Oct. 7, 2002

2002 NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER NOTES

vs. Purdue (Oct. 8)

NON-CONFERENCE BATTLE: The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (7-5-0) – despite being out of the running for the BIG EAST Tournament (3-3-0 in Mid-Atlantic Division play) – next will look to pick up a key Great Lakes Regional victory, in an early-week test versus 20th-ranked Purdue (7-2-1), on Tuesday night at Alumni Field (Oct. 8, 7:00 p.m.) … the game will be ND’s third in a five-day stretch and will be the second of three (and likely four) straight Irish games vs. a top-20 opponent (#8 UConn comes calling on Sunday, with ND then playing at current #9 Michigan on Oct. 15) … the Irish have won their last 42 home games vs. BIG EAST opponents – including last Friday’s 5-0 win over Pittsburgh – but ND is just 3-4 in its last seven games vs. homestanding BIG EAST opponents (including Sunday’s 3-0 loss at #9 West Virginia) … the Irish have endured a series of injuries (mostly to players in the defensive third) and now must play vs. Purdue without the services of junior forward/defender Melissa Tancredi, who must serve a one-game suspension after picking up her fifth yellow card of the season in the WVU game.

WEBSITES: For in-depth information on this week’s opponents, please consult their official websites: www.purduesports.com and www.uconnhuskies.com.

LIVE STATS AND AUDIO: Notre Dame continues to offer live in-game statistics for 2002 home soccer games (follow link on main page of www.und.com) … an internet audio broadcast of Tuesday’s ND-Purdue game also will be available at www.und.com (available to subscribers of the College Sports Pass, see website for details).

NOTRE DAME SPORTS HOTLINE: For schedule and result information on all 26 Notre Dame varsity sports, call (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer results).

POSTSEASON HOPES STILL ALIVE: Notre Dame will not be participating in the 2002 BIG EAST postseason but the Irish still could qualify for the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, by virtue of their strength of schedule (eight of ND’s 2002 opponents current are in the NSCAA top 25, with four others ranked previously) and the fact that the Irish could finish high in the Great Lakes Regional rankings … the current regional rankings include Michigan (#9 nationally), Marquette (#14) and Purdue (#22) in the top three spots and Notre Dame listed fourth – with the Irish playing Tuesday-night games vs. Purdue (home) and Michigan (away) during the next two weeks … another BIG EAST team, Syracuse, was selected for the 2001 NCAA Tournament despite not making the 2001 BIG EAST Tournament.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH: The next three games likely will give Notre Dame a total of seven 2002 opponents who were ranked in the NSCAA top-25 at game time (and four others that have been ranked earlier), with Boston College also a candidate to be ranked when the Irish face the Eagles on Oct. 27 … three previous ND teams have faced seven NSCAA top-25 teams during the regular season: the 1992, ’94 and ’95 teams (each doing so in the 14th game) and the 2000 team (which faced its seventh ranked opponent in the 16th game) … ND’s 2002 opponents that were ranked by the NSCAA at game time include Santa Clara, Portland, Maryland and West Virginia – plus this week’s opponents Purdue and UConn (and likely Michigan next week, with the Wolverines currently 9th) … if Michigan and BC end up being ranked at game time, that will mark the first time that the Irish ever have faced eight NSCAA-ranked opponents in the regular season … four Irish opponents – Hartford, Villanova, BYU and BC – have been ranked at times in the 2002 season.

FIRST-TIME VISITORS: Since the start of the 1993 season, Notre Dame opponents that were making their first visit to Alumni Field have lost to the Irish 31 times, with just one win for the opposition and one tie in that stretch (.955, 31-1-1) … ND’s all-time record in series openers is 61-23-2 (.721), including 28-3-0 since 1993 and 41-6-0 in all series openers played at home (16-1-0 since ’93) … teams that recently have lost to ND in their first visit to Alumni Field include Harvard (2000), Penn State, Hartford and Eastern Illinois (all in 2001) and Virginia Tech (2002) … BYU (Oct. 19) will join VT and Purdue in making its first trip to Alumni Field during the 2002 season.

