Sept. 18, 2004

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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER – at Syracuse – Sept. 19, 2004

The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (7-0-0) – 1st in the Soccer America poll and 2nd in the other national polls (behind 6-0-1 North Carolina) – concludes a stretch of four straight road games on Sunday, Sept. 19, at Syracuse (Sept. 19, 1:00) … in-game updates of the Syracuse game will be posted on the ND Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) … a delayed telecast of the ND-Syracuse game also will be shown in central and northern New York on Time Warner cable channel 26 (Monday, Sept. 20, at 8:00 p.m. EDT and Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 9:00) … ND is 27-1-1 in its last 29 regular-season games, including Friday’s 1-0 win at BIG EAST rival UConn … freshman F Amanda Cinalli scored in the 84th minute, with senior D Kate Tulisiak delivering the assist for the first point of her ND career … ND dominated the quality scoring chances (18-8 total shot edge, 9-2 in shots on goal, 4-1 on corner kicks) … the Irish have been ranked 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA coaches poll during 10 of the past 12 seasons (all but ’01 and ’02; #1 in ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’00) … ND picked up road wins last week at #11 ASU (2-1) and Texas Tech (3-0), after a pair of impressive wins at the ND Adidas Classic (1-0 vs. #13 Stanford, 5-2 vs. #4 Santa Clara) … 6th-year Irish head coach Randy Waldrum registered his 100th win with the Irish (now 102-19-4/.831) in the Texas Tech game … the Irish opened at home with wins over Baylor (7-2) and Eastern Illinois (3-0) … senior F and All-America candidate Mary Boland suffered a broken leg midway through the SCU game and will miss the rest of the season (she may be able to apply for a 5th year of eligibility) … junior F Katie Thorlakson and the Irish overcame the loss of Boland to surge past SCU, with Thorlakson becoming the first ND women’s soccer player ever to repeat as BIG EAST offensive player of the week (she also again was named to the Soccer America and Soccer Buzz national teams of the week) … Thorlakson has combined with 5th-year D Melissa Tancredi and senior Candace Chapman (formerly a right back with the Irish who has been a super-sub at forward in ’04) as ND’s potent “Canadian Connection” through the first month of the season.

INFORMATION HIGHWAY – Gametracker livestats for all ND home games can be accessed via the main page at www.und.com … internet audio broadcasts also will be provided for all home games at ND and are available to College Sports Pass subscribers (see audio/video link on und.com main page) … game recaps are available via the ND Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer) … as an added bonus, in-game updates will be placed on the hotline during the Syracuse game (midway through each half and at halftime).

CANADIAN CONNECTION CLICKING – Notre Dame’s three Canadian natives – fifth-year defender Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ont.), senior forward Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ont.) and junior forward Katie Thorlakson (Langley, B.C) – have been key leaders of the Irish early-season surge … Thorlakson, the first ND payer ever to repeat as BIG EAST offensive player of the week, entered the week 5th in the nation (among players from 308 Division I teams) with 18 points (5G-8A) while her 8 assists trailed only Chattanooga’s Megan Chismark (9) on the NCAA stat charts … her 8 points vs. #4 Santa Clara (3G-2A; most ever by ND player vs. top-25 teem) are 5th-most in the nation this year and made her the third ND player ever to post a hat trick vs. a top-10 opponent … Thorlakson also became the only ND player ever to score/assist on ND’s first 5 goals in a game, doing so in the opener vs. Baylor (2G-3A) and then in the SCU game … Chapman shares the team goal lead (5) with Thorlakson despite starting just one game and playing only 314 minutes this season (giving her one goal every 63 minutes of action) as she returns from 2003 ACL surgery (she can apply for a 5th year in ’05) … Tancredi, coming off an All-America season in ’03, is the leader of ND’s back line from her central defender spot and has helped the Irish limit the opposition to 41 total shots (5.8 per gm), 19 shots on goal (2.7/gm) and 13 corner kicks (1.8/gm) … Chapman, who started at right back for ND in ’01 and ’02, has started with the Canadian National Team (mostly at flank midfielder) while Tancredi emerged as a starting central D with Canada after the ’03 college season … Thorlakson recently made her first appearance with Canada’s full national team and is a standout with the Canadian Under-19 National Team.

ND WOMEN’S SOCCER – BY THE NUMBERS (see PDF)

SCOUTING THE ORANGE – Syracuse (4-1-1) is coming off a 3-0 win over Syracuse on Friday night … SU opened with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson (4-0), at Buffalo (1-0, OT) and Colgate (2-1), followed by a 1-1 tie at Michigan and 1-0 loss to Oakland (at the UM tournament) … top scorers include senior D Sarah Elnicky (2G-1A) and senior F Shana Thomas (2G) while senior Shannon Myers (0.47 GAA, 19 SV, 3 GA) has played every minute in goal this season … the Orange returned seven starters and 19 of 26 letterwinners from their 2003 team that went 9-8-1 overall and finished 5th in the BIG EAST Northeast Division (2-3-1).

SERIES NOTES – Notre Dame has won all five previous games vs. Syracuse (dating back to 1997), including a pair of wins at SU (8-0 in ’97, 3-0 in ’00), a 1998 BIG EAST semifinal matchup (5-1, at UConn) and a pair of home wins (7-0 in ’98, 6-0 in ’02) … the Irish hold a 29-1 scoring edge in the series (9-0 in the previous two games) … Sunday’s game will mark just the second ND-SU game in the past four seasons … four active ND players – Erika Bohn, Melissa Tancredi, Candace Chapman (1A) and Katie Thorlakson (1G-1A) – started in the 2002 game vs. SU while three others on the current travel roster (Maggie Manning, Kate Tulisiak and Jenny Walz) also played in that ’02 game vs. SU (Manning had an assist) … seven current Syracuse players started in the 2002 game vs. ND: junior G Emily Kowalchzk, senior D Sarah Elnicky, junior M Jenna Richter, senior F Natalie Galas, junior M Brooke DeRosa, senior M Stephanie Sybert and junior D Sheila Menz.

