Sept. 24, 2009
Full Notes Package in PDF Format 
2009 ND Women’s Soccer — Game 9
#14/12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-3-0 / 1-0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (6-3-0 / 1-0-0 BIG EAST)
DATE: September 25, 2009
TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET
AT: Cincinnati, Ohio – Gettler Stadium (1,400)
SERIES: ND leads 9-1-1
1ST MTG: ND 4-0 (9/14/91)
LAST MTG: ND 5-0 (11/2/08)
WEBCAST: www.gobearcats.com (Tom Gelehrter, p-b-p)
LIVE STATS: www.UND.com
TEXT ALERT: www.UND.com
TICKETS: (877) 228-7849
Storylines
- Notre Dame owns a school-record 53-game unbeaten streak (51-0-2) against BIG EAST opposition, dating back to 2005.
- Head coach Randy Waldrum needs one victory to reach the 400-win mark in his 28-year college soccer coaching career (men’s and women’s teams combined).
#14/12 Irish Face BIG EAST Road Test Friday At Cincinnati
On the heels of a pair of shutout wins last weekend, No. 14/12 Notre Dame hits the road Friday for a challenging test at Cincinnati, with kickoff from Gettler Stadium set for 7 p.m. (ET). The Fighting Irish come into the matchup riding a 21-game road unbeaten streak (19-0-2) against BIG EAST opposition and an overall 53-game unbeaten run (51-0-2) against conference foes, both stretching back to a 4-1 loss at Marquette on Sept. 30, 2005.
Notre Dame (5-3, 1-0) swept two Windy City foes last weekend, taking down DePaul, 4-0, in its BIG EAST opener on Sept, 18, before dispatching Northwestern, 2-0, two days later. Junior midfielder Rose Augustin scored twice and junior forward Taylor Knaack chalked up two assists against DePaul, while sophomore midfielder Courtney Barg and junior defender Julie Scheidler scored against Northwestern.
Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander had 1.5 shutouts on the weekend, splitting the DePaul clean sheet with freshman Maddie Fox.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is ranked 14th in the NSCAA poll and 12th in the Soccer America poll.
- Cincinnati is not ranked.
A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
After driving all the way to the doorstep of history in 2008 with a magical 26-1-0 season that culminated just short of a national championship, Notre Dame returns many of the same players that helped propel the Fighting Irish to the top of the college soccer world for much of last year.
Not only does Notre Dame bring back 19 monogram winners and seven starters, but of those 19 returnees, 15 of them have starting experience under their belt. What’s more, the Fighting Irish have more than 60 percent of their goalscoring (52 of 83) back in the fold, along with many of the defenders that were responsible for registering 18 shutouts and a 0.44 goals-against average (both among the top five marks in school history).
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson (17G-2A in 2008) was tabbed the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is one of 45 preseason candidates for the Hermann Trophy after a stellar rookie campaign that included five gamewinning goals, the last coming in overtime of the BIG EAST Championship game against Connecticut.
Junior midfielders Rose Augustin (6G-2A) and Erica Iantorno (5G-7A) also likely will factor in Notre Dame’s offensive attack this season. Meanwhile, junior holding midfielder Lauren Fowlkes (1G), another preseason Hermann Trophy choice, and sophomore defender Jessica Schuveiller (1G-1A) will anchor the Fighting Irish backline.
They will be supported by senior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander, who set a single-season school record with 26 victories last season (and shared another record with 18 total shutouts). Lysander also ranked sixth in the nation last season with a 0.44 GAA and was named to the ’08 NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team.
Scouting The Bearcats
Cincinnati enters Friday night’s match with a 6-3-0 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark in BIG EAST National Division play. The Bearcats are also 3-0-0 in home games.
Last weekend, Cincinnati opened its BIG EAST slate with a 2-0 home win over Louisville on Sept. 18, and followed that up with a 2-1 home win versus Akron on Sept. 20. In the win over Louisville, juniors Sydney Barker and Kendall Loggins scored second-half goals to help the Bearcats to the victory. In net, senior Andrea Kaminski played the full 90 minutes, earning the shutout with 11 saves.
