Oct. 10, 2003
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Irish offense scored early and often while the defense turned in another smothering effort for its fifth straight shutout as the second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team remained unbeaten after 14 games for the fourth time in the program’s history, with a 6-0 win over visiting Georgetown in BIG EAST Conference Mid-Atlantic Division action Friday night at Alumni Field.
Senior midfielder Kimberly Carpenter pushed her point-scoring streak to six games by finding the net at the 5:39 mark, marking the sixth time this season that Notre Dame (13-0-1, 3-0-0 BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic) has scored in the first seven minutes. The efficient Irish offense cashed in six of 18 shots while the defense did not allow a shot until the 63rd minute of play, yielding a streak of 138 minutes in which Notre Dame held its opponents without a shot (including most of Sunday’s win over Butler).
Georgetown (4-9-0, 0-4-0) managed five shots but just one was on goal, marking the 11th straight game that the Irish have limited the opposition to 0-1 shots on net. The Hoyas joined a long list of BIG EAST teams that have lost to the Irish at Alumni Field, with Notre Dame winning their last 47 home BIG EAST games (dating back to 1995).
The visitor’s lone shot on goal appeared to be an intended pass on Elizabeth Roberti’s long free kick in the 88th minute – but the ball bounced in front of backup ‘keeper Nikki Westfall and she was forced to make the easy save, with many of ND’s recent handful of saves coming on similar routine plays and shots from outside the box.
Notre Dame extended its season scoring edge to 52-5 and now ranks second in the nation with a 0.35 goals-against average that would best the team record of 0.37 set in 1997 (top-ranked UNC owns a 0.28 GAA). The Irish also now rank second in the nation for scoring with 3.71 goals per game, trailing only Oklahoma State’s 4.08.
Since allowing an early goal in the third game of the season (still ND’s only deficit of the season, spanning 7:18), sophomore goalkeeper Erika Bohn has been scored on just twice in the last 12 games. Her 0.31 season goals-against average (4 total GA) is on pace to best LaKeysia Beene’s team record (0.37 in ’97) and now ranks third in the nation, just behind Oklahoma State’s Kathrin Lehman (0.28) and UNC’s Aly Winget (0.30) – with those numbers updated after both ‘keepers yielded single goals on Friday.
The senior forward tandem of Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin combined for three goals and one assist, pushing their combined career goal total to 80. Warner assisted on Carpenter’s goal and later scored early in the second half for her eighth goal of the season and 35th of her career (tying current U.S. World Cup midfielder Shannon Boxx for 12th in ND history). Guertin’s pair of scores also gave her eight for the season while her career goal total climbed to 45, tying her with Alison Lester (’94) for ninth in the Irish record book.
Junior forward Maggie Manning added a goal and assist while fifth-year defender Vanessa Pruzinsky assisted on the first two goals and sophomore midfielder Annie Schefter capped the scoring.
The Hoyas defeated the Irish last season in a fluke 4-3 game that saw Notre Dame playing minus four key defensive starters (Pruzinsky, fellow 2003 defenders Melissa Tancredi and Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and graduated defensive midfielder ace Ashley Dryer). That game remains the only time since 1995 that the Irish have scored three-plus goals and not posted a win, with the Irish now 100-1-0 in their last 101 games when scoring three-plus.
Georgetown quickly got reacquainted with Tancredi as the central defender showcased her wide-reaching talents, including several impressive runs in which she carried the ball from the defensive to the offensive third.
Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum emptied his bench in the second half, with two players – junior defender Kate Tulisiak and freshman defender Kari Kennedy – seeing their first action of the season after battling back from preseason injuries.
SCORING SUMMARY
(1) Warner headed the ball to Pruzinsky who then shot from the upper right side of the box, with Carpenter trapping the ball near the left post and quickly redirecting a six-yard shot into the right side of the net for her fifth goal of the season (5:39), nearly three times her combined goal total from 2000-02 (2).