THE LAST MEETING (ND 6, SU 0, 2002) – Randi Scheller scored twice in the game’s first five minutes as ND continued its lateseason push … the Irish held a 27-4 shot edge and a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks … Amanda Guertin registered her sixth and seventh corner-kick assists of the season, setting up header goals by Scheller and Mary Boland … the six goals represented ND’s highest goal output in 26 games … Boland also scored in the 69th minute for a 5-0 lead … Katie Thorlakson and Amy Warner rounded out the Irish scoring in the second half … Thorlakson earlier chipped a lead pass into the right side of the box and Scheller scored inside the near right post … Candace Chapman later used her sneaky dribbling skills to get loose on the left endline midway through the second half, threading a pass into the box for Thorlakson, who used the outside of her right foot to nudge the ball into the far sidenetting … Boland then scored on a high shot from the top of the box and Warner capped the flurry on a chip shot from the right side, after taking a pass from Maggie Manning … Emily Kowalchzk had 11 saves in the game … ND was whistled for 15 of the game’s 19 fouls.

NY CONNECTIONS – Notre Dame’s all-time roster includes nine New York natives, most recently attacking midfielder and 2003 team leader Kimberly Carpenter (Webster/Lady of Mercy HS) … five other N.Y. natives have earned varsity monograms with the ND women’s soccer program, including three Syracuse products – midfielders Julie Constantini (Solvory HS; ’88) and Christie Lewis (Boylan HS; ’90-’91) and D Megan Rogers (Westhilll HS; ’00-’01) – plus midfielders K.T. Sullivan (Northport HS; ’88-’89) and Jean Keaveney (New Hartford HS; ’89).

TURNAROUND SUCCESS – Notre Dame is 13-0 during the past two seasons (’03-’04) when playing a regular-season game two days after a previous game (39-4 scoring edge) … that’s a big improvement from the 2002 season, when the Irish were just 4-5 (18-16 scoring edge) in regular-season “bounceback” games … the 2003 bounceback games included the big 2-1 win at Santa Clara while the 2004 season already has yielded a 5-2 bounceback win over that same SCU team.

NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK-FACT SHEET (see PDF for stats and notes on each regular)

WALDRUM PICKS UP 100TH ND WIN – Sixth-year ND head coach Randy Waldrum posted his 200th career win as a Division I women’s head coach in the 2-1 game vs. Miami on Nov. 2, 2003, and just registered his 100th win at Notre Dame in the 3-0 game at Texas Tech … he now owns a 208-69-16 mark (.737) in 15 combined seasons at Tulsa, Baylor and Notre Dame … the Irish are 101-19-4 (.831) in the six-year Waldrum era, including 85-15-3 in the last 103 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999) …Waldrum repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 and then became the first three-time BIG EAST women’s soccer coach of the year (in ’03) … in ’99, he became the only coach in the history of the NCAA women’s soccer championship to lead a team to the title game in his first season as that team’s head coach … he was the fourth first-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semifinals, beating top-ranked and unbeaten Santa Clara in San Jose … Waldrum’s 23-year record as a college head coach (men’s and women’s) is 284-124-23 (.686) … his women’s soccer record includes 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa, 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor … Waldrum is ranked 8th among active women’s coaches for career win pct. (min. 10 Div. I seasons).

SCOUTING THE IRISH – The ’04 Notre Dame squad features 23 former letterwinners and nine players with significant starting experience, among them senior D/F Candace Chapman (missed ’03 season due to injury) … the Irish spent most of ’03 ranked No. 2 in the nation and raced out to an 18-0-1 record before losing to Michigan in the regular-season finale (3-2), Boston College in the BIG EAST semifinals (2-1) and Michigan again in the second round of the NCAAs (1-0, with the Wolverines converting their only shot on goal) … returning starters include senior Mary Boland (Academic All-American, 12G-4A in ’03; now out for ’04 season after broken leg vs. SCU on Sept. 5) and junior Katie Thorlakson (Canadian Under-19 National Team; 10G-11A in ’03) at the forward positions, plus a pair of proven midfielders who are former U.S. Under-19 National Team standouts – junior Annie Schefter (4G-5A in ’03) and sophomore Jen Buczkowski (4G-6A in ’03) – to go along with junior goalkeeper Erika Bohn (Academic All-American; 0.49 GAA and 967-minute shutout streak in ’03) and three defenders: fifth-year Melissa Tancredi (All-American; 4G-5A in ’03) and the sophomore duo of Christie Shaner (’03 BIG EAST rookie of the year, 1G-3A) and Kim Lorenzen (20 GS in ’03) … other top returners include senior D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Icelandic National Team), sophomore M/F Lizzie Reed (2G-1A in ’03) and sophomore defensive M Jill Krivacek (2G-3A in ’03) … the four players lost from the 2003 senior class included frontrunners Amy Warner (All-American; 37G-25A career, 10G-12A in ’03) and Amanda Guertin (48G-27A in career, 11G-6A in ’03), attacking midfielder Kimberly Carpenter (6G-5A in ’03) and left back Vanessa Pruzinsky (94 career GS) … ND’s domination in 2004 included 20 more goals scored (73) than opponent shots on goal (53) … ND’s freshman class is rated No. 2 by Soccer Buzz and 4th by Soccer America … four of the freshmen had impressive debuts during the preseason training tour in Brazil: F Amanda Cinalli (prep All-American, U.S. Under-17 National Team), F/M Jannica Tjeder (Finland Under-21 National Team), M Ashley Jones and G Lauren Karas … top scorers in the Brazil tour (5-0-1; 16-3 scoring edge) included Chapman (4G), Thorlakson (6A), Tjeder (3G-2A) and Jones (2G-3A) … leading scorers after seven games: Thorlakson (5G-8A), Chapman (5G-1A), Buczkowski (3G-4A), Cinalli (4G-2A) and Schefter (2G-2A).

