Oct. 21, 2002

2002 NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER NOTES

vs. Syracuse (Oct. 25), Boston College (Oct. 27)

FINAL PUSH FOR POSTSEASON: The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (9-7-0) – ranked 18th in this week’s NSCAA coaches’ poll – looks to continue its tradition of strong play in the final week of the regular season (24-0-0 since 1990), with BIG EAST Conference cross-divisional games vs. Syracuse (Friday, Oct. 25, 7:30) and at Boston College (Sunday, Oct. 27, 1:00) … Boston College (10-6-1, 4-2-0) was nationally-ranked earlier this season and will be the Northeast Division’s No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST quarterfinals (at Mid-Atlantic runner-up Villanova) … Syracuse (2-10-2, 0-5-1) had dropped down the BIG EAST standings, after playing in the 2000 BIG EAST semifinals and tying for 4th in the 2001 Northeast Division … the Irish are looking to bounce back from an emotional 3-2 loss to BYU and carry a 43-game home winning streak vs. BIG EAST teams into the Syracuse game (dating back to 1995), with 29 shutouts and a 219-16 scoring edge in that BIG EAST home winning streak … ND – with recent wins over #8 UConn (3-1) and #13 Michigan (1-0) – will be looking to complete a strong finish to the season, after weathering a rare stretch of four straight games vs. top-20 teams … despite being out of the running for the BIG EAST Tournament (3-3 Mid-Atlantic Division play), the Irish still are holding onto hopes of rallying for an at-large berth into the 64-team NCAA Tournament (the field will be announced on Nov. 11) … ND has endured a series of injuries (mostly to players in the defensive third) and additionally had to play vs. #20 Purdue without junior F/D Melissa Tancredi (5-yellow-card suspension).

WEBSITES: For information on upcoming opponents, please consult www.suathletics.com and www.bceagles.com.

LIVE STATS: Notre Dame offers live in-game statistics for 2002 home soccer games (follow link at www.und.com).

ND SPORTS HOTLINE: For schedule and result information on all 26 Notre Dame varsity sports, call (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer results).

STRONG DOWN THE STRETCH: Dating back to 1990, Notre Dame has won its last 24 games that were played during the final week of the regular season, with a 125-15 scoring edge in those final-week games (24-3-0 all-time record in final regular-season week, since ’88) … those wins include four in the Randy Waldrum era: 9-2 at Wisconsin and 4-1 at Indiana (both in 1999), 5-1 at Michigan in 2000 and 2-1 vs. the Wolverines in ’01 … the Irish previously have faced both Boston College (3-1, in 1995) and Syracuse (7-0, in 1998) during final-week games.

ND-SU SERIES: Notre Dame has won all four previous meetings vs. Syracuse (23-1 scoring edge), including a 3-0 win at SU in 2000 … ND also won at SU in 1997 (8-0), beat the Orange at ND in 1998 (7-0) and posted a 5-1 win over SU in the 1998 BIG EAST semifinals (at UConn) … Syracuse’s last trip to Alumni Field was for the 2000 BIG EAST semifinals (a loss to UConn) … in the 2000 game, Ashley Dryer headed an Amanda Guertin CK to Mia Sarkesian for an early goal … Randi Scheller worked a give-and-go with Sarkesian and scored on a 20-yard shot to cap the scoring in that 3-0 win.

ND-BC SERIES: Notre Dame has won all seven previous games vs. BC (22-3 scoring edge), including a 3-0 game in the 2001 BIG EAST semifinals (at Rutgers) … Amy Warner, Amanda Guertin and Melissa Tancredi each scored in that win (22-5 shot edge) and Ashley Dryer played a key defensive role, marking BIG EAST midfielder of the year Sarah Rahko … ND and BC also met in the 2000 BIG EAST semi’s (a 3-0 ND win) and in a 2000 regular-season game at ND (the Irish rallied for a 2-1 win, after facing its only deficit of the season until the NCAA semifinals) … Amanda Guertin picked off a clear attempt and scored the GWG in that 2000 showdown at Alumni Field … the series includes two other ND wins at Alumni Field (3-1 in 1995, 2-0 in ’97), plus a 6-0 Irish win at BC in 1996 and a 3-1 ND win in 1998 (in Natick, Mass.).