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS: Notre Dame has shut out 10 of its 12 opponents during the first half, with Georgetown and West Virginia both scoring two first-half goals vs. the Irish … in fact, ND (6) and its opponents (4) have combined for just 10 first-half goals this season while ND’s first 12 games have produced a total of 32 second-half goals (19 by ND, 13 by the opponents).

INJURY WOES: The Irish defense continues to cope with injury problems to several key regulars, with six of the team’s top 13 players missing a total of 37 games due to injury … senior All-America candidate Vanessa Pruzinsky – whose versatile skills allow her to play outside or centrally with equal effectiveness – remains sidelined as she battles back from an ankle injury … Pruzinsky played the first 47 minutes of the Santa Clara game (at left back), helping shut out SCU in that span, logged 60 minutes off the bench in the 1-0 OT win over Rutgers (at left and central back) … sophomore Gudrun Gunnarsdottir – the BIG EAST defensive player of the week after the opening wins over Providence and Virginia Tech – returned last week after missing six games due to a stress fracture in her foot … Gunnarsdottir had been the anchor of the Irish defense in the absence of Pruzinsky, playing centrally alongside freshman Cat Sigler … senior captain Ashley Dryer – one of the nation’s premier defensive midfielders – missed the final 50 minutes of the Rutgers game and the last five games due to an ankle injury … ND’s many options in the back even have included junior F Melissa Tancredi, who then suffered a leg injury late in the June 27 Villanova game (sidelining her for the Georgetown game) … other defensive options have included versatile sophomore Mary Boland (she also has started at forward and midfield, but missed last week’s action) and junior Kim Carpenter (shifting back from the midfield) … sophomore Candace Chapman has started at both right and central back – and then at midfield and forward – after returning from the Under-19 World Championship … the defensive third already was ND’s area of least experience, following the graduation of central back Monica Gonzalez (a two-year starter), left back Lindsey Jones (three-year starter) and two-year starting ‘keeper Liz Wagner – plus the loss of highly-touted freshman Annie Schefter to a preseason ACL injury (she was being considered for a shift from midfield to outside back).

THREE EARN BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS: Three ND players were honored by the BIG EAST for their roles in the mid-September wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall … junior F Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) was named BIG EAST offensive player of the week for the second time in her career, sophomore Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) was named defensive player of the week and freshman Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) earned goalkeeper of the week … Warner’s goal ended the Rutgers game with 9:17 left in the second OT, running onto a thru-ball from Maggie Manning and arching a crossing shot into the upper left corner … two days later, Warner’s leftside cross initiated a double-header sequence, with Boland scoring on the diving header vs. SHU … Boland started at left back, limiting RU and SHU to a total of seven shots on net, and shifted to the midfield in the second half of the RU game, filling in for injured Ashley Dryer (the team’s top defensive midfielder) … Boland picked up where Dryer left off, as the Irish limited RU’s top player Carli Lloyd to one shot for the game … Bohn – the first freshman to start in the nets for the Irish since Jen Renola in 1993 – made six saves and stopped several other RU scoring chances before helping foil several potential chances in the SHU game … Boland is ND’s second player to earn BIG EAST defensive player-of-the-week honors in 2002, as her classmate Gudrun Gunnarsdottir was so honored after the opening wins over Providence (3-0) and Virginia Tech (5-0).

GOING THE DISTANCE: Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last 12 overtime games (9-0-3), dating back to the 3-2, double -OT loss to North Carolina in the 1999 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 quarterfinals (ND advanced on PKs) … the 2000 team registered three OT wins – over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals (all 2-1) – while also playing to a scoreless tie at UConn … the 2001 season featured an unprecedented five OT games, with four 2-1 wins (vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan) and a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin … the OT unbeaten streak continued with the Sept. 27 win over Rutgers (1-0).

OT MASTERS: Junior forwards Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin share the ND record for career goals scored in overtime (2), with 1996 national player of the year Cindy Daws also scoring two OT goals in her career (including the GWG vs. Portland in the ’95 NCAA title game) … 11 other former ND players scored one OT goal … Guertin holds the ND record for OT points (6; 2G-2A; see quality and quantity note), followed by Warner and Daws with five career OT points each … in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20 vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT as a sophomore vs. Villanova and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak’s OT goal in the 2001 win over Indiana (both 2-1) … she also had the cross that produced an overtime own-goal to beat Stanford in 2000), thus playing a key role in four of ND’s last eight OT goals (Guertin has scored or assisted on four of the last seven).