CONFERENCE CALL – Notre Dame’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 96-7-2 (.924; 77-7-2/.910 in BIG EAST) … the Irish are 53-1 in home games vs. BIG EAST teams, with 50 straight home wins over BIG EAST teams since a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95 (241-17 scoring edge, 36 shutouts, 14 with 1 GA) … since ’95, ND’s overall record vs. BIG EAST teams now is 96-9-2 (.907; 1-1-0 vs. UConn in NCAAs).

BEWARE OF THOR! – ND junior F Katie Thorlakson has emerged as an early frontrunner for conference and national honors, entering the week ranked 2nd nationally in assists (8, behind Chattanooga’s Megan Chismark’s 9) and 5th in total points (18) … her eight points vs. #4 Santa Clara on Sept. 5 (3G-2A) are 5th-most by a Division I player this season (among players from 308 schools) while her seven points in the opener vs. Baylor (2G-3A) rank 10th on that list … only two players in the nation have totaled more assists in a game this season than Thorlakson’s three vs. Baylor.

NCAA Division I Leaders for Total Points
Kerry O’Malley (St. Bonaventure) 9G-6A 24 points
Leeanna Woodworth (Gardner-Webb) 7G-6A 20 points
Ashley Stinson (Virginia Tech) 9G-1A 19 points
Amy Vermeulen (Wisconsin) 8G-3A 19 points
Katie Thorlakson (Notre Dame) 5G-8A 18 points

IRISH AMONG NATION’S TOP OFFENSIVE TEAMS – Despite the absence of several top offensive players, Notre Dame entered the week ranked 11th in the nation with 3.50 goals per game (now 3.14) … only two teams in the national rankings (Wisconsin and Virginia, both at 3.67) were scoring at a better clip than the Irish … ND entered the week with a deceiving 0.83 team goals-against avg. (67th in the nation, now 0.71) but has dominated the opposing offenses overall, allowing just 41 total shots (5.9 per gm), 19 shots on goal (2.7/gm) and 13 corner kicks (1.9/gm).

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS – The Notre Dame defense has been particularly stingy in the first half the past four seasons, allowing just 23 goals in the first half of those 72 games (0.32/gm) … the first half in ’02 featured little scoring (12-10 ND edge), compared to a 40-7 first-half edge in 2003 (plus 11-1 in 2004) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the first (51-8) and second half (42-9) during the past two seasons (’03-’04).

GREAT STARTS – The 2003 season saw Notre Dame go unbeaten after 19 games for the fourth time in the program’s history while the 2004 team is the ND’s ninth in the last 13 years to open 7-0-0 … here’s a look at the other longest season-opening unbeaten streaks in the ND record book (See PDF):

TANCREDI TWICE TABBED FOR WEEKLY DEFENSIVE HONORS – Another leader of Notre Dame’s Canadian connection, fifth-year D Melissa Tancredi, picked up defensive MVP honors at the Adidas Classic (and BIG EAST defensive player of the week), after leading the way for an Irish squad that allowed just 2 goals, 11 shots, 6 shots on goal and 8 corner kicks in action vs. two of the nation’s top teams … she combined with fellow backline veterans Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and Christie Shaner and defensive midfielder Jill Krivacek in neutralizing Stanford All-America forward Marcie Ward before shutting out Santa Clara for the first 60 minutes and not allowing the second SCU goal until the 82nd minute … Tancredi then repeated the BIG EAST weekly honor after leading the Irish in wins at #11 ASU (2-1) and Texas Tech (3-0), with ND allowing just 11 shots, 5 shots on goal and 2 corner kicks in the weekend … Tancredi picked the perfect time for her first goal of the season, with a classic leaping volley shot on a free-kick service from fellow Canadian Katie Thorlakson for the game-winning goal at ASU.

GOALS-A-PLENTY – Stretching from ’92-’04, the Irish have scored in 94.9% of their games (276 of 291) … since ’94, the Irish have scored in 235 of 247 (.951; three shutouts in NCAA title games) – with goals in 181 of 188 regular-season games (.963) during that 11-year stretch … Notre Dame saw its 31-game scoring streak (3rd-best in Irish history) end in 2002.

BOHN ON A ROLL – Junior G Erika Bohn is 36-4-1 in her last 41 starts with the Irish (since a 3-2 loss to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002), allowing just 21 goals in that 41-game stretch (25 shutouts, 13 with 1 GA) … that 41-game span includes a 4-1 mark to close the 2002 season, a 5-0 showing in the 2003 spring season (dnp in ’04 spring), the 20-3-1 record in the fall of ’03 and seven wins this fall (two in Brazil) … her only losses in that stretch: the ’02 season-ending loss at top-ranked Stanford, with the only goal coming in the 81st minute; the 3-2 loss to Michigan in the final game of the ’03 regular season (UM’s final two goals came on corner-kick breakdowns by the ND defense), a 2-1 loss to Boston College in the ’03 BIG EAST semifinals and the 1-0 loss to Michigan in the ’03 NCAAs … prior to the first loss to Michigan in ’03, Bohn had logged 29 consecutive games with the Irish (24 fall, 5 spring) without allowing multiple goals (previously done by BYU in ’02) … her 48 official starts at ND (in fall games) include 27 in which she did not allow a goal, 12 games with one goal allowed, four with two goals allowed and just five with three-plus goals by the opposition (3-4 at Georgetown, 0-3 vs. West Virginia, 1-3 vs. Purdue and 2-3 vs. BYU in ’02, plus 2-3 vs. Michigan in ’03) … since that BYU game, Bohn has limited the opponent to 0-1 goals in 31 of her last 34 fall starts (22 with no goals allowed, 9 games with one goal allowed, 2-1 loss to Boston College, 3-2 loss to Michigan and 5-2 win over Santa Clara).