LINEUP STABILIZES: Despite an onslaught of injuries, the Irish have fielded a strong lineup in the last three games … junior Melissa Tancredi has moved from F to central D, dominating in the air (she won all 18 heading duels vs. UConn and scored on a CK header) to go along with her physical play and strong tacking … freshman Katie Thorlakson has moved up to F (scoring her first goals vs. UConn and BYU), senior M Ashley Dryer has returned from her seven-game injury layoff and sophomore Mary Boland has shifted up to defensive M, shutting down UConn playmaker Sarah Popper and BYU All-American Aleisha Cramer-Rose … sophomore Candace Chapman – who started at midfield and forward in recent weeks – has returned to D (left back), with junior M Kim Carpenter at right back … ND’s other starters have been at their respective spots all season: junior Fs Amanda Guertin and Amy Warner, junior M Randi Scheller and freshman central D Cat Sigler (each has started all 16 games) – plus freshman G Erika Bohn (14 GS).

CONFERENCE CALL: ND’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 84-7-2 (.914), including 65-7-2 (.892) in BIG EAST games (since ’95) … the Irish own a 47-1 record in all-time home games vs. BIG EAST teams, with 43 straight home wins vs. BIG EAST teams (5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95) … the 43-game home win streak vs. BIG EAST teams includes a 219-16 scoring edge, 29 shutouts and 13 games with 1 GA (4-3 vs. UConn) … since joining the BIG EAST in ’95, ND’s all-time record in vs. BIG EAST teams (1-1-0 vs. UConn in NCAAs) is 84-8-2 (.904).

PROBABLE NOTRE DAME LINEUP

Pos. … Player (Yr.; hometown) … 2002 stats

F … #12 Amy Warner (Jr.; Albuquerque, NM) … 16 GS, 8G-5A (3 GWG) … hat trick vs. Georgetown

F … #6 Amanda Guertin (Jr.; Grapevine, TX) … 16 GS, 6G-8A (3 GWG) … 2 CK assists vs. Maryland and UConn

F … #7 Katie Thorlakson (Fr.; Langley, BC) … 14 GP/13 GS, 2G-2A … member of Canada’s Under-19 National Team

AM … #3 Randi Scheller (Jr.; Kutztown, PA) … 16 GS, 5G-1A (GWG) … GWG on CK header vs. UConn

DM … #11 Ashley Dryer (Sr.; Salt Lake City, UT) … 11 GP/10 GS, 1A … missed 5-plus games due to injuries

DM … #10 Mary Boland (So.; Hudson, OH) … 14 GP/10 GS, 3G (GWG) … strong defensive games vs. UConn, BYU

LD … #8 Candace Chapman (So.; Ajax, ONT) … 14 GS, 2G-3A (GWG) … member of Canadian National Team

CD … #22 Cat Sigler (Fr.; Windsor, CA) … 16 GS, 1G … has started every game at central D

CD … #17 Melissa Tancredi (Jr.; Ancaster, ONT) … 13 GP/11 GS, 3G … all three goals on CK headers

RD … #25 Kim Carpenter (Jr.; Webster, NY) … 16 GP/15 GS, 1A … 1st-year starter, also has started at M

G … #0 Erika Bohn (Fr.; Brookfield, CT) … 15 GP/14 GS, 1.46 GAA, 41 SV, 20 GA … first ND freshman G since ’93

NOTRE DAME CAREER STATS (veterans)

Amanda Guertin (Jr., F) … 62 GP/58 GS, 32G-18A, 82 pts (13 GWG)

Amy Warner (Jr., F) … 55 GP/48 GS, 26G-10A, 62 pts (10 GWG)

