Nov. 9, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The ninth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team pushed its winning streak to 12 games on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Stadium, as the Irish struck for a pair of goals in a 38-second span of the first half to provide the only scoring in a 2-0 BIG EAST semifinal win over Georgetown. Notre Dame moves on to the BIG EAST final for the 11th time in its 13 years of league membership, with the Irish set to face the host team West Virginia on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (again at Dlesk Stadium). The Mountaineers outlasted Louisville in a 1-0 semifinal that saw the goal scored with less than two minutes remaining in the second and final overtime.
(Note: this recap now includes additional game details and updated ND team notes.)
The championship game will be televised live on CSTV and various BIG EAST affiliates, including live feeds on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Fox SportsNet New York and Time Warner Cable Wisconsin – plus delayed airings later on Sunday by Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (2:00 p.m.), Cox Sports New England (3:30 p.m.), Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (5:00 p.m.) and WVFX 46 in West Virginia (10:00 p.m.), and a Nov. 12 rebroadcast on Catch 47 in Tampa, Fla. (1:00 p.m.).
Notre Dame (15-4-1) – which has outscored the opposition 38-5 in the current win streak and will be looking to win its 10th BIG EAST Tournament title – limited Georgetown (14-70-0) to a single shot and only two corner kicks during Friday night’s game. The Irish did not allow a shot over the final 69 minutes of game time while making the 2-0 cushion hold up for the final score.
The scores by Bock and Augustin represented the fourth-quickest back-to-back goals in 89 all-time Notre Dame postseason games (see list in notes at end of recap).
Notre Dame’s 37-game unbeaten streak versus BIG EAST opponents (36-0-1; since mid-2005) is tied for the longest in the program’s history and is tied for the fifth-longest conference unbeaten streak in D-I women’s soccer history. The Irish also have rattled off 20 straight wins against BIG EAST teams, with a 64-9 scoring edge in that span.
Friday night’s action was fairly even through the first 20 minutes heading into the mandatroy break for the television timeout, but the Irish then suddenly claimed a 2-0 lead. The players who have combined to win the past two BIG EAST offensive player-of-the-year awards hooked up on the first goal, as Brittany Bock completed a classic give-and-go sequence with Kerri Hanks. Bock carried the ball down the middle of the field before sending a lead pass into the left side of the box. Hanks ran onto the ball and returned a cross to the far post, with Bock in position for the routine header and her 12th goal of the season (24:16).
Hanks now is riding an 11-game point streak during the 2007 season and has registered points in 17 of 18 postseason games during her three seasons with the Irish. She has scored (2) or assisted (6) on eight of Notre Dame’s past 11 games and has assisted on the gamewinning goal in four straight games heading into Sunday’s action.
Half of Bock’s career goals at Notre Dame (18 of 36) have come on headers, including six in the 2007 season.
Moments after the goal by Bock, sophomore midfielder Courtney Rosen received the ball from junior left back Elise Weber on the left flank. The leftfooted Rosen turned towards the top corner of the box and drove the ball with her right food, sending a quickly-moving cross to the far side of the penalty area. Freshman Rose Augustin was angling in from the right and struck the ball off her shoulder, redirecting the cross inside the near right post for her fifth goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.
Notre Dame now has won 258 consecutive games when claiming a 2-0 cushion, dating back to the 1991 season. The Irish are 29-2-0 in all-time BIG EAST Tournament games, including 11-1-0 in the semifinal round.
Friday’s win – coupled with North Carolina’s tie versus Virginia in the ACC semifinals – edged the current Notre Dame senior class (87-9-4) ahead of UNC’s (86-6-1), giving the Irish veterans the most career wins of any current senior class in D-I women’s soccer. Notre Dame’s Randy Waldrum also now owns the second-best career win percentage (.773; 288-78-18) among active Division I women’s soccer coaches (also third-best all-time, see note below).
Updated team notes follow below, after the linescore.
