Sept. 18, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Katie Thorlakson set up the first two goals – becoming the seventh Notre Dame player ever to total 50 career assists – while Jen Buczkowski, Maggie Manning and Susan Pinnick each scored their third goals of the season, as Notre Dame turned in another statistically dominating day versus Michigan en route to a 3-0 win over a Wolverines team ranked as high as 20th in the national polls.
Notre Dame (7-1-0) – which pushed its unbeaten home streak to 19 games – has controlled the run of play in all of its recent games vs. Michigan (3-2-2) and Sunday provided more of the same, as the Irish racked up a 23-3 edge in total shots (9-2 in shots on goal) while attempting all nine corner kicks in the game. The hosts had several other prime scoring chances, including a couple shots that clanged off the posts and some narrow offside calls.
Sunday’s game will be telecast by Comcast Detroit on a delayed basis on Thursday, Sept. 22 (throughout Michigan on Comcast Sports Net Detroit at 9:00 EDT) and in South Bend on Comcast Local/channel 3 (8:00 EST/CDT), marking Notre Dame’s third TV broadcast of the 2005 season.
The Irish turned in the dominating effort despite playing minus three starters: senior goalkeeper Erika Bohn, junior central defender Kim Lorenzen and junior defensive midfielder Jill Krivacek. Bohn has played virtually injury-free during her Irish career but was held out due to a minor ankle injury. Lorenzen missed her fourth straight game due to illness while Krivacek now has missed three straight due to a bruised knee (both players had missed just one game previously in their ND careers).
Sophomore `keeper Lauren Karas made possibly the biggest start of her young Notre Dame career but was not tested, making a pair of routine saves while improving to 3-0-0 for the season and 9-0-0 in her Irish career. Junior left back Christie Shaner again filled one of the central spots (where she played for much of ’03) while sophomore Ashley Jones logged her sixth start of the season at the left back spot.
Notre Dame’s dominance in the air yielded results in the goal column, as the first goal of the game and assists on all three goals came via header plays. Freshman Brittany Bock – filling Krivacek’s holding midfielder role – turned in one of her top all-around games of the season, showcasing her strong all-around skills and providing header assists on the final two goals.
Jen Buczkowski (left) scored her second career gamewinning goal vs. Michigan while Brittany Bock (right) had a pair of header assists in the 3-0 win.
|
 |
The Irish have controlled the run of play vs. Michigan in each of the past four meetings (spanning the ’03-’05 seasons), compiling a 75-14 shot edge in those games, plus 35-10 in shots on goal and a staggering 25-3 edge in corner kicks during that four-game stretch of a series that Notre Dame now leads 11-2.
Notre Dame – now 26-1-1 in August/Sept. games during the past three seasons – already has totaled 100 more shots on goal than its opponents (105-14), with just eight games in the books.
Buczkowski has been a streaky goalscorer throughout her Notre Dame career, recently ending a 12-game goal drought with her current three-game goalscoring streak. The junior midfielder did not register a gamewinning goal in the first 37 games of her career but she now has registered six of Notre Dame’s past 17 GWGs, including the first goal in the 2004 win at Michigan (4-0).
Thorlakson’s fifth corner-kick assist of the season (and 13th in the past two years) helped produce the game’s first goal, on a serve from the left flag midway through the opening half. Junior center back Christie Shaner elevated for a header near the top of the six-yard box, sending the ball straight towards the net. Buczkowski was stationed near the goal line with her back to the net and completed the double-header sequence with a nudge that sent the ball out of the reach of ‘keeper Megan Tuura for her 15th career goal with the Irish (22:10).
Manning scored her 10th career goal shortly after entering the game, as the Irish quickly countered a Michigan clearing attempt. Bock settled under the clearance near the top of the attacking third and sent a sharp header that carried 25 yards towards the left flank. Thorlakson ran onto the ball and sent a pass into the left side of the box for Manning, as the senior forward drove a six-yard shot over Tuura (36:14) for the 2-0 cushion that essentially has been insurmountable in the history of Notre Dame women’s soccer (the Irish have won 213 straight when claiming a 2-1 lead and are 236-0-1 all-time when going up 2-0).
