Amy Warner (soccer)

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Amy Warner (born December 29, 1981 in Idaho Falls, Idaho) is an American soccer player who graduated from Notre Dame as one of the top forwards in the history of the university. Known for speed that earned her the nicknames "Flash" and "Fire", #12 grew into an all-around player and received first team NSCAA All-American honors during her senior year, making her the first forward in the history of Notre Dame to earn the honor. Currently she writes the "Flash Warner" blog.

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[edit] Biography

[edit] High School

Amy Warner attended La Cueva High School and was successful at both track and field and soccer. A sprinter during her high school career, she set school records in 100 (12.07), 200 (24.39) and 400 meters (55.16), winning the 100 meter state championship in 1998 and 2000. She also ran the anchor leg of the 400, 800, and 1600 meter relay teams and in her senior year, anchored the state championship 1600-meter relay team to claim the New Mexico State team title by one-quarter of a point.

Twice she was all-state for soccer and in 1999 Warner was named Gatorade and NSCAA New Mexico State Player of the Year after leading New Mexico class AAAA with 33 goals, 26 assists (96G-72A career). Because she competed in track while in high school, Warner never made a full-time commitment to soccer and therefore went unnoticed for the vast majority of the recruiting period during her senior year.[1] But after taking the 1999 Orange Classic by storm with Rio Vista FC, major soccer programs began showing interest. She received scholarship offers from some of the top soccer programs in the country and eventually settled on the University of Notre Dame, a perennial power in women's collegiate soccer.

[edit] Notre Dame

Amy Warner jukes past a defender on her way to the goal.
Amy Warner jukes past a defender on her way to the goal.

Amy Warner burst onto the college scene as Notre Dame's second-leading scorer through 10 games (7G-4A) and set an Irish record for earliest hat trick recorded by a freshman September 3, 2000 with 3 goals in a 5-1 win over Providence College.[2] During a mid-season game against Seton Hall, Warner tore her anterior cruciate ligament. She missed seven games and returned at the end of regular season play against the University of Michigan. Warner worked her way back into the starting lineup during the post-season, where she started in Notre Dame's semi-final matchup against the University of North Carolina. She scored Notre Dame's only goal in the match and was named to the all-NCAA Tournament team. Despite playing only a little more than half the regular season, Warner was named first team all-Big East as a freshman.

After off-season ACL surgery, Warner returned for a solid sophomore season that saw the Irish win their seventh consecutive Big East Championship. Though she was named second team All-Big East and ranked third on the team in scoring, it was nearly a year before she would return to form. After her junior year, Warner again earned first team all-Big East honors and registered the second hat trick of her career against Georgetown University. In 2003, during her senior season, Warner would prove to have her best year yet. The Irish owned the No. 2 national ranking for most of the season and also had many weeks at No. 1 and held the distinction as one of the nation's most balanced teams on both sides of the ball. Warner tied a career high with 10 goals and shattered her previous record for assists with 12. Warner repeated as first team all-Big East, and more impressively was named NSCAA first team All-American, the first Notre Dame forward to do so. Warner was also named a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, the award given to the player of the year in women's soccer. She was the sixth player in Big East history ever to be named all-conference four times and the 11th to be named first team all-BIG EAST in three-plus seasons ('00, '02, '03; plus 2nd team in '01). A broken ankle suffered during the BIG EAST Tournament against the University of Miami cut her final season short. Warner finished her career with 99 points, 15th all time at Notre Dame.

[edit] Professional career

After the abandonment of the Women's United Soccer Association, the Women's United Soccer League reigned supreme as the top tier women's soccer league in the country. Warner played as an amateur for the Windy City Bluez in Chicago and also competed in the U21 National Team pool during her collegiate years. She was signed as a forward for the Fort Wayne Fever after graduation. She quickly dominated the Central Conference, bringing the Fever deep into the playoffs. Warner received 2004 All-Central Conference honors and finished fourth in scoring in the USL's W-League with 37 points (15G-7A).[3] Warner and other Fever and Notre Dame teammates suited up in an exhibition match for FC Indiana, which, at the time, was a provisional member of the USL. Coached by Ben Waldrum, FCI defeated the Australian Women's National Team, 1-0. Australia was the 16th-ranked team in the world at the time and had recently split two games with fifth-ranked China. The lone goal was scored in the 65th minute and was a result of a combination play involving Warner and former Notre Dame teammate Amanda Cinalli.[4]

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