 2010
Notre Dame, Ind. – Two members of the 2010 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team have been selected to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association (IWLCA) All-American team.
Selected as a first team All-American for the first time in her career is junior defender Jackie Doherty (Ellicott City, Md.) while midfielder Shaylyn Blaney (Jr., Stony Brook, N.Y.) was selected as a second team All-American for the second consecutive year.
“It’s a tremendous honor for Jackie (Doherty) and Shaylyn (Blaney) to be recognized as two of the top players in the country and I believe they are truly deserving of the honor,” said Irish head coach Tracy Coyne.
“Jackie really stepped up her game this year to become one of the best defensive players that we’ve ever had at Notre Dame. I’m thrilled that she’s been recognized as a first team All-American. Shaylyn has developed into a true midfielder, becoming a dominant player on both sides of the ball. She can score, she’s great in transition and her defensive skills are outstanding. She made some amazing plays this season,” added Coyne.
The IWLCA will honor the national All-Americans at an awards banquet on June 12, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pa.
Before being named to the national All-American teams, Doherty and Blaney also were chosen as first team IWLCA West regional team selections along with senior attack standout Gina Scioscia (Summit, N.J.). The trio is joined by midfielder Kailene Abt (Jr., Huntington, N.Y.) and defender Rachel Guerrera (Sr., Wantagh, N.Y.) who were second team all-regional selections. This marks the third time that Blaney was selected all-region with Scioscia and Guerrera being named for the second time with Abt and Doherty picked for the first time in their Irish careers.
In all, 128 Division I women’s lacrosse players were chosen to either the North, Mid-Atlantic, South or West regional teams and were eligible for selection to the All-American teams. From that group 48 All-Americans were selected on three teams.
This was the second consecutive year that Notre Dame had five players chosen to the all-regional team and is the second-highest total for the Irish in the program’s history as they had six players named to the all-regional team (three first team and three second team) following the 2006 season.
Doherty joins former teammate Shannon Burke `09 (2009) as the only Notre Dame defenders to be named first team All-American in their careers. A tough, tenacious defender, Doherty was selected first team all-BIG EAST this season and ranks among the top defensive players in the nation. The winner of Notre Dame’s 2002 Award as the team’s top defender, Doherty led Notre Dame in ground balls (53) and caused turnovers (40) and was second in draw controls with 30. Her 53 ground balls equaled her career high set a year ago, while the 40 caused turnovers marked her best season ever and were the second-highest single-season total in the program’s history.
In BIG EAST play, she led the conference in caused turnovers (2.22 per game) and was fourth best in the nation. Her 2.94 ground balls per game were the best in the conference and ranked 12th nationally. Doherty’s leadership on the Notre Dame defense helped the Irish to their lowest goals-against average (10.06) since the 2006 season.
In just three seasons at Notre Dame, Doherty is eighth in ground balls (121), 11th in draw controls (74) and seventh in caused turnovers (71). She also has scored 19 goals with 14 assists for 33 points in 54 career games.
Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney led the Irish with 40 goals and was selected second team IWLCA All-American for the second consecutive year.
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Blaney was selected second team All-American for the second consecutive season and is one of the top all-around midfielders in both the BIG EAST and the nation, turning in an outstanding year at both ends of the field for the Irish.
Offensively, the team’s Notre Dame Monogram Club’s most valuable player award winner led Notre Dame in goals (40) and was third in scoring with 43 points on the year. A first team all-BIG EAST selection, she has now scored 40 or more goals in each of her first three seasons with the Irish.
Defensively, Blaney led Notre Dame with 37 draw controls, was second on the squad with 36 caused turnovers and third with 36 ground balls. Her caused turnovers (2.0 per game) ranked her second in the BIG EAST and 12th in the nation.
A preseason Tewaaraton Trophy candidate for the second consecutive year, Blaney was named to the all-tournament team at the 2010 BIG EAST Tournament after leading the Irish with four goals in the 12-11, four-overtime loss to Syracuse. She has been named to the BIG EAST all-tournament team in two (2008 and 2010) of her first three seasons at Notre Dame.
A 2009 second team IWLCA All-American, Blaney ended the 2010 campaign ranked fifth all-time in goals (127), ninth in points (143), tied for second in draw controls (126) and fifth in caused turnovers (76). She is the fourth player in the program’s history to be named an IWLCA All-American two or more times, joining Jillian Byers `09 (four times), Caitlin McKinney `08 (three times) and Crysti Foote `06 (two times). Blaney also has been selected to the all-regional team in each of her first three seasons.
Joining Doherty and Blaney on the first team IWLCA West Regional team is Scioscia who was a first team all-regional choice in 2009 and a second team All-American following her junior season.
As a senior captain in 2010, Scioscia led the Irish in scoring with 39 goals and 24 assists for 63 points and was a first team all-BIG EAST selection. She finished her Notre Dame career with a 37-game point scoring streak (88 goals, 64 assists, 152 points), the second longest in the program’s history (trailing only a 51-games point streak by Caitlin McKinney). She added 13 ground balls, 20 draw controls and six caused turnovers from her spot on attack while finishing second in shots on goal with 100 for the year.
A playmaker and a finisher, Scioscia is Notre Dame’s all-time assist leader with 106 and the only player in the program’s history to record more than 100 goals and 100 assists for her career. She finished with 116 goals and 106 assists for 222 career points. She ranks sixth all-time in goals and fourth all-time in points at Notre Dame.
Abt was selected for the first time as an all-regional choice as a second team selection. The junior midfielder is a strong two-way player who finished fourth on the team with 39 points on 29 goals and 10 assists. The 29 goals were third among all Notre Dame players. She finished third on the squad with a career high 29 draw controls and was fourth with a career-best 19 caused turnovers. Her 23 ground balls were sixth on the team.
A second team all-BIG EAST selection in 2010, Abt became the 11th player in the program’s history to go over 100 points for her career as a junior. The hard-working midfielder has 82 goals and 21 assists for 103 career points.
Guerrera rounds out the five IWLCA West all-regional selections as she was selected to the second team for the second year in a row. A tough, tenacious defender, she teamed with Doherty to give the Irish a solid 1-2 punch in front of the goal. A second team all-BIG EAST selection in 2010, Guerrera was a three-year starter on the Notre Dame defense and helped the Irish to their lowest goals-against average (10.06) since the 2006 season. As a senior, Guerrera was fourth in ground balls (29) and third in caused turnovers (21) for the year.
A team captain along with Blaney and Scioscia, she finished her career, playing in 58 games, making 52 starts while grabbing 87 ground balls, 20 draw controls and 58 caused turnovers. Guerrera also excelled in the classroom as she was chosen as the women’s lacrosse team’s Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley’s Rockne Scholar-Athlete award after turning in a 3.54 grade-point average while graduating on May 16th with degrees in American Studies and Film, Theatre and Television. A two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, Guerrera was selected to the IWLCA Academic honor roll following her junior year in 2009.