Randi Scheller (Jr., M) … 61 GP/41 GS, 15G-15A, 45 pts (2 GWG)

Ashley Dryer (Sr., M) … 77 GP/62 GS, 3G-12A, 18 pts

Melissa Tancredi (Jr., F/D) … 29 GP/21 GS, 7G-4A, 18 pts (1 GWG; injured in ’00)

Candace Chapman (So., D) … 35 GP/34 GS, 5G-5A, 15 pts (3 GWG)

Mary Boland (So., F/D) … 24 GP/15 GS, 5G-2A, 12 pts (1 GWG)

Kim Carpenter (Jr., M) … 40 GP/15 GS, 2G-1A, 5 pts

Kate Tulisiak (So., D) … 16 GP/4 GS, 0G-0A

Lauren Kent (Jr., G) … 11 GP/2 GS, 362:21, 4 GA, 13 SV, 0.99 GAA, 1-1-0

ROAD REVERSAL: The 1-0 win at #13 Michigan ended ND’s three-game losing streak on the opponent’s field (now 6-5 in the last 11), with the losses coming at recent #21 Villanova (1-2), Georgetown (3-4) and current #8 WVU (0-3).

KEY PIECE OF PUZZLE: The return of senior M Ashley Dryer to the lineup sparked the Irish to the 3-1 win over #8 UConn … in the previous seven games (when Dryer was sidelined with knee and ankle injuries), ND had totaled just 12 goals while allowing 12 by the opposition (three games in which the opponents scored 3-plus goals) … since Dryer’s return, ND has owned a 6-4 scoring edge and 49-23 shot edge (19-13 in shots on goal, 17-9 in corner kicks).

LIGHTING THE SPARK: Freshman F/M Katie Thorlakson – a key part of Canada’s attack in the Under-19 World Championship – could be due for an offensive breakthrough, after scoring to tie the game in the 3-1 comeback vs. #8 UConn (her first goal with the Irish, to go along with 2A) and adding the goal that forged a 1-1 tie vs. BYU (3-2 loss).

‘TIS BETTER TO GIVE?: Despite a dropoff in goal production (26 over first two seasons, 6 in 2002), junior Amanda Guertin continues to emerge as a dangerous playmaker due to her pinpoint corner kicks and effectiveness on other set plays … Guertin has one-third of ND’s assists in 2002 (8 of 24), nearly matching her combined total in 2000 and ’01 (10) … five of Guertin’s assists in ’02 have come via the CK – two each in comeback wins over #25 Maryland (5-2, to classmate Melissa Tancredi on 2nd and 4th goals) and #8 UConn (3-1, to junior M Randi Scheller and Tancredi after 1-1 tie), plus the kick that produced freshman D Cat Sigler’s goal for 3-0 lead vs. Pittsburgh (5-0) … another Guertin set play (a free kick that clanged off the left post) set up Candace Chapman’s goal that opened the scoring vs. BYU (3-2 loss).

VETERAN LEADERS: Notre Dame’s starting forwards and midfielders include four battle-tested veterans (one senior and three juniors) who have combined for 255 games played, 209 starts, 78 goals and 57 assists … juniors Amy Warner (55 GP/48 GS, 28G-10A, 9 GWG) and Amanda Guertin (62 GP/58 GS, 32G-18A, 13 GWG) – a.k.a. “fire and ice” – have the makings of becoming one of ND’s top forward classmates while junior Randi Scheller (61 GP/41 GS, 15G-15A) and senior Ashley Dryer (77 GP/62 GS, 3G-12A) provide experience in the midfield.

POSTSEASON FOCUS: Notre Dame will not be participating in the BIG EAST postseason but still could qualify for the 64-team NCAA field, by virtue of strength of schedule (seven of ND’s opponents are in the current NSCAA top 25, with five others ranked in previous national polls) and the fact that the Irish could finish high in the Great Lakes Region … this week’s regional rankings included Purdue (#13), ND (#18) and Michigan (#21) in the top spots … another BIG EAST team, Syracuse, was selected for the 2001 NCAA Tournament despite not making the 2001 BIG EAST Tournament.

