Aug. 26, 2006
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Kerri Hanks resumed her goalscoring assault with a pair of early strikes – including the quickest goal in a season opener (1:19) during the 19-year history of Notre Dame women’s soccer – to spark a six-goal blitz in the first half, as the fifth-ranked Irish opened their 2006 regular season with a 9-0 victory over visiting Iowa State in a rare Saturday afternoon game at Alumni Field. Freshman forward Michele Weissenhofer had two goals and a pair of assists while four other Irish players found the net (plus an own goal that was forced by a Weissenhofer run and cross). Hanks did her damage despite being limited to just 30 minutes of action and reached 30 career goals faster than any previous player (26 games) in Notre Dame history. The Irish improved to 17-2-0 in season openers, including seven straight game-one wins and a 27-3 combined scoring edge in the past three season openers, and tied a team record by extending the program’s home unbeaten streak to 29 games (28-0-1, spanning all of the ’04-’06 seasons).
Michele Weissenhofer’s six-point game vs. Iowa State (2G-2A) is one of the top season-opening point totals in Notre Dame history (photo by Matt Cashore).
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Notre Dame (1-0-0) continued to play without sophomores Carrie Dew and Brittany Bock (both currently in Russia competing with Team USA at the Under-20 World Championship) while the Irish also eased several players back into action, after nagging preseason injuries. Senior central defender Kim Lorenzen saw her first extended action of the 2006 season (including preseason), playing the entire first half (the Irish now are 18-1-0 during the past two seasons when Lorenzen starts).
Iowa State (0-1-0) joined a long list of teams (3-41-1, since ’93) who have failed to beat the Irish in their first visit to Alumni Field. the Cyclones returned seven starters from their 2005 team that was the Big 12 Conference regular-season runner-up and advanced to the NCAAs.
The Irish – who led the nation in 2005 with 4.40 goals per game and 110 total goals (10th-most in NCAA history) – finished with a 26-4 edge in total shots (15-2 in shots on goal) while attempting nine of the game’s 10 corner kicks. Notre Dame already owned a 4-0 lead just 18 minutes into the game, as Hanks sent home an entry pass from Becca Mendoza, Jill Krivacek flicked in a Weissenhofer corner kick, Hanks scored again after a nice combination sequence from Weissenhofer and Krivacek, and Weissenhofer scored unassisted after turnover.
A pair of seniors helped keep the attack going later in the opening half, as defensive midfielder Claire Gallerano came off the bench to score in the 30th minute (her first career points with the Irish) before Lizzie Reed sent home her sixth goal at Notre Dame. The own-goal yielded a 7-0 score early in the first half, with Weissenhofer and junior forward Susan Pinnick adding scores on well-struck shots for the final margin.
Notre Dame next faces a unique challenge, as the Irish departed immediately after the game for Oxford, Miss., and a noon Sunday matchup versus the University of Mississippi. It will mark the first time in a decade that the Notre Dame women’ soccer team will play on back-to-back days, with the challenge compounded by the heat and muggy conditions that are likely to greet the Irish during the midday game.
Claire Gallerano’s first career goal with the Irish helped produce the 6-0 halftime margin (photo by Matt Cashore).
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Here are some additional notes on Saturday’s game and the Irish (also postgame quotes and agate linescore stats):
SCORING RECAP – Mendoza set up the quick first goal after receiving a pass from the left side and dribbling across the top of the box from her midfielder position, before playing Hanks into the right side of the box (Hanks then buried the 14-yard shot into the lower right corner, at 1:19) … seven minutes later, Weissenhofer teed up a rightside corner kick and the 5-foot-1 defensive midfielder Krivacek scored on yet another flick header (as she did twice in the preseason), sending the ball into the far side of the net for her sixth career goal with the Irish (8:33) … in the 17th minute, Krivacek played the ball outside the top of the box to Weissenhofer, who then dropped another pass into the right side for Hanks (this time she scored from 10 yards, into the right side, at 16:27) … Weissenhofer then cashed in a turnover at the 18:07 mark and Gallerano scored at 29:30, converting on a rebound scramble after Pinnick’s shot was deflected … freshman midfielder Courtney Rosen’s deep cross from the left side later assisted on Reed’s goal at the far-right post (34:12) … freshman right back Ashley Galovic set up the seventh goal with a perfect driven ball down the right flank … Weissenhofer took the ball in stride and slanted toward the endline before sending a low cross for Pinnick (an ISU defender slid into the play for the own-goal, just as Pinnick was trying for the one-timer, at 56:07) … senior forward Molly Iarocci later sent a shot pass to Weissenhofer, who ripped a low, 20-yard shot inside the far-right post (63:02) … Pinnick created a turnover and lofted a 20-yard shot over `keeper Ann Gleason to cap the scoring on her eighth goal in two seasons of play with the Irish (65:48).
