Sept. 9, 2002

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne University senior cornerback Leigh Bodden (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) has been named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Duquesne's 35-14 win over Bucknell on Saturday.

Bodden, a pre-season All-American, picked off a pass in the end zone to preserve a 14-7 Dukes' lead, broke up two other passes and recovered a fumble on the afternoon. He also held Bucknell leading wide receiver Jim Horan (59 receptions for 714 yards last season) to one catch for seven yards.

"Our game plan was to stop the run and count on Leigh to shut down their top receiver," said Duquesne head coach Greg Gattuso following the game. "He just did a great job."

Bodden's interception was the 22nd of his career and moved him into a tie for 11th on the NCAA Division I-AA career interception list. Bodden, who has intercepted 22 passes in his last 25 games, needs six picks to tie the I-AA career mark set by Holy Cross' Dave Murphy from 1986-89.

"I just tried to position myself in the right place," said Bodden of his effort versus Bucknell. "I think I did a pretty good job overall. It was just an overall team effort."

Duquesne (1-0, 0-0) opens MAAC play at Siena (0-1, 0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m at Christian Brothers Academy in Albany, NY. (Fox Sports Radio, WBGG-AM 970 locally and over the internet on RedZoneMedia.com).