GOAL PATROL – Notre Dame players have combined for 16 multiple-goal games over the course of 30 games in the past two seasons (’03-’04; compared to just five in all of ’02), by 10 different players: Mary Boland vs. Hartford (3) and ASU (2) in `03, Maggie Manning and Amanda Guertin vs. Hartford in `03 (both with 2, with Guertin doing so again vs. Georgetown), Jen Buczkowski vs. Oklahoma in `03(2), Katie Thorlakson and Annie Schefter vs. Western Kentucky in ’03 (both with 2, then Thorlakson at Rutgers), Melissa Tancredi vs. North Texas in ’03 (2), Amy Warner at Seton Hall in ’03 (3) – and most recently three different players with two goals in the 2004 opener vs. Baylor – Amanda Cinalli, Thorlakson (who then had a hat trick vs. Santa Clara) and Candace Chapman – plus Manning with two at Texas Tech.

MAGIC NUMBERS ¬- The 3-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win in ND history, with the Irish 203-3-1 all-time (.983) when scoring 3-plus, losing to N.C. State in the ’92 opener (4-3), UConn in ’95 (5-4, OT) and at Georgetown in `02 (4-3), plus a 3-3 tie vs. Vanderbilt in ’91… the Irish had won 88 straight when scoring 3-plus, before the GU loss (now 107-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995) … ND is 281-9-11 (.952) in all-time games when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals, including tough 1-0 losses in ’02 to eventual NCAA champ Portland and top-ranked Stanford … prior to the UP loss, the Irish had been 56-0-3 in the previous 59 games when allowing 0-1 GA (dating back to 1-0 loss to SMU in ’99, playing minus Finnish national teamer Anne Makinen) … the program’s 17-year history includes just 293 goals allowed in 371 games (0.79 GA per game) … the Irish have allowed more than one goal in only 72 all-time games (19%) and have yielded 3-plus goals in just 33 all-time games (9%; including two 6-goal games by the opponent, four 5-goal and six 4-goal) … 91% of ND’s all-time games have seen the Irish hold the opponent to 0-2 goals (ND is just 4-28-1 all-time when allowing 3-plus).

THORLAKSON BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK … AGAIN – Junior F Katie Thorlakson was named the BIG EAST Conference offensive player of the week, after playing a role in eight of ND’s 10 goals during wins over Baylor (7-2) and Eastern Illinois (3-0) … she became the first ND player ever to repeat that honor after a strong all-around game vs. #13 Stanford (1-0) and 3G-2A effort vs. #4 Santa Clara (5-2) … her 7 points in the first half vs. Baylor game ranks as one of the top performances in ND’s storied history and she duplicated the 7 points in a half vs. Santa Clara (3G-1A, 2nd half) … Thorlakson was one of 11 players named to Soccer Buzz “Elite Feet” national team of the week and the Soccer America team of the week (both weeks) … she was the only player to repeat on the SA list and joined three others (Auburn D Jean Walters, Nebraska M Brittany Timko and Hawaii F Natasha Kai) who were named to both the SA and SB weekly teams for Aug. 30-Sept. 5 … Thorlakson tied an ND with seven points (3G-2A) in the first half of the Baylor game while becoming the first ND women’s soccer player ever to score or assist on the team’s first five goals in a game (she duplicated both marks vs. SCU) … she also set up all three goals in the opening-week win over Eastern Illinois, including the primary assist on the game’s first goal … a standout with Canada’s Under-19 National Team, Thorlakson earlier totaled a team-best six assists during Notre Dame’s preseason training trip to Brazil.

RECORD-SETTING START – Here’s a look at the historical significance behind Katie Thorlakson’s early fireworks:

• Her seven points vs. Baylor at the time tied for most by a ND player in the six-year Randy Waldrum era … just two other Waldrum-era players had totaled seven points in a game (both 3G-1A): Jenny Streiffer vs. Miami on Oct. 24, 1999, and current senior F Mary Boland in the ’03 opener vs. Hartford (Aug. 29, at the UConn Classic).

• She is the first ND player to score or assist on 5-plus goals during a game since Anne Makinen’s 8-point game vs. Syracuse in ’98 … the Irish had played 123 straight games without seeing an ND player factor into 5-plus goals.

• It had been six years since an ND player had 7 points in a half, as current Pittsburgh assistant coach Monica Gerardo scored goals 2-4 and assisted on the 5th (by Jenny Heft) as part of the 6-0 halftime lead at Providence on Oct. 11, 1998 (8-0) … Tasha Strawbridge had 7 points in the second half of a 12-1 win over Valparaiso on Sept. 14, 1990 … Strawbridge scored the first goal of the half (7-1), assisted on the 9th goal (by Denise Chabot) and added goals 10-11.

• It had been five years since an ND player even had opened a game with points on the team’s first four goals (done a total of eight times): Suzie Zilvitis vs. Alma (10/13/89; G-G-A-A; 6-0 final); Alison Lester at Indiana (9/14/93; G-G-A-A for 4-0 lead; 5-1 final); Rosella Guerrero one week later (9/17/93) vs. Michigan State (A-A-G-G; 6-0); Lester again that season at Ohio State (10/23/93; G-G-A-G; 6-0); Michelle McCarthy vs. St. John’s (9/3/95; A-G-A-G; 9-0); Holly Manthei vs. Ohio State (11/1/96; A-A-G-A; 7-0), and at Villanova (9/28/9; A-A-A-A; 4-0); and Meotis Erikson vs. Seton Hall, in the BIG EAST semifinals at Rutgers (11/5/99; A-G-G-A; 5-0).