In the win over Akron, the Bearcats rallied from a 1-0 deficit to earn their sixth win of the season. Senior Erin MacDonald scored the game-winning goal at 71:11, while Kaminski went the distance again, making eight saves.
On the season, sophomores Julie Morrissey and Emily Hebbeler lead the Bearcats with nine points apiece, as each player has netted four goals and added an assist. Senior midfielder Melissa Bigg, third on the team with seven points, leads the team with five assists. Kaminski has posted a 5-1 record in the Bearcat net, posting a 1.08 GAA and an .860 save percentage. Kaminski has also made 43 saves.
The Bearcats are coached by Michelle Salmon, who is in her second season at Cincinnati with a 16-10-3 record at UC heading into the weekend. Prior to taking over at Cincinnati, Salmon spent two years as the head coach at Ball State and six seasons at Maryland-Baltimore County, amassing a combined 88-72-17 record in nine-plus years on the sidelines.
The Notre Dame-Cincinnati Series
Notre Dame owns an all-time series record of 9-1-1 against Cincinnati, including a current five-game winning streak that began in 2005 when the Bearcats joined the BIG EAST Conference. Notre Dame also holds a 49-8 scoring edge in the series, which dates back to 1991, when the Irish won at Cincinnati, 4-0. Cincinnati earned its only win in the series in 2001 when the Bearcats logged a 3-2 win over Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Championship at old Alumni Field.
The teams met on two occasions last season, with many of Notre Dame’s current players having key roles in leading the Irish to two victories. In regular season action, Notre Dame earned a 6-0 win at Cincinnati on Sept. 28. Melissa Henderson collected her first career hat trick and Haley Ford added a goal and an assist to lead the Irish. Kelsey Lysander went the first 75:13 in the Notre Dame net before Nikki Weiss wrapped up the shutout win.
Notre Dame and Cincinnati then played in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals on Nov. 2, with the Irish earning a 5-0 home win. Michele Weissenhofer had two assists and helped set up two other goals via her flip throw-in. Courtney Rosen and Taylor Knaack each tallied their third goals of the year in the match as well. Lysander and Weiss each played a half and were barely tested on their way to recording Notre Dame’s 12th shutout of the 2008 season.
Beasts Of The BIG EAST
With a win over DePaul in its 2009 BIG EAST opener last Friday, Notre Dame now owns a school-record 53-game unbeaten streak (51-0-2) against BIG EAST opposition (second-longest in NCAA Division I history) dating back to a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Marquette on Sept. 30, 2005. In that time, the only ties were a 0-0 draw at Connecticut (Oct. 13, 2006) and a 1-1 deadlock at No. 12 West Virginia in the 2007 BIG EAST final on Nov. 11 (WVU won 5-3 on PKs, but the game is recorded as a tie).
Since joining the BIG EAST, the Irish are 124-8-4 (.926) all-time in regular-season conference games, 32-2-1 (.929) in the BIG EAST Tournament, and hold a 686-81 scoring edge dating back to that first league season in ’95.
What’s more, Notre Dame maintains a 14-year, 88-game home unbeaten streak (87-0-1) versus BIG EAST teams, with Connecticut the lone conference team ever to defeat the Irish at home (5-4 in OT on Oct. 6, 1995 at old Alumni Field).
Senior Moments
The 2009 Irish senior class ranks as the second-most successful group in the country on the basis of wins, with a four-year record to date of 75-10-3 (.869) that includes three consecutive trips to the NCAA College Cup and appearances in the 2006 and 2008 national title games.
The .869 winning percentage compiled by the Notre Dame seniors is third on the national scene behind North Carolina and UCLA.
Pick Three For The Hermann Watch
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson, junior defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes and senior midfielder Courtney Rosen have been named to the 45-player watch list for the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, it was announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I women’s soccer player, with Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks earning the prestigious crystal ball trophy last year. In the process, Hanks became the fourth Fighting Irish player to collect the award, not to mention just the fourth two-time Hermann Trophy honoree since the award debuted in 1988, as well as the first two-time national player of the year (in any sport) in the 122-year history of Notre Dame athletics.
