Jan. 30, 2004

VILLANOVA, PA. - When the Soccer Buzz Post-Season Awards were announced on Thursday, Jan. 29th, the Villanova University women's soccer team was one of the squads most well represented. The Wildcats had five players honored by Soccer Buzz, including two All-Mid Atlantic Region first team selections.

Junior defender Michelle Biehl and sophomore defender Laura Koch were named to the All-Mid Atlantic Region first team. In addition, senior goalkeeper and junior forward Laura Johnson were All-Mid Atlantic Region third team selections and freshman midfielder Jamie Weist earned All-Freshman accolades.

The Wildcats won the program's first-ever Big East Championship in 2003 and also advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in the program's history. In addition, Villanova set a new school record for wins in a season with 15 as the `Cats ended the season ranked 15th in the nation with a 15-5-5 record.

These five Wildcats were a vital part of Villanova's storybook season in 2003. Biehl and Koch anchored one of the nation's top defenses this season. The Wildcat defense finished fourth in the nation in goals against average (0.458 goal per game) and seventh in the nation in shutout percentage (0.64) as the `Cats notched 16 shutouts in 25 games.

In the net, Dolan was one of conference's and the nation's most dominant goalkeepers yet again in 2003. The senior set a new single season record for shutouts with 16 and also set a new career mark with 30.5 shutouts. Dolan allowed just 0.46 goals a game, good enough for tops in the Big East.

On offense for the `Cats, Johnson was one of the team's top playmakers. She scored four goals and dished out nine assists this season for 17 points.

Weist was a spark off the bench for Villanova in 2003, scoring two goals and adding two assists for six points. She was also named a Big East All-Rookie Team honoree.