Aug. 27, 2009
Full Notes Package in PDF Format 
2009 ND Women’s Soccer — Game 2
#2/4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0-0 / 0-0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (0-2-0 / 0-0-0 Horizon League)
DATE: August 28, 2009
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. – Alumni Field (2,500)
SERIES: ND leads 5-0-0
1ST MTG: ND 11-0 (10/7/92)
LAST MTG: ND 3-0 (11/16/07)
LIVE STATS: UND.com
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TICKETS: (574) 631-7356 / UND.com / At gate on game night
Storylines
- Notre Dame is 68-2-2 in its last 72 games at Alumni Field, including a current 26-game winning streak dating back to 2007.
- The Fighting Irish have netted a goal in 53 consecutive games, dating back to a 0-0 tie with Michigan in the 2007 season opener.
Alumni Field Set For Final Act As #2/4 Irish Entertain Loyola-Chicago
After opening the season with a 3-0 win against Wisconsin, No. 2/4 Notre Dame will look to make it two in a row in 2009 when it plays host to Loyola-Chicago at 7:30 p.m. (ET) Friday at Alumni Field. With the newly-constructed $5.7 million Alumni Stadium set to open next month, the Fighting Irish are winding down their run at the historic home of Notre Dame soccer, having amassed an all-time record of 221-16-4 (.925) at Alumni Field.
In last week’s win over Wisconsin, Melissa Henderson and Rose Augustin scored a little more than two minutes apart in the opening stages of the second half and Augustin later assisted on the final tally by junior midfielder Lauren Fowlkes to pace the Fighting Irish attack.
Senior Kelsey Lysander and junior Nikki Weiss shared the shutout in the Notre Dame goal, with Lysander going the first 72:40 and making one critical save, while Weiss was not tested during the final 17:20. Collectively, the Fighting Irish outshot Wisconsin, 20-8, including a 10-1 spread in shots on goal.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is ranked second in the NSCAA poll and fourth in the Soccer America poll.
- Loyola-Chicago is not ranked in either poll.
A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
After driving all the way to the doorstep of history in 2008 with a magical 26-1-0 season that culminated just short of a national championship, Notre Dame returns many of the same players that helped propel the Fighting Irish to the top of the college soccer world for much of last year.
Not only does Notre Dame bring back 19 monogram winners and seven starters, but of those 19 returnees, 15 of them have starting experience under the belt. What’s more, the Fighting Irish have more than 60 percent of their goalscoring (52 of 83) back in the fold, along with many of the defenders that were responsible for registering 18 shutouts and a 0.44 goals-against average (both among the top five marks in school history).
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson (17G-2A in 2008) was tabbed the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is one of 45 preseason candidates for the Hermann Trophy after a stellar rookie campaign that included five gamewinning goals, the last coming in overtime of the BIG EAST Championship game against Connecticut.
Junior midfielders Rose Augustin (6G-2A) and Erica Iantorno (5G-7A) also likely will factor in Notre Dame’s offensive attack this season. Meanwhile, junior holding midfielder Lauren Fowlkes (1G), another preseason Hermann Trophy choice, and sophomore defender Jessica Schuveiller (1G-1A) will anchor the Fighting Irish backline.
They will be supported by senior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander, who set a single-season school record with 26 victories last season (and shared another record with 18 total shutouts). Lysander also ranked sixth in the nation last season with a 0.44 GAA and was named to the ’08 NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team.
Rambler Rumblings
Loyola-Chicago enters Friday night’s game with an 0-2-0 record. The Ramblers opened the season on Aug. 21 with a 4-0 loss to BIG EAST foe DePaul. Two days later, they dropped a 1-0 decision at Dayton on a 65th-minute goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Groesch went the full 90 minutes in both contests for the Ramblers and made six saves, including a four-save night against Dayton.
Loyola returns nine of its 11 starters from a season ago, including nine of its top 10 scorers from the 2008 squad that went 14-9 overall and tied for first in the Horizon League with a 7-1 record. Current junior midfielder Laura Trevillian earned second team all-league and Horizon League all-tournament team honors in 2008 after starting 22 games. As a sophomore, Trevillian also finished with 10 goals and two assists for 22 points.