SCHEDULE STRENGTH: ND has faced seven opponents ranked in the NSCAA top-25 at game time (five others ranked at other times) … three previous ND teams faced seven top-25 teams in the regular season: the ’92, ’94 and ’95 teams (in the 14th game) and the 2000 team (16th game) … ND’s opponents ranked at game time: Santa Clara, Portland, Maryland, WVU, Purdue, UConn and Michigan … five others – Hartford, Rutgers, Villanova, BYU and B.C. – have been ranked at times in 2002 … ND is 5-6-0 vs. teams that have been ranked at some point in 2002 (with B.C. still to come).

PLAYING THE BEST: ND has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, with a 21-9-2 record vs. ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn St., 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. WVU, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan … the Irish own 2002 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1) and #13 Michigan (1-0), with losses to Santa Clara (0-4), Portland (0-1), #9 WVU (0-3) and #20 Purdue (1-3) … over the course of the 2001 and ’02 seasons, ND owns an 8-5-0 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (18-5-1 vs. unranked teams).

PRUZINSKY, GUNNARSDOTTIR LIKELY OUT FOR SEASON: ND’s top defenders – senior captain Vanessa Pruzinsky (Trumbull, Conn.) and sophomore Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Seltjarnames, Iceland) – likely will miss the rest of the 2002 season … Pruzinsky – the BIG EAST preseason defensive player of the year, after starting 72 of ND’s 73 games in her first three seasons – has been slowed by a nagging ankle injury, playing just the first 50 minutes of the Sept. 6 Santa Clara game and 60 minutes in the lategoing of the Sept. 20 Rutgers game (ND did not allow a goal in either stretch) … Gunnarsdottir – the BIG EAST defensive player of the week after opening wins over Providence and Virginia Tech – missed six games with a foot injury (Sept. 13-29), played sparingly vs. Pitt. and started vs. WVU and Purdue, before being sidelined in the late moments of the Purdue game (she had surgery on Oct. 10 to repair ligament damage in her right ankle) … Pruzinsky (4.0 GPA, as chemical engineering major) may have the option to apply for a fifth year of eligibility.

DEFENSIVE CHALLENGES: ND entered 2002 looking to replace three of five starters from the defensive third adding further frustration to a string of injuries to the defense … in addition to the above season-ending injuries to Vanessa Pruzinsky and Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, the Irish have played all season without highly-touted freshman Annie Schefter – a likely starter at left back who was a starter with the U.S. Under-19 National Team and was rated by Soccer America as the No. 11 incoming freshman … Ashley Dryer – one of the nation’s premier defensive midfielders – missed five games and parts of two others, due to nagging knee and ankle injuries … ND’s many options in the back have included junior F Melissa Tancredi, who suffered a leg injury late in the June 27 Villanova game (sidelining her for the Georgetown game; she also dnp vs. Purdue due to a 5-yellow-card suspension ) … other options have included versatile sophomore Mary Boland (two games missed) and junior Kim Carpenter, who has shifted back from midfield … sophomore Candace Chapman has started at outside and central back (also M and F), after returning from the Under-19 World Championship.

INJURY TOLL REACHES 48: An assortment of injuries and illnesses have forced six of the team’s top-13 players to miss a combined 48 games (not including partial games missed, or misses due to Under-19 World Championship) … the games missed include 14 by senior D Vanessa Pruzinsky, five by senior M Ashley Dryer and two by sophomore D/F Mary Boland – plus freshman D/M Annie Schefter (16, season-ending ACL injury), sophomore D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (9) and junior F/D Melissa Tancredi (2) … Pruzinsky, Gunnarsdottir and Schefter are expected to miss the rest of the season.

