Aug. 11, 2011
2011 ND Women’s Soccer — Exhibition 2
#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-2-2 in 2010 / 9-0-2 BIG EAST) vs. #10 Virginia Cavaliers (15-5-2 in 2010 / 7-2-1 ACC)
DATE: August 12, 2011
TIME: 1 p.m. ET
AT: Maple City, Mich. (Myles Kimmerly Park – cap. 1,000)
SERIES: UVa 1-0 (regular season) // ND 3-2-1 (exhibition)
1ST MTG: UVa 2-0 (10/21/89 at UVa)
LAST MTG: UVa 4-1 (8/13/10 at Maple City, Mich. – exhibition)
LIVE STATS: None
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
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TICKETS: Free for exhibitions
Storylines
- Notre Dame is 9-3-2 in exhibitions vs. college teams during the Randy Waldrum era (1999-present), with a 4-3-1 record at neutral sites.
- The Fighting Irish are averaging 2.5 goals per match in 13 exhibitions vs. college programs since Waldrum came to town 13 seasons ago.
#1 Fighting Irish Close Exhibition Season Friday Against #10 Virginia
Following a solid showing in its exhibition opener, No. 1 Notre Dame plays its second and final preseason contest at 1 p.m. (ET) Friday when it takes on 10th-ranked Virginia at Myles Kimmerly Park in Maple City, Mich. It will be the seventh consecutive season that the Fighting Irish and Cavaliers will play an exhibition match, and the fifth time it will take place in northern lower Michigan.
Notre Dame took the pitch for the first time in 2011 on Tuesday, charging past Nebraska, 5-0 at the Eck Practice Field on the Notre Dame campus. Senior All-America forward Melissa Henderson blitzed the Huskers with four goals before classmate Molly Campbell capped the scoring in the 81st minute. Junior Maddie Fox and freshman Jennifer Jasper split the shutout in goal, with Fox going the first 67:30, and Jasper making her team’s only two saves in the closing minutes.
Virginia is making its preseason debut on Friday, with a second exhibition match against George Mason slated for Sunday night back in Charlottesville, Va.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 in the preseason NSCAA poll, while the first Soccer America poll has yet to be released.
- Virginia is ranked No. 10 in the preseason NSCAA poll.
Irish Items
- Notre Dame returns 18 monogram winners, including seven starters, from last year’s national championship team that went 21-2-2 and outscored its six NCAA Championship opponents (five that were ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, and four that were seeded) by a combined 15-1 margin, posting five shutouts along the way.
- The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 1 in the preseason NSCAA poll for the second time in program history. Notre Dame also opened the 2005 season at No. 1, the year after winning the program’s second national championship.
- Notre Dame was unanimously selected to win the BIG EAST National Division, earning all 120 points (and 15 first-place votes) from the other 15 conference coaches in preseason balloting. It marks the 16th consecutive season in which the Fighting Irish have been chosen as the BIG EAST favorite (either in their division or overall). Notre Dame has won 13 BIG EAST regular-season titles (division or overall) since joining the conference 16 years ago, including each of the past six National Division crowns.
- The Fighting Irish also copped two of the BIG EAST’s major individual preseason honors, with the league’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, senior All-America forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Melissa Henderson (17G-11A in 2010), being unanimously selected as the 2011 BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. She is the first unanimous choice for the honor since 2007, when another Notre Dame All-America forward (and two-time Hermann Trophy recipient), Kerri Hanks, earned every vote from the conference coaches.
- At the other end of the pitch, senior defender Jessica Schuveiller (1G-3A) was chosen as the BIG EAST Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Marquette’s Kerry McBride. Schuveiller is a two-time all-conference selection and was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the 2010 NCAA Women’s College Cup (Henderson was tabbed as the Cup’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player).