Georgetown (14-7-0) 0 0 – 0
Notre Dame (15-4-1) 2 0 – 2
ND 1. Brittany Bock 12th of season/36th of career (Kerri Hanks) 24:16; ND 2. Rose Augustin 5 (Courtney Rosen, Elise Weber) 24:54
Shots: GU 1-0 – 1, ND 7-4 – 11.
Corner Kicks: GU 1-1 -2, ND 2-1 – 3.
Saves: GU 4 (Jade Higgins), ND 1 (Lauren Karas).
Fouls: GU 11, ND 13.
Offsides: GU 2, ND 2.
TWO-GOAL FLURRY – The goals on Friday night by Bock and Augustin, separated by only 38 seconds, mark the fourth-quickest back-to-back goals in the program’s 89 all-time postseason games (second-fastest ever away from home) … the quickest actually came two years earlier versus Georgetown, as Hanks (67:47) and Katie Thorlakson (68:04) scored just 17 seconds apart for a 5-0 lead in that eventual 6-0 BIG EAST quarterfinal win … 10 years ago in the 1997 BIG EAST semifinals, Meotis Erikson (5:46) and Jenny Streiffer (6:05) scored 19 seconds apart for a quick 2-0 lead in that 7-0 win … the 1999 BIG EAST quarterfinals saw Jenny Heft (73:53) and Amy VanLaecke (74:25) score in a 32-second span for a 4-0 lead (5-0 final) … two of the three quick back-to-back goals mentioned above happened earlier in the postseason than the Bock-Augustin sequence (the Erikson-Streiffer goal flurry also was in the semi’s and is the only one listed above that happened earlier in the game than Bock-Augustin) … two years ago in the regular-season game versus Georgetown, Bock scored the first of three goals in a 51-second span vs. the Hoyas (the NCAA record for quickest three-goal sequence by one team) … ND won that game 6-1, with Bock’s goal (65:55) followed by scores from Thorlakson (66:15) and Annie Schefter (66:46) … here’s a look at some of the quickest back-to-back goal in ND postseason history:
Quickest Back-To-Back Goals In Notre Dame Postseason Games
(1) 0:17 – 1999 BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. Georgetown (6-0, at ND) … Kerri Hanks (67:47) and Katie Thorlakson (68:04) for 5-0 lead
(2) 0:19 – 1997 BIG EAST semifinal vs. Villanova (7-0, at Rutgers) … Meotis Erikson (5:46) and Jenny Streiffer (6:05) for 2-0 lead
(3) 0:32 – 1999 BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. Miami (5-0, at ND) … Jenny Heft (73:53) and Amy VanLaecke (74:25) for 4-0 lead
(4) 0:38 – 2007 BIG EAST semifinal vs. Georgetown (2-0, at WVU) … Brittany Bock (28:16) and Rose Augustin (28:54) for 2-0 lead
(5) 0:48 – 2004 NCAA first round vs. Eastern Illinois (4-0, at ND) … Kim Lorenzen (61:47) and Candace Champman (62:35) for 4-0 lead
(6) 0:49 – 1994 MCC semifinals vs. Xavier (10-0, in Indianapolis) … Rosella Guerrero (13:40) and Michelle McCarthy (14:29) for 2-0 lead
(7) 0:57 – 1999 NCAA first round vs. Dayton (5-1, at ND) … Heft (66:10) and Kara Brown (67:07) for 3-1 lead
(8) 1:05 – 1997 NCAA second round vs. Nebraska (6-0, at ND) … Anne Makinen (23:39) and Holly Manthei (24:44) for 3-0 lead
(9) 1:07 – 1994 MCC semifinals vs. Xavier (10-0, in Indianapolis) … Julie Maund (19:50) and Guerrero (20:56) for 5-0 lead
(10) 1:13 – 1993 MCC final at Xavier (4-0) … Stacia Masters (73:25) and Guerrero (74:38) for 4-0 lead
(11) 1:37 – 1998 BIG EAST semifinals vs. Syracuse (5-1, at UConn) … Makinen (55:15) and Kelly Lindsey (56:52) for 5-0 lead
(12) 1:40 – 1995 BIG EAST semifinals vs. Rutgers (3-0, at Seton Hall) … Monica Gerardo (59:44) and Manthei (61:24) for 3-0 lead