The Ramblers also hope to have senior forward Cynthia Morote-Ariza back later this year as she rehabilitates from a summer injury. Morote-Ariza joined Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks as the only players in the country last season to log at least 15 goals and 15 assists, with the Loyola striker piling up 18 goals and an NCAA-best 19 assists.
Loyola is coached by Frank Mateus, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the Rambler program. Through his four-plus seasons in the Windy City, Mateus’ squad has posted a 50-36-5 mark while claiming consecutive Horizon League tournament titles and NCAA tournament appearances in 2006 and 2007 (as well as a league regular-season crown last year).
The Notre Dame-Loyola Series
The Irish hold an all-time record of 5-0 against the Ramblers, including a 4-0 mark in home contests. Notre Dame has outscored the Ramblers by a 40-0 margin in those five contests.
The teams first met on Oct. 7, 1992 when Notre Dame earned an 11-0 win. Notre Dame also earned wins in 1993 (12-0) and 1994 (9-0). Most recently, the Irish earned NCAA Championship first-round wins over the Ramblers in 2003 (5-0) and 2007 (3-0). Current Irish players Amanda Clark, Lauren Fowlkes, Michele Weissenhofer, Courtney Rosen and Julie Scheidler all started in the 2007 win, while current senior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander came off the bench to make one save in 16 minutes of play to preserve the shutout.
Dude, We’re Going Streaking
With its 3-0 win at home over South Florida on Oct. 3, 2008, Notre Dame set a new school record for consecutive regular-season victories, now active at 29 games heading into the clash with Loyola Chicago. The last time the Irish dropped a regular-season contest was Sept. 23, 2007, when they gave up two second-half goals in a 2-1 loss to 14th-ranked Penn State at Alumni Field.
Notre Dame’s 29-game regular-season unbeaten streak also is tied for the third-longest in school history.
Happy On The Homefront
Thanks to last week’s 3-0 win over Wisconsin at Alumni Field, Notre Dame now has won 26 consecutive home games since a 2-1 loss to 14th-ranked Penn State on Sept. 23, 2007; the 26-game home winning/unbeaten streak is fourth-longest in school history — the winning streak standard is 32 games (Oct. 24, 2004-Nov. 24, 2006), while the unbeaten string record is 43 games (41-0-2 from Aug. 27, 2004-Sept. 14, 2007).
In fact, combine that school-record unbeaten streak with Notre Dame’s current run at home and the Fighting Irish have an astounding 68-2-2 (.958) record at home since the start of the 2004 season (both losses were by 2-1 scores to top-16 opponents Oklahoma State and Penn State a week apart on Sept. 16 & 23, 2007).
Quite A Stretch
Since beginning the 2007 season with a tough 3-4-1 start, the Irish are 43-2-1 in their last 46 games overall, with the only losses coming to No. 14 Florida State (3-2) in the 2007 NCAA College Cup semifinals and to No. 5 North Carolina (2-1) in the 2008 NCAA College Cup final. The lone tie occured at No. 12 West Virginia (1-1) in the ’07 BIG EAST tournament final (WVU won the title on penalty kicks, 5-3).
With a victory over Toledo in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Championship on Nov. 14, Notre Dame matched the best 40-game stretch in school history (38-1-1), previously set from Oct. 2, 2005-Dec. 1, 2006. The 40-game record can not be improved upon unless the Irish roll off nine more wins in a row.
Beasts Of The BIG EAST
With a win over Connecticut in the 2008 BIG EAST title game (1-0 in OT), Notre Dame now owns a school-record 52-game unbeaten streak (50-0-2) against BIG EAST opposition (second-longest in NCAA Division I history) dating back to a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Marquette on Sept. 30, 2005. In that time, the only ties were a 0-0 draw at Connecticut (Oct. 13, 2006) and a 1-1 deadlock at No. 12 West Virginia in last year’s BIG EAST final on Nov. 11 (WVU won 5-3 on PKs, but the game is recorded as a tie).
