Nov. 25, 2010
Full Notes Package in PDF Format
2010 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer — Match 23
NCAA Championship — Quarterfinal
#7/10 [#4 seed] Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-2-2 / 9-0-2 BIG EAST) vs. #6/6 [#3 seed] Oklahoma State Cowgirls (20-3-2 / 8-2-0 Big 12)
DATE: November 26, 2010
TIME: 7:00 p.m. CT
AT: Stillwater, Okla. – Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
SERIES: OSU leads 1-0-0
NCAA: First meeting
1ST MTG: OSU 2-1, ot (9/16/07)
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Storylines
- Notre Dame has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the seventh consecutive season (and 14th overall), and will be playing its quarterfinal match on the road for the second year in a row.
- The Fighting Irish will be facing their third consecutive ranked opponent in the NCAA Championship and sixth Top 25 foe of the season.
No. 7/10 Irish Visit No. 6 Oklahoma State Friday For NCAA Quarterfinal
In a season full of challenges, the biggest one for No. 7/10 Notre Dame could be what lies ahead, as the Fighting Irish head to Stillwater, Okla., Friday for a 7 p.m. (CT) NCAA Championship quarterfinal match against sixth-ranked Oklahoma State at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.
Notre Dame (18-2-2) is coming off a notable 4-1 victory at No. 3/4 North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA Championship last Saturday night. The Fighting Irish took the lead for good in the 33rd minute and steadily pulled away from the two-time defending national champion Tar Heels, handing UNC its worst loss in a quarter century.
Senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin sparked Notre Dame’s victory with a goal and two assists, while junior forward Melissa Henderson added a goal and an assist.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is No. 7 in the latest NSCAA poll and No. 10 in the final Soccer America poll.
- Oklahoma State is No. 6 in the latest NSCAA poll and No. 6 in the final Soccer America poll.
A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
During the first two weekends of the NCAA Championship, during a time when all other No. 4 tournament seeds (and three of the four No. 1 seeds) have been dismissed for the winter, Notre Dame (18-2-2) has looked like anything but a fourth seed, rolling to convincing wins over New Mexico (3-0) and No. 22 USC (4-0) at Alumni Stadium before a resounding 4-1 win at No. 3/4 North Carolina last weekend.
Six different Fighting Irish players have scored during this year’s NCAA Championship, including three goals apiece from senior co-captain Lauren Fowlkes and junior forward Melissa Henderson, and two scores from senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin. The trio also each has two assists in three NCAA matches thus far.
For the season, Henderson ranks among the top 10 nationally in most offensive categories (17G-9A), while Augustin is one of nine players in the land with double-digit goals and assists (11G-10A).
On defense, junior co-captain Jessica Schuveiller has helped backstop Notre Dame to a pair of NCAA Championship shutouts (and 12 clean sheets this season), while senior goalkeeper Nikki Weiss has seven solo shutouts and a 0.56 goals-against average.this year.
Scouting Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State (20-3-2) is making its first appearance in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals, coming on the heels of the Big 12 Conference tournament title. The Cowgirls reached Friday’s match with NCAA Championship victories at home over Michigan (2-1), 15th-ranked Oregon State (2-1) and Duke (2-0).
OSU is led by junior midfielder/forward Krista Lopez, who has collected a team-high 15 goals (including seven game-winners) and 35 points this season. Sophomore forward Megan Marchesano is second on the team in goals (8) and points (20), while senior forward Katie Richardson has six goals and a team-high six assists this year.
Sophomore Adrianna French has expertly tended goal for the Cowgirls this season, earning every decision while logging nine shutouts and a 0.68 GAA.
OSU head coach Colin Carmichael is in his sixth season at the helm in Stillwater with a 94-26-17 (.748) record.
The Notre Dame-Oklahoma State Series
Friday will mark just the second all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls won the first matchup between the schools, 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 16, 2007, in South Bend (see recap below).
The Last Time Notre Dame And Oklahoma State Met
Sasa Jackson’s goal 79 seconds into overtime gave the 16th-ranked Oklahoma State women’s soccer team a 2-1 win over ninth-ranked Notre Dame, in the final game at the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic on Sept. 16, 2007, at old Alumni Field in South Bend.
