Karina LeBlanc Season 1997

Honors and Awards

• Third-round selection by the Boston Breakers in the 2000 WUSA draft
• Second-Team Soccer Buzz All-American (2000)
• Third-Team College Soccer Online All-American (2000)
• Hermann Trophy Award Finalist (2000)
• Second Nationally in Goals-Against Average (0.40 GAA, 2000)
• NSCAA First-Team Academic All-Central Region (2000)
• Second-Team All-Big 12 Conference (2000)
• First-Team Academic All-Big 12 Conference (1998, 1999, 2000)
• Soccer Times National Player of the Week (Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, 2000)
• Soccer America Team of the Week (Sept. 11 - Sept. 17, 2000)
• Fifth Nationally in Goals-Against Average (0.51 GAA, 1999)
• Olympic Participant (Canada, 2008)
• Women's World Cup Participant (Canada, 1999, 2003, 2007)
• Canadian National Team Goalkeeper (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
• Husker Most Improved Player Award (1999)

2000 Season
A NSCAA First-Team All-Central Region selection, Nebraska goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc (pronounced Ka-REEN-uh Luh-BLAUNK) finished the 2000 season ranked second in the nation and first in the Big 12 Conference with a goals-against average of 0.40.

A senior and second-team all-conference selection, LeBlanc's career goals against average of 0.54 ranks seventh in NCAA Division I history, while her scoreless streak (710:22), which was snapped on Oct. 8, against Texas A&M, was the 11th longest in NCAA Division I history. Her name is also on the list at No. 14, after holding opponents scoreless from Sept. 26, 1999 to Oct. 10, 1999 (650 minutes).

LeBlanc, a native of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, earned national player-of-the-week honors from Soccer Times for the week of Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, after she posted her fifth and sixth consecutive shutouts against No. 24 Missouri (Sept. 29) and Kansas (Oct. 1). On the season, LeBlanc posted a school-record 14 1/2 shutouts.

She finished her career at Nebraska with a record of 60-6-3 (.870). The only other Big 12 goalkeeper with more wins is former Texas A&M keeper Melanie Wilson, who posted a career mark of 66-19-1 (.773) from 1996 to 1999.

In regular-season conference action, LeBlanc allowed four goals in 10 games (0.41). Through her career, LeBlanc posted a 0.42 goals-against average in league play (13 goals in 2,777 minutes), and recorded a 28-2-0 record.

Also the starting goalkeeper for the Canadian National Team, LeBlanc, who earned two assists in 2000, recorded 74 saves on the year, upping her school-best career total to 207.

1999 Season
LeBlanc posted a 22-1-2 record with a Big 12-best 0.51 GAA, which ranked fifth nationally and tied All-American Becky Hornbacher's then-school record. LeBlanc spent a school-record 2,278 minutes in goal and started an NU-record 25 games. She also notched 72 saves and 13 shutouts, while allowing just 13 goals.

LeBlanc did not allow a goal for six straight games from Sept. 26 through Oct. 10, a span of 650 minutes. She posted shutouts in seven Big 12 games and allowed only three goals in 10 regular-season conference games.

LeBlanc was even better in the NCAA Tournament, surrendering just one goal in 330 minutes with shutouts of Minnesota and Texas A&M, before posting a season-high 10 saves against Notre Dame.

LeBlanc earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors for the second straight year and earned Nebraska's Most Improved Player award.

1998 Season
LeBlanc ranked second in the Big 12 and 17th nationally with a 0.70 GAA. She started 20 games and allowed just 14 goals in 1,802 minutes. LeBlanc recorded 55 saves, including a school-record 12 saves in the Huskers' 3-2 triple-overtime win over Texas A&M in the Big 12 semifinals. She added 10 more saves in the Huskers' 2-1 loss at Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. LeBlanc notched 11 shutouts on the year. She also captured first-team academic All-Big 12 honors.

1997 Season
LeBlanc filled the role as Nebraska's No. 2 goalkeeper, backing up All-American Becky Hornbacher. LeBlanc played 221 minutes and posted a 0.81 goals-against average, allowing two goals and recording five saves. She appeared in 11 games and assisted in seven shutouts.

High School
LeBlanc was listed as one of the top 20 Division I recruits by USA Today in 1997, even though Maple Ridge Secondary School did not sponsor a girls' soccer team. She earned five letters in basketball, four in track and four in field hockey. She was an honor roll member every term, maintaining a 3.71 GPA. LeBlanc was an all-provincial basketball player and was voted British Columbia's Most Defensive Player in basketball in 1997.

Other Information
The starting goalkeeper for the Canadian National Team in 2000, LeBlanc played for the Canadian Women's World Cup Team in 1999. Along with being the reserve goalkeeper for the Canadians in the World Cup, she started for Canada in exhibition games against the United State and Mexico. She also started for the Canadian Under-20 squad at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1999. LeBlanc spent the summer of 1998 with the Canadian National Team and Under-20 National Team. LeBlanc entered the Canadian National Team program in 1997.

Personal Information
The daughter of Vans and Winsome LeBlanc, Karina has one sister, Sharma, 22, and a brother, Kurt, 15. She was born March 30, 1980.