(13) 1:48 – 2003 NCAA first round vs. Loyola Chicago (5-0, at ND) … Christie Shaner (42:35) and Jen Buczkowski (44:23) for 4-0 lead
1:48 – 2006 NCAA first round vs. Oakland (7-1, at ND) … Molly Iarocci (82:32) and Susan Pinnick (84:20) for 6-1 lead
(15) 1:50 – 1998 BIG EAST semifinals vs. Syracuse (5-1, at UConn) … Gerardo (34:38) and Shannon Boxx (36:28) for 3-0 lead
(16) 1:51 – 1996 NCAA first round vs. Indiana (8-1, at ND) … Heft (75:49 and 77:40) for 8-1 lead
(17) 1:58 – 1994 MCC semifinals vs. Wright State (7-0, in Indianapolis) … Masters (39:44) and Jody Hartwig (41:42) for 7-0 lead
HANKS RECORD-BOOK UPDATE – Hanks remains 8th on the ND career points list (176), one behind Holly Manthei and seven behind former teammate Katie Thorlakson … her 52 assists also still rank 8th in ND history (one behind Jen Grubb) and are 22nd in the NCAA record book, one back of Grubb and former UNC player Cindy Parlow (’95-’98) … former Monmouth standout and current U.S. National Team defender Christie Pearce had 54 career assists from ’93-’96 (former UNC player Robin Confere had 55A from ’94-’97) … Hanks now has totaled 49 career gamewinning points (16 GWG, 17 GWA), good for 3rd in ND history behind Thorlakson (56) and Jenny Streiffer (51) … Hanks has assisted on the GWG in each of the past four games (also endline pass to Susan Pinnick at Seton Hall, free-kick service on Pinnick’s goal at Rutgers, and corner kick on score by Ashley Jones in BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. RU) … her 48 career postseason points (16G-16A) are five shy of that ND record (held by Thorlakson) … Hanks (346) needs eight more shots to tie another ND record, held by Cindy Daws (354) … her 23 career points in the BIG EAST Tournament (8G-7A) are one shy of Thorlakson’s ND record … Hanks also is one shy of Anne Makinen’s ND record for career goals in the BET and is one assist back of Thorlakson’s ND record for career BET assists … Hanks still ranks 7th in the NCAA record book with 0.72 assists per game in her career (52A, 72 GP) … Thorlakson (0.77) is the only D-I player with a better career assist avg. in the current decade … Hanks has scored (2) or assisted (6) on 8 of ND’s past 11 goals.
WALDRUM NOW NATION’S SECOND-WINNINGEST COACH – After weathering the 3-4-1 start to this season, Notre Dame ninth-year head coach Randy Waldrum now owns a .773 career winning percentage as a college women’s soccer head coach that ranks him second among active D-I coaches and third all-time (288-78-18; includes six years at Tulsa and three at Baylor) … UNC’s Anson Dorrance is first on the list (.942; 645-31-19), followed by former Portland coach Clive Charles (.799; 226-52-13), Waldrum, Florida’s Becky Burleigh (also .773; 309-82-25; coached previously at Barry) and Santa Clara’s Jerry Smith (.772; 337-89-30) … in a 20-day span earlier this season, Waldrum matched wits with each of the active coaches listed above (ND tied UNC in a 1-1 exhibition, won 2-0 at Florida and lost 7-1 at SCU) … Waldrum’s career record includes a 180-28-1 mark at Notre Dame (.854).
ND-GU SERIES NOTES – Notre Dame now leads the Georgetown series 14-1-0 (84-7 scoring edge), with seven straight wins … Hanks has totaled 12 points in five career games vs. GU, with one gamewinning goal and three gamewinning assists … Bock has 10 points (4G-2A) in four games vs. the Hoyas (2 GWG, 1 GWA) … Karas has allowed only one goal in 320 career minutes vs. GU.