Notre Dame — which failed to capitalize on a 20-6 shot edge and a 7-2 corner-kick margin — lost at home for the first time since 2003, ending (at the time) the third-longest home unbeaten streak (43 games; 41-0-2) in the NCAA Division I women’s soccer record book.
OSU’s Siera Strawser opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, after a Notre Dame turnover at the edge of its defensive third. The sophomore midfielder raced free into the left side of the box and launched a 16-yard shot over freshman goalkeeper Nikki Weiss into the far-right side of the net for Strawser’s first goal of the season (21:25).
Notre Dame entered the intermission staring at the 1-0 deficit, despite owning a 9-2 shot edge and not allowing a corner kick in the first 45 minutes.
Kerri Hanks tied the game midway through the second half, scoring directly on a free kick from 25 yards out on the left side, arching the ball around the wall and into the upper right corner of the net (68:01).
The Fighting Irish had several chances to score the go-ahead goal (and ultimately forego overtime) but couldn’t capitalize.
The overtime quickly ended on a counter-attack sequence down the left side. The Cowgirls played the ball over the top and Kasey Langdon was able to beat her defender before sending a cross from the left endline. Weiss was able to knock the ball down but the Fighting Irish defense again failed to clear the zone, with Jackson rushing in to poke home the game-winning goal (91:19).
Other Notre Dame-Oklahoma State Series Tidbits
- Three current Notre Dame seniors (then freshmen) saw action in the 2007 match against Oklahoma State. Lauren Fowlkes started and played 82 minutes, recording one shot, while Julie Scheidler (46 minutes) and Rose Augustin (12 minutes) both came on as reserves during the match.
- Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum is quite familiar with the state of Oklahoma, having skippered the Tulsa men’s and women’s soccer programs for six seasons (1989-94) and posting a combined 127-69-15 record between the two teams (61-36-9, .580, with TU women; 66-33-6, .657, with TU men). One of the players Waldrum coached while at Tulsa is current Oklahoma State assistant coach Karen (Horstman) Hancock, who was a four-year starter and three-year captain at TU from 1987-90.
- Waldrum and his 1991 Golden Hurricane men’s squad, which won the Missouri Valley Conference title (Waldrum was the 1991 MVC Coach of the Year) and earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Championship berth, recently were selected as one of this year’s inductees into the Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame, with enshrinement ceremonies set for early February.
- Many of Notre Dame’s players also are no strangers to this part of the country, with nearly 40 percent of the Fighting Irish roster (10 of 25 players) hailing from within a 325-mile radius of Stillwater. Notre Dame has five players (Courtney Barg, Jazmin Hall, Melissa Henderson, Jessica Schuveiller and Jordan Snyder) from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, plus head coach Randy Waldrum is a native of Irving, Texas. In addition, five others (Molly Campbell, Lauren Fowlkes, Ellen Jantsch, Mandy Laddish and Elizabeth Wilson) are from the Kansas City metro area … and that doesn’t even include sophomore midfielder Liz McNeil, who is from Elkhorn, Neb., approximately 425 miles from the OSU campus.
Notre Dame vs. the Big 12
Notre Dame has compiled a 10-1-1 (.875) all-time record against the current members of the Big 12 Conference, including a 2-0 victory over Texas Tech earlier this season (Sept. 5) in the title match of the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic at Alumni Stadium.
The Fighting Irish are playing on a Big 12 campus for only the third time in program history and first since Sept. 12, 2004, when they defeated Texas Tech, 3-0, in Lubbock, Texas.
It should be noted that Notre Dame’s first-ever visit to a Big 12 campus also came in the NCAA quarterfinals, producing one of the most memorable postseason moments in the program’s 23-year history. On Nov. 28, 1999, the fifth-ranked Fighting Irish and No. 4 Nebraska played to a marathon 1-1 four-overtime draw in Lincoln, Neb., before matters were finally decided on penalty kicks. Omaha native Kelly Lindsey netted her spot kick in the sixth round (first sudden-death session) of the shootout and LaKeysia Beene came up with a huge save in the bottom half of the round, booking Notre Dame’s place in the NCAA Women’s College Cup (the first of seven Cup berths for the Fighting Irish under 12th-year head coach Randy Waldrum).
Notre Dame last played a Big 12 team in the NCAA Championship in 2006, ousting Colorado, 3-0 in a third-round match on Nov. 17 at old Alumni Field.
