Sept. 23, 2004
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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER
vs. Pittsburgh and Wisconsin-Green Bay (Sept. 24 and 26, 2004)
The No. 1-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team (8-0-0) returns home this week for a BIG EAST game vs. Pittsburgh (Fri., Sept. 24, 7:30 EST) and a non-conference game vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay (Sun., Sept. 26, 1:00 EST) … ND carries a 50-game home winning streak vs. BIG EAST teams (dating back to 1995) and is 28-1-1 in its last 30 regular-season games … just three previous ND teams (16-0 in ’00, 13-0 in ’96, 9-0 in ’94) have opened with eight straight wins while eight other Irish squads have been unbeaten after 8 games … the Irish have been ranked 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA coaches poll during eight of 11 seasons since ’94 (all but ’99, ’01 and ’02; also #1 in ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’00) … ND just wrapped up a 4-game road stretch at #11 ASU (2-1), Texas Tech (3-0), UConn (1-0) and Syracuse (2-1), 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).
NUMBER-ONE NOTES – This marks the 5th season in the last 11 that the Irish have been No. 1 (also ’94, ’95, ‘9 and ’00), with all but the ’95 team earning the top ranking prior to the final poll (the ’95 team never reached No. 1 before winning the NCAA title) … two familiar landmarks have returned to campus, as the lighted No. 1 sign can be seen atop the Grace Hall tower on the northwest corner of campus while the No. 1 flag now waves in front of the Joyce Center … both of the No. 1 displays reappear any time an ND team earns the nation’s top ranking (or wins a national championship) … ND now has been ranked No. 1 in 18 NSCAA polls, in addition to 39 all-time appearances at No. 2 in the NSCAA poll … during the past 12 years, the Irish have been ranked 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA poll during 10 different seasons while appearing in the top five of 94 of 122 NSCAA polls (77%) over that 12-year span (plus 1st-3rd in 72 NSCAA polls since ’93) … only five weekly polls in the past 12 seasons have seen ND outside the top eight of the NSCAA rankings … the Irish spent most of the 2003 season and the first few weeks of ’04 ranked No. 2 in the national polls … ND owns an all-time record of 36-4-1 when playing as the top-ranked team in the NSCAA coaches poll, (20-1-1 in regular-season play).
No. 1 SIGN RETURNS – The eight-foot No. 1 sign perched atop the Grace Hall tower dates back to the 1974, when it was built by Father Bob Malone and a group of seminarians in recognition of the 1973 national championship football team … the sign originally was placed atop Moreau Seminary and later moved to Howard Hall before shifting high in the sky to the roof of Grace … the sign was displayed atop Grace Hall during the 1988 national-title football season and returned in parts of the ’89, ’90 and ’93 football seasons … it then shone brightly in recognition of ND’s 1994 fencing and 1995 women’s soccer national championships, followed by No. 1 rankings for the women’s soccer program in ’96 and ’00 and for the fencing teams in 2001, ’02, ’03 (also national champs) and ’04 … the ’00-`01 academic year saw an unprecedented four Notre Dame teams earn the No. 1 national ranking: women’s soccer, women’s basketball (also national champs), baseball and men’s fencing.
ND WOMEN’S SOCCER – BY THE NUMBERS (see PDF for chart form)
967:02 – Erika Bohn’s shutout streak in 2003 (5th in NCAA history) .716 (26-10-1) – ND’s all-time NCAA Tournament winning pct. (2nd in women’s soccer history)
282-9-11 (.952) – ND’s all-time record when holding opponent to 0-1 goals (86-3-4 since Sept. 9, 1999)
203-3-1 (.983) – ND’s all-time record when scoring 3-plus goals (107-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995)
102-19-4 (.832) – Randy Waldrum’s record at Notre Dame
50 – Home win streak vs. BIG EAST teams (’95- )
40-7 – 1st-half goalscoring edge in ’03 (12-1 in ’04)
31 – Consecutive wins when scoring first (active)
28-1-1 – ND’s record in its last 30 reg.-season games
28 – All-Americans (since 1994)
25-11-3 – ND vs. NSCAA top-25 teams, since 1999
24 – ND-record streak w/out all. 2+ gls (’00 and ’03)
22 – Players who posted GPA of 3.0-plus in 2004 spring semester (13 with 3.4-plus)
19-3-2 – All-time record in home tournaments
17 – Number of home states and provinces (plus Iceland and Finland) on 2004 ND roster
16 – ND’s current unbeaten OT streak (12-0-4)
16 – Team record for consecutive games without facing a deficit (2003)
13 – Academic All-Americans (since 1995)
12 – Notre Dame alums in the WUSA (’01-’03)
8 – Players with multiple-goal games in 2003
8 – Katie Thorlakson’s points (3G-2A) in ’04 vs. Santa Clara (most at ND vs. top-10 opp.)