HAT TRICKERY: Amy Warner’s three-goal effort at Georgetown (Sept. 29) made her the 13th ND player ever to post multiple hat tricks in her career … she also had 3G vs. Providence on Sept. 3, 2000 – the earliest hat trick (by date) ever posted by an ND freshman … 10 previous ND players have totaled three-plus hat tricks, led by Jenny Heft’s six (1996-99) and five each from Rosella Guerrero (’92-’95) and Monica Gerardo (’95-’98) … Michelle McCarthy had four hat tricks from 1992-95 while six other ND players have totaled three HTs: Susie Zilvitis (’88-’91), Alison Lester (’90-’93), Cindy Daws (’93-’96), Jenny Streiffer (’96-’99), Meotis Erikson (’97-’00) and Anne Makinen (’97-’00).

NOTRE DAME CAREER STATS (veterans)

Amanda Guertin (Jr., F) … 58 GP/54 GS, 30G-15A, 75 pts (12 GWG)

Amy Warner (Jr., F) … 51 GP/44 GS, 26G-9A, 61 pts (10 GWG)

Randi Scheller (Jr., M) … 57 GP/37 GS, 14G-15A, 43 pts (1 GWG)

Ashley Dryer (Sr., M) … 73 GP/59 GS, 3G-12A, 18 pts

Melissa Tancredi (Jr., F) … 26 GP/18 GS, 6G-4A, 16 pts (1 GWG; injured in ’00)

Candace Chapman (So., D) … 31 GP/30 GS, 5G-4A, 14 pts (3 GWG)

Mary Boland (So., F/D) … 20 GP/12 GS, 5G-2A, 12 pts (1 GWG)

Vanessa Pruzinsky (Sr., D) … 73 GP/72 GS, 2G-6A, 10 pts

Kim Carpenter (Jr., M) … 36 GP/11 GS, 2G-1A, 5 pts

Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (So., D) … 23 GP/9 GS, 0G-0A

Kate Tulisiak (So., D) … 15 GP/3 GS, 0G-0A

Lauren Kent (Jr., G) … 11 GP/2 GS, 362:21, 4 GA, 13 SV, 0.99 GAA, 1-1-0

PLAYING THE BEST: Notre Dame consistently has played some of its best soccer in recent years when facing a ranked opponent, with a 19-8-2 record vs. ranked teams during the Randy Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001, when the Irish went 5-1 vs. ranked teams (2-1 vs. Penn State, 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. West Virginia, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn and 2-1 vs. Michigan) … the Irish lost to a pair of ranked teams (Santa Clara and Portland) in the 2000 Notre Dame Classic before winning at #25 Maryland on Sept. 15 (5-2) and losing at #9 West Virginia (3-0) … over the course of the 2001 and ’02 seasons, ND owns a 6-4-0 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (18-4-1 vs. unranked teams).

PRIME-TIME FLURRY: ND’s offensive outburst in the 5-2 win at #25 Maryland represents the most goals ever scored by the Irish vs. an NSCAA top-25 opponent playing on its home field … it matched the sixth-highest goalscoring day for the Irish in any game vs. a top-25 foe (second-most since the high-powered 1997 offense) and tied ND’s second-highest goal output ever in a regular-season game vs. a top-25 team … ND’s top all-time scoring games vs. top-25 teams include 1997 postseason wins over UConn (6-1, BIG EAST title game), Nebraska (6-0, NCAA second round) and UCLA (8-0, NCAA quarterfinal) – plus the 8-1 win over Indiana in the ’96 NCAA first round and the 6-1 win over Santa Clara in 2000 … the Irish have scored five goals vs. top-25 teams in six other games (all 5-0, most recently vs. Washington in 2000.