- The Fighting Irish welcome seven newcomers to their program this season, including six freshmen (five of whom were rated among the top 100 in the Top Drawer Soccer Class of 2011 rankings). Leading the rookie class for Notre Dame is forward Lauren Bohaboy, a two-time NSCAA high school All-American and the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in the state of California after registering a combined 79 goals in her final two prep seasons (including a school-record 51 goals and 10 assists as a senior last year).
- Others to keep an eye on include defender/midfielder Taylor Schneider, who has been busy in the past year, participating in training camps with the United States Under-18 and Under-20 National Teams, and defender/midfielder Sammy Scofield, who was a starting center back this summer for the Chicago Red Stars in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (alongside current sophomore outside back Kecia Morway), helping Chicago reach the league championship match (Scofield was named to the WPSL All-Championship Team).
- Scofield and Morway were two of 12 players with Notre Dame ties who competed in the WPSL this past summer. Six of those players currently are on the Fighting Irish roster — besides Scofield and Morway, Tucker and freshman goalkeeper Sarah Voigt played for Florida Sol FC (Tucker was named to the All-Sunshine Conference Team), senior defender Haley Chamberlain suited up for the New York Athletic Club (helping it reach the Eastern Conference playoffs) and freshman midfielder/forward Karin Simonian spent time with the Long Island Fury.
Scouting Virginia
Making its 2011 debut against Notre Dame on Friday, Virginia returns 18 veterans (including seven starters) from last year’s club that posted a 15-5-2 record and went 7-2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference en route to a berth in the third round of the NCAA Championship (the Cavaliers were eliminated by eventual College Cup semifinalist Ohio State, 3-2).
Senior forward Lauren Alwine is Virginia’s top returning scorer, having tallied four goals and a team-high 10 assists in 19 matches (all starts) a year ago. Sophomore forward Gloria Douglas had an impressive rookie season as the Cavaliers’ top reserve, collecting seven goals and three assists while playing in all 22 matches, but starting just one.
Senior Chantel Jones returns in the Virginia goal, having appeared in all 22 contests (starting 21 times) and posting a 0.67 goals-against average (GAA) with 10 solo shutouts and two shared clean sheets.
Leading the crop of eight Cavalier newcomers is freshman midfielder Morgan Brian, who was the 2011 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and National Female Athlete of the Year after piling up 71 goals and 30 assists last season (186 goals, 95 assists for her prep career). Another UVa rookie to look for is forward Kaili Torres, who played alongside Notre Dame freshman goalkeeper Sarah Voigt at St. John’s Country Day School in Orange Park, Fla.
Head coach Steve Swanson is beginning his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach, sporting a 257-124-42 (.657) career record. He starts his 12th year at Virginia this fall, having compiled a 153-61-31 (.688) record at the school.
The Notre Dame-Virginia Series
Officially, Notre Dame and Virginia have met only once on the soccer pitch, with the Cavaliers defeating the Fighting Irish, 2-0, on Oct. 21, 1989, in Charlottesville.
However, the teams will be squaring off in exhibition play for the seventh consecutive year, with Notre Dame going 3-2-1 against Virginia in the preseason with an aggregate 13-10 score against UVa in those six preseason contests.
Friday’s game also will mark the fifth time the Fighting Irish and Cavaliers have played a preseason contest in the Traverse City area, all in the past six seasons. Notre Dame took the first matchup (3-0 in 2006), but Virginia is unbeaten in the past three contests, winning in 2008 (2-1) and 2010 (4-1), while the 2009 match ended in a 3-3 draw.
This is the third consecutive season the teams will play their exhibition at Myles Kimmerly Park in Maple City, Mich.
The Last Time Notre Dame And Virginia Met In Exhibition Play
Midfielder Mandy Laddish (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Lee’s Summit) scored a second-half goal off an assist from forward Melissa Henderson (Garland, Texas/Berkner), but it was not enough to beat back a determined opponent as fourth-ranked Notre Dame fell to No. 17 Virginia, 4-1 in an exhibition match on Aug. 13, 2010, at Myles Kimmerly Park in Maple City, Mich.