5 – National ranking for ND’s 2003 freshman class
3.23 – Team’s cumulative GPA, as of ’04 spring term
3 – All-time postseason home losses (30 Ws)
2 – National ranking for ND’s 2004 freshman class
QUICK NOTES ON THE IRISH – ND again is on pace to total more goals (currently with 24) than opponent shots on goal (19) … in addition to a 24-6 season scoring edge, the Irish also hold a 170-48 edge in total shots (avg. 21-5), 103-19 in shots on goal (13-2) and 44-15 in corner kicks (6-2) … ND has faced just one deficit this season (for 11 minutes at ASU) and has trailed for just 128 total minutes the past two seasons (6% of the total minutes, spanning 37 games) … the Irish own a 12-1 first-half scoring edge this season and have allowed just 23 first-half goals in the past four seasons (73 games) … ND has limited 26 of its last 29 overall opponents to 0-3 shots on goal, has won its last 31 games when scoring first (dating back to a 3-2 loss to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002; ND is just 1-3-0 during that span when the opponent scores first) … the Irish have seen just four of the last 37 opponents come back to tie the game … just four weeks into the college season, ND is one of only five teams out of 308 in Division I women’s soccer that are unbeaten and untied (the others are Washington, Virginia, UNC Wilmington and UC Riverside).
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS – Pittsburgh (3-2-0) split two games at both the Bowling Green tournament (1-2 vs. Eastern Michigan, 2-0 vs. BG) and the UNC Greensboro tournament (0-2 vs. UNCG, 1-0 vs. Old Dominion), adding a 4-1 win over Duquesne … the Panthers had games postponed last week vs. Georgetown and Providence … 2nd-year Pittsburgh head coach Sue-Moy Chin is a former ND assistant coach while her assistant Monica Gerardo (’99) was a record-setting forward with the Irish … Pittsburgh returned 9 starters and 16 of 23 letterwinners from its 2003 team that went 5-10-2 (1-4-1 in BIG EAST divisional play) … top scorers in ’04 include sophomore F Kristina Francois (3G-2A), sophomore M Corina Sebesta (2G-1A) and freshman M/F Rachel Vecchio (2G-1A) while junior Jamie Pelusi has logged all the minutes in the nets (1.00 GAA, 24 SV, 5 GA) … Pittsburgh owns an 8-5 scoring edge while its opponents hold the combined margin in shots (53-60) and corner kicks (15-27).
SERIES NOTES – ND has won all seven previous games vs. Pittsburgh (since ’97, with a 30-2 scoring edge) … the Irish dominated the run of play in a 1-0 win at Pittsburgh last season (18-6 shot edge, 8-3 in shots on goal, 4-1 in corners), with Mary Boland heading in a long serve from Christie Shaner … ND overcame the absence of All-American Melissa Tancredi to post its 8th straight shutout of ’03 in that game … in an odd scheduling situation, Pittsburgh had a rare Friday off before the ’03 BIG EAST matchup vs. ND while the Irish were battling rival UConn that night … the three previous games at ND include a 15-1 scoring edge (9-1 in ’98, 1-0 in ’00, 5-0 in ’02 … ND and Wisconsin-Green Bay have not met for 12 years, with the Irish winning both previous meetings (3-0 at ND in ’91, 2-0 in a ’92 game played at the University of Wisconsin in Madison).