Game #8 Recap: Northwestern
Sophomore midfielder Courtney Barg and junior defender Julie Scheidler each scored their first goal of the season — Scheidler’s being the first of her college career — as the No. 14/13 Notre Dame women’s soccer team registered its second consecutive shutout with a 2-0 victory over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon in the non-conference finale for the Fighting Irish at Alumni Stadium.
Barg found the back of the net with an unassisted tally just 6:24 into the contest, and Scheidler nearly duplicated her teammate’s feat in the second half, striking pay dirt a mere 4:38 after halftime. Junior forward Lauren Fowlkes earned the assist on Scheidler’s goal, giving her at least one point in four of Notre Dame’s six home matches this season.
Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander paired with a stout Fighting Irish back line to pitch her second solo shutout of the season, and the team’s fifth clean sheet in eight matches this year. Lysander made two saves on the afternoon, in addition to one team save for Notre Dame.
As a team, the Fighting Irish outshot the Wildcats, 15-10, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Notre Dame also earned a slim 4-3 edge in corner kicks, while fouls were nearly even, with NU committing eight of the 14 infractions.
The Henderson Effect
Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson has made quite an impact on the Notre Dame offense since arriving on campus last fall, netting 22 goals (including eight gamewinners) and adding three assists for 47 points in less than two full seasons with the Irish.
In fact, through her first 35 games, Notre Dame is 16-0 when Henderson scores a goal and 18-0 when she picks up a point.
Clean Sheets
In a unique twist, all eight of Notre Dame’s games this season have been decided by shutout (five for the Fighting Irish, three for the opposition). Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander has had a hand in four of those Notre Dame whitewashes, earning solo shutouts against Loyola-Chicago (Aug. 28) and Northwestern (Sept. 20).
Meanwhile, junior netminder Nikki Weiss and freshman goalkeeper Maddie Fox each have split two shutouts. Weiss shared the Aug. 21 blanking of Wisconsin, and the Sept. 6 clean sheet vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Fox closed out the UWM contest and also backstopped Lysander to finish up the Sept. 18 BIG EAST opener vs. DePaul.
Off And Running
In four of Notre Dame’s five wins this season (all but the Aug. 21 season opener vs. Wisconsin), the Fighting Irish have scored their first goal in the opening 20 minutes of play. Sophomore forward Melissa Henderson has the fastest opening goal for Notre Dame this season, scoring 4:30 into the Sept. 6 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Last season, the Fighting Irish found the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes during 16 of their 27 games, including the NCAA College Cup final vs. North Carolina, when Kerri Hanks scored 16 seconds into the title game, the earliest goal in College Cup history.
Irish Debuts
In Notre Dame’s season-opening victory over Wisconsin on Aug. 21 at old Alumni Field, four of the five active Fighting Irish freshmen made their collegiate debuts. Lindsay Brown, Leah Fisher, Jazmin Hall and Tereza Stastny all saw time on the pitch as Notre Dame blanked the Badgers, 3-0. A week later, Stastny made her first career start in the 2-0 win over Loyola-Chicago, also at Alumni Field.
Then in Notre Dame’s 3-0 conquest of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept. 6 at new Alumni Stadium, goalkeeper Maddie Fox made her Irish debut, playing the final 14:44 to share the shutout with Nikki Weiss. Fox also made two impressive saves in her first collegiate action to help preserve Notre Dame’s clean sheet.
The UW-Milwaukee game was notable for another Irish rookie as Stastny registered the first two points of her career by setting up both of Melissa Henderson’s first-half goals.
Your 2009 Captains
The 2009 Notre Dame squad features three first-time captains, with seniors Michele Weissenhofer and Courtney Rosen and sophomore Jessica Schuveiller all selected via a vote of their teammates.
Schuveiller’s selection is noteworthy, in that she is the first non-senior to serve as a team captain since Amy Warner was one of Notre Dame’s three captains in 2002 (her junior season). This year’s triumvirate also marks the first time since 2004 (Mary Boland, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and Melissa Tancredi) that the Irish have named three captains.
Schuveiller Goes To Camp
Sophomore defender Jessica Schuveiller was among a group of 24 players invited by head coach Bill Irwin to compete at the United States Under-23 Women’s National Team Training Camp in suburban Cleveland this past summer (June 12-19).