NCAA Championship Quick Kicks
- Notre Dame is competing in the NCAA Championship for the 18th consecutive year, the second-longest active streak of consecutive berths, trailing only North Carolina (29) in that category.
- Notre Dame has a 56-15-1 (.785) all-time record in NCAA tournament play, including 44-3-0 (.936) in NCAA games played at home.
- Including this season, Notre Dame and UNC remain the only teams to have reached the final-32 or further in every NCAA Championship since 1993, and remain 1-2 in virtually all tournament appearance records during that time — round-of-16 trips (UNC-18, ND-15, Portland-15), quarterfinals since 1994 (ND-14, UNC-14, Portland-13), College Cup berths since 1994 (UNC-13, ND-11) and title game appearances since 1994 (UNC-11, ND-7; no one else with more than three).
- The Fighting Irish claimed NCAA titles in 1995 and 2004, joining UNC and Portland as the only repeat winners in the history of the tournament. Notre Dame also has finished as the NCAA runner-up five times (1994, 1996, 1999, 2006 and 2008) as part of its 11 NCAA College Cup berths (also semifinalist in 1997, 2000, 2007 and 2009), all since 1994.
Quarter Horses
For the 14th time in 17 seasons (all but 2001-03), Notre Dame has reached the round-of-eight in the NCAA Championship (currently called a quarterfinal and in earlier years with smaller tournament fields, called a third-round match or a regional final). The Fighting Irish also have advanced to this level for the seventh consecutive season and the ninth time in the 12-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum.
Notre Dame is 10-2-1 all-time in quarterfinal matches (6-1-1 in the Waldrum era), with both losses coming to Portland (2-1 in 1998 at old Alumni Field; 3-1 in 2005 at UP’s Merlo Field). The draw was a 1-1 four-overtime classic at Nebraska in 1999, with the Fighting Irish advancing to the College Cup via a 4-3 win in the penalty kick shootout.
Playing on the road in the quarterfinals also isn’t entirely unusual for Notre Dame, with Friday’s match marking the fourth time the Fighting Irish will play for a berth in the College Cup on enemy soil. Notre Dame is 1-1-1 in these road quarterfinal matches, tying at Nebraska in 1999, falling at Portland in 2005 and most recently, earning a 2-0 win last season at Florida State (behind first-half goals 51 seconds apart from Melissa Henderson and Haley Ford).
Match #22 Recap: North Carolina (NCAA Third Round)
Senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin collected a goal and two assists, and junior forward Melissa Henderson added a goal and an assist, as No. 7/10 Notre Dame advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship for the seventh consecutive season with a clinical 4-1 victory over No. 3/4 (and top-seeded) North Carolina in an NCAA third-round match on Saturday at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Junior co-captain/defender Jessica Schuveiller continued her uncanny ability to score critical goals, netting her fourth career score (all gamewinners) and first of the season in the 33rd minute. Junior midfielder Ellen Jantsch capped the Fighting Irish scoring with her second goal of the year in the 77th minute.
Crystal Dunn scored the lone UNC goal on Saturday night, potting her ninth of the season off a Ranee Premji assist in the 19th minute to temporarily knot the score at 1-1.
Senior goalkeeper Nikki Weiss turned in a virtuoso performance in the Notre Dame net, registering five saves, including two huge second-half stops to help keep North Carolina at arm’s length. Sophomore Maddie Fox came on to spell Weiss in the final minute and complete the victory.
UNC (19-3-2) finished with a 15-9 shot advantage in the match, including a slim 6-5 edge in shots on goal. The Tar Heels also had the upper hand on corner kicks, 8-5, while fouls were even at 10-10, and Notre Dame was assessed two of the three yellow cards on the night.
Six Irish Nab All-BIG EAST Honors
For the seventh consecutive season, Notre Dame fielded the BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Year, with junior forward Melissa Henderson earning this year’s award as part of the BIG EAST’s annual awards banquet that was held Nov. 4 in Somerset, N.J.