ND Career Stats vs. Pittsburgh
Candace Chapman … 3G-1A, 2 GS, 5 Shots
Melissa Tancredi … 1G, 2 GS, 2 Shots
Christie Shaner … 1A, 1 GS
Jenny Walz … 1A, 1 GS, 3 Shots
Maggie Manning … 1A, 2 GP, 1 Shot
Gudrun Gunnarsdottir … 2 GS
Katie Throrlakson … 2 GS, 2 Shots
Kate Tulisiak … 2 GP
Jill Krivacek … 1 GS, 1 Shot
Kim Lorenzen … 1 GS, 1 Shot
Jen Buczkowski … 1 GS, 2 Shots
Annie Schefter … 1 GS, 1 Shot
Sarah Halpenny … 1 GP, 1 Shot
Miranda Ford … 1 GP
Lizzie Reed … 1 GP, 1 Shot
Claire Gallerano … 1 GP, 1 Shot
Amber McMillin … 1 GP, 2 Shots
Erika Bohn … 2 GS, 3 SV, 0 GA, 151:39
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX – UWGB (2-4-1) owns wins over North Dakota State (3-0) and at Northern Iowa (3-1), plus a 1-1 tie at Iowa and losses to Northern Illinois (1-2), Western Illinois (0-1), at Marquette (1-4) and at UW Milwaukee (1-2) … UWGB returned 7 starters but just 12 of 24 letterwinners from its 2003 team that went 9-9-1 (4–0 in Horizon League play) … top scorers in ’04 include sophomore F Stephanie Gross (3G-4A), sophomore D/F Dawn Detrie (2G) and junior F Natalie Brown (2G) … freshmen Brooke Wikgen (1.59 GAA, 1-3-1, 14 SV, 8 GA) and Ryann Werner (1.38, 1-1-0, 14 SV, 3 GA) have split time in the nets.
CANADIAN CONNECTION CLICKING – Notre Dame’s three Canadian natives – 5th-year D Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ont.), senior F/D Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ont.) and junior F 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 8th in the nation (among players from 308 Division I teams) with 20 points (6G-8A) while her 8 assists rank 3rd on the NCAA stat charts (she is the only player from a top-25 team with 20-plus points … 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 is 2nd on the team in goals (5G-2A) despite starting just two games and playing a reduced number of minutes this season 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 48 total shots (6.0 per gm), 19 shots on goal (2.4/gm) and 15 corner kicks (1.9/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.
TULISIAK TAKES CHARGE – Senior D Kate Tulisiak played a reserve role her first two seasons and missing most of ’03 due to a back injury – but she picked an ideal time for the first point of her career, intercepting a pass and providing the endline cross as Amanda Cinalli scored in the 84th minute for the 1-0 win at UConn … she also helped ND allow UConn (1-0) and Syracuse (2-1) just 14 combined shots, 4 shots on goal and 3 corner kicks en route to earning BIG EAST defensive player of the week honors.
CINALLI TOP ROOKIE – Freshman F Amanda Cinalli scored the late GWG at UConn and had the primary assist on the first goal (by Jen Buczkowski) at Syracuse, earning BIG EAST rookie of the week honors … Cinalli ranks 4th on the team in scoring (4G-3A) with 11 points, just one point behind Candace Chapman and Buczkowski.
SOCCER “BUZZ” – Sophomore M Jen Buczkowski opened the scoring in the 2-1 win at Syracuse, matching her goal total (4) from all of the 2003 season after playing just eight games in ’04 … she also is tied for 2nd on the team with 11 points (4G-3A).
SEEING 20-20 – Junior F Katie Thorlakson’s team-leading 6th goal of the season (in 2-1 game at Syracuse) also was her 3rd GWG of 2004 … that goal made Thorlakson (20G-22A) the 19th player in ND’s storied history to total 20-plus goals and 20-plus assists in her career, doing so over the course of 51 games … Thorlakson is on pace for 45 points (which would best her 42 combined points in ’02 and ’03) in the 18-game regular season and could become the first ND player with 50-plus points in a season since Jenny Streiffer had 53 in the first year of the Randy Waldrum era (1999) … Thorlakson already has 8 GWGs in her career, good for 10th in the ND record book and one behind former teammate Amy Warner (’00-’03) … Thorlakson’s 62 career points would rank near the top of many school’s record books but she stands just 22nd in ND career scoring, 12 points shy of cracking the top 20 … 9 previous ND players have totaled 30-plus goals and 30-plus assists … the other 18 ND players with in the 20-goal, 20-assist club include: Shannon Boxx (39G-57A), Cindy Daws (61-67), Meotis Erikson (59-46), Monica Gerardo (73-44), Rosella Guerrero (55-32), Amanda Guertin (48-27), Jodi Hartwig (27-33), Jenny Heft (80-29), Alison Lester (45-36), Anne Makinen (65-56), Holly Manthei (24-129), Masters (24-26), Michelle McCarthy (59-38), Streiffer (70-71), Tiffany Thompson (27-37), Amy VanLaecke (34-22), Warner (37-25) and Suzie Zilvitis (43-26).