BACK-TO-BACK CHALLENGE – Notre Dame has not played on back-to-back days since the 1996 season and from 1988-96 went just 12-5-3 when playing the day after a previous game (the Irish were 15-5 in the first games) … a major difference between those previous back-to-back games and this weekend is that the opponents in those ’88-’96 games typically were playing under the same schedule (whereas Mississippi played on Friday but had Saturday off) … the 1996 season saw the Irish play back-to-back three different times, sweeping all of those games: 14-0 at Providence and 6-0 at Boston College (to open the season), 2-1 vs. UNC and 2-0 vs. Duke (both at the Duke Classic), and 7-0 vs. Villanova and 4-3 vs. UConn to win the BIG EAST Tournament (at ND’s Alumni Field).
FLIPPER – In addition to her six-point day, Weissenhofer displayed her potent flip throw-in during several junctures of the game, with the bail sailing well into the penalty area with accuracy.
SHARPSHOOTERS – When including the preseason games versus Virginia (3-0) and Xavier (5-0), the Irish now have scored on 17-of-48 shots (35.4%), cashing in more than half of their shots on goal (17 of 27; .630) … ND has averaged one goal for every 2.8 shots and 1.6 shots on goal during that three-game span.
Freshman midfielder Courtney Rosen showcased her impressive skills on the ball during the season opener (photo by Matt Cashore).
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SEASON-OPENER SUCCESS – Notre Dame’s only losses in season openers have come in 1992 (3-4 at N.C. State) and 1999 (2-3, in double-OT vs. UNC) … both of those games are noteworthy, as the Irish are 233-3-1 all-time when scoring 3-plus goals (one of the losses is the NCSU game) and are unbeaten in 19 straight overtime games (14-0-5), dating back to the 1999 UNC game (the first game of the Randy Waldrum era) … since the loss to NCSU, the Irish are 13-1-0 in their past 14 season openers with a 99-8 scoring edge in those games … ND’s 27-3 margin in the past three openers includes 7-2 vs. Baylor in 2004 and the 11-1 game vs. UNH in ’05 (at Vermont).
FLIRTING WITH THE HAT TRICK – Hanks and Weissenhofer both came one goal shy of the rare season-opener hat trick, achieved seven times previously by ND players (including the ’05 game vs. UNH that saw Hanks score three times) … Rosella Guerrero is the only ND player with hat tricks in two different season openers: vs. N.C. State in 1992 and LaSalle in ’93 … Weissenhofer could have joined Guerrero and Hanks as the only ND freshmen to post a hat trick in the opener.
READY TO ROLL – Hanks has totaled five goals in two season-opening games with the Irish, despite totaling just 86 minutes of game action in those two games combined (56 off the bench vs. UNH in ’05 and 30 vs. ISU).
HOME SWEET HOME – Notre Dame has won 20 straight games at Alumni Field (since a scoreless tie with Rutgers late in the 2004 regular season) and has tied the ND record for home unbeaten streak, at 29 games (28-0-1, since an NCAA second-round loss to Michigan that ended the ’03 season) … the Irish won 29 straight from Sept. 5, 1999 to Sept. 7, 2001 (the ND record for home winning streak and now tied for the record for home unbeaten streak) … ND is 178-14-3 all-time at Alumni field, including 122-4-2 vs. teams not ranked in the NSCAA top-25.