Since joining the BIG EAST, the Irish are 123-8-4 (.926) all-time in regular-season conference games, 32-2-1 (.929) in the BIG EAST Tournament, and hold a 682-81 scoring edge dating back to that first league season in ’95.
What’s more Notre Dame maintains a 13-year, 87-game home unbeaten streak (86-0-1) versus BIG EAST teams, with Connecticut the lone conference team ever to defeat the Irish at Alumni Field (5-4 in OT on Oct. 6, 1995).
Senior Moments
The ’09 Irish senior class ranks among the most successful in the country, with a four-year record to date of 71-7-3 (.895) that includes three trips to the NCAA College Cup and appearances in the 2006 and 2008 national title games.
Pick Three For The Hermann Watch
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson, junior defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes and senior midfielder Courtney Rosen have been named to the 45-player watch list for the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, it was announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA).
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I women’s soccer player, with Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks earning the prestigious crystal ball trophy last year. In the process, Hanks became the fourth Fighting Irish player to collect the award, not to mention just the fourth two-time Hermann Trophy honoree since the award debuted in 1988, as well as the first two-time national player of the year (in any sport) in the 122-year history of Notre Dame athletics.
Game #1 Recap: Wisconsin
Notre Dame kicked off its 2009 season on Aug. 21 with a 3-0 win over Wisconsin at Alumni Field. Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson and junior midfielder Rose Augustin scored a little more than two minutes apart in the opening stages of the second half, and Augustin later assisted on the clinching tally by junior midfielder Lauren Fowlkes to secure the win. Senior Kelsey Lysander and junior Nikki Weiss shared the shutout in the Fighting Irish goal, with Lysander going the first 72:40 and making one critical save, while Weiss was not tested during the final 17:20.
As a team, Notre Dame outshot Wisconsin, 20-8, including a 10-1 edge in shots on goal. UW goalkeeper Michelle Dalton came up with six saves in the Badgers’ net, including three impressive stops in the first half on point-blank Notre Dame shots. With the win, Notre Dame moved to 19-2-1 all-time in season openers, including a 12-1-1 mark at home and a 9-1-1 ledger in the 11-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum.
The Henderson Effect
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson has made quite an impact on the Notre Dame offense since arriving on campus last fall, netting 18 goals and adding two assists for 38 points in her first 28 games with the Irish. In fact, through a season and a game, the Irish are 13-0 when Henderson scores a goal and 15-0 when she nets a point.
Irish Debuts
In last Friday’s season-opening victory over Wisconsin, four of the five active Fighting Irish freshmen made their collegiate debuts. Lindsay Brown, Leah Fisher, Jazmin Hall and Tereza Stastny all saw time on the pitch as Notre Dame blanked the Badgers, 3-0.
Your 2009 Captains
The 2009 Notre Dame squad features three first-time captains, with seniors Michele Weissenhofer and Courtney Rosen, and sophomore Jessica Schuveiller all selected via a vote of their teammates.
Schuveiller’s selection is noteworthy, in that she is the first non-senior to serve as a team captain since Amy Warner was one of Notre Dame’s three captains in 2002 (her junior season). This year’s triumvirate also marks the first time since 2004 (Mary Boland, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and Melissa Tancredi) that the Irish have named three captains.
Schuveiller Goes To Camp
Sophomore defender Jessica Schuveiller was among a group of 24 players invited by head coach Bill Irwin to compete at the United States Under-23 Women’s National Team Training Camp in suburban Cleveland this past summer (June 12-19).
Schuveiller made her first appearance at a U.S. National Team training camp, joining an extensive list of Notre Dame players who have competed for Team USA at the U-23 level. Most recently, three current Irish players — senior forward Michele Weissenhofer, junior defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes and sophomore forward Melissa Henderson — were part of the U-23 player pool, along with two recent Notre Dame graduates and current WPS players Brittany Bock (now with the Los Angeles Sol) and defender Elise Weber (competing for Saint Louis Athletica). Fowlkes also struck gold with the U.S. U-20 National Team at last December’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Chile.