Henderson also was one of six Fighting Irish players who received individual conference accolades this season, joining senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin as Notre Dame’s first-team all-BIG EAST selections in 2010. The two Fighting Irish center backs and co-captains, senior Lauren Fowlkes and junior Jessica Schuveiller, garnered second-team all-conference citations, while freshman midfielder Elizabeth Tucker was a third-team all-BIG EAST honoree. In addition, Tucker and midfielder Mandy Laddish were chosen for this year’s BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
Mel-Rose Place
No signs of Billy, Jane, Michael or Sydney, but this season, Notre Dame has taken on the look of Mel-Rose Place. Specifically, the offensive duo of junior forward Melissa Henderson and senior forward Rose Augustin have combined for more than half (28) of the 51 Fighting Irish goals and 75 of 143 points through 22 matches.
Henderson and Augustin also are poised to become the first duo in the nation this season to post double-digit goals and assists. Augustin (11G-10A) currently is one of nine players in that group, while Henderson (17G-9A) is one assist shy.
Henderson A Trend Setter
If you’re looking to spot a trend in Notre Dame’s success during the past three seasons, look no further than junior forward Melissa Henderson. Since the Garland, Texas, native arrived in South Bend, she has scored 52 goals (third-most among active Division I players, and 11th in school history) and added 16 assists, good for 120 career points (16th in school history).
This season, Henderson is once again among the national offensive leaders, ranking fifth nationally in points (43), sixth in goals (17) and points per match (1.95), and seventh in goals per match (0.773) coming into this weekend’s action. She also has distributed a career-high nine assists in 2010, topping her combined total of seven helpers during her first two seasons at Notre Dame.
These markers have been particularly valuable to Fighting Irish fortunes. In fact, during Henderson’s career, Notre Dame is 35-0-2 when she scores a goal, something she’s done in 14 matches this year, including 10 of the past 13 outings. The Fighting Irish also are 42-0-2 all-time when Henderson tallies a point, which she has done in 17 matches this year and 24 of the past 32 contests, dating back to last season.
A Rose By Any Other Name
In her final season at Notre Dame, senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin has been intent on going out with a bang, rolling up career highs in virtually every offensive category, including goals (11), assists (tied-10), points (32) and game-winning goals (tied-3). The Silver Lake, Ohio, resident also is one of just nine players in the country to notch double-digit goals and assists this season, with junior teammate Melissa Henderson just one assist away from joining that group.
In the past two years, Augustin has dished out 20 assists, many coming in her role as one of Notre Dame’s set-piece specialists. That was never more apparent than in last Saturday’s 4-1 NCAA third-round win at North Carolina, when Augustin followed up her opening strike (13th minute) with assists on the next two Fighting Irish goals, one from the corner flag and the other off a free kick.
That four-point night led to Augustin’s dual selections as the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performer of the Week and as a member of the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
Captain Clutch
Throughout her career, junior co-captain/defender Jessica Schuveiller has been known more for her defense than her offense, but she’s developed a habit of making her goals count.
The Plano, Texas, native has scored four times in her three seasons at Notre Dame, with all four goals proving to be game-winning strikes. In addition, three of her game-winners have come in postseason play (two in the NCAA Championship), including last Saturday’s decisive strike in the 33rd minute of a 4-1 win at North Carolina.
Schuveiller, who has started all 75 matches of her Fighting Irish career, netted her first collegiate goal as a freshman in 2008, igniting Notre Dame’s 2-0 NCAA quarterfinal win over Florida State at old Alumni Field. Then, last season, she scored a late game winner (8:08 remaining) in the regular season at Cincinnati (2-1 win on Sept. 25), before sending Notre Dame to the BIG EAST Championship title match with an overtime goal (98:42) in the BIG EAST semifinals against St. John’s (2-1).
Quickstrike Offense, Part I
Junior forward Melissa Henderson and senior forward Rose Augustin scored 47 seconds apart (at 23:51 and 24:38) midway through the first half of the Sept. 5 win over Texas Tech at Alumni Stadium. It was the fastest two-goal flurry for Notre Dame since Sept. 28, 2008, at Cincinnati, when Henderson scored 33 seconds after Courtney Rosen found the back of the net.
Quickstrike Offense, Part II
Junior forward Melissa Henderson’s goal just 1:11 in Notre Dame’s win at Loyola Marymount on Sept. 12 was the fastest opening tally by the Fighting Irish since Dec. 7, 2008, when Kerri Hanks scored only 16 seconds into the NCAA national championship match against North Carolina in Cary, N.C. (setting an NCAA College Cup record in the process).
Henderson’s goal against LMU also was the sixth-fastest opening score in the 12-year Randy Waldrum era (1999-present).
