Aug. 18, 2011
Notre Dame Match Notes
| Wisconsin Match Notes
2011 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer — Match 1
#1/2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-2-2 / 9-0-2 BIG EAST in ’10) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (11-4-5 / 7-1-2 Big Ten in ’10)
DATE: August 19, 2011
TIME: 5:30 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. – Alumni Stadium (2,500)
SERIES: ND leads 12-1-1
1ST MTG: UW 6-0 (9/9/89)
LAST MTG: ND 3-0 (8/21/09)
WEBCAST: 
(live) (Patrick Staudt, p-b-p / Daniel Byrne, color)
LIVE STATS: UND.com
BLOG/TEXT: UND.com
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
TICKETS: (574) 631-7356 / UND.com/tickets
Storylines
- All-time, Notre Dame holds a 20-2-1 (.891) record in season openers including a 13-1-1 (.900) record at home.
- The Fighting Irish are starting off against a Big Ten team for the fifth consecutive year and seventh time overall, posting a 5-0-1 record in season openers against the Big Ten.
No. 1/2 Fighting Irish Kick Off Regular Season Friday Against Wisconsin
After a solid two-match performance in exhibition play last week, No. 1/2 Notre Dame gets things going for real at 5:30 p.m. (ET) Friday when it plays host to Wisconsin at Alumni Stadium. Like all Fighting Irish home matches this season, Friday’s contest will be webcast live and free of charge through the official Notre Dame athletics web site, UND.com.
The Fighting Irish had their offensive motor in high gear during the preseason, scoring a combined 12 goals in victories over Nebraska (5-0) and No. 10/16 Virginia (7-5). Senior All-America forward Melissa Henderson had a hand in 11 of those 12 Notre Dame goals last week, scoring four times in each exhibition match and adding three assists.
Senior defender/midfielder Molly Campbell also enjoyed a strong preseason with goals in both matches, while senior midfielder Courtney Barg and sophomore midfielder Mandy Laddish both scored for the Fighting Irish against Virginia (Laddish added two assists in the win).
Rankings
- Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 in the preseason NSCAA poll and No. 2 in the preseason Soccer America poll.
- Wisconsin is not ranked in either poll.
A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
When last we saw Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish were capping off a magical six-match run to their third NCAA national championship with a 1-0 victory over previously-unbeaten Stanford in the title match, courtesy of Adriana Leon’s 63rd-minute goal.
Notre Dame has 18 monogram winners, including seven starters back this year to defend that championship, bringing with them more than 60 percent of the team’s offense.
Leading the way is senior forward Melissa Henderson (17G-11A in 2010), a consensus All-American last year and recipient of the Honda Sports Award for women’s soccer, as well as being the first runner-up for the Hermann Trophy. Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Tucker (9G-3A) also looks to build on a strong rookie year.
On defense, senior center back (and three-year captain) Jessica Schuveiller has started all 78 matches in her college career and shows no signs of slowing down, as she anchors a defense that posted 15 shutouts and a 0.51 goals-against average (GAA) last season.
Scouting Wisconsin
Wisconsin brings back 17 letterwinners, including 10 starters from a squad that went 11-4-5 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Championship, where it played Notre Dame’s fellow BIG EAST member, Marquette to a 2-2 draw (MU advanced on penalties, 5-4). The Badgers also finished third in the Big Ten Conference last year with a 7-1-2 record, and according to that league’s preseason coaches’ poll, UW is expected to finish in that same position in 2011.
Wisconsin had one of the nation’s stingiest defenses last season, allowing just 11 goals and registering 12 shutouts. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Michelle Dalton was a prime reason for that defensive success, posting a 0.47 goals-against average (GAA) and a sharp .899 save percentage in 18 matches (16 starts).
Offensively, the Badgers will look to senior forwards Laurie Nosbusch (10G-1A in 2010) and Kodee Williams (4G-4A), while junior midfielders Alev Kelter and Monica Lam-Feist (three goals each) also will look to make their presence felt.
