Sept. 6, 2005
Two Notre Dame women’s soccer forwards have been recognized by the BIG EAST Conference for their leading roles in wins over nationally-ranked teams Florida (4-1) and Maryland (6-0), as senior forward Katie Thorlakson has been named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week while Kerri Hanks has earned her second straight honor as the league’s rookie of the week (after opening the season as BIG EAST offensive player of the week).
Thorlakson totaled three goals and three assists in the weekend action vs. the Gators and Terrapins while Hanks notched three goals, including the first goals in each game. Both players reached noteworthy milestones – as Thorlakson became the sixth Notre Dame player (and 34th in Division I history) to reach 40 goals and 40 assists in her career while Hanks became the quickest Notre Dame player ever to reach 10 goals in a season. The second-semester freshman also is the second Irish player ever to score in the first four games of a season.
Hanks already is nearly halfway to the Notre Dame record for goals by a freshman (23, by Anne Makinen in 1997) and has fashioned an early pace that could see her post one of the top freshman goal totals in NCAA history. No Division I women’s soccer freshman has reached 30 goals since 1996, with the top freshman goalscoring seasons belonging to SMU’s Lisa Cole (37, in 1987), Baylor’s Molly Cameron (32, in 1996) and Washington State’s Kim Lynass (30, in 1990). Cameron – who played for current Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum when he was the founding coach of the Baylor program – is the only freshman in the previous 14 seasons to reach 30 goals.
Junior Jen Buczkowski – who filled several roles for homestanding Notre Dame at the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic – also was named to the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll. Three Notre Dame players have been named to the honor roll during each of the past two weeks, with Hanks previously collecting offensive player-of-the-week honors (for Aug. 22-28) while sophomore midfielder/defender Ashley Jones and freshman M/F Brittany Bock also were among the first-week honor roll selections.
Thorlakson now has been named the BIG EAST offensive player of the week four times in her career (also Aug. 30, Sept. 6 and Oct. 4 of 2004), tied for third-most in the 11-year history of the BIG EAST women’s soccer awards. Former Seton Hall standout and English national teamer Kelly Smith holds the BIG EAST record with six career offensive player-of-the-week honors (from ’97-’99), followed by former West Virginia forward Chrissie Abbott (5; from ’01-’03) and six others with four career honors (including Thorlakson).
The BIG EAST weekly awards now have seen 16 Notre Dame players combine for the offensive player-of-the-week honor 36 times, led by Thorlakson and three other four-time honorees: Monica Gerardo (95-96-98-98), Jenny Streiffer (96-97-97-99) and Jenny Heft (97-98-98-99). Two otehrs – Anne Makinen (97-99-00) and Amy Warner (01-02-03) – have been two-time honorees while four have received the weekly offensive award twice: Michelle McCarthy (95), Amy Van Laecke (95-96), Meotis Erikson (97-00) and Mia Sarkesian (00-01). Others to receive the award include Holly Manthei and Cindy Daws in ’96, Amanda Guertin in ’01, Mary Boland in ’03, Amanda Cinalli in ’04 and Hanks in ’05.
Notre Dame’s 36 all-time BIG EAST offensive player-of-the-week honors are well ahead of the second team on that list (Connecticut, with 27), followed distantly by West Virginia (12), Seton Hall (8) and Villanova (8).