Rosen Sidelined
Senior midfielder/tri-captain Courtney Rosen is out indefinitely after breaking her left foot during preseason training. Rosen underwent successful corrective surgery on Aug. 13 and is in the midst of rehabilitating her injury.
Our Fearless Leader
Eleventh-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum reached a career milestone with last season’s 3-1 win over No. 17/16 Penn State on Sept. 21. With the win, he became the eighth active Division I head coach to record 300 career wins. He now has a record of 319-80-20 (.785) in 21 seasons (including six at Tulsa and three at Baylor). His winning percentage ranks fourth among active coaches, while his 319 wins are fifth on the NCAA Div. I career list.
Three … Is The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women’s soccer history, with a 279-3-1 (.988) record in those games, including a 181-1-0 (.995) mark since Oct. 6, 1995. The Irish also are 375-9-15 (.959) when holding the opposition to 0-1 goals.
Most impressively, Notre Dame is 303-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and is unbeaten in its past 280 contests when going ahead 2-0 (dating back to a 3-3 tie with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati). In fact, just two of the past 192 Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have forced a tie, something achieved by four opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (Irish won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at Alumni Field (ND led 2-0, later tied 2-2 and 3-3, ND won 4-3), Duke on Nov. 30, 2007, in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alumni Field (Irish won 3-2), and most recently, Villanova on Oct. 12, 2008 in Villanova, Pa. (Irish won 3-2 in OT).
You Can Put It On The Board
Notre Dame has scored a goal in 53 consecutive games, dating back to a scoreless draw with Michigan to open the 2007 season. The current 53-game goal streak is the second-longest in school history, trailing only a 55-game run from Aug. 29, 1997-Sept. 17, 1999.
Golden Domers Golden In OT
Overtime has usually been the right time for Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish are 18-3-8 (.759) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since ’99) when going to an extra period or two.
Notre Dame went to OT in three games last season and emerged victorious all three times. On Oct. 12, Rose Augustin potted the gamewinner at 6:58 of the first overtime for a 3-2 win at Villanova.
On Nov. 9, Melissa Henderson followed Augustin’s model and scored at 6:58 of the first OT to give the Fighting Irish a 1-0 victory in the BIG EAST Championship final at Alumni Field. It was the first “golden goal” in BIG EAST postseason history.
On Nov. 21, Alumni Field was once again the site, as Kerri Hanks slotted home a penalty kick at 6:54 of the first overtime for a 1-0 win over No. 22/24 Minnesota in the third round of the NCAA Championship. It was the first “golden goal” for the Fighting Irish in the NCAA tourney since 2000, when Meotis Erikson’s goal at 4:59 of the first OT gave Notre Dame a 2-1 win over Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alumni Field.
Last season marked the first time Notre Dame had ever played multiple overtime games in the postseason (BIG EAST/NCAA Championship).
Temporary Home
Notre Dame will play its first two games at Alumni Field (its former home) while construction is completed on the $5.7 million Alumni Stadium. Patrons attending games at Alumni Field are asked to enter the facility from the north end (via Courtney Lane, across from the Eck Tennis Pavilion) and park in the Hesburgh Library lot (located northwest of the Guglielmino Athletics Complex).
Our New Digs
Located just east of the Joyce Center and approximately 500 yards west of its predecessor, Alumni Stadium will be the new home for Notre Dame soccer when its doors open in September 2009.
A state-of-the-art facility built at a cost of $5.7 million, Alumni Stadium has a permanent seating capacity of more than 2,000 fans, along with general admission grass berm seating on the east end of the grounds. The stadium also offers upgraded and expanded restroom and concession areas, elevator access to the main concourse level, as well as numerous amenities for both Fighting Irish soccer programs (expansive locker rooms with custom-made wood lockers, spacious team lounges with flat-screen plasma TVs and high-speed Internet access, and a fully-equipped athletic training center).
What’s more, Alumni Stadium features an LED scoreboard (installed by industry leader Daktronics), enhanced lighting structures and top-of-the-line sod for the pitch (cultivated in Fort Morgan, Colo., at Graff’s Turf Farms, which also provided the turf for the new Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, home of Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake).