Getting The Jump On The Opposition
In 11 matches this season, Notre Dame has scored the opening goal inside the first 15 minutes of play.
In addition, the Fighting Irish have scored within the opening 30 minutes in 16 of their last 20 matches, after waiting until the second half to find the back of the net in their first two contests of the year.
Lead, Follow Or Get Out Of The Way
With the potency of the Notre Dame offensive attack, most opponents have chosen the third option. In fact, the Fighting Irish have led or been tied for 1,986:59 of 2,024:02 minutes this season (98.2% of the elapsed game time). The only times Notre Dame has trailed this season were for 25:06 (19:09-44:15) at No. 13 UCLA on Sept. 10, and for 31:56 (58:04-90:00) against Connecticut on Oct. 31.
Department of Defense
Notre Dame opened this season with four consecutive shutouts, marking the second time in three years (just the third time in school history) that the Fighting Irish have started with four clean sheets. The other instances occurred in 1995 (eight in a row) and 2008 (four in a row).
This season, Notre Dame has allowed just 13 goals (two of which were own-goals), entering the weekend, ranking 11th in the nation in goals-against average (0.58) and 16th in shutout percentage (0.55/match).
Looking at the larger picture, Notre Dame has allowed 0-1 goals in 34 of its last 37 matches, dating back to Oct. 4, 2009, at Pittsburgh. Prior to a 2-1 overtime loss at 13th-ranked UCLA on Sept. 10, the Fighting Irish had a 19-match streak of allowing one goal or fewer, the fifth-longest streak in school history and their longest since Oct. 25, 2002-Oct. 26, 2003, when the Fighting Irish yielded a goal or fewer in 24 consecutive matches.
During this current 37-match defensive run (which coincided with the installation of senior Nikki Weiss as Notre Dame’s full-time starting goalkeeper), the Fighting Irish are 31-3-3 with 22 shutouts (14 solo and eight shared by Weiss), an 89-20 scoring margin and a 0.53 goals-against average (GAA).
In the program’s 23-year history, Notre Dame is 407-10-17 (.957) when holding the opposition to 0-1 goals.
ND Seniors Among Nation’s Best
The 2010 Notre Dame senior class currently is second only to its North Carolina counterpart as the most successful group in the country on the basis of total victories, with a four-year record to date of 84-12-5 (.856) that includes three consecutive trips to the NCAA College Cup and an appearance in the 2008 national title match.
The .855 winning percentage compiled by the Fighting Irish seniors is fourth-best on the national scene.
And Juniors Aren’t Half Bad Either
Like their senior teammates, the Fighting Irish juniors are among the national leaders in total wins by the Class of 2011, trailing only Stanford and North Carolina with a three-year record to date of 65-7-3 (.887), including two trips to the NCAA College Cup and a berth in the 2008 title match. The Notre Dame junior class also currently ranks third in the nation with an .887 winning percentage.
That record could be even more impressive when one considers that three of those seven losses occurred in a nine-day span (Sept. 4-13) last season. The only other losses were late-game one-goal setbacks to North Carolina in the past two College Cups (2-1 in the ’08 final, 1-0 in the ’09 semifinals) and earlier this season at 13th-ranked UCLA (2-1 in OT on Sept. 10) and against Connecticut (2-0 on Oct. 31 in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals), along with a 0-0 draw at Pittsburgh last year (a match in which Notre Dame outshot the Panthers, 25-7) and 1-1 draws this season at Connecticut and Georgetown.
Fresh-Faced Contributors
Part of Notre Dame’s success this season can be traced to the poised and rapidly maturing play of its freshmen, four of whom have been among the starting XI for the Fighting Irish.
Midfielders Mandy Laddish and Elizabeth Tucker both collected BIG EAST Conference All-Rookie Team honors this season, having earned starting nods in virtually every match this season (Laddish all 22, Tucker 19). Laddish ranks fourth on the team in total minutes (1,888) by a field player, while Tucker (who also was a third-team all-conference pick and a two-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week selection) is third on the team — and tops among all conference freshmen — with seven goals, three assists and 17 points, while standing second on the team with four game-winning goals (all of those marks are among the top 10 in the BIG EAST).