Here’s additional information on this week’s honorees:
Katie Thorlakson (Sr., F; Langley, B.C.) – repeated as offensive MVP of ND’s annual home tournament (Sept. 2 and 4), after totaling 3G-3A in pair of wins over Florida (4-1; 2G-1A) and Maryland (6-0; 1G-2A) … assisted on both goals that held up as the gamewinners … became 34th player in Division I women’s soccer history (6th from ND) to reach 40G-40A in her career … had corner-kick assists in both games (giving her 3 CK assists for the season, after 8 in ’04) … provided CK assist on Cinalli’s header for 2-0 lead on Florida team ranked as high as 11th in the nation … later volleyed in a Christie Shaner cross and converted a PK … was inches away from scoring earlier goal that would have produced her third career hat trick, drilling a 25-yard shot that smacked off the left post … the 2G-1A vs. UF represented the 7th time in the past two seasons (31 GP) that she has posted 5-plus points in a game (it was her 9th carer mutli-goal game) … her strong shot produced a Kerri Hanks rebound goal to open scoring vs. Maryland … added CK assist on Carrie Dew’s goal and later ripped 25-yard shot into sidenetting for 4-0 lead … next sets her sights on the 50-G/50-A plateau, a mark reached by only three previous Irish players and 13 others in NCAA history … now ranks 11th at ND in career points (129), 9th in assists (45) and 12th in goals (42) … her 14 career game-winning assists are tied for 4th in ND record book (her 40 game-winning points are 8th) … has averaged nearly 3.0 points per game in past two seasons (28G-30A, 86 points in 31 GP), has points in 14 of ND’s past 15 games (17G-19A/53 pts; no pts vs. Vermont, after playing just 29 minutes) and has scored/assisted on 36 of ND’s past 55 goals (66%) … averaging 1.74 pts/gm in her career, now 8th in ND record book … has played in 74 consecutive games with the Irish (her entire career) … now has totaled 60 points (20G-20A, 7 GWG) at Alumni Field during the ’04 and ’05 seasons, in 17 GP (3.53 ppg) … has 33 points in her past 8 home games (11G-11A) and has racked up 78 points at Alumni Field during the ’03-’05 seasons (27G-24A, 9 GWG in 33 GP) … ND’s other 40-40 players have included Streiffer(70G-71A), Daws (61G-57A), Makinen (65-56), Erikson (59-46) and Gerardo (73-44).
Kerri Hanks already has picked up BIG EAST offensive player- and rookie-of-the-week honors, after reaching 10 goals quicker than any previous Notre Dame player.
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Kerri Hanks (Fr., F; Dallas, Texas) – Kept up her torrid scoring pace to start the season, totaling three goals as an all-tournament performer at the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic vs. a pair of top-25 teams (1G vs. #11 Florida, 2G vs. #25 Maryland) … first ND player ever to reach 10 goals in the first four games of the season … joined Gerardo as the only ND players ever to score in the first four games of a season (Gerardo also did so as a freshman, ultimately scoring in the first five games of the national-title 1995 season) … will have the chance to match Gerardo’s mark in the Sept. 9 game at Santa Clara … had notched her 10th goal in just 225 minutes of game action, which factored out to 4G every 90 minutes she was on the field … 17th ND freshman with double-digit goals and already is nearly halfway to Makinen’s record for goals by an ND freshman (23, in ’97) … opened scoring vs. Florida (4-1), knocking in a Cinalli cross for a far-post goal in the 12th minute … also opened scoring vs. Maryland for eventual GWG (6-0), sending in a deflected Katie Thorlakson shot … added a highly-skilled goal for 3-0 halftime lead vs. Terps, elevating for flick-header via long serve from Candace Chapman … also hit post twice vs. Maryland, in bid for her third hat trick of ’05 season.
Jen Buczkowski (Jr., M; Elk Grove, Ill.) – Named defensive MVP of ND’s Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic, completing the rare career double after earning the offensive MVP honor at ND’s 2003 home tournament … her role as the leader of Notre Dame’s midfield continues to lead the team’s strong possession game and suffocating team defense … helped Irish complete the impressive Sept. 2-4 weekend vs. a pair of ranked teams (4-1 vs. #11 Florida, 6-0 vs. #25 Maryland) by outscoring the opposition 10-1, with a 46-8 edge in total shots, 27-4 in shots on goal and 12-5 in corner kicks … the Irish season stats now include a 63-10 shot edge (including 50-5 in first-half shots), plus 42-6 in shots on goal and 24-5 in CKs … set up the game-winning goal vs. Maryland, playing pass to Katie Thorlakson that led to a Kerri Hanks rebound goal.