ND IN THE BET – Notre Dame`s 29-2-0 all-time record in the BIG EAST Tournament included winning 19 straight from 1995-2003, then losing two of the next four before the current 8-game BET win streak … ND’s 11-1 all-time record in the BIG EAST semifinals (four straight wins) includes a 45-3 scoring edge, 10 shutouts and per-game margins of 21-4 in shots, 11-2 in shots on goal and 7-1 in corner kicks … ND has led for 71% of the minutes in its 12 BIG EAST semifinals while trailing only 8% of the time (83 min., all vs. BC in ’03 loss) … ND’s 29-2-0 all-time record in the BET now includes a +100 scoring edge in those 100 games (115-15; avg. 3.7-0.5) … stats in ND’s eight-game BET win streak: 27-2 scoring, 7 shutouts (Rutgers scored two late goals in the ’06 final), 155-47 shots (19.4-5.9 avg.), 72-20 shots on goal (9.0-2.4 avg.) and 47-13 in CKs (5.9-1.6 avg.).
SURGING WIN TOTAL – There currently are only 11 teams in the nation (among more than 300 on the D-I level) with more wins that ND’s 15, most notably: Purdue (18), Texas A&M (17), Georgia (17), North Carolina (16), Penn State (16) and BYU (16).
CLOSING THE DEAL – Stretching back to the middle of the 2005 season, ND is 47-1-0 in its past 48 games when scoring first (only loss was earlier this season to Penn State, 2-1).
CONFERENCE STREAKS – Notre Dame’s 37-game unbeaten streak vs. BIG EAST teams (36-0-1) tied for the longest in ND history and is the fifth-longest conference unbeaten streak in the NCAA record book (longest since 2001) … a win on Sunday over WVU would push that streak to 38 games, which would trail only two streaks by UNC in the ACC (55 games from 1994-2000; 41 from ’87-’94) and a 50-game unbeaten streak by Florida during SEC play (1997-2001) … ND also has posted 20 consecutive wins over BIG EAST teams, good for 3rd-best in ND history and 13th in the NCAA record book (best since UNC won 24 straight ACC games from ’02-’04) … ND has outscored its opponents 64-9 during that 20-game BIG EAST win streak (15 regular-season games, 5 in the BET) … the Irish also have played 69 straight games vs. BIG EAST teams without being outshot (since mid-2002; includes ’04 NCAA third-round game vs. UConn).
WIN STREAK NOTES – Notre Dame’s win streak matches the longest in D-I this season and is tied for 9th in ND history (one of 11 all-time ND win streaks of 12-plus games) … the nine-year Randy Waldrum era now has included seven different win streaks of 12 games or longer … a win over WVU would give ND a win streak of 13-plus games for the ninth time (would be fifth in Waldrum era) … the current 12-game win streak has included seven shutouts and five games with one goal allowed (38-5 scoring edge) … ND’s strong all-around team defense has allowed only 73 shots by the opponents in the win streak (6.1/gm), plus just 25 opponent shots on goal (2.1/gm) and 22 corner kicks allowed (1.8/gm) … the Irish have trailed for a total of only 72 minutes in the streak (6.7% of the time; avg. of 6 minutes per game.) … top scorers in the win streak: Bock (11G-3A; 5 GWG), Hanks (6G-11A) and Augustin (5G-1A; no points during 3-4-1 start) …
ROAD TESTED – Bock has scored six of ND’s 20 goals away from home this season, followed by Pinnick with three and two others with two road goals each.
IRON WOMAN – Senior M Ashley Jones has yet to miss a game in her four-year ND career and will be looking to log game #100 on Sunday vs. WVU … seven previous ND players have reached that century mark … the only ND players who have appeared in more consecutive games than Jones are her former teammate (and current ND volunteer assistant) Jen Buczkowski (103), Shannon Boxx (101) and Meotis Erikson (101) … senior F/M Amanda Cinalli, who recently missed five games due to a hamstring injury, is tied with Cindy Daws for 21st on the ND career games played list (94), one behind Monica Gonzalez and three of her former teammates (Katie Thorlakson, Kim Lorenzen and Jill Krivacek).