SCORING EXPLOSION – The nine goals match the third-most of the Waldrum era (since ’99), behind the 11-1 win over UNH in the 2005 opener and a 10-0 win over Georgetown in ’99 (the ’03 team opened with a 9-1 win over Hartford, at UConn) … the 9-0 win also ties for the 15th-biggest victory margin in ND history … three previous openers have seen ND score more goals: 14-0 at Providence in 1996, 12-0 at LaSalle in ’93 and 11-1 vs. UNH in 2005 (at Vermont).
CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS – Hanks pushed her career point total to 75 (30G-15A), passing Stacia Masters and tying Stephanie Porter for 20th on the ND career points list (next up is Jen Grubb, with 83) … Jenny Streiffer and Anne Makinen share the record for quickest to 100 points (40 games) … Hanks nearly is averaging 3.0 points per game for her career (2.89), well ahead of Streiffer’s ND record … Hanks also is averaging 1.15 goals/gm for her career (Jenny Heft holds that record, at 0.83).
PLENTY-O-GOALSCORERS – The six goalscorers were one shy of tying for the most in the Waldrum era … seven ND players scored vs. St. John’s in 2001 (7-0) and vs. North Texas in 2003 (8-1).
GOAL GIRL – Hanks now has posted multiple goals in 11 of her 26 games with the Irish and has scored the first goal of the game nine times … she has scored in eight of the past nine official fall games (all except the NCAA quarterfinal loss at eventual NCAA champion Portland).
THE GOALS JUST KEEP ON COMING – Notre Dame’s current 37-game scoring streak now ranks all alone at second place in the ND record book (the 1997-99 teams combined to score in 55 straight games).
PROTECTING THE HOUSE – Notre Dame now owns a commanding 41-3-1 record (since ’93) when facing a first-time visitor to Alumni Field … the Irish also improved to 75-25-2 in all-time series openers (42-5 since ’93) and 50-8 in series openers at home (25-3 since `93)
SPRINT TO 30 – Hanks already owned the ND records for being the quickest player to 10 career goals (4 games) and 20 career goals (18; also 2nd-fastest to 20G in a season) … she now is the quickest to 30G, reaching that mark in 26 career games to finish just ahead of the pace set by Anne Makinen (who scored her 30th in her 27th game, during the 1998 season) … Hanks is the 16th all-time ND player to reach the 30-goal mark … after Hanks and Makinen, the quickest to 30 goals have included Monica Gerardo (36 games), Jenny Streiffer (38), Michelle McCarthy (41), Jenny Heft (44), Rosella Guerrero (44) and Meotis Erikson (44) … other 30-goal scorers in ND history are Susie Zilvitis (47 games), Amy VanLaecke (50), Amanda Guertin (53), Alison Lester (53), Cindy Daws (54), Katie Thorlakson (56), Amy Warner (56) and Shannon Boxx (67).
KERRI IS SO VERY … – Notre Dame now is 19-0-0 when Hanks has scored a goal during the past two seasons and just 4-3-0 when she has failed to score.
Lizzie Reed scored in the win over Iowa State while appearing in her 73rd career game with the Irish (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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SUPER SENIORS – The eight-member senior class now has combined to log 415 career games played with the Irish, helping compile a 68-7-2 record during their career (.896) … midfielder Jen Buczkwowski has played in all 77 games, followed by defender Christie Shaner (76), Reed (73), Lorenzen (70) and Krivacek (69), plus 37 games played from Gallerano, 25 by Iarocci and 18 for goalkeeper Nikki Westfall.
QUICK-DRAW – The pass from Mendoza to Hanks yielded the quickest goal ever in a Notre Dame season opener (1:19) … the previous record came in the first year of the program, when Mimi Suba assisted on a goal by Margaret Jarc at the 1:20 mark of a 1988 game with St. Joseph’s (5-1) … it also was the third-quickest goal in any game during the eight-year Randy Waldrum era (since 1999) and quickest since Melissa Tancredi scored 27 seconds into a 2001 game with St. John’s (Nancy Mikacenic scored 57 seconds into a 1999 game vs. Butler).