In addition, media members will enjoy the spacious new air-conditioned press box, which includes power and high-speed Internet portals at every seat (along with wireless Internet capability), three individually-wired broadcast booths and an expansive, unblocked midfield vantage point, all of which make Alumni Stadium unlike any other on-campus facility in college soccer.
The construction of Alumni Stadium was made possible because of numerous generous donations, including those by lead benefactors Tom Crotty and Rob Snyder, both former Fighting Irish men’s soccer players.
Crotty was a three-year monogram winner from 1977-79, earning team MVP honors in 1979 before graduating the following spring with a degree in finance. He currently is general partner at Battery Ventures LP in Wellesley, Mass., while he and his wife, Shari, live in Southborough, Mass.
Snyder earned two monograms from 1980-83, piling up 23 goals and 22 assists (the latter figure ranking seventh in school history). He also potted a team-high 12 goals in 1981. A 1984 graduate of Notre Dame, Snyder went on to become founder and CEO of Stream Energy in Dallas, Texas.
Taking It To The Next Level
Notre Dame had 10 players appearing on opening-day rosters for the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2009, ranking second among all colleges in that category. Four of those 10 (all members of the ’08 Fighting Irish NCAA runner-up squad) were selected in the league’s first-ever college draft back in January — Brittany Bock (first round, fifth overall, Los Angeles Sol), Kerri Hanks (first round, sixth overall, Saint Louis Athletica), Carrie Dew (second round, 12th overall, FC Gold Pride) and Elise Weber (third round, 21st overall, Saint Louis Athletica).
That quartet was joined by: Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Jen Buczkowski and Christie Shaner (Sky Blue FC), Candace Chapman (Boston Breakers), and Amanda Cinalli and Melissa Tancredi (Saint Louis Athletica).
In addition, Kate (Sobrero) Markgraf was assigned to the Chicago Red Stars as part of the U.S. National Team draft, but sat out the ’09 season while on maternity leave (she gave birth to twins in June). And, Kelly Lindsey began the season as an assistant coach at Sky Blue FC, then took over as interim head coach at midseason before resigning late in the year.
Other midseason trades saw Hanks sent to Sky Blue FC, while Shaner went out to Los Angeles. Shaner subsequently was sidelined for the season with a broken leg, suffered during her first game for Los Angeles on July 5 at Washington.
Of the 10 active Notre Dame alums in WPS, eight saw their teams advance to the league playoffs (all but Chapman and Dew). Led by arguably the world’s top defensive midfielder in Boxx, and one of WPS’ top rookies in Bock (who played center back after never playing that position at Notre Dame), Los Angeles won the regular season title and the right to host the first-ever WPS Championship Game.
In the end, five Fighting Irish alums (tying North Carolina for the most representatives from one college) worked their way into the WPS final — Bock, Boxx and Shaner for L.A., along with Hanks and Buczkowski for Sky Blue FC. The New Jersey-based club then capped an amazing string of three playoff road wins in eight days with a 1-0 upset of Los Angeles to win the inaugural WPS Championship.
Boxx also was named a starter for the first WPS All-Star Game, set to take place Sunday at 5 p.m. (ET) at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in suburban St. Louis. The game’s format will see the WPS All-Stars take on Swedish powerhouse UMEA IK, with the game to be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel.
Next Up: North Carolina
The Irish return to action next weekend when they play host to the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic. Notre Dame opens the tournament against top-ranked North Carolina in a rematch of last year’s NCAA College Cup title game, which UNC won by a 2-1 margin.
This year’s contest, the first time in a decade that the Tar Heels have visited South Bend, will be played on next Friday (Sept. 4) at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in the newly-constructed Alumni Stadium. Two days later, the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic concludes with UNC taking on Marquette at 11 a.m. (ET), followed by Notre Dame and Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 1:30 p.m. (ET).
The Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic dates back to the 1992 season, with Notre Dame playing its home tournament almost annually since then (every year but 1994). The Irish are 26-4-2 (.844) all-time in these home tournaments with a 91-30 scoring edge. Notre Dame also has won its home tournament in 12 of the previous 16 seasons in which it has been played, including five of the past six years.
— ND —