CONFERENCE CALL – Notre Dame’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 97-7-2 (.925; 78-7-2/.908 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 97-9-2 (.907; 1-1-0 vs. UConn in NCAAs).
TURNAROUND SUCCESS – Notre Dame is 14-0 during the past two seasons (’03-’04) when playing a regular-season game two days after a previous game (41-5 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 data in chart form)
Pos. – Player (Yr.; Hometown) … Notes
F – #7 Katie Thorlakson (Jr.; Langley, BC) … Tied ND record with 7 points in a half vs. Baylor (2G-3A), also SCU (3G-1A) … ’04 stats: 6G-8A (20 pts), 3 GWG, 8 GP/7 GS … First ND player to score/assist on team’s first 5 goals in gm (vs. Baylor and SCU) … ’03 stats: 10G-11A (31 pts), 4 GWG, 24 GP/19 GS … First ND repeat BIG EAST Offensive Player of Week; GWG at SYR … career: 20G-22A (62 pts), 8 GWG, 51 GP/44 GS … BIG EAST player of the week (Aug. 30; 2G-3A vs. Baylor, set up 3G vs. EIU) … 8 pts vs. #4 SCU (3G-2A) most ever by ND player vs. top-25 tm (3rd ND player with hat trick vs. top-10 team); GWA at ASU
F – #5 Amanda Cinalli (Fr.; Maple Hts, OH) … 6th ND freshmen to score opening goal; 6th ND player to score first 2 gls (BAY) … ’04: 4G-3A (11 pts), 8 GP/7 GS … BIG EAST rookie of week after GWG vs. UConn and 1A vs. SYR (2-1); 1A vs. BAY/EIU, 1G vs. TT … prep All-American (37G as senior at Laurel HS); member of U.S. Under-17 National Team
F/D – #8 Candace Chapman (Sr.; Ajax, ONT) … 2G vs. BAY, 1G vs. EIU/SCU/ASU; GWA vs. SYR … Preseason All-Amer./Hermann list … ’04 stats: 5G-2A (12 pts), 8 GP/2 GS … ’02 honors included NSCAA 2nd team All-American and BIG EAST Def. Player of Year … ’02 stats: 3G-5A (11 pts), GWG, 19 GS … Member of Canadian Nat’l Team (starting flank mid.); led ND with 4G in Brazil (sum. ’04) … Career (inj. in ’03): 10G-8A (28 pts), 3 GWG, 46 GP/40 GS … Missed ’03 season due to ACL knee injury while training w/ Canada
F – #13 Maggie Manning (Jr.; Lake Oswego, OR) … 2G in 2003 opener vs. Hartford and 2004 win at Texas Tech (3-0) … ’04 stats: 2G, 6 GP, GWG … ’03: 4G-2A (10 pts), 22 GP/3 GS … Played some M in ’02, now part of regular F rotation … career: 7G-4A (18 pts), GWG, 46 GP/6 GS … Oregon player of the year at Jesuit HS (90G in three prep seasons)
M – #9 Jen Buczkowski (So.; Elk Grove , IL) … All-ND Classic (’04); 1G-2A vs. BAY, 1G vs. EIU/SYR, 1G-1A vs. SCU, 1A vs. TT … ’04 stats: 4G-4A (12 pts), 8 GS … Preseason all-BIG EAST pick for 2004 … 2003 Freshman All-American (SA) … ’03 stats: 4G-6A (14 pts), 24 GP/23 GS … 2003 honors included ND Classic Offensive MVP (2G-3A; vs. ASU and Okla.) … career: 8G-10A (26 pts), 32 GP/31 GS … 69G-52A in 3-yr HS career; rated #6 recruit in ’03 (SA ); prep All-American, U.S. U-19 team
M – #11 Annie Schefter (Jr.; Yakima, WA) … GWG vs. EIU, STAN (PK); 1A vs. BAY/SCU; dad Rob was ND tennis player … ’04: 2G-2A, 2 GWG, 8 GP/7 GS … ’03: 4G-5A (13 pts), GWG, 24 GP/19 GS … U.S. U-19 National Team (’02), #11 recruit (SA) … career (inj. in ’02): 6G-7A (19 pts), 2 GWG, 32 GP/26 GS … 47G-21A as senior at West Valley HS (Gatorade WA player of the year)
M – #12 Ashley Jones (Fr.; Westlake Village, CA) ND’s 3rd-leading scorer on Brazil trip (2G-3A) … ’04: 1A (vs. TT), 8 GP/1 GS (vs. EIU) … Won ’04 national titles with state ODP (Cal-South) and club team (Southern Calif. United)
