June 1, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. – For the first time in the eight-year history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program, three players were selected All-American by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association (IWLCA) and U.S. Lacrosse. The Irish also recorded another first as senior attack standout Meredith Simon (Flemington, N.J.) was selected first team All-American. She was joined by defensive stalwart, Andrea Kinnik (West Chester, Pa.), who was a second team selection and midfielder Abby Owen (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) who took third team honors.
The previous best for All-Americans selected to the coach’s team was 2002 when the Irish had two selections – second teamers Kathryn Lam and Danielle Shearer. In 2003, goalkeeper Jen White was a third team selection.
Being selected first team caps a brilliant season for Simon as she saved her best for her final season at Notre Dame. Simon was named the BIG EAST co-attack player of the year and a unanimous first team all-BIG EAST selection. She was named first team all-Mid-Atlantic region and was a second team pick by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The high-scoring standout was also selected to play in the annual North-South all-star game on June 5.
A four-time BIG EAST offensive player of the week, Simon tied for the league-lead in scoring with 74 points overall and also tied for the league-lead in scoring in BIG EAST games with 29 points. Her 46 goals were second in the conference and her 28 assists were tops among league playmakers. She finished her Notre Dame career with a 28-game scoring streak (68 goals and 35 assists for 103 points). Simon was named Inside Lacrosse player of the week for May 2 after recording a career-high eight points (four goals and four assists) in the 13-11 win over Syracuse. In four seasons as a starter for the Irish, Simon finished third in goals (109), fourth in assists (49) and third in points (158). She finished tied for fourth in ground balls with 123 and tied for third in draw controls with 90. Her 64 career games played are a school record.
Andrea Kinnik capped her Irish career by being named second team All-American by IWLCA and U.S. Lacrosse.
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Kinnik joins Lam and Shearer as Irish second-team All-Americans. The defensive standout was a first team all-BIG EAST selection and a first team all-Mid-Atlantic region choice. She was selected third team All-American by Inside Lacrosse magazine last week. Kinnik, one of the team’s captains along with Simon will also play in the North-South all-star game this weekend in Baltimore.
Notre Dame’s top defensive player over the last two seasons, Kinnik led the Irish to the 15th-best goals-against average (8.59) in the nation. She led the Irish in ground balls (56) and caused turnovers (34). Her totals led the BIG EAST in ground balls and were second in the caused turnovers category. Nationally, she was 12th in the country in ground balls with 3.29 per game and tied for 10th with 2.00 per game. She also had four goals and two assists for six points from her defensive spot on the field. For her career, the speedy Kinnik is tied for fourth all-time (with Meredith Simon) with 123 ground balls. Her 63 career caused turnovers rank her fifth on Notre Dame’s all-time list.
Abby Owen was named third team All-American by the IWLCA and U.S. Lacrosse.
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Owen becomes the second third team All-American in the program’s history along with White. She was selected as the BIG EAST midfielder of the year and was a first team all-BIG EAST selection. She was selected first team all-Mid-Atlantic region in late May and was a third team All-American selection by Inside Lacrosse magazine. A two-year starter for the Irish, she turned in the best season of her Notre Dame career with career highs in goals (34), assists (11) and points (45). The senior midfielder led the Irish with four game-winning goals and also recorded 29 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers and 14 draw controls on the year. Her 45 points ranked her sixth overall among BIG EAST scorers and was the ninth-best single-season point total at Notre Dame. In 34 career games, Owen had 49 goals and 21 assists for 70 points.
The Irish were 12-5 overall and 4-2 in the BIG EAST during the 2004 season. They finished the season ranked ninth in the nation and saw their season end in a 10-8 NCAA loss at Northwestern.