• She then was an easy choice the next week for offensive MVP honors at the ND Adidas Classic, after a primetime effort vs. #4 Santa Clara (3G-2A) as she again factored into ND’s first 5 goals (5-2 win) … the 8 eight points vs. the Broncos (3G-2A) are the most ever by an Irish player vs. a team ranked in the top 25 and seven of her points came in the 2nd half (3G-1A), tying another ND record that she already had shared with two others (after the 2G-3A vs. Baylor).

• Thorlakson now has scored or assisted on all seven goals that Notre Dame has scored vs. Santa Clara during the past two seasons, also setting up a Mary Boland goal and scoring the late gamewinner in the 2-1 win at SCU in ’03.

• She had the first hat trick of her career and added assists on the 1st and 4th goals vs. SCU … it marks just the 9th time in the program’s storied history that an ND player has registered a hat trick vs. a top-25 opponent – and first since Jenny Heft in ’98 vs. #25 Wake Forest (3-0) … two previous ND players had a hat trick vs. a top-10 team: Rosella Guerrero at #5 N.C. State in the ’92 opener (4-3 loss) and Anne Makinen vs. #4 UConn in ’97 BIG EAST title game (6-1, at RU).

• Her output is all the more noteworthy due to the fact that the ’04 squad was looking to replace graduated top goalscorers Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin while coping with the absence of two freshman frontrunners who were prep All-Americans (Kerri Hanks is training with the U.S. Under-19 National Team; Susan Pinnick was injured in a summer team van accident with her club team) … another top rookie, Finnish national Jannica Tjeder, injured her ankle vs. Baylor and missed five games while senior leader Mary Boland suffered a season-ending broken leg midway through the SCU game.

• With the above limits at forward, Thorlakson took it upon herself to factor into nearly every goal the Irish scored … in the first two weeks, she totaled 5G-6A and two other plays where she directly set up goals (no official assist) – meaning she played a lead role in 13 of 16 goals (now 15 of 22) … she did not play the 2nd half vs. Baylor, when two of the other goals were scored, and also was taking a short breather when the late PK was scored vs. Stanford … that all shakes out to 13 goals scored by the Irish in the first four games with Thorlakson on the field – and she played a lead role in all 13.

• Her eight points vs. SCU are most by an Irish player in six years and one shy of the ND record, shared by ’96 teammates Jenny Streiffer (2G-5A, vs. Providence, Aug. 31) and Monica Gerardo (4G-1A vs. Seton Hall, Oct. 27) … ND players have combined for seven other 8-point games, the last coming when Makinen had 3G-2A vs. Syracuse (Nov. 1, 1998) … the other eight-point games: Stacia Masters vs. Loyola (3G-2A, 12-0, 10/20/93), Michelle McCarthy vs. St. John’s (3G-2A, 9-0, 9/3/95), Gerardo’s four-goal game at Indiana (7-0, 9/7/95), Streiffer in the game where Gerardo also had nine points vs. Seton Hall (3G-2A, 10-0, 10/27/96), Cindy Daws vs. Villanova (3G-2A, 10-1, 11/3/96), Meotis Erikson vs. SHU (3G-2A, 7-1, 10/24/97) and Streiffer’s four-goal game at Georgetown (10/11/97).

OPENING-DAY RECORD-BOOK RUMBLINGS – Amanda Cinalli’s opening goal vs. Baylor made her just the 4th freshman ever to score ND’s first goal of a season, with the others including Margaret Jarc (’89; 4-1 vs. St. Joseph’s), Rosella Guerrero (’92; 3-4 vs. N.C. State) and current senior Mary Boland (’01; 2-1 vs. Penn State) … Cinalli also became the 4th ND player ever to score the team’s first two goals in a season, with the others including Alison Lester (’91; 2-0 vs. Mercyhurst) and Guerrero twice (’92; 3-4 vs. N.C. St. and then in 12-0 win over LaSalle in ’93) … Katie Thorlakson’s 2G-3A vs. Baylor tied the ND record for points in a half (7) shared by Tasha Strawbridge (3G-1A vs. Valparaiso in ’90) and Monica Gerardo (3G-1A at Providence in ’98).

FRONTRUNNERS – Since losing a 3-2 game to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002, Notre Dame has trailed in just six of its past 36 games for a total of 197:53 (or 6.0% of the time, spanning 3,279:29), while going 31-4-1 in those games … the only teams to hold leads on the Irish during that span include: Stanford (for 9:02, in 2002 third-round game at Maloney Field, 1-0), Arizona State (lead 1-0 for 7:18 in `03, ND wins 3-1), Michigan (lead 1-0 for 1:01, then retake lead for final 58:17 and win 3-1), Boston College (2-1 Eagles win in BIG EAST semifinals, lead for 82:28), Michigan again in the 2nd round of the ’03 NCAAs (lead for 28:22 in 1-0 game), and ASU again in 2004 (lead for 11:26, ND wins 2-1) … prior to the regular-season goal by Michigan in `03, ND had not faced a deficit for nearly two months and 16-plus games, the longest streak in the program’s history … Santa Clara and Miami (BIG EAST quarterfinal) were the only teams to come back and tie the Irish in ’03 (ND retook the lead for good 12 minutes later vs. SCU) … the previous team record for longest streak without facing a deficit was a 14-game stretch in 1997, starting with a 5-0 win over Duke (9/21, after trailing two days earlier in a 2-2 tie vs. UNC) … the ’97 streak continued through a 6-1 win over UConn in the BIG EAST title game (11/9) and ended one week later, when Cincinnati opened the scoring in a first-round NCAA Tournament game (ND dominated for a 7-1 win) … the ’97 team spent all season ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA poll … ND’s 2000 squad earned the top ranking after seven games and did not face a deficit for the first 13 games (BC scored first and led for 28 minutes, in a 3-1 ND win) … that team added six more games without trailing before falling behind UNC in the 82nd minute of the NCAA semifinals (2-1 loss).

CLUTCH CANADIAN – Sophomore F Katie Thorlakson (Langley, B.C.) picked key times for all four of her game-winning goals in 2003 … two of her GWGs in ’03 came vs. top-15 teams (#10 Santa Clara and #15 Connecticut), plus the overtime goal vs. Villanova and the early strike at Rutgers (3-0) … she also is the only current ND player with multiple career goals vs. UConn (her goal tied the ’02 game, 1-1, in a 3-1 win) … the ’02 ND-UConn game proved to be a key turning point for the program, with current senior Melissa Tancredi making the full-time move from F to central D while Thorlakson shifted permanently from M to F … since those key shifts, the Irish are 33-5-1 in their last 39 games.

QUICK-STRIKE ARTISTS – Notre Dame has scored in the first seven minutes of nine games during the past two seasons (’03-’04; total of 10 “quick-strike” goals in that 26-game span) … Mary Boland is responsible for three of those early scores while seven others each have scored one quick goal in ’03 or `04 … the quickest goals in ’03 came vs. West Virginia (1:24; Boland volley on long serve from Melissa Tancredi), at Seton Hall (1:30; Amy Warner near-post shot after taking pass from Jill Krivacek) and twice at Rutgers (2:44 by Katie Thorlakson from close range, after leftside pass from Warner; and at 3:53 on Tancredi header, via Thorlakson corner kick) – while the second game of the ’04 season saw Annie Schefter score vs. Eastern Illinois at 4:35 … other quick-strike goals by ND in 2003 came vs. Hartford (6:32; Boland puts back own rebound, after classic 5-player combination sequence that includes right endline cross from Warner), vs. Oklahoma (5:58; Jen Buczkowski knocks in rebound after flurry in box), at Santa Clara (5:03; Boland on lunging poke after leftside service from Katie Thorlakson), vs. North Texas (4:28; Amanda Guertin shot from top of the box via short pass from Warner) and vs. Georgetown (5:39; Kimberly Carpenter redirects Vanessa Pruzinsky shot).

GOING THE DISTANCE – ND is unbeaten in its last 16 overtime games (12-0-4), since the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … that team went on to post a 2-1, double-OT win at UConn and played to a 1-1 tie at Nebraska in the NCAA quarter’s (adv. on PKs) … the 2000 team had OT wins over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarter’s (all 2-1), also playing to 0-0 at UConn … ’01 featured an unprecedented five OT games (2-1 vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan; 2-2 vs. Wisconsin) while the ’02 team added 1-0 OT wins over Rutgers and BC … the ’03 team had a scoreless tie with Stanford (at SCU), plus OT wins over Villanova (1-0) and Miami (2-1, BIG EAST quarter’s).

SHARING THE WEALTH IN OT – ND’s 11 overtime wins in the six-year Randy Waldrum era include goals from seven players (own goal vs. Stanford in ’00): Anne Makinen (vs. UConn in ’99), Amanda Guertin (ND record 4; vs. WVU in ’00, Michigan in ’01, BC in ’02 and Miami in ’03), Meotis Erikson (vs. SCU in ’00 NCAA quarter’s), Kelly Tulisiak (vs. IU in ’01), Amy Warner (2; vs. VU in ’01, Rutgers in ’02), Mia Sarkesian (vs. WVU in ’01), Katie Thorlakson (vs. Vill. in ’03).

20-SOMETHING – Notre Dame has posted 20-plus wins in eight of the previous 10 seasons … the 1996 team posted an ND-record 24 wins, with 23 wins in 1994, ’97 and ’00, 21 wins in ’95, ’98 and ’99, and 20 in 2003.

PRIMETIME PLAYERS – Notre Dame has won 75 percent of its “big games” during the first five seasons of the Randy Waldrum era (’99-`04), posting a 39-12-3 record when facing an NSCAA top-25 or postseason opponent.

PLAYING THE BEST – Notre Dame has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, going 25-11-3 vs. NSCAA ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn State, 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. West Virginia, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan … the Irish had ’02 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1), #13 Michigan (1-0) and #14 Purdue (3-1) … over the course of the ’01-’04 seasons, ND has owned a 12-7-1 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (40-6-1 vs. unranked teams), including 2003 wins over #16 Santa Clara (2-1), #8 West Virginia (2-0) and #15 UConn (2-0) and a scoreless tie vs. #24 Stanford – plus the recent 5-2 win over Santa Clara.

HOME SWEET HOME – The Irish own a 154-14-2 all-time record (.912) record at Alumni Field (130-10-2 in last 142) – with a 29-game home winning streak (5th NCAA history) from ’99-’01 … eight of ND’s last 10 home losses have been by a single goal … ND’s all-time record at Alumni Field vs. teams not in the NSCAA top-25 poll is 109-4-1 (45-10-1 vs. ranked teams) … junior F Katie Thorlakson has totaled 34 pts at Alumni Field the past two seasons (’03-’04; 12G-10A, 4 GWG) while junior M Annie Schefter has scored all six of her career goals (4 GWG) at home (also 3 of her 5 assists) … sophomore M Jen Buczkowski (7G-8A) has notched 22 of her 23 career points with ND in the confines of Alumni Field.

FIRST-TIME VISITORS – Since 1993, Notre Dame opponents making their first visit to Alumni Field now have lost to the Irish 37 times, with just three wins for the opposition and one tie (37-3-1; .915 … Notre Dame’s all-time record in series openers is 68-25-2, including 35-5-0 since 1993 and 47-8-0 in all series openers played at home (21-3-0 since ’93).

