Jen Buczkowski Staff

• National Player of the Year Candidate
• Academic All-America Candidate (3.39)
• M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List ([apos]06)
• Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST ([apos]06)
• U.S. Under-21 National Team
• Hermann Trophy Final-15 ([apos]05)
• Third Team NSCAA All-American ([apos]04, [apos]05)
• