Sept. 11, 2014
DATE: Sept. 12, 2014
TIME: 7 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Notre Dame, Ind. (Alumni Stadium – cap. 3,007)
LAST MEETING: ND 7-2 (8/27/04 at ND)
BROADCAST: WatchND.tv
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
TEXT ALERTS: Sign up at UND.com
Storylines
– The Fighting Irish are 1-0 (1.000) all-time against Baylor.
– Notre Dame and Baylor have faced one another during exhibition matches two of the last three preseasons (1-1 draw on 8/12/12; 2-0 ND win on 8/17/13 at ND Practice Field).
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team returns home to open a three-game homestand on Friday night at Alumni Stadium. The 7 p.m. (ET) match will be streamed live and free of charge on the official Notre Dame athletics multimedia platform, WatchND (WatchND.tv).
Notre Dame (3-2-1) returns home after downing No. 16/21 Santa Clara 2-0 last Friday before battling No. 4 Stanford to a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Sophomore midfielder Morgan Andrews (Milford, N.H./Milford) earned TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honorable mention recognition after tallying the game-winner at Santa Clara last Friday. Junior defender/tri-captain Katie Naughton (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) was also one of six finalists for the ESPNW Player of the Week award.
Sophomore keeper Kaela Little (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley) logged a pair of shutouts during the two-game road swing, running her current shutout streak in the Notre Dame net to 244:40 while copping TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors.
“The keys for our team this weekend are to just keep getting better,” Notre Dame head coach Theresa Romagnolo said. “Continue with our defensive energy, creating more goal scoring opportunities for ourselves, and really maintain the toughness that we brought out to California. Baylor is a good team, and they are going to battle and be very physical. We are going to have to be tough and match that kind of energy on the field, while also bringing quality.”
A major key to Notre Dame’s success on the defensive end of the pitch, especially during the California swing, was the play of the team’s central defenders. Naughton was lauded for her play at the start of this game week, but senior defender and fellow tri-captain Sammy Scofield (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) also clicked on all cylinders.
Scofield was unable to play during the spring while recovery from injury, and then was forced to miss the 2014 regular season opener at Illinois after receiving at red card during the third round of the NCAA Championship at Michigan last season. Five starts into her senior campaign, Scofield has again found her rhythm on the Fighting Irish back line.
“This is my first time really seeing what Scof can do,” Romagnolo said. “This past weekend in California I really saw what she brings to the table. In terms of her ability to cover and tackle, while reading the game and directing out of the back.”
Baylor (5-1) will make just its second trip to the Notre Dame campus for an official match, appearing for the first time at Alumni Stadium. The Bears have outscored opponents by an aggregate 16-3 goals margin in the season’s first six contests.
To purchase a season pass or single-match tickets for the 2014 Notre Dame women’s soccer season, call the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office at (574) 631-7356, visit the official Notre Dame athletics ticketing web site, UND.com/tickets or stop by the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office windows during normal business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday). Tickets also can be purchased at Alumni Stadium on match days.
For more information on the Fighting Irish women’s soccer program, follow Notre Dame on Twitter (@NDsoccernews or @NDSoccer), like the Fighting Irish on Facebook (facebook.com/NDWomenSoccer) or sign up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the main page at UND.com.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor returned 15 letterwinners and five starters that helped the team to an 11-6-3 finish in 2013. The Bears placed fifth in the final Big 12 standings last season with a 3-4-1 conference mark, ultimately reaching the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship tournament.
Baylor enters Friday’s match with a 5-1 record thus far in 2014, including an aggregate 16-3 goals edge. Senior forward Justine Hovden is the team’s leading scorer with two goals and four assists (eight points) in her first six games played, while junior forward Bri Campos and freshman defender Precious Akanyirige have contributed a team-high three goals each this season. All 23 players listed on Baylor’s official roster have appeared in at least three matches this season.
Senior goalkeeper Michelle Kloss has appeared in all six matches to begin the 2014 campaign, posting a 4-1 record and a 0.68 goals-against average between the pipes for Baylor. Kloss has one solo shutout on her record thus far this season, and has added three combined clean sheets alongside sophomore keeper Sara Martinson.
Co-head coach Marci Jobson is in her seventh season at the helm of the Bears, and her second campaign as co-head coach with husband Paul. Jobson has posted a 74-36-21 (.645) record at Baylor, leading the Bears to victory at the 2012 Big 12 Championship.
THE NOTRE DAME-BAYLOR SERIES
Notre Dame and Baylor have only officially met during the regular season on one occasion, a 7-2 Fighting Irish victory on Aug. 27, 2004 at old Alumni Field. Katie Thorlakson scored two goals and added three assists during that contest, while Amanda Cinalli contributed a pair of goals and an assist during her Notre Dame debut.