Schuveiller made her first appearance at a U.S. National Team training camp, joining an extensive list of Notre Dame players who have competed for Team USA at the U-23 level. Most recently, three current Irish players — senior forward Michele Weissenhofer, junior defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes and sophomore forward Melissa Henderson — were part of the U-23 player pool, along with two recent Notre Dame graduates and current WPS players Brittany Bock (now with the Los Angeles Sol) and defender Elise Weber (competing for Saint Louis Athletica). Fowlkes also struck gold with the U.S. U-20 National Team at last December’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Chile.
Our Fearless Leader
Eleventh-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum reached a career milestone with last season’s 3-1 win over No. 17/16 Penn State on Sept. 21. With the win, he became the eighth active Division I head coach to record 300 career wins. He now has a record of 323-81-20 (.785) in 20 seasons (including six at Tulsa and three at Baylor). His winning percentage ranks fourth among active coaches, while his 323 wins are fifth on the NCAA Div. I career list.
Three … Is The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women’s soccer history, with a 281-3-1 (.988) record in those games, including a 183-1-0 (.995) mark since Oct. 6, 1995. The Irish also are 379-9-15 (.959) when holding the opposition to 0-1 goals.
Most impressively, Notre Dame is 307-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and is unbeaten in its past 284 contests when going ahead 2-0 (dating back to a 3-3 tie with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati). In fact, just two of the past 192 Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have forced a tie, something achieved by four opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (Irish won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at 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 Alumni Field (Irish won 3-2), and most recently, Villanova on Oct. 12, 2008 in Villanova, Pa. (Irish won 3-2 in OT).
Golden Domers Golden In OT
Overtime has usually been the right time for Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish are 18-3-8 (.759) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since ’99) when going to an extra period or two.
Notre Dame went to OT in three games last season and emerged victorious all three times. On Oct. 12, Rose Augustin potted the gamewinner at 6:58 of the first overtime for a 3-2 win at Villanova.
On Nov. 9, Melissa Henderson followed Augustin’s model and scored at 6:58 of the first OT to give the Fighting Irish a 1-0 victory in the BIG EAST Championship final at Alumni Field. It was the first “golden goal” in BIG EAST postseason history.
On Nov. 21, Alumni Field was once again the site, as Kerri Hanks slotted home a penalty kick at 6:54 of the first overtime for a 1-0 win over No. 22/24 Minnesota in the third round of the NCAA Championship. It was the first “golden goal” for the Fighting Irish in the NCAA tourney since 2000, when Meotis Erikson’s goal at 4:59 of the first OT gave Notre Dame a 2-1 win over Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alumni Field.
Last season marked the first time Notre Dame had ever played multiple overtime games in the postseason (BIG EAST/NCAA Championship).
Rosen Sidelined
Senior midfielder/tri-captain Courtney Rosen is out indefinitely after breaking her left foot during preseason training. Rosen underwent successful corrective surgery on Aug. 13 and is in the midst of rehabilitating her injury.
Media Guide Correction
On page 53 of the 2009 Notre Dame women’s soccer media guide, the last name of senior defender/midfielder Amanda Clark’s grandfather (Joe Kopnisky) and uncle (Jack Kopnisky) was misspelled. The Notre Dame Sports Information Office regrets the error.
Our New Digs
Located just east of the Joyce Center and approximately 500 yards west of its predecessor, Alumni Stadium is the new home for Notre Dame soccer, having opened its doors Sept. 4 to an overflow crowd of 3,007 for its debut match against top-ranked North Carolina (the Irish men played three nights earlier, blanking Michigan, 5-0).
A state-of-the-art facility built at a cost of $5.7 million, Alumni Stadium has a permanent seating capacity of approximately 2,500 fans, along with grass berm seating on the east end of the grounds. The stadium also offers upgraded and expanded restroom and concession areas, elevator access to the main concourse level, as well as numerous amenities for both Fighting Irish soccer programs (expansive locker rooms with custom-made wood lockers, spacious team lounges with flat-screen plasma TVs and high-speed Internet access, and a fully-equipped athletic training center).