TOURNAMENT TOUGH – Notre Dame owns an 85-25-7 all-time record (.756) in tournament action, including 37-13-6 in regular-season tournaments (19-3-2 at home, with 61-23 scoring edge), 23-1-0 in conference tournaments and 25-11-1 in the NCAAs … beginning with the 1994 season (which ended with an NCAA runner-up finish), Notre Dame owns a 25-6-3 record in regular-season tournaments – with 18 of those wins coming vs. NSCAA top-25 ranked teams … since ’94, the Irish have lost just six regular-season tournament games: vs. UNC twice (2-0 in ’95, in Houston; 3-2 at the ’99 KBC), vs. SCU in ’96 and ’02 (3-1 at Duke, 4-0 at ND), vs. SMU in 1999 (1-0; in Klein, Texas, minus star player Anne Makinen) and vs. Portland in ’02 (1-0, at ND) – with ties vs. UNC (0-0 in ’94, in St. Louis), Duke (2-2 in ’95, in Houston), UNC again (2-2 at ’97 LFC) and Stanford in ’03 (0-0, at SCU) … from 1997-2004, the Irish have gone 20-4-2 in regular-season tournaments.

FAR & WIDE – Notre Dame’s 2004 roster includes players from 13 states, two Canadian provinces, Iceland and Finland … the program’s all-time roster canvasses 30 states and three foreign countries … Notre Dame’s student-athlete population in the ’02-’03 academic year included nearly 800 individuals from 47 states (all but Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada) and 20 countries.

BALANCED DOMINANCE – The 2003 Notre Dame women’s soccer team joined national champ UNC as the only teams in the top five of final NCAA leaders for scoring (3rd; 3.04 goals per game) and goals-against average (5th; 0.49).

GREAT GRADES – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team consistently has performed at a high level on the field and in the classroom and that certainly was the case in 2003-04, with a 20-3-1 record followed by a 3.28 team GPA in the `03 fall semester and then a 3.32 GPA in the spring of `04 (when 22 of 25 players posted a GPA of 3.0 or better, with 13 at 3.4-plus). The 2004 team includes two Academic All-Americans – senior forward Mary Boland (3.90 cumulative GPA, psychology major) and junior goalkeeper Erika Bohn (3.63, design) – with other candidates for that honor in `04 including junior midfielder Annie Schefter (3.73, pre-professional studies and psychology) and senior defender Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (3.31, finance).

TANCREDI, CHAPMAN TABBED FOR TOP NATIONAL HONORS – Two ND women’s soccer players have received top preseason billing from various national organizations, as fifth-year central defender Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ont.) and senior right back Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ont.) are among 12 players named to the Soccer Buzz preseason All-America squad while both also are among the 25 players named to the 2004 preseason watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy national player-of-the-year award … Tancredi also was one of 11 players named to Soccer America ‘s 2004 preseason All-America team … Tancredi was a Soccer Buzz first team All-American in ’03, also receiving second team All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America … Chapman – who also could play at forward or midfield in ’04 – had been an NSCAA second team All-American in 2002 before missing the ’03 season due to an ACL knee injury … Tancredi – who like Chapman has starred for the Canadian National Team – could prove to be the nation’s top defensive player in 2004, with Tennessee senior Keeley Dowling representing the only other defender on both the SA and SB preseason All-America teams … Tancredi, Chapman, Dowling and Virginia’s Becky Sauerbrunn are the only defenders on the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list … Tancredi is one of nine players listed on both the SA and SB preseason All-America teams, with others including Dowling, midfielders Carli Lloyd (Rutgers), Lindsey Huie (Portland), Leslie Osborne (Santa Clara) and Lori Chalupny (North Carolina), Portland forward Christine Sinclair and the UNC forward tandem of Lindsay Tarpley and Heather O’Reilly … ND joined UNC and Portland as teams with multiple players on the Soccer Buzz “Elite 12” preseason All-America team while the Irish were one of five teams with multiple players on the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list (as were UNC, Portland, Texas and Virginia) … Chapman was on the 2003 watch list (prior to suffering her season-ending injury) while Tancredi and former ND forward Amy Warner later were included on the list of the final 15 candidates for the 2003 MAC Hermann Trophy.

IRISH PICKED TO WIN BIG EAST; TANCREDI, BUCZKOWSKI TAKE PRESEASON HONORS – Notre Dame is the preseason favorite to win the 2004 BIG EAST Conference regular-season championship, with the Irish previously winning eight regular-season and seven tournament titles in nine BIG EAST seasons … fifth-year All-America central defender Melissa Tancredi was picked to repeat as the BIG EAST defensive player of the year and was joined by sophomore midfielder Jen Buczkowski on the 11-player 2004 preseason all-BIG EAST team … ND senior F Mary Boland was overlooked on the preseason all-BIG EAST team (as selected by the league’s coaches), despite earning first team all-BIG EAST and NSCAA second-team all-region honors in 2003 … sophomore D Christie Shaner – the league’s co-rookie of the year and a second-team all-BIG EAST pick in ’03 – also failed to crack the 2004 preseason list, which includes just two defenders (Tancredi and Villanova’s Michelle Biehl) among the 11 players.

FRESHMAN CLASS RATED SECOND IN NATION -The Notre Dame women’s soccer program once again has added a recruiting class that ranks among the best in the nation … the Soccer Buzz women’s soccer website ranked ND’s incoming class as the 2nd-best in the nation while Soccer America magazine placed the Irish 5th on its list of the nation’s top 2004 classes … the six Notre Dame letter-of-intent signees for the 2004 season include four highly-regarded forwards – Amanda Cinalli (Maple Heights, Ohio), Kerri Hanks (Allen, Texas), Susan Pinnick (South Bend, Ind.) and Jannica Tjeder (Espoo, Finland) – plus midfielder Ashley Jones (Westlake Village, Calif.) and goalkeeper Lauren Karas (Flower Mound, Texas) … Hanks is the leading scorer for the U.S. Under-19 National Team while Cinalli and Pinnick have been members of the U.S. Under-17 National Team, with each of those three players earning high school All-America honors … each of the five U.S. signees is a member of her respective Olympic Development Regional team, with Karas formerly a member of the U.S. Under-16 National Team player pool while Jones is a member of the Southern California United club program that won the national title (as did her ODP squad) … Tjeder is one of the top young players in Finland, playing for her national under-21, u-19 and u-17 teams.