On Sept. 12 at Loyola Marymount, defender Kecia Morway became the third rookie in the starting lineup (she has gotten the call 16 times this season), while forward Adriana Leon got her first starting nod on Oct. 1 vs. Syracuse. Leon, who has started seven times to date, has three goals this season, most recently capping Notre Dame’s 4-0 NCAA second-round win over 22nd-ranked USC on Nov. 14 with a score in the 71st minute.
Meanwhile, Morway and Laddish played a significant role in Notre Dame’s NCAA Championship first-round win over New Mexico, each earning an assist on one of Lauren Fowlkes’ second-half goals. For Morway, it was her first career point.
One other Notre Dame freshman note: during the final 10 minutes of the first half at Northwestern on Sept. 19, the Fighting Irish had five freshmen on the pitch at the same time, as starters Laddish, Tucker and Morway were joined by Leon and midfielder Rebecca Twining, the latter of whom was making her college debut.
Sunday School
Notre Dame is unbeaten in 18 of its last 19 matches on Sunday (16-1-2), having its 17-match unbeaten streak snapped with the Oct. 31 loss to Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals. Still, the Fighting Irish own a 35-3-3 (.890) record in the past 41 contests when closing out the weekend, dating back to September 2007 (when Notre Dame lost three consecutive Sunday matches to nationally-ranked Stanford, Oklahoma State and Penn State, all by 2-1 scores and the first two in overtime).
Irish Were Thinking Pink In October
Following the success of this past spring’s jersey auction at the Mexico exhibition match to benefit Camp Whatcha-Wanna-Do (which raised nearly $3,000 for the Fort Wayne camp for children with cancer), the Notre Dame women’s soccer team once again gave fans the shirts off their backs.
During its home matches against Seton Hall and Rutgers on the weekend of Oct. 8-10, the Fighting Irish wore special white/pink uniforms to support Kicks Against Breast Cancer, a national soccer initiative to raise funds for breast cancer research. From Sept. 24-Oct. 11, fans had the opportunity to bid on these autographed, game-worn jerseys by going to the official Notre Dame athletics auction web site at www.UND.com/auctions.
Proceeds from this auction (which topped $5,000) will go directly to Kicks Against Breast Cancer. For more information on this worthwhile cause, visit www.kicksagainstbreastcancer.org.
We Love The New Digs
Alumni Stadium is quickly earning a reputation as not only one of the nation’s finest college facilities, but also a truly intimidating place for visiting teams. In fact, following Notre Dame’s loss to top-ranked North Carolina in its first match at the new stadium (Sept. 4, 2009), the Fighting Irish have won 25 of their last 26 at home, outscoring their opponents, 69-8 in that span while recording 20 shutouts. Notre Dame also had a 23-match home winning streak before it was snapped on Oct. 31 with a 2-0 loss to Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals.
Streak Busters…
Notre Dame’s 4-1 win at North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA Championship last Saturday was noteworthy for two reasons.
First, it marked the first time in nearly 25 years (and 607 matches) that a team defeated the Tar Heels by more than one goal. The last time that happened was Nov. 24, 1985, when UNC dropped a 2-0 decision at George Mason in the NCAA national championship match.
Last weekend’s result also represented the most goals allowed by North Carolina in a single match during the NCAA era (1982-present), with Harvard the only college program to score more goals against the Tar Heels, posting a 5-3 win over UNC on Nov. 16, 1980, at the AIAW Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo.
…And Streaks Busted
All good things must come to an end, and with a 2-0 loss to Connecticut on Oct. 31 in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals at Alumni Stadium, Notre Dame saw its NCAA Division I-record 77-match unbeaten streak (72-0-5) against BIG EAST opposition stopped.
This incredible run dated back to a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Marquette on Sept. 30, 2005. In that time, the ties were scoreless draws at Connecticut (Oct. 13, 2006) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 4, 2009), and 1-1 deadlocks at No. 12 West Virginia in the 2007 BIG EAST final (won by the Mountaineers on penalties, 5-3, but the result is recorded as a tie), as well as this season at Connecticut (Oct. 15) and Georgetown (Oct. 24).
Not only was Notre Dame’s conference unbeaten streak an NCAA Division I record, but it was the fourth-longest in NCAA history across all divisions.
Division III Hardin-Simmons University (Texas), is the current all-division record holder with a 114-match unbeaten streak against conference opponents, dating back to 2003 (the Cowgirls also have an active 131-match unbeaten run in regular season league play).