The match was played in four 30-minute periods, with teams featuring largely mixed lineups and formations in an effort to test certain combinations. Notre Dame also played both of its goalkeepers in the contest, with Nikki Weiss (Redding, Conn./Immaculate) working the first and third periods, and sophomore Maddie Fox (San Jose, Calif./Leigh) tending goal in the other two frames.
Virginia got goals from Meghan Lenczyk (8′) and Lauren Alwine (23′) in the first period, and a score from Emily Perrin (65′) in the third stanza. Laddish put the Fighting Irish on the board in the final period (117′), working a pretty give-and-go with Henderson in the left channel and driving a left-footed shot from the top of the box high to the upper right corner of the net past a diving UVa goalkeeper Chantel Jones.
The Cavaliers capped the scoring in the 118th minute, as Colleen Flanagan drove a ball from distance that started off frame but curled back inside the right post.
Exhibition Match #1 Recap: Nebraska
Senior tri-captain/All-America forward Melissa Henderson (Garland, Texas/Berkner) wasted little time in establishing herself as one of the leading candidates for the 2011 Hermann Trophy, scoring four goals in a little more than an hour’s worth of action to lead top-ranked Notre Dame past Nebraska, 5-0 in the exhibition opener for both schools on Tuesday afternoon at the Eck Practice Field on the Notre Dame campus.
Senior defender/midfielder Molly Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan./St. Teresa’s Academy) added a goal, while three other players — sophomore midfielder/defender Rebecca Twining (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist School), sophomore defender Kecia Morway (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) and senior defender/midfielder Brynn Gerstle (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) — picked up assists for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame held an 18-11 shot advantage in the match, including a 14-2 margin in shots on goal (none of the Huskers’ shots came from inside the penalty area). The Fighting Irish also had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks, while Nebraska was whistled for 11 of the 15 fouls during the day. In addition, Notre Dame was flagged offside seven times (six in the first half), compared to once for the Huskers.
Junior goalkeeper Maddie Fox (San Jose, Calif./Leigh) went the first 67:30 in the Fighting Irish nets and was not called upon to make a save. Freshman Jennifer Jasper (Fort Worth, Texas/Trinity Valley School) came on to relieve Fox and complete the shutout, turning aside two shots in the final 22-plus minutes.
It didn’t take long for Waldrum’s charges to move in front — all of 80 seconds, to be precise. Morway sprang Henderson with a well-weighted ball down the left channel, with the veteran striker cutting back inside her mark near the top left corner of the penalty box and then beating Nebraska goalkeeper Emma Stevens with a deft chip into the far right side of the net (1:20).
Notre Dame kept up the pressure on the Huskers throughout the first half, outshooting the visitors, 10-3 in the opening 45 minutes, including six on frame. One of those would double the Fighting Irish lead at 39:57, as Twining scooped up a loose ball near top of the center circle and used a neat flick with the outside of her right boot to find Henderson streaking down the right side. Henderson got back into the area before pivoting around her defender and snapping a low left-footed shot underneath Stevens, who was caught guessing the wrong way.
A two-goal lead is considered the most dangerous margin in soccer, but it only turned out to be trouble for Nebraska. Less than three minutes into the second half, Henderson battled a Husker defender for the ball in the box, then flicked a pass over her shoulder to wriggle free, and all the defender could do was pull Henderson down for a penalty kick. She then calmly slotted home her try from the spot and Notre Dame led 3-0 at the 47:30 mark.
Nebraska found more offensive rhythm in the second half, but the Fighting Irish defense was equal to the task, holding the Huskers to just two shots on goal, both of which were from distance and easily collected by Jasper. Meanwhile, Henderson closed the book on her afternoon in the 67th minute, as sophomore midfielder Mandy Laddish (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Lee’s Summit) started the sequence by smartly chipping the on-rushing Nebraska back line. Henderson found herself in the clear on the right side of the box and cracked a low drive that Stevens did well to stop. Yet, the rebound came right back to Henderson and she made no mistake this time, volleying a drive into the empty net to complete her “Texas hat trick” at the 66:30 mark.