SUPER SENIORS – Notre Dame’s senior class now owns a career record of 87-9-2 (.889), spanning the 2004-07 seasons … the 87 wins are tied for the 4th-most ever by an ND class, behind the 2006 seniors (92-8-3/.908; ’03-`06), the 1997 seniors (91-6-4/.921; ’94-`97) and the 1998 seniors (89-8-4/.901; ’95-`98) … the 2007 seniors can tie their predecessor’s ND record with five more wins … if the Irish close the season as BIG EAST Tournament and NCAA champs (with all wins along the way; i.e. no ties/PK advances), the resulting 94-8-3 record would represent the second-best career win pct. in ND history (.910; would trail only the .921 by the 1997 seniors) … Cinalli is the only four-year starter in the senior class while Jones also has been a four-year regular (Lauren Karas was the backup keeper in ’04 while F/M Susan Pinnick did not play due to injury in ’04 and D Jennie Bireley is a first-year walk-on this season).
SUPER SENIORS, PART II – Here’s an updated look at the nation’s winningest senior classs:
Notre Dame – 87-9-4
North Carolina – 86-6-1
UCLA – 76-14-4
Penn State – 76-11-8
Portland – 74-11-5
KEEPING THE FAITH – Karas (50-4-1) extended her career win pct. to .918 (on pace for ND record) while lowering her career goals-against avg. to 0.57 (would tie ND record held by Liz Wagner) … Karas has compiled a 0.25 GAA in 13 games vs. BIG EAST teams this season (3 GA, in 1,065 min.) … Karas has lowered her 2007 season GAA to 0.62.
QUICK KICKS – ND’s 2007 season has included 10 shutouts, five games with one goal allowed and only one in which the opponent has scored more than two goals … Bock’s career postseason stats (11G-7A, 29 pts, 17 GP/14 GS) include 5G-2A in the BIG EAST Tournament (7 GP/6 GS) … Rosen registered her first career point in BET play (1G-2A in all postseason games) … Bock’s six gamewinning goals are tied for 6th in the ND single-season record book, two shy of the record (8) shared by Thorlakson (in ’04) and Michelle McCarthy (in ’94).
ND-WVU SERIES NOTES – Notre Dame holds an 11-0-0 edge in all-time games versus West Virginia, including a 5-0 win in the 1998 BIG EAST quarterfinals (at ND) and a 2-1 win in the 2001 BIG EAST final (at Rutgers) … the Irish are 3-1-0 in previous games vs. WVU played in Morgantown … ND and WVU did not meet in the ’05 or ’06 regular seasons but the 2006 game at ND’s Alumni Field produced a spirited 3-1 win for the Irish (ND entered that game #1 and WVU #6) … Amanda Cicchini’s goal (assisted by Deana Everett) gave WVU a 17th-minute lead in that game but ND roared back after halftime, thanks to goals by Michele Weissenhofer (assisted by Brittany Bock), Kerri Hanks (with assists from Jen Buczkowski and Amanda Cinalli) and Cinalli (from Weissenhofer) … ND finished that game with a 25-7 shot edge (8-2 in shots on goal; with each team earning three corner kicks) … WVU’s 3-0 win in 2002 represents ND’s only shutout loss to a BIG EAST team, since the Irish joined the league in 1995 … since becoming a BIG EAST member, ND is 148-11-4 (.920) in 163 total games vs. teams from the conference … UConn is the only BIG EAST team ever to beat the Irish more than once (5-4 in the ’95 regular season/at ND; 2-1 in the ’97 NCAA semifinals; 3-1 in the ’01 regular season/at UConn; and 2-1 in the ’04 BIG EAST final/at UConn) … the only other BIG EATS losses suffered by the Irish have come at Seton Hall (3-2, in ’98), at Rutgers (2-1, in ’01), at Villanova (2-1, in ’02), at Georgetown (4-3, in ’02), vs. Boston College (2-1, in ’03 BIG EAST semifinals/at RU) and at Marquette (4-1, in ’05) … ND’s four ties vs. BIG EAST teams have included three scoreless games (at UConn in 2000 and ’06; at home vs. Rutgers in ’04), plus a 1-1 game at UConn in ’98 … WVU’s shutout win over ND in 2002 helped keep the Irish out of the BIG EAST postseason for the only time in its history (ND lost a tiebreaker with RU for the final National Division spot that season).