DRYER DOES IT AGAIN: Lost amidst the disappointment of the 4-0 loss to Santa Clara was another stellar defensive effort from Notre Dame senior M Ashley Dryer (Salt Lake City, Utah), who has missed ND’s last five-plus games due to injury … Dryer essentially neutralized SCU’s star midfielder Aly Wagner (she did not factor into any of the SCU goals before scoring twice in the Broncos’ 4-2 win over Clemson) … she also was named to the Maryland Fila Classic all-tournament team, after playing a lead role in the key midfield battle (while fighting off illness) and combined with sophomore Mary Boland to hold Rutgers All-American Carli Lloyd (one shot) in check during last week’s 1-0 OT win (Dryer left the game early in the second half, with an ankle injury) … Dryer’s status as one of the nation’s premier defensive midfielders was reinforced at the 2001 BIG EAST Tournament, when she shut down BIG EAST midfielder of the year Sarah Rahko in the semifinal win over Boston College before holding another top midfielder (Lisa Stoia) in check to help beat West Virginia in the BIG EAST title game.

GETTING THE GWGs: Junior Amanda Guertin (Grapevine, Texas) continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (28G-13A, in 52 games) – with her 12 career gamewinning goals already ranking eighth on the ND all-time list (one behind former teammate Meotis Erikson and three ahead of classmate Amy Warner) … nearly half of Guertin’s career goals (12 of 30, or 40.0 percent) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the seven players above her on the GWG list (next is Michelle McCarthy, at 30.5%) … here is the exclusive company that Guertin finds herself amidst on the Irish career GWG charts:

Name (pos., years) … GWG/Gls (Pct. GWGs)

1. Jenny Heft (F, 1996-99) … 19/80 (23.8%)

2. Michelle McCarthy (F, 1992-95) … 18/59 (30.5%)

3. Rosella Guerrero (F, 1992-95) … 16/55 (29.1%)

Monica Gerardo (F, 1995-98) … 16/73 (21.9%)

Anne Makinen (M, 1997-2000) … 16/65 (24.6%)

6. Jenny Streiffer (F, 1996-99) … 15/70 (21.4%)

7. Meotis Erikson (F, 1997-2000) … 13/59 (22.0%)

8. Amanda Guertin (F, 2000- ) … 12/30 (40.0%)

9. Amy Warner (F, 2000) … 9/26 (34.6%)

QUALITY & QUANTITY: Amanda Guertin’s gamewinning goals have come with both frequency and in countless clutch situations … here’s a look at some of the top moments in her career:

* Unassisted goal in overtime to hold off upstart West Virginia and maintain #1 ranking (2-1, 2000)

* GWG vs. Boston College (2-1) to end ND’s only deficit of 2000 (prior to NCAA semifinals)

* GWG in 2000 NCAA second-round win over Michigan (3-1)

* Pass that initiated Meotis Erikson’s OT goal vs. Santa Clara (2-1), sending ND to 2000 NCAA College Cup semifinals

* GWG vs. Penn State in 2001 Key Bank Classic (2-1)

* Direct score via corner kick for GWG vs. Georgetown (2-1, 2001)

* Flick pass as part of set play for only scoring in 1-0 win over Nebraska (2001)

* Free-kick cross that led to double-header goal, beating WVU in another OT game (2-1, 2001)

* Scored both goals in 2001 win at Yale (2-0)

* Cashed in a shanked clearance to beat Michigan in OT (2-1, 2001)

* Scored again directly on corner kick to open scoring vs. St. John’s in 2001 BIG EAST quarterfinal (2-0)

* Set up Amy Warner rebound goal, then scored for 2-0 lead in 3-0 win over BC (2001 BIG EAST semi’s)

* Scored and provided corner kick that led to late GWG vs. WVU in 2001 BIG EAST title game (2-1)

* Netted both goals in 2001 NCAA first-round win over Eastern Illinois (2-0)

* Provided pair of corner-kick assists and scored GWG in 5-2 comeback at #25 Maryland (2002)