F/M – #3 Jannica Tjeder (Fr.; Espoo, Finland) … ND’s 2nd-leading scorer in Brazil (3G-2A), returned last week from ankle injury ’04: 3 GP/2 GS (vs. Bay/Syr) … Member of Finland’sU-21 nat’l team; MVP of ’03 Finnish Women’s Champ. league (9G-13A, 18 GP)
DM – #24 Jill Krivacek (So.; Geneva, IL) … All-Tournament at ’04 ND Classic; 2nd-half GWG vs. Wake Forest in ’03(3-0) … ’04 stats: 8 GP/5 GS … ’03: 2G-2A, GWG, 23 GP/6 GS … 78 career goals at Rosary HS; strong def. mid. skills
M/F – #15 Lizzie Reed (So.; Franklin Lakes, NJ) … Scored in ’03 win over UConn (as F); 126 career goals as a prep … ’04 stats: 8 GP/5 GS … `03 stats: 2G-1A, 23 GP/8 GS … prep All-American; member of ODP national runner-up (NJ)
DM – #21 Claire Gallerano (So.; Dallas,TX) … Surging defensive midfielder known for tenacious tackling and ball-winning … ’04: 5 GP/1 GS (vs. TT) … ’03: 6 GP One of four Dallas Texans products (’03 national champs) to join ND in last two seasons
D – #18 Christie Shaner (So.; Ambler, PA) … 2nd Team all-BIG EAST/Co- Rookie of Year, SCU Classic Def. MVP (all ’03) … ’04 stats: 8 GS … ’03 stats: 1G-3A, 23 GP/20 GS … All-Tourn. ’04 ND Classic; U.S. U-21 camps (’04); #22 recruit in `03 (SA) … Career: 1G-3A (5 pts), 31 GP/28 GS … Prep All-American; member of national under-19 semifinalist (FC Bucks Challenge)
D/M – #4 Kim Lorenzen (So.; Naperville, IL) … ND Classic all-tournament (’03); versatile, has trained at F, M and D … ’04: 1A (vs. BAY), 8 GP/5 GS … ’03: 25 GP/22 GS … Teamed with Buczkowski and Krivacek on 2003 ODP national champs (IL)
D – #17 Melissa Tancredi (Sr.; Ancaster, ONT) … GWG at ASU; ’03 All-American and BIG EAST Def. Player of Year … ’04: 1G-1A, GWG (vs. ASU), 8 GS … ’03: 4G-5A (13 pts), GWG, 21 GP/20 GS … Starting central back with Canadian Nat’l Team … Car.: 13G-10A (36 pts), 3 GWG, 63 GP/54 GS … Converted F; all 9G from ’02-’04 have come on headers/volleys (7 on set pieces)
D – #2 Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Sr.; Seltjarnames, Iceland) … Member of Icelandic National Team … ’04: 7 GS … ’03: 18 GP/11 GS … career: 49 GP/28 GS … Slowed by knee/ankle inj. in ’02, broken arm in ’03 (missed 4 gms)
D – #20 Kate Tulisiak (Sr.; Medina, Ohio) … 1A at UConn (1-0); strong ’04 spring and summer (W-League, Ohio Internationals) … ’04: 1A, 7 GP/2 GS (vs. SCU/Syr) … ’03: 2 GP (inj.) … career: 1A, 28 GP/6 GS … Sister Kelly was F with Irish from ’98-’01
D/M – #14 Jenny Walz (Jr.; Bloomington, Illinois) … Named W-League all-star in summer of ’04 (with Fort Wayne Fever) … ’04: 6 GP/2 GS … ’03: dnp (inj.) … career: 1A, 23 GP/4 GS … Missed ’03 due to ACL knee injury; prep M making move to outside back
G – #1 Erika Bohn (Jr.; Brookfield, CT) All-Tour. ’04 ND Classic; 2nd Team Acad. All-American in ’03 (3.63 GPA, design) … ’04 stats: 0.51 GAA, 11 SV, 3 GA, 7 GP/6 GS (6-0-0) … set ND-record with 967-minute shutout streak in ’03 (5th in NCAA history) … ’03 stats: 0.49 GAA, 35 SV, 11 GA, 24 GS (20-3-1), 11 solo ShO Called into U.S. Under-21 training camps (’04) … car.: 0.80 GA, 103 SV, 37 GA, 52 GP/49 GS (38-10-1), 18 solo ShO 37-4-1 with 22 GA in last 42 starts for ND (5-0-0 spring ’03)
G – #6 Lauren Karas (Fr.; Flower Mound, TX) … Picked up wins as starter at #11 ASU (2-1), TX Tech (3-0); 2 GA vs.Baylor … ’04 stats: 1.50 GAA, 3 GA, 4 SV, 3 GP/2 GS (2-0-0) … Earned Golden Glove Award with North Texas ODP at 2004 Nationals