NCAA SEEDING AT STAKE ON SUNDAY – Notre Dame and West Virginia both will have plenty to play for in the BIG EAST title game, as each team is looking to solidify its seeding for the upcoming NCAA Tournament … the NCAA will seed the top-16 national seeds but they won’t have actual 1-16 numbers attached to them … instead, four teams will be tabbed as #1 seeds, four as #2s, four as #3s and four as #4s … the top-16 national seeds typically serve as host teams for the first and second rounds, although teams have been sent on the road in recent years due to lack of other teams within geographical proximity … the top-8 seeds then are in line to host in the round-of-16 while the top-4 would be ensured of hosting in the quarterfinal round (the NCAA semifinals and final will be played at Texas A&M) … if ND is selected as a host team for the first/second round, potential teams that could fill out that bracket include Indiana, Marquette, Dayton, and the champions from three Midwest Conferences: the Mid-American (Toledo/Bowling Green), the Horizon (Loyola Chicago/Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and the Summit (Western Illinois/Oakland) … the NCAA uses several factors in selecting/seeding teams, most notably the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), in addition to head-to-head results, common opponents, record over final eight games, and results vs. teams already in the NCAA field … here’s a look at how the top-20 teams in the most recent official NCAA RPI (as of Nov. 5) fared this week (all numbers below reference each team’s most recent RPI ranking; note that the Pacific-10 and West Coast Conference do not have postseason tournaments):
#1 Penn State – won 3-1 over #64 Iowa in Big Ten quarterfinals, tied #34 Ohio State in semifinals (OSU advanced on PKs)
#2 North Caroloina – beat #24 Clemson 3-0 in ACC quarters, played to 1-1 tie with #12 Virginia (UNC adv. on PKs), will play #19 FSU in title game
#3 UCLA – won 2-0 at #58 Washington State, play Sunday at #98 Washington
#4 USC – won 2-1 at #98 Washington, next at #58 WSU
#5 Stanford – played to 0-0 tie at #72 Oregon, next at #170 Oregon State
#6 Tennessee – lost to #22 South Carolina in SEC quarters
#7 Texas A&M, tied #70 ISU (A&M adv. on PKs) and beat #33 MO, will play #21 TX
#8 Portland – play Sat. vs. #54 Loyola Marymount
#9 Georgia – beat #53 Mississippi in SEC quarters and #22 South Carolina in semi’s, will play #17 Florida in final
#10 Wake Forest – beat #35 Duke 1-0 in ACC quarters (OT), lost 5-2 to #19 Florida State in semifinals
#11 San Diego – play Sat vs. #214 San Francisco
#12 Virginia – tied #45 Miami (UVa adv. on PKs) and tied #2 UNC in semi’s (UNC adv. on PKs)
#13 Purdue – won 3-1 over #48 Northwestern in Big Ten quarters, won 3-0 over #36 Illinois in semi’s, will face #34 Ohio State in final
#14 West Virginia – won 1-0 (OT) over #20 Louisville in BIG EAST semi’s, will face #16 ND (at home) in final
#15 James Madison – beat #120 George Mason 2-1 in Colonial quarters, lost to #30 Hofstra in semi’s (0-2)
#16 Notre Dame – beat #41 Georgetown 2-0 in BIG EAST semi’s, will play at #14 WVU in final
#17 Florida – beat #47 Kentucky 4-0 in SEC quarters, beat #27 LSU in 1-0 semifinal, will face #9 Georgia in final
#18 Indiana – lost to #34 Ohio State in Big Ten quarters
#19 Florida State – beat #26 Boston College in ACC quarters, beat #10 WFU 5-2 in semi’s, will face #2 UNC in final
#20 Louisville – lost 1-0 at #14 WVU in BIG EAST semifinals