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American Women's Soccer: 2001 Year-in-Review
Eagles finish season with a 7-7-3 overall record, 4-3-1 in the Patriot League

November 14, 2001

Senior forward Diane Wootton finished as the team's leading scorer with eight goals and four assists.

WASHINGTON -- The American women’s soccer team earned American University’s first Patriot League win in school history with a 1-0 defeat of Navy on Sept. 19, 2001. In their inaugural season of competition in the Patriot League, the Eagles finished with a 7-7-3 overall record (4-3-1 league record) and entered the Patriot League Championship as the No. 2 seed before falling, 2-1, to Bucknell in the tournament semifinals.

American entered the 2001 season with nine returning letterwinners and eleven newcomers, including two transfers. In their first game of the season, the Eagles faced an old foe from their former conference, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in James Madison University. American played solidly against its former conference opponent but fell, 2-1, to the Dukes. Even in the loss, the American players began to demonstrate the physicality and defensive prowess that would define their team throughout the season.

In their next game, the Eagles returned home to play Charleston and came away with a solid 3-1 victory for their first win of the season. Freshman forward Maha Elnabawi (Herndon, Va./Oakton) had a double score in the game, notching two goals, including the game winner, in the victory. Senior standout Diane Wootton (Damascus, Md./Middle Tennessee State) earned the third goal and also notched an assist on the game-winning goal.

American’s win over Charleston sparked an impressive four-game winning streak that included two victories over Patriot League opponents Navy and Bucknell. The win at Navy marked the Eagles first Patriot League win of 2001 as well as American University’s first-ever victory in its inaugural season of Patriot League competition. Furthermore, the 1-0 defeat at the hands of American was Navy’s only League loss in 2001. With the 1-0 score, freshman goalkeeper Jen Liese (Rushland, Pa./Council Rock) recorded her first collegiate shutout victory, and the Eagles’ defense began to coalesce into the aggressive force that held 12 opponents to two goals or less in 2001.

The Eagles continued their winning ways through September, posting a 4-1 record that included three consecutive shutout victories over Navy, Bucknell, and VCU. Wootton earned the most goals (4) and assists (2) in that span, including scoring a goal in the first four consecutive games of the season. The Patriot League named Wootton and Liese the Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, on Sept. 24.

Freshman goalkeeper Jen Liese had 107 saves in 2001, putting her sixth on the All-Time Saves List for a single season at American.

The Eagles faced tougher obstacles in October including games against several top-ranked local opponents. American posted a 2-4-3 record, winning matches at Towson and Army, but fell to league opponents Lafayette and Holy Cross as well as Georgetown and Princeton. Freshman starter Fedjah Laraque (East Rockaway, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) earned the Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor on Oct. 15 for her game-winning penalty shot at Army. The team played a remarkable six overtime games in 2001, including four double overtimes, three ending in ties.

With a conference record of 4-2-1, the Eagles entered the Patriot League Championship as the No. 2 seed following the regular season. American faced No. 3 Bucknell, a team it had defeated, 2-0, during its four-game winning streak back in September. After the Bison went up 1-0 early in the first half, Wootton took a feed from senior Katie Moore (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel) and netted her eighth season goal to tie the game at 1-1. The game remained even throughout, with American posting 12 shots to 17 by Bucknell. Just as the Eagles seemed headed into their seventh overtime game of the season, Bucknell knocked in a score to win the game , 2-1, with less than 10 seconds left in the contest.

Liese finished the regular season with the highest number of saves per game (6.31) and the second-highest number of saves (101) in the Patriot League (excluding tournament stats). Wootton was the leading scorer for American with eight goals and four assists for 20 points. Moore finished as the second-leading scorer for American, notching six goals and three assists for 15 points.