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS: Notre Dame did not allow a 1st-half goal in its first nine games, with the next five games producing eight 1st-half goals by the opposition (2 by Georgetown and WVU, 3 by Purdue, 1 by UConn) … ND (7) and its opponents (10) have combined for just 17 1st-half goals, compared to 39 in the 2nd half (25 by ND, 14 by the opponents) … in the last seven games, ND has been outscored 10-5 in the 1st half but owns a 10-4 edge in the 2nd half.

HOME, SWEET HOME: Notre Dame’s all-time overall record at Alumni Field is 134-12-2 (.912), including 110-8-2 in the last 120 (4-6-0 in the last 10) … the Irish own a 42-5-1 record in their last 48 home games, with a 2-2 tie vs. Wisconsin and the 3-2 NCAA loss to Cincinnati (both in 2001) prior to the 2002 losses to SCU, Portland, Purdue and BYU.

GOING THE DISTANCE: Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last 12 overtime games (9-0-3), dating back to 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 quarterfinals (advanced on PKs) … the 2000 team had three OT wins – over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals (all 2-1), also playing to a scoreless tie at UConn … the ’01 season featured an unprecedented five OT games, with 2-1 wins vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan and a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin … the OT streak continued in 2002, with the 1-0 win over Rutgers.

OT MASTERS: Juniors Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin share the ND record for career OT goals (2), with ’96 national player of the year Cindy Daws also scoring two (including vs. Portland in ’95 NCAA title game) … 11 other former ND players scored one OT goal … Guertin holds the ND record for OT points (6; 2G-2A; see quality and quantity note), followed by Warner and Daws with five OT points each … in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20 vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT vs. Villanova (’01) and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak’s OT goal in the ’01 win over Indiana (both 2-1) … she also had the cross that produced an OT own-goal to beat Stanford in 2000, thus playing a key role in four of ND’s last eight OT goals (Guertin has scored or assisted on four of the last seven).

HAT TRICKERY: Amy Warner’s three-goal effort at Georgetown (Sept. 29) made her the 13th ND player ever to post multiple hat tricks in her career (also vs. Providence on Sept. 3, 2000 – the earliest hat trick ever posted by an ND freshman) … 10 previous ND players have totaled three-plus hat tricks, led by Jenny Heft’s six (’96-’99), five each from Rosella Guerrero (’92-’95) and Monica Gerardo (’95-’98) and four by Michelle McCarthy (’92-’95).

PRIME-TIME FLURRY: ND’s outburst in the 5-2 win at #25 Maryland is the most goals ever scored by the Irish vs. an NSCAA top-25 opponent on its home field … it matched the 6th-highest goalscoring day for the Irish in any game vs. a top-25 foe (2nd-most since ’97) and tied ND’s 2nd-highest goal output in a regular-season game vs. a top-25 team … ND’s top scoring games vs. top-25 teams include ’97 postseason wins over UConn (6-1, BIG EAST title game), Nebraska (6-0, NCAA 2nd rd) and UCLA (8-0, NCAA quarterfinal), 8-1 vs. Indiana in ’96 NCAA 1st rd and 6-1 vs. Santa Clara in 2000.

DRYER DOES IT AGAIN: Lost amidst the 4-0 loss to SCU was another stellar defensive effort from senior M Ashley Dryer (Salt Lake City, Utah) … Dryer essentially neutralized SCU’s star midfielder Aly Wagner (she did not factor into any goals), later was named to the Maryland Classic all-tournament team (lead role in midfield battle, while fighting off illness), and then combined with sophomore Mary Boland to hold Rutgers All-American Carli Lloyd (one shot) in check during a 1-0 OT win … in the 2001 BIG EAST Tournament, Dryer shut down BIG EAST midfielder of the year Sarah Rahko (B.C.) in the semifinals before holding another top M (Lisa Stoia) in check to help beat WVU in the title game.

