Jamie Pelusi Earns Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Award
11/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Jamie Pelusi Earns Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Award
11/5/2004
VERNON, Conn. ? University of Pittsburgh junior women?s soccer player Jamie Pelusi was honored as the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Thursday at the league?s annual women?s soccer banquet. In addition, Pelusi was named to the All-Big East First Team.
Pelusi, becomes just the second player in school history to garner the Goalkeeper of the Year Award and earn All-Big East First Team accolades. Rachel Brown earned both honors after the 2000-01 season.
The Big East honors were voted upon by each of the league?s 12 coaches.
?It?s great honor for Jamie,? Pittsburgh Head Coach Sue-Moy Chin said. ?I couldn?t ask for someone better to coach. She is eager to learn and takes direction very well. It is rewarding to work with her and she deserves this award. Jamie is a great leader and very good goalkeeper. She is not only respected by her teammates and coaching staff but by other the coaches in the league.?
This season, Pelusi started 17 games and led Big East goalkeepers for the second consecutive season with a 5.65 saves per game average. She ranked seventh in the conference in save percentage (.780), tied the school record for shutouts (five) and finished with 96 saves on the year. Pelusi has already set or tied three career records including least goals allowed (50 goals in 34 games), career saves (339) and career shutouts (10). She has started 53 consecutive games in her career and is also one of only five players in school history to have started every game of her career at Pittsburgh.
A two-time Big East Academic All-Star, Pelusi was named the 2002 Freshman Female Athlete of the Year by The Pitt News. She is a social work major who traveled to Africa this summer to volunteer in humanitarian aid. Her father, John Pelusi lettered in football at Pittsburgh and played on the 1976 national championship squad.
Pelusi is a 2002 graduate of Pittsburgh?s Hampton High School, where she earned All-WPIAL, All-PIAA and All-Region honors. She helped lead the Talbots to the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs during her career.
Other players honored by the Big East on Thursday included Offensive Player of the Year Katie Thorlakson (Notre Dame), Defensive Player of the Year Melissa Trancredi (Notre Dame), Midfielder of the Year Carli Lloyd (Rutgers) and Co-Rookie of the Year recipients Kia McNiell (Boston College) and Ashley Banks (West Virginia). Notre Dame?s Randy Waldrum was honored as Coach of Year.
The Panthers finished the season with a 6-10-1 overall record and 2-7-1 Big East record.
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