The two teams met in exhibition contests in two of the past three seasons, a 1-1 draw on Aug. 12, 2012, and a 2-0 Notre Dame win on Aug. 17, 2013, at the ND Practice Field.
THE LAST TIME NOTRE DAME AND BAYLOR MET
Katie Thorlakson tied the Notre Dame record for points in a half (7) while becoming the first player in the program’s history ever to score or assist on the first five goals of a game. After taking a 5-0 halftime lead, the Fighting Irish quickly scored twice more in the second half en route to a 7-2 win over Baylor on Aug. 27, 2004 at old Alumni Field.
Notre Dame finished with sizable margins in total shots (32-9), shots on goal (25-5) and corner kicks (8-1), while Baylor was whistled for 20 of the game’s 32 fouls.
Freshman Amanda Cinalli made an impactful debut in the contest against the Bears, scoring the first two Notre Dame goals of the 2004 season during the contest. Cinalli was the last Fighting Irish freshman to score the team’s first goal of a regular season prior to current freshman Taylor Klawunder equaling the feat earlier this season (8/22 at Illinois).
THE ND/BAYLOR CONNECTION
Legendary Notre Dame head coach and two-time NCAA champion Randy Waldrum was the patriarch of the Baylor women’s soccer program, leading the Bears through their first three seasons of varsity competition from 1996-98. Waldrum posted a 46-14-3 (.754) during his three years in Waco, leading Baylor to the first Big 12 Championship in any sport in school history during his final season at the helm in 1998. Waldrum arrived at Notre Dame in 1999.
One of Waldrum’s standouts during his time at Baylor was All-America goalkeeper and longtime Notre Dame assistant coach Dawn Siergiej. Siergiej, under her maiden name Dawn Greathouse, was a three-time all-Big 12 selection and posted a 1.20 goals-against average and 28 career shutouts. She earned NSCAA second team All-America honors as a sophomore in 1998 after ranking 12th in the nation with a 0.69 GAA.
LAST TIME OUT: #4/4 Stanford
Notre Dame battled to the final whistle with one of the top teams in the NCAA last Sunday, as the No. 25/18 Fighting Irish scratched through the full 110 minutes to earn a 0-0 draw with No. 4 Stanford at Cagan Stadium.
Notre Dame capped its swing out West with a pair of decisions after claiming a 2-0 shutout win at No. 16/21 Santa Clara on Friday night. Sunday’s draw was Notre Dame’s first decision ever at Stanford in its fourth all-time trip to Cagan Stadium (entered 0-3 previously).
Freshman forward Karin Muya led all Fighting Irish players with three shots, two of which were on goal. Senior forward Lauren Bohaboy added a pair of shot attempts for Notre Dame.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: STANFORD
– Stanford extended its season opening shutout streak to five matches, and seven of its last eight games dating back to the 2013 NCAA Championship. Notre Dame became the first team to shut out the Cardinal in a regular season, non-conference match since West Virginia (1-0) on Aug. 26, 2012 in Happy Valley, Pa.
– In 15 all-time meetings between Notre Dame and Stanford, the Fighting Irish hold a slim 7-6-2 (.533) series lead. A total of 29 goals (15 for Notre Dame, 14 for Stanford) have been scored in those contests.
THE STARS AT NIGHT, ARE BIG AND BRIGHT…
A total of 32 players from the state of Texas have competed in at least one varsity contest for the Notre Dame women’s soccer team all-time, second most to only California as the most popular residence in team history.
Five current Notre Dame players are natives of Texas, including seniors Taylor Schneider and Jennifer Jasper, junior Glory Williams, sophomore Kaleigh Olmsted and freshman Katie Uhler.
A total of four Notre Dame All-America players in program history have also called the Lone Star State home: Four-time All-American and the 2006 and 2008 MAC Hermann Trophy award winner Kerri Hanks, two-time All-American and 2010 Honda Sports Award winner Melissa Henderson, 2001 All-American Monica Gonzalez and 2009 All-American Courtney Barg.
HOW THE IRISH RANK IN THE ACC
Notre Dame players entered the week with a number of top 10 rankings in various statistical categories in the ACC.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kaela Little began the week tied for the conference lead in both total shutouts (3) and shutouts per match (0.60). Little also ranked sixth in goals-against average (0.57), seventh in saves per match (2.40) and eighth in save percentage (.800) and total saves (12).
Sophomore midfielder Morgan Andrews was tied for fifth in assists (3) and sixth in assists per match (0.50), while junior forward Anna Maria Gilbertson was tied for seventh in shots (20) and ninth in shots per match (3.33).
NEXT UP FOR THE IRISH: TOLEDO
Notre Dame continues its three-game homestand on Sunday against Toledo at 1 p.m. (ET), with live match coverage available on WatchND.tv.