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 recently registered his 100th win at Notre Dame in the 3-0 game at Texas Tech … Waldrum also coached eight seasons as college men’s soccer head coach and is 15 wins shy of his next milestone: 300 combined wins as a men’s and women’s college head coach (285-124-23, .686, in 23 seasons) … Waldrum now owns a 209-69-16 mark (.738) in 15 combined seasons as the women’s head coach at Tulsa, Baylor and Notre Dame … the Irish are 102-19-4 (.832) in the Waldrum era, including 86-15-3 in the last 104 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 1st-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semifinals, beating top-ranked and unbeaten Santa Clara in San Jose … his women’s soccer record includes 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa, 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor … Waldrum ranks 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 eight games: Thorlakson (6G-8A), Chapman (5G-2A), Buczkowski (4G-4A), Cinalli (4G-3A) and Schefter (2G-2A).
BEWARE OF THOR! – ND junior F Katie Thorlakson has emerged as an early frontrunner for conference and national honors, entering the week ranked 3rd nationally in assists (8) and 8th in total points (20) … she is the only player from a top-25 program with 20-plus points and is one of just five players in the nation with 6-plus goals and 6-plus assists (as is her fellow Canadian national teammate Brittany Timko of Nebraska) … Thorlakson’s 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 13th on that list … only three 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
Leeanna Woodworth (Gardner-Webb) … 9G-7A/25 points
Kerry O’Malley (St. Bonaventure) … 9G-6A/24 points
Ashley Stinson (Virginia Tech) … 11G-2A/24 points
Nikki Hawkins (Houston) … 10G-4A/24 points
Mary Parker (Detroit) … 10G-1A/21 points
Brittany Timko (Nebraska) … 7G-7A/21 points
Kristine Mengle (UNC Wilmington) … 10G-1A/21 points
Katie Thorlakson (Notre Dame) … 6G-8A/20 points
NCAA Division I Leaders for Assists
Megan Chismark (Chattanooga) … 9 assists
Shannon Foley (Virginia) … 9 assists
Katie Thorlakson (Notre Dame) … 8 assists
Players with 6-Plus Goals and 6-Plus Assists
Leeanna Woodworth (Gardner-Webb) … 9G-7A/25 points
Brittany Timko (Nebraska) … 7G-7A/21 points
Kerry O’Malley (St. Bonaventure) … 9G-6A/24 points
Katie Thorlakson (Notre Dame) … 6G-8A/20 points
Audra Mathews (Duquesne) … 6G-7A/19 points
IRISH AMONG NATION’S TOP OFFENSIVE TEAMS – Despite the absence of several top offensive players, Notre Dame entered the week ranked 18th in the nation with 3.00 goals per game … only three teams in the national top-25 polls – Virginia (3.38), Texas (3.17) and Duke (3.13) – are scoring at a better clip than the Irish … ND also entered the week with a deceiving 0.75 team goals-against avg. (40th in the nation) but has dominated the opposing offenses overall, allowing just 48 total shots (6.0 per gm), 19 shots on goal (2.4/gm) and 15 corner kicks (1.9/gm) … ND is one of just seven teams ranked among the NCAA top-40 in both scoring (3.00 goals per game) and goals-against avg. (0.75) … Virginia is the only other team in the top-25 of the national polls that also is in the top-40 of the NCAA scoring and defense stat charts (the others are UC Riverside, Arizona, North Carolina State, Central Florida and North Texas).
