Oct. 15, 2003
Notre Dame women’s soccer senior defender Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ontario) has picked up another award while continuing to emerge as one of the nation’s premier backline players, with Soccer America magazine naming Tancredi to its 11-player Team of the Week for the second week in a row.
Tancredi is one of just eight players to receive the SA honor in multiple weeks this season (seven others also have been on the national team of the week twice) while second-ranked Notre Dame fittingly joins top-ranked North Carolina with the most total recipients of the SA honor this season (four each). Junior forward Mary Boland was named to the national team of the week for Aug. 25-31, with freshman midfielder Jen Buczkowski receiving the honor for the week of Sept. 1-7.
Notre Dame’s total of three different individuals named to the SA weekly teams also ties for the most from any school, with three players from both Florida State and BYU likewise being so honored in ’03.
Tancredi joins Tennessee All-American Keeley Downing as the only defenders to be multiple recipients of the SA Team of the Week honor in 2003. Other repeat recipients include UNC forward Lindsay Tarpley and midfielder Lori Chalupny, Texas A&M midfielder Kristen Strutz, Virginia midfielder Kelly Hammond, Kansas forward Caroline Smith and West Virginia forward Chrissie Abbott.