Head coach Paula Wilkins is starting her fifth season at Wisconsin with a 36-30-13 (.538) record at the school, and an 11-year career mark of 155-49-24 (.732) that included a successful six-year run at Penn State from 2001-06. She is 0-3 all-time against Notre Dame (0-2 at PSU, 0-1 at UW).
The Notre Dame-Wisconsin Series
Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 12-1-1, including an 8-0-1 record at home (this is the first time the teams will play in three-year-old Alumni Stadium). The Fighting Irish also are unbeaten in the past 13 series matches (12-0-1) after the Badgers won the first-ever meeting in 1989 (6-0 in Madison, Wis.) and earned a 2-2 draw on Sept. 9, 2001 at old Alumni Field.
The last time they met was in the 2009 season opener (Aug. 21), the final lidlifter at old Alumni Field, with the Fighting Irish winning 3-0 (see recap in next note).
The Last Time Notre Dame And Wisconsin Met
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson and junior midfielder Rose Augustin scored a little more than two minutes apart in the opening stages of the second half, and Augustin later assisted on the clinching tally by junior midfielder Lauren Fowlkes, as third-ranked Notre Dame kicked off its 2009 season with a 3-0 victory over Wisconsin on a rainy night at old Alumni Field.
Senior Kelsey Lysander and junior Nikki Weiss shared the shutout in the Fighting Irish goal, with Lysander going the first 72:40 and making one critical save, while Weiss was not tested during the final 17:20.
As a team, Notre Dame outshot Wisconsin, 20-8, including a 10-1 edge in shots on goal. UW netminder Michelle Dalton came up with six saves in the Badgers’ net, including three impressive stops in the first half on point-blank Notre Dame shots.
After a scoreless, yet entertaining first half, and with a fresh set of storm clouds on the horizon, Notre Dame delivered a pair of lightning strikes in the first five minutes of the second half. Henderson got the home side on the board 2:49 into the period, tracking down a chip by Taylor Knaack to the left side of the box despite being clad with a UW defender, and drilling a low left-footed shot that snuck inside the right post.
At 49:58, the Fighting Irish doubled their lead, this time on a brilliant individual effort by Augustin. The veteran midfielder settled a Wisconsin clearing attempt 30 yards from goal in the left channel, turned and unleashed a thunderbolt that settled perfectly in the upper left 90 over a leaping Dalton.
Leading 2-0, Notre Dame still had to withstand a second-half challenge from the scrappy Badgers. UW’s best opportunity of the night came in the 62nd minute, when Erin Jacobsen collected a ball near the top right of the penalty area, turned and ripped a left-footed drive that was ticketed for the upper left corner of the Notre Dame net. However, Lysander tracked the shot all the way, racing back and reaching high over her left shoulder to parry the ball around the left post and preserve the shutout.
Fowlkes closed out any hopes of a Wisconsin comeback at the 68:31 mark, rising above the fray in the penalty area to meet Augustin’s pinpoint corner kick with a driving header into the right sidenetting.
Notre Dame vs. the Big Ten
Notre Dame is 67-9-3 (.867) all-time against the current Big Ten Conference alignment, including a 43-6-2 (.863) record at home. Since a 2-1 loss to 14th-ranked Penn State on Sept. 23, 2007, at old Alumni Field, the Fighting Irish have won 10 consecutive matches against the Big Ten, including a 3-0 mark last season with wins over Minnesota (1-0), Northwestern (2-1) and Ohio State (1-0).
Notre Dame also is 5-0-1 all-time when facing a Big Ten opponent in its season opener, with this being the fifth consecutive year the Fighting Irish have kicked off against that conference, all at home (4-0 at Michigan State in 1998; 2-1 vs. Penn State in 2001; 0-0 vs. Michigan in 2007; 7-0 vs. Michigan in 2008; 3-0 vs. Wisconsin in 2009; 1-0 vs. Minnesota in 2010).
Blowing The Lid Off
Notre Dame holds a 20-2-1 (.891) record in season openers, including a 13-1-1 (.900) record at home. In addition, under 13th-year head coach Randy Waldrum, the Fighting Irish carry a 10-1-1 (.875) mark in season openers and have outscored the opposition by a 60-8 margin in those 12 matches (20-0 in the past five matches).
Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last 11 season openers since dropping Waldrum’s debut match with the Fighting Irish on Sept. 3, 1999 (a 3-2 double overtime setback to No. 1 North Carolina at old Alumni Field).
What’s more, Notre Dame has shut out its last five season-opening opponents (four wins and a scoreless draw with Michigan in 2007) and has an active streak of 542:54 without allowing a goal on opening night. That run dates back to Aug. 26, 2005, when New Hampshire’s Ashlee Ceislak scored 17:06 into an 11-1 Fighting Irish victory at the Vermont Banknorth Classic in Burlington, Vt.
Our Fearless Leader
Now in his 13th season at Notre Dame, head coach Randy Waldrum ranks third on the NCAA Division I career winning percentage list with a .792 (360-86-23) mark in his 22 years in the women’s game. He also is second among active coaches for career winning percentage, while his 360 career wins rank fifth on the all-time NCAA Division I charts — Waldrum earned his 350th career victory on Oct. 3, 2010, vs. St. John’s at Alumni Stadium.
A two-time National Coach of the Year (2009 by Soccer America, 2010 by NSCAA), Waldrum has led Notre Dame to eight NCAA College Cups, five NCAA finals and two national championships (2004 and 2010). He also is second in NCAA Division I history with eight College Cup appearances and five title-match berths in his storied career.
The 2-0 Guarantee
Notre Dame is 327-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and is unbeaten in its past 304 contests when going ahead 2-0 (dating back to a 3-3 draw with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati).
In fact, just two of the past 216 Fighting Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have forced a draw, something achieved by four opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (ND won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at old Alumni Field (ND led 2-0, later tied 2-2 and 3-3, ND won 4-3), Duke on Nov. 30, 2007, in the NCAA quarterfinals at old Alumni Field (ND won 3-2), and most recently, Villanova on Oct. 12, 2008 in Villanova, Pa. (ND won 3-2 in OT).
Three … Is The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women’s soccer history, with a 296-3-1 (.988) record in those games, including a 198-1-0 (.995) mark since Oct. 6, 1995.
Golden Domers Golden In OT
Overtime has usually been the right time for Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish are 20-4-11 (.729) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since 1999) when going to an extra period or two. Notre Dame also is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 overtime contests.
Last season, the Fighting Irish were 0-1-2 in extra time, falling 2-1 at UCLA and earning 1-1 draws at Connecticut and Georgetown.
Two current Notre Dame players have scored “golden goals” in their college careers — senior forward Melissa Henderson (Nov. 9, 2008 vs. Connecticut in the BIG EAST final at old Alumni Field) and senior defender Jessica Schuveiller (Nov. 6, 2009 vs. St. John’s in the BIG EAST semifinals at Storrs, Conn.).
Captains’ Choice
A trio of seniors — midfielder Courtney Barg, forward Melissa Henderson and defender Jessica Schuveiller — were selected to serve as Notre Dame’s captains this year, according to a preseason vote of their teammates.
Schuveiller is making history this season as the first three-year captain in the 24-year history of Fighting Irish women’s soccer. When she first earned the armband in 2009, Schuveiller became Notre Dame’s first non-senior captain since Amy Warner in 2002.
Barg and Henderson are in their first seasons as team captains.
Next Up: Carolina Classic
Notre Dame heads out on the road for the first time this season when it ventures to Chapel Hill, N.C., next weekend for the Carolina Classic. The Fighting Irish will take on No. 3 North Carolina at 7 p.m. (ET) on Friday, Aug. 26, before tangling with No. RV/12 Duke at 1 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Aug. 28 — both matches will be played at UNC’s Fetzer Field.
North Carolina has 19 letterwinners, including nine starters back from last year’s team that went 19-3-2 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship before falling to Notre Dame, 4-1, at Fetzer Field.
Duke returns all 11 of its starters (and 18 letterwinners overall) from a 11-8-4 squad that also reached the third round of the NCAA tournament before bowing out at Oklahoma State (Notre Dame eliminated OSU in the quarterfinals a week later).
— ND —