MARYLAND CLASSIC HONORS: Sophomore D Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ontario) was named defensive MVP of the ND Classic (Sept. 6-8) before repeating the honor at the Maryland Fila Classic … Chapman – who made plays all over the field in the ND Classic battles with Santa Clara and Portland – opened the UP game at central defense, with strong marking of her Canadian national teammate Christine Sinclair (before shifting to her customary right back) … she played both defensive positions vs. Hartford and started centrally vs. #25 Maryland, before shifting to midfield and sparking the 5-2 comeback by scoring the first Irish goal (her top defensive moments included clearing a shot off the goalline late in the first half). … junior F Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ontario) was named the tournament’s offensive MVP … Tancredi was an emergency starter at central defense in the Hartford game and was hampered by a nagging Achilles injury (she came off the bench in the first and second half vs. Maryland) … Tancredi’s undying hustle and physical presence changed the tenor of the Maryland game, with her headers providing the tying and 4-2 goals … ND’s all-tournament selections at the Fila Classic included junior F Amy Warner (GWG goal vs. Hartford, rebound shot to set up GWG vs. Maryland, followed by an official assist on last ND goal), senior M Ashley Dryer – who turned in a gutsy effort while battling through illness – and freshman G Erika Bohn, who registered a variety of big plays including a breakaway stop with the Hartford game tied up and a lunging tip over the crossbar with the Irish still trailing the Terps, 2-1 in the 75th minute.

RESULT NOTES: With the opening 5-0 win at Providence, ND now is 13-2-0 in all-time season openers (9-1-0 in the last 10, with a 3-2 OT loss to UNC in 1999) … the 4-0 loss to Santa Clara represented ND’s largest margin of defeat ever at home (the Irish had not been shut out at home since 1992) … ND suffered consecutive shutout losses (0-1 vs. Portland) for the first time since 1989 … following the 5-2 win at Maryland, the Irish have not lost to an ACC team other than UNC since a 2-1 loss to Duke on Sept. 25, 1992 (8-0-1 vs. ACC teams, other than UNC, since that game).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RETURN: Notre Dame recently welcomed back two players who competed in the recent Under-19 World Championship, held in three Canadian cities … the exciting tournament was capped by a 1-0 U.S. win over Canada in the title game, with 47,000 fans in attendance at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium … Portland’s Christine Sinclair earned the “golden boot” award as the tournament’s top scorer (10 goals, in six games with Canada) and formed a potent offensive tandem with Notre Dame freshman Katie Thorlakson (who plays mostly as an attacking midfielder with Canada) … ND sophomore Candace Chapman also was a starter with Canada, playing mostly right back while also shifting into the central midfield … Irish freshman M Annie Schefter was on track to be a starter for the U.S. team but was sidelined with a season-ending ACL knee injury in late July.

GERTY’S GOALS: Junior forward Amanda Guertin scored a goal in each of the final 10 games of the 2001 season – good for the third-longest goalscoring streak in Division I women’s soccer history (Brandi Chastain had a 15-game streak while playing for Santa Clara in 1990, with Hartford’s Maria Kun compiling an 11-game streak in 1997) … Guertin also scored in six of seven games during the 2002 spring season, in one of the two fall exhibitions and in 2002 games vs. Virginia Tech, Maryland, Villanova and Pittsburgh.

CONFERENCE COMMAND: Notre Dame’s all-time record in regular-season conference games now stands at 83-7-2 (.913), including 64-7-2 (.890) in BIG EAST games (since ’95) … the Irish also own a 46-1 record in all-time home games vs. BIG EAST opponents, with a streak of 42 straight home wins vs. BIG EAST teams (since a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95) … the current 42-game home winning streak vs. BIG EAST teams includes a 216-15 scoring edge, 29 shutouts and 12 games with one goal allowed (plus a 4-3 win over UConn).

HOME, SWEET HOME: Notre Dame’s all-time overall record at Alumni Field is 133-10-2 (.924), including 109-6-2 in the last 117 … the Irish own a 41-3-1 record in their last 45 home games, with a 2-2 tie vs. Wisconsin and the 3-2 NCAA loss to Cincinnati (both in 2001) prior to the 2002 losses to SCU and Portland.

SCORING STREAK ENDS AT 31: Notre Dame carried a 31-game scoring streak into the Sept. 6 Santa Clara game (third-best in ND history, behind a 55-game streak from 1997-99 and a 36-game streak from ’95-’96), with the streak ending in a 4-0 loss to SCU (followed by a 1-0 loss to Portland and last week’s 3-0 loss at WVU) … the previous time that the Irish had failed to score was the 0-0 tie at UConn on Oct. 22, 2000 … since 1994, ND now has scored in 152 of 158 (.962) regular-season games (also an 0-0 tie vs. UNC in ’94 and a 2-0 loss to UNC in ’95) and 49 of 52 postseason games, with three shutout losses to UNC in NCAA title games.