RECRUIT RANKINGS HISTORY – Notre Dame’s 2004 roster is comprised of some of the top-ranked recruiting classes during each of the fast four seasons … in fact, ND joins North Carolina and Virginia as the only teams to have their recruiting classes in the Soccer Buzz top 15 during each of the last four seasons (ND also was 14th in ’01, 9th in ’02 and 5th in ’03; UNC was 2nd-1st-6th-3rd from ’01-’04; and UVa 1st-3rd-11th-12th from ’01-’04) … ND and UNC are the only teams to be in the Soccer Buzz top-15 classes every year since 1998, the first year of the SB recruiting class rankings (ND also was 11th in ’98, 4th in ’99 and 9th in ’00; UNC 2nd-1st-2nd from ’98-’00) … Soccer America has ranked the nation’s top 10 classes since 2002, with ND and UNC being the only teams that have been in the SA top 10 every year from ’02-’04 (ND’s classes also were ranked 9th by SA in ’02 and 5th in ’03, UNC 1st in ’02 and 6th in ’03) … Notre Dame and Texas (3rd in ’03 and ’04) are the only teams to attract Soccer America top-5 classes in each of the last two seasons … Soccer Buzz’s top-15 recruiting classes for 2004 are as follows: Texas A&M, ND, UNC, Penn State, Texas, Clemson, Portland, Maryland, Ohio State, California, Villanova, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois and Santa Clara … Soccer America’s top-10 list for ’04 includes A&M, UNC, Texas, PSU, ND, Nebraska, OSU, Portland, Florida and California.

WINNING TRADITIONS – Several ND women’s soccer players led their clubs and state Olympic Development teams to elite status before becoming part of another winning tradition with the Irish … six members of the current sophomore class helped their teams post top national finishes in ’03 and the current freshman class also lived up to the standard … most notably, Ashley Jones completed the rare double of winning 2004 national titles with her California South state ODP team and her Southern California United club. Her classmate Kerri Hanks earlier won the Golden Boot Award as the tournament’s top scorer with the ’03 Dallas Texans national champs while Lauren Karas earned the Golden Glove Award with North Texas at the 2004 ODP nationals (her team lost to Jones and Cal-South, 1-0) … finally, newcomer Susan Pinnick led the Carmel Commotion to a runner-up finish at the 2003 USYSA under-17 nationals while Kelly Simon was a member of the St. Louis-based Busch Soccer Club that was the 2001 and `02 national runner-up.

NATIONAL TEAMS – Three former Notre Dame players – defender Kate Sobrero Markgraf, goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene and defensive midfielder Shannon Boxx – recently have been starters with the U.S. National Team, with Sobrero and Boxx starting for the 2003 World Cup and 2004 Olympic teams … nine current members of the Notre Dame program have been active with various national-team programs … those players include Candace Chapman and Melissa Tancredi (starters with Canada’s full national team) and Chapman and Katie Thorlakson with Canada’s Under-19 National Team. Four others – Annie Schefter, Mary Boland, Jen Buczkowski and Kerri Hanks – have been starters with the U.S. Under 19 National Team (Buczkowski elected not to compete in the upcoming Under-19 World Championship) while Gudrun Gunnarsdottir is a member of Iceland’s national team and Jannica Tjeder has been a regular with Finland’s Under-17, -19 and -21 national teams … former Notre Dame defender Monica Gonzalez is a founding member of Mexico’s women’s national team and captained Mexico in its historic appearance at the 2004 Olympics (former Irish forward Monica Gerardo also was a founding member of the Mexican team).

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – Four members of the Notre Dame women’s soccer team will not compete with the Irish in 2004 due to various reasons … freshman F Kerri Hanks – rated by Soccer America as the nation’s No. 4 signee in 2004 and part of the nation’s No. 2-ranked freshman class (per Soccer Buzz, No. 4 class per SA) – is training with the U.S. for the Under-19 World Championship (Nov. 10-27 in Thailand) and will enroll at Notre Dame next spring … three others – fifth-year M Randi Scheller (hip), freshman F Susan Pinnick (neck/back, suffered in club team van accident) and freshman M Kelly Simon (shoulder surgery) – are sidelined due to injuries … Hanks, like her classmates Hanks and Amanda Cinalli, was a high school All-American (she also played alongside Pinnick on the U.S. Under-17 National Team) … junior F Katie Thorlakson also will play in the Under-19 World Championship (with Canada) but is slated to play with the Irish for most of the season (all but those three weeks in November) … sophomore M Jen Buczkowski was a starting D with the U.S. Under-19s but elected to return to Notre Dame for the 2004 fall season.

VIVA BRAZIL! – Notre Dame’s 2004 training trip in Campinas, Brazil (Aug. 10-19), featured a 5-0-1 record and 16-3 scoring edge vs. top semi-professional women’s teams from the Sao Paulo area … the games – which attracted many curious local spectators – included the traditional exchange of gifts and group photos … the Irish also enjoyed great camaraderie at the wonderful five-star Vitoria Hotel and soaked in the atmosphere at first-division Brazilian men’s professional games held at Ponta Preta and Guarani … meals included Brazil’s many exotic and tasty forms of pizza and the unique Brazilian steakhouses that featured table-top carvings of a variety of entrees … leading scorers on the trip included senior D/F Candace Chapman (4G), junior F Katie Thorlakson (6A) and the freshman duo of Jannica Tjeder (3G-2A) and Ashley Jones (2G-3A).