Since joining the BIG EAST 15 years ago, the Fighting Irish are 143-8-7 (.927) all-time in regular-season conference matches, 35-3-1 (.910) in the BIG EAST Championship, and hold a 742-94 scoring edge dating back to that first league season in 1995.
The loss to Connecticut on Oct. 31 also ended another mammoth streak for Notre Dame, as its 15-year, 99-match home unbeaten run (98-0-1) against BIG EAST teams was stopped. UConn is still the lone conference team ever to defeat the Fighting Irish at home, having also earned a 5-4 overtime win on Oct. 6, 1995, at old Alumni Field.
During this BIG EAST home unbeaten streak (which stretched through three American presidencies and four Summer Olympics), the only result separating Notre Dame from a 99-match conference home winning streak was a 0-0 draw with Rutgers on Oct. 22, 2004, also at old Alumni Field.
Our Fearless Leader
Now in his 12th season at Notre Dame, head coach Randy Waldrum ranks fourth on the NCAA Division I all-time winning percentage list with a .791 (357-86-23) mark in his 21 years in the women’s game. He also is third among active coaches for career winning percentage, while his 357 career wins rank fifth on the all-time NCAA Division I charts — Waldrum earned his 350th career victory on Oct. 3 vs. St. John’s at Alumni Stadium.
A two-time National Coach of the Year (2008 by the NSCAA, 2009 by Soccer America), Waldrum has led Notre Dame to seven NCAA College Cups, four NCAA finals and the 2004 national championship. He is second in NCAA Division I history with seven College Cup appearances and four title-game berths in his storied career.
The 2-0 Guarantee
Notre Dame is 326-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and is unbeaten in its past 303 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 215 Fighting 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 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 (Irish 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, with the Sept. 10 loss at 13th-ranked UCLA snapping a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) in added time, dating back to the 2007 season.
Since the UCLA loss, Notre Dame has drawn twice in overtime (at Connecticut on Oct. 15 and at Georgetown on Oct. 24, both 1-1 finals), making the Fighting Irish unbeaten in nine of their last 10 extra-time contests.
Three current Notre Dame players have scored “golden goals” in their college careers — senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin (Oct. 12, 2008 at Villanova), junior forward Melissa Henderson (Nov. 9, 2008 vs. Connecticut in BIG EAST final) and junior defender Jessica Schuveiller (Nov. 6, 2009 vs. St. John’s in BIG EAST semifinal).
Captains’ Choice
Senior defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes and junior defender Jessica Schuveiller have been selected to serve as Notre Dame’s captains this year, according to a preseason vote of their teammates. Fowlkes is in her first season as a team captain, while Schuveiller is a second-year captain after becoming the first non-senior to wear the armband for the Fighting Irish since Amy Warner in 2002.
New Ways To Follow The Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame women’s soccer program has expanded its reach this season through a number of media outlets. Most notably, the Fighting Irish have created three Twitter accounts for fans to follow the team on a daily basis — one is operated by head coach Randy Waldrum (@NDCoachWaldrum), a second by assistant coach Ken Nuber (@NDSoccer) and a third by associate media relations director Chris Masters (@NDsoccernews).
In addition, the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com) is featuring live in-game blogs for all Fighting Irish home matches this season, allowing fans to ask questions, make comments and share in the excitement of Notre Dame women’s soccer right from their own computers.
These blogs, along with live in-game stats (courtesy of the CBSSports.com College Gametracker) and other special features, are available through the UND.com Women’s Soccer Gameday Central page, which is posted on-line within 24 hours of each home contest.
Next Up: NCAA College Cup Semifinal
Should Notre Dame defeat Oklahoma State on Friday, the Fighting Irish would move on to the NCAA Women’s College Cup semifinals to play either Georgetown or No. 17/19 Ohio State (seeded third in its quadrant of the bracket).
The College Cup semifinals will take place at 4:00 and 6:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday, Dec. 3, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with both matches televised live on ESPNU, and possible additional coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com.
Notre Dame is 16-1-1 all-time against fellow BIG EAST member Georgetown, including a 1-1 draw on Oct. 24 in Washington, D.C.
The Fighting Irish are 5-0 all-time against Ohio State, most recently earning a 3-1 win on Nov. 15, 2002, in the first round of the NCAA Championship at old Alumni Field.
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