(2) Pruzinsky sent a cross from the left endline and Manning tapped it in from close range for her fourth goal of the season (36:37).
(3) Manning’s lead pass down the left side spring Guertin and the veteran goalscorer slanted into the box and pulled out the ‘keeper Erin Mazursky before chipping in a goal from eight yards (46:46).
(4) Warner collected a loose ball in the box and lobbed a shot over the ‘keeper (49:16).
(5) Jill Krivacek sent a cross from the left side for fellow freshman midfielder Jen Buczkowski, who then tapped the ball into the right side of the box. Guertin was in tight quarters but slid onto the ball and sent a crossing shot into the left side of the net (69:29).
(6) Freshman forward Becky Tweneboah sent the pass to the top of the box for Schefter, who drilled home a low shot for her fourth goal of the season and first in seven games (78:44).
NOTE UPDATES: Carpenter’s goal was her third in a stretch of six ND goals (she also assisted on Katie Thorlakson’s overtime goal vs. Villanova in that stretch) … her six-game scoring streak includes 4G-2A, including the first goal in each of the last two games … ND now is 103-3-1 all-time at Alumni Field when facing an unranked teams … the only other ND teams to go unbeaten after 14 games all ended up going unbeaten for 24 games (the ’94, ’07 and ’00 teams all started 23-0-1) … ND players now have combined for nine multiple-goal games in 2003, including two by Guertin and junior F Mary Boland … Guertin remains 12th in the ND record book with 117 points, nine behind Lester and 18 back of Boxx … Warner (92) moved into 14th on the ND career points list, passing Amy Van Laecke (’97) and tiffany Thompson (’95) … the Irish have held their last 19 fall opponents to 0-1 goals (plus all five games in the ’03 spring season) … the Irish have shut out eight of their last 10 opponents and have allowed just 14 shots on goal in the last 11 games (the opponents have totaled just 30 shots on goal, or 2.1 per game, all season) … ND’s six quick-strike goals (first seven minutes) have included three from Boland and one each from Guertin, Buczkowski and Carpenter … ND’s streak of not allowing a shot ran from the 14:11 mark of the Butler game (shot by Caitlin Gill) to the 61:16 mark of the GU game (by Chrissy Skogen) … ND is 124-8-2 (.933) in its last 134 home games (146-12-2 al-time) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the first (26-3) and second half (25-2) this season … Warner notched her ninth assist of the season (just two players in the nation entered the week with double-digit assists) … the current shutout streak spans 481 minutes, after an earlier shutout streak of 418 … ND is 90-8-2 in all games vs. BIG EAST teams since joining the conference in 1995 … Warner made her 55th consecutive start while Pruzinsky logged her 86th career game with the Irish and 84th start … the Irish now have scored 5-plus goals in 5 games this season.
GEORGETOWN 0 0 – 0
#2 NOTRE DAME 2 4 – 6
ND 1. Kimberly Carpenter 5 (Vanessa Pruzinsky, Amy Warner) 5:39; ND 2. Maggie Manning 4 (Pruzinsky) 36:37; ND 3. Amanda Guertin 7 (Maggie Manning) 46:46; ND 4. Amy Warner 8 (-) 49;16; ND 5. Guertin 8 (Jen Buczkowski, Jill Krivacek) 69:29; ND 6. Annie Schefter 4 (Becky Tweneboah) 78:44.
Shots: GU 0-5 – 5, ND 8-10 – 18.
Corner Kicks: GU 1-2 – 3, ND 1-1 – 2.
Saves: GU 5 (Erin Mazursky 5 in 72:20, Louise Butler 0), ND 1 (Erika Bohn 0 in 74:34, Nikki Westfall 1).
Fouls: GU 11, ND 10.
Offsides: GU 0, ND 3. ND 1.
Yellow Card: Katie Thorlakson 3 (ND) 76:26.