STRONG STARTERS – Weissenhofer became the sixth ND player (done seven times) ever to factor into four-plus goals in a season opener, joining Jenny Streiffer (2G-5A vs. Providence in ’96; 14-0) and Hanks (3G-1A vs. UNH, ’05; 11-1) as the only ND freshmen to start their career by scoring or assisting on four-plus goals in the opener … Katie Thorlakson had 3G-2A vs. Baylor in 2004 (7-2) and 2G-4A as a senior in the 2005 UNH game (most pts ever by an ND player in an opener, with 8) … Rosella Guerrero (2G-2A vs. Rutgers in ’94; 6-0) and Mary Boland (3G-1A vs. Hartford in ’03; 9-1) both factored into fours goals in the opener of their junior seasons.
ND HEAD COACH Randy Waldrum – “We recruited Michele for this reason. We have been fortunate in the past three years of our recruiting that we have found freshmen who can come in and play right away. We have seen Michele enough times in club and high school, so we knew she could score goals. We said the same thing about Kerri last year, every game I saw her play as a club player she scored goals. It was great to see Kerri get off on the right track coming off an injury and it was a good thing for Michele to get those first goals under her belt. … The thing that helped us the most was that we got off to such a fast start. We talked about two goals and getting Kerri off, but she got them so fast she would not have played very long at all. The fast start really helps and I think they were a bit shellshocked early. They are a young team and will be better later in the year. … We got a half out of Kim Lorenzen today. She hardly has played in the preseason but is so important for our team to have her in. We also were able to get Courtney back in, after she started against Virginia. You could see today the talent she has on the ball. She is so creative for us. … We played a very good Virginia team in the preseason but held them to just a couple shots on goal and didn’t get to see the ‘keepers in that game and really have not seen them much outside of training. It’s a good thing that you’re not giving away opportunities but at the same time, it makes it a little bit difficult in evaluating. Everything that Kelsey had to handle, she handled and we were very good defensively in front of her. We will start Lauren Karas tomorrow at Mississippi and keep alternating them until one separates from the other. … Or speed of play can improve and recognizing when to change our attack, more just in our patterns of play. But I’m pretty happy at this point. It feels a lot like our team felt when we won the championship in 2004 and I like having that chemistry right now. … We rested a lot of players today and that should help us tomorrow . We normally don’t return around like this back-to-back and it’s going to be hot in Mississippi. We also got to get some players some good playing time and that will help us with our depth down the road. We did not skip too much of a beat and we made a lot of changes, not only in the players but also in positions and formations.”
Freshman Kelsey Lysander had two routine saves while playing behind the dominating Irish possession game and hardnosed defensive unit (photo by Matt Cashore).
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ND SOPHOMORE FORWARD Kerri Hanks – “I just went out there and played as hard as I could for the time I was in there. As a whole, the team did very well. Michele set me up on one and Rebecca on the other. They were looking out for me. Now we have a plane ride and get ready for Ole’ Miss and do the best we can.”
ND FRESHMAN FORWARD Michele Weissenhofer – “It was very exciting. I wanted to do well but the whole team showed well. It was a lot of fun and a very good start to the season.”
Iowa State 0 0 – 0
#5 Notre Dame 6 3 – 9
ND 1. Kerri Hanks 1st of season/29th of career (Becca Mendoza) 1:19; ND 2. Jill Krivacek 1/6 (Michele Weissenhofer) 8:33; ND 3. Hanks 2/30 (Weissenhofer, Krivacek) 16:27; ND 4. Weissenhofer 1 (-) 18:07; ND 5. Claire Gallerano 1/1 (Susan Pinnick) 29:30; ND 6. Lizzzie Reed 1/6 (Courtney Rosen) 34:12; ND 7. Own Goal (56:07); ND 8. Weissenhofer 2 (Molly Iarocci) 63:02; ND 9. Pinnick 1/8 (-) 65:48.
Shots: ISU 1-3 – 4, ND 18-8 – 26
Corner Kicks: ISU 1-0 – 1, ND 3-6 – 9
Saves: ISU 6 (Ann Gleason), ND 2 (Kelsey Lysander)
Fouls: ISU 7, ND 12
Offside: ISU 0, ND 2