The pair of assists extended Thorlakson’s nation-leading total to 12 and five her an even 50 in career, still seventh in the Notre Dame record book and now three back of Jen Grubb. The senior forward’s career point total swelled to 140 (45G-50A), remaining 10th on that Irish list but just two behind Rosella Guerrero.
Bock had the primary assist on a similar header, this time at the opposite goal midway through the second half. Michigan again was attempting to clear its zone when Bock snapped her header from the center of the field. The play sprung Pinnick into the right side of the box and the sophomore forward struck her shot into the far-left side of the goal for the final margin (71:38).
Freshman midfielder Becca Mendoza was one of 15 players to see the field vs. Michigan, as the Irish showcased their tremendous depth despite the absence of three starters.
|
|
NOTES – Thorlakson now has 2G-5A in her career vs. Michigan (5 GP) … she entered the week as the nation’s 6th-leading scorer, adding 2G-4A this weekend for 28 points overall (8G-12A), one behind team leader Kerri Hanks (13G-3A) … she picked up her 15th career gamewinning assist (still 4th in the ND record book), to go along with 14 GWGs … Thorlakson has played in all 78 games of her ND career, has points in 17 of her past 19 games, has scored of assisted on 44 of ND’s past 69 goals (64%) … she has totaled 41 points in her past 10 home games (13G-15A) and has racked up 86 points at Alumni Field in the past three seasons (’03-’05; 29G-28A, in 35 GP) … Buczkowski has registered 10 of her 13 career goals and 36 of her 48 career points (74%) with the Irish in the confines of Alumni Field … she and senior M Annie Schefter have played in all 59 games the past three seasons while Shaner (56 straight) and junior M/F Lizzie Reed have played in 58 of the 59 … ND’s season stats now include a 41-5 scoring edge (avg. 5.4-0.7), plus 173-28 in shots (21.1-3.9), 105-15 in shots on goal (12.9-2.0) and 50-8 in CKs (5.9-1.1) … ND owns a 37-11 series scoring edge vs. Michigan and has scored 3-plus goals in 8 of the 13 games vs. UM … ND improved to 170-14-3 all-time (.917) at Alumni Field … the ND players have combined for 913 games played and 555 starts.
TRENDY – ND owns a 70-8 scoring edge over the past 18-plus games … the Irish have held 30 of their past 31 opponents to 0-1 goals (7 shutouts) … the Irish are 51-1-1 in the past 53 games when scoring first, own a 306-9-12 all-time record (.954) when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals (109-3-5 since 9/9/99) and are 220-3-1 (.984) when scoring 3-plus goals (120-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995) … ND is 44-2-2 in its past 48 regular-season games … ND has allowed just 28 goals in the 1st half of games during the ’01-’05 seasons (101 GP; 0.28/gm) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the 1st (92-13) and 2nd half (87-16) over the past three seasons (’03-’05), including 22-2 in the 1st half and 19-3 in the 2nd half during the ’05 season … since a 3-2 loss to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002, ND has trailed in just 12 of 63 games for 283:06 (5.1% of 5,594:11), going 55-6-2 in that 63-game stretch … Randy Waldrum now is 126-21-5 (.845) in six-plus seasons at ND … the Irish have owned the corner-kick margin in 17 of the past 20 games and have scored in 198 of 206 all-time regular-season games (.961).
#20 Michigan (3-2-2) 0 0 – 0
#5 Notre Dame (7-1-0) 2 1 – 3
ND 1. Jen Buczkowski 3 (Christie Shaner, Katie Thorlakson) 22:10; ND 2. Maggie Manning 3 (Thorlakson, Brittany Bock) 36:14; ND 3. Susan Pinnick 3 (Bock) 71:38
Shots: MICH 2-1 – 3, ND 14-9 – 23
Corner Kicks: MICH 0-0 – 0, ND 6-3 – 9
Saves: MICH 6 (Megan Tuura), ND 2 (Lauren Karas)
Offsides: MICH 0, ND 7
Fouls: MICH 8, ND 12
Yellow Cards: Lauren Karas, ND (34:35; 1st of season); Kerri Hanks, ND (61:12; 1st of season); Christie Shaner, ND (85:53; 2nd of season); Judy Coffman, UM (71:38) Attendance: 1,609