The match would be stopped in the 71st minute, as lightning was spotted in a passing thunderstorm to the north of the Notre Dame campus. Following a delay of approximately 35 minutes, the teams returned to the pitch, with Nebraska coming out full of renewed energy, taking five shots in the first seven minutes after the unplanned break. However, just one of them was on frame, as Jordan Jackson’s 20-yard shot was easily swallowed up by Jasper.
Campbell finished off the Notre Dame scoring barrage just past the 80-minute mark, courtesy of a solid combination play by Morway and Gerstle in the center of the pitch. Morway eventually found Campbell on the right flank and the versatile veteran raced more than 40 yards down the channel to the byline. Just before she ran out of real estate, Campbell fired a low blast to the near post that eluded Stevens and snuck into the net (80:06).
Exhibition Success
Notre Dame is 9-3-2 in exhibition matches against college teams in the 13-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum. Of those 14 preseason contests to date, more than half have come at neutral sites, with the Fighting Irish going 4-3-1 in those matches (three wins and the lone draw coming against Virginia).
It should be noted that Notre Dame did not play any preseason matches in 1999 (Waldrum’s first year), 2000, 2003 or 2004, with the ’00 and ’04 squads heading to Brazil for training trips. The ’04 team took full advantage of that trip, going 5-0-1 to set the stage for a 25-1-1 season and the program’s second national championship.
Oh Captain, My Captain
The 2011 Notre Dame squad will be led by a trio of senior Texans, as center back Jessica Schuveiller, midfielder Courtney Barg and forward Melissa Henderson were selected as tri-captains via a preseason vote of their teammates.
Schuveiller is in her third season with the armband, becoming the first three-year captain in the 24-year history of the Fighting Irish women’s soccer program. When she first earned the captaincy in 2009, Schuveiller also became the first Notre Dame non-senior to do so since 2002, when Amy Warner was a tri-captain as a junior.
Both Barg and Henderson are first-year captains, but continue a long-running tradition of leadership alongside Schuveiller. In fact, Barg and Schuveiller have been teammates and friends going back to the second grade in Plano, Texas, and three years later, the pair would meet and become fast friends with Henderson. Together, the Texas trio would play in the same club program from the age of 11, starting with the legendary Dallas Texans club, and then later with Sting Dallas for their final club season in 2007-08.
Notre Dame Soccer To Host Meet The Teams BBQ Saturday
The Notre Dame men’s and women’s soccer teams will hold the 2011 “Meet The Teams” barbecue and fan appreciation event from 4-6 p.m. (ET) Saturday at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown South Bend. This free annual event, which has become a favorite of fans and teams alike, will feature free food for the first 500 persons in attendance.
In addition, members of both teams will be on hand to sign autographs and take pictures, and fans will even have the chance to get their picture taken with the 2010 women’s soccer NCAA national championship trophy. Some of the Fighting Irish student-athletes also will be available to compete in pick-up games and skills challenges, and there will be other activities for younger fans, including face painting and balloon animals.
Next Match: Wisconsin
Notre Dame returns home to kick off the 2011 regular season Friday with a 5:30 p.m. (ET) match against Wisconsin at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish are 20-2-1 (.891) all-time in season openers, including a 13-1-1 (.900) record when they start the season at home, and a 10-1-1 (.875) mark on Opening Night with a 60-8 scoring margin in lidlifters during the Waldrum era.
Wisconsin has 17 letterwinners, including 10 starters back from last year’s team that went 11-4-5 and 7-1-2 in the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship, where they played to a 2-2 draw at Notre Dame’s fellow BIG EAST member, Marquette, before falling on penalties, 5-4.
The Fighting Irish hold a 12-1-1 lead in the all-time series with Wisconsin, including a 3-0 victory over the Badgers in their last meeting (which also was a season opener) on Aug. 21, 2009 at old Alumni Field.
— ND —