GETTING THE GWGs: Junior Amanda Guertin (Grapevine, Texas) continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (32G-18A, in 62 GP) – with 13 gamewinning goals already tied for 7th on the ND all-time list … six of Guertin’s GWGs have come in one-goal games, including two in OT … nearly half of Guertin’s career goals (13 of 32, or 40.6%) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the others on the GWG list:

Name (pos., years) … GWG/Gls (Pct. GWGs)

1. Jenny Heft (F, 1996-99) … 19/80 (23.8%)

2. Michelle McCarthy (F, 1992-95) … 18/59 (30.5%)

3. Rosella Guerrero (F, 1992-95) … 16/55 (29.1%)

Monica Gerardo (F, 1995-98) … 16/73 (21.9%)

Anne Makinen (M, 1997-2000) … 16/65 (24.6%)

6. Jenny Streiffer (F, 1996-99) … 15/70 (21.4%)

7. Meotis Erikson (F, 1997-2000) … 13/59 (22.0%)

Amanda Guertin (F, 2000- ) … 13/32 (40.6%)

9. Amy Warner (F, 2000) … 9/26 (34.6%)

QUALITY & QUANTITY: Amanda Guertin’s gamewinning goals have come with both frequency and in countless clutch situations … here’s a look at some of the top moments in her career:

* Unassisted goal in OT to hold off upstart West Virginia and maintain #1 ranking (2-1, 2000)

* GWG vs. Boston College (2-1) to end ND’s only deficit of 2000 (prior to NCAA semifinals)

* GWG in 2000 NCAA second-round win over Michigan (3-1)

* Pass that initiated Meotis Erikson’s OT goal vs. #4 Santa Clara (2-1), sending ND to 2000 NCAA College Cup semifinals

* GWG vs. #8 Penn State in 2001 Key Bank Classic (2-1)

* Direct score via corner kick for GWG vs. Georgetown (2-1, 2001)

* Flick pass as part of set play for only scoring in 1-0 win over #3 Nebraska (2001)

* Free-kick cross that led to double-header goal, beating #19 WVU in another OT game (2-1, 2001)

* Scored both goals in 2001 win at Yale (2-0), then cashed in a shanked clearance to beat Michigan in OT (2-1, 2001)

* Scored again directly on corner kick to open scoring vs. St. John’s in 2001 BIG EAST quarterfinal (2-0)

* Set up Amy Warner rebound goal, then scored for 2-0 lead in 3-0 win over BC (2001 BIG EAST semi’s)

* Scored and provided corner kick that led to late GWG vs. WVU in 2001 BIG EAST title game (2-1)

* Netted both goals in 2001 NCAA first-round win over Eastern Illinois (2-0)

* Provided pair of corner-kick assists and scored GWG in 5-2 comeback at #25 Maryland (2002)

* Duplicated that effort with two more corner-kick assists in final two goals of 3-1 comeback vs. #8 UConn (’02)

* Cashed in GWG in 59th minute for 1-0 win at #13 Michigan (’02), her third career GWG vs. the Wolverines

GERTY’S GOALS: Junior F Amanda Guertin scored a goal in each of the final 10 games of 2001 – good for the third-longest goalscoring streak in Division I women’s soccer history (Brandi Chastain had a 15-game streak for Santa Clara in 1990, Hartford’s Maria Kun compiling an 11-game streak in ’97) … Guertin scored in six of seven games during the 2002 spring season and in 2002 games vs. Virginia Tech, Maryland, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Purdue and Michigan.

SCORING STREAKS: ND carried a 31-game scoring streak into the Sept. 6 Santa Clara game (third-best in ND history, behind a 55-game streak from 1997-99 and a 36-game streak from ’95-’96), with the streak ending in a 4-0 loss to SCU (followed by a 1-0 loss to Portland and the recent 3-0 loss at WVU) … the previous time that the Irish had failed to score was the 0-0 tie at UConn (10/22/00) … since 1994, ND has scored in 156 of 162 (.963) regular-season games (0-0 tie vs. UNC in ’94, 2-0 loss to UNC in ’95) and 49 of 52 postseason games (three shutout losses to UNC in NCAA title games).