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 73 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 12-1 in 2004) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the first (52-8) and second half (43-10) 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 ninth Irish team in the last 13 years to go unbeaten after eight games … the ’04 season also marks the 4th time an ND team has won the first eight games of the season (the 2000 team started 16-0-0, the ’96 team was 13-0-0 and the ’94 team was 9-0-0) … here’s a look at the other longest season-opening unbeaten and unbeaten/untied streaks in the ND record book:
TOP UNDEFEATED STARTS IN ND WOMEN’S SOCCER HISTORY
Year – Start (Scoring), Unbeaten record, first loss and notes
1994 – 24 games (104-11), open 23-0-1 before losing to UNC in NCAA title game (5-0)
1997 – 24 games (134-7) again fashion 23-0-1 record before losing to UConn in NCAA semifinals (2-1)
2000 – 24 games (75-8) another familiar record (23-0-1) precedes 2-1 loss to UNC in the NCAA semifinals
2003 – 19 games (63-5) tie vs. Stanford (0-0) only non-win in 18-0-1 start, then 3-2 loss to Michigan … end 20-3-1/NCAA 2nd rd
1996 – 13 games (66-6) start 13-0-0 prior to 3-1 loss at Santa Clara … end 24-2-0 as NCAA runner-up
1991 – 12 games (40-6) twice-tied team (10-0-2) drops 1-0 game at UMass … end season 15-2-3
1995 – 10 games (40-3) open 9-0-1 before losing to UConn (5-4 in OT) … end 21-2-2 as NCAA champion
2001 – 9 games (19-7) start 8-0-1 prior to 2-1 loss at Rutgers … end 17-3-1/NCAA second round
2004 – 8 games (24-6) current 8-0-0 start, including wins over #13 Stanford, #4 Santa Clara and #11 ASU
TOP STARTS WITH NO LOSSES OR TIES IN ND WOMEN’S SOCCER HISTORY
Year – Start (Scoring), First loss/tie and notes
2000 – 16 games (56-5) play to scoreless tie at UConn … later 23-0-1 … end up 23-1-1 as NCAA semifinalist
1996 – 13 games (66-6) lose 3-1 at Santa Clara … end up 24-2-0 as NCAA runner-up
1994 – 9 games (41-5) play to scoreless tie vs. UNC in St. Louis … later 23-0-1 … end 23-1-1 as NCAA runner-up
2004 – 8 games (24-6) current 8-0-0 start, including wins over #13 Stanford, #4 Santa Clara and #11 ASU
1995 – 8 games (36-0) play to 2-2 tie at Cincinnati … later 9-0-1 … end 21-2-2 as NCAA champion
1997 – 6 games (25-1) play to 2-2 tie with UNC … later 23-0-1 … end 23-1-1 as NCAA semifinalist
2003 – 6 games (27-3) scoreless tie vs. Stanford … later 18-0-1 … end 20-3-1 in NCAA 2nd round
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 (277 of 292) … since ’94, the Irish have scored in 236 of 248 (.952; three shutouts in NCAA title games) – with goals in 182 of 189 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.
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.
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 16 of 24) … 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).
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 282-9-11 (.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 294 goals allowed in 372 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).
BOHN ON A ROLL – Junior G Erika Bohn is 37-4-1 in her last 42 starts with the Irish (since a 3-2 loss to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002), allowing just 22 goals in that 42-game stretch (25 shutouts, 14 with 1 GA) … that 42-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 eight 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 49 official starts at ND (in fall games) include 27 in which she did not allow a goal, 13 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 32 of her last 35 fall starts (22 with no goals allowed, 10 games with one goal allowed, 2-1 loss to Boston College, 3-2 loss to Michigan and 5-2 win over Santa Clara).
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 37 games for a total of 197:53 (or 5.9% of the time, spanning 3,369:29), while going 32-4-1 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).
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 32-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).
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 34-5-1 in their last 40 games.
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.
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).
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.
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 ND women’s soccer team – not including senior F Mary Boland (broken leg in 4th game of ’04) – 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).