What’s more, Alumni Stadium features an LED scoreboard (installed by industry leader Daktronics), enhanced lighting structures and top-of-the-line sod for the pitch (cultivated in Fort Morgan, Colo., at Graff’s Turf Farms, which also has provided the turf for numerous facilities including Notre Dame Stadium, Wrigley Field, Busch Stadium and the new MLS grounds outside Denver and Salt Lake City).
In addition, media members will enjoy the spacious new air-conditioned press box, which includes power and high-speed Internet portals at every seat (along with wireless Internet capability), three individually-wired broadcast booths and an expansive, unblocked midfield vantage point, all of which make Alumni Stadium unlike any other on-campus facility in college soccer.
The construction of Alumni Stadium was made possible because of numerous generous donations, including those by lead benefactors Tom Crotty and Rob Snyder, both former Fighting Irish men’s soccer players.
Crotty was a three-year monogram winner from 1977-79, earning team MVP honors in 1979 before graduating the following spring with a degree in finance. He currently is general partner at Battery Ventures LP in Wellesley, Mass., while he and his wife, Shari, live in Southborough, Mass.
Snyder earned two monograms from 1980-83, piling up 23 goals and 22 assists (the latter figure ranking seventh in school history). He also potted a team-high 12 goals in 1981. A 1984 graduate of Notre Dame, Snyder went on to become founder and CEO of Stream Energy in Dallas, Texas.
Taking It To The Next Level
Notre Dame had 10 players appearing on opening-day rosters for the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2009, ranking second among all colleges in that category. Four of those 10 (all members of the ’08 Fighting Irish NCAA runner-up squad) were selected in the league’s first-ever college draft back in January — Brittany Bock (first round, fifth overall, Los Angeles Sol), Kerri Hanks (first round, sixth overall, Saint Louis Athletica), Carrie Dew (second round, 12th overall, FC Gold Pride) and Elise Weber (third round, 21st overall, Saint Louis Athletica).
That quartet was joined by: Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Jen Buczkowski and Christie Shaner (Sky Blue FC), Candace Chapman (Boston Breakers), and Amanda Cinalli and Melissa Tancredi (Saint Louis Athletica).
In addition, Kate (Sobrero) Markgraf was assigned to the Chicago Red Stars as part of the U.S. National Team draft, but sat out the ’09 season while on maternity leave (she gave birth to twins in June). Kelly Lindsey began the season as an assistant coach at Sky Blue FC, then took over as interim head coach at midseason before resigning late in the year.
Midseason trades saw Hanks sent to Sky Blue FC, while Shaner went out to Los Angeles. Shaner subsequently was sidelined for the season with a broken leg.
Of the 10 active Notre Dame alums in WPS, eight saw their teams advance to the league playoffs (all but Chapman and Dew). Led by arguably the world’s top defensive midfielder in Boxx and one of WPS’ top rookies in Bock (who played center back after never playing that position at Notre Dame), Los Angeles won the regular season title and the right to host the first-ever WPS Championship Game.
In the end, five Fighting Irish alums (tying North Carolina for the most representatives from one college) worked their way into the WPS final — Bock, Boxx and Shaner for L.A., along with Hanks and Buczkowski for Sky Blue FC. The New Jersey-based club then capped an amazing string of three playoff road wins in eight days with a 1-0 upset of Los Angeles to win the inaugural WPS Championship.
Boxx was subsequently named a starter for the first WPS All-Star Game, which took place at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in suburban St. Louis on Aug. 30.
On Sept. 16, Buczkowski was chosen by the Philadelphia Independence with the third overall pick in the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft, with Cinalli going one selection later to the Atlanta Beat.
Next Up: Louisville
Notre Dame continues BIG EAST play on Sunday afternoon with a home game versus Louisville on Sept. 27. The game will take place at 1 p.m. (ET) in Alumni Stadium.
The match will air live to a national cable audience by CBS College Sports, the opener in a Notre Dame CBS CS doubleheader, with the Fighting Irish men hosting Cincinnati in the nightcap at 3:30 p.m. (ET).
— ND —