RESULT NOTES: With the 5-0 win at Providence, ND now is 13-2-0 in all-time season openers (9-1-0 in last 10; 3-2 OT loss to UNC in ’99) … the 4-0 loss to Santa Clara represented ND’s largest margin of defeat ever at home (the Irish had not been shut out at home since ’92) … ND suffered consecutive shutout losses (0-1 vs. Portland) for the first time since ’89 … following the 5-2 win at Maryland, the Irish have not lost to an ACC team other than UNC since a 2-1 loss to Duke on Sept. 25, 1992 (8-0-1 vs. ACC teams, other than UNC, since that game) … Purdue (3-1) and BYU (3-2) became just the second and third teams since 1993 to beat the Irish in their first visit to Alumni Field (31-3-1 in that stretch).

TOURNEY HONORS: Sophomore D Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ontario) was named defensive MVP of the ND Classic (Sept. 6-8) and the Maryland Fila Classic … Chapman – who made plays all over the field in the ND Classic battles with Santa Clara and Portland – opened the UP game at central defense, with strong marking of her Canadian national teammate Christine Sinclair (before shifting to right back) … she played both positions vs. Hartford and started centrally vs. #25 Maryland, before shifting to midfield and sparking the 5-2 comeback by scoring the first ND goal (she cleared a 1st-half shot off the goalline). … junior F Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ontario) was named the tournament’s offensive MVP … Tancredi was an emergency starter at central D in the Hartford game and was hampered by a nagging Achilles injury (she came off the bench vs. Maryland) … Tancredi’s hustle and physical presence changed the tenor of the Maryland game, with her headers providing the tying and 4-2 goals … ND’s all-tournament selections at the Fila Classic included junior F Amy Warner (GWG goal vs. Hartford, rebound shot to set up GWG vs. Maryland, unofficial assist on last ND goal), senior M Ashley Dryer – who turned in a gutsy effort while battling illness – and freshman G Erika Bohn, who registered a variety of big plays including a breakaway stop with the Hartford game tied and a lunging tip over the crossbar with the Irish trailing the Terps, 2-1 in the 75th minute.

BIG EAST HONORS: Three ND players were honored by the BIG EAST for roles in wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall … junior F Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) was named BIG EAST offensive player of the week, sophomore Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) defensive player of the week and freshman Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) goalkeeper of the week … Warner’s goal ended the RU game with 9:17 left in the second OT (she ran onto a thru-ball from Maggie Manning and arched a crossing shot into the upper left corner) … two days later, Warner’s leftside cross initiated a double-header sequence, with Boland scoring on the diving header vs. SHU … Boland started at left back, limiting RU and SHU to a total of seven shots on net, and shifted to midfield in the 2nd half of the RU game, filling in for injured defensive M Ashley Dryer … Boland picked up where Dryer left off, as the Irish limited RU’s top player Carli Lloyd to one shot for the game … Bohn – the first freshman to start in the nets for the Irish since Jen Renola in ’93 – made six saves and stopped several other RU scoring chances before helping foil several potential chances vs. SHU … Boland’s classmate Gudrun Gunnarsdottir was BIG EAST defensive player of the week after the opening wins over Providence (3-0) and Virginia Tech (5-0).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RETURN: Notre Dame welcomed back two players who competed in the Under-19 World Championship, held in three Canadian cities … the exciting tournament was capped by a 1-0 OT U.S. win over Canada in the title game, with 47,000 fans in attendance at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium … Portland’s Christine Sinclair earned the “golden boot” award as the tournament’s top scorer (10 G) and formed a potent offensive tandem with ND freshman Katie Thorlakson (who played mostly as an attacking M) … ND sophomore Candace Chapman also was a starter with Canada, playing mostly right back while also shifting to central midfield … Irish freshman M Annie Schefter was on track to be a starter for the U.S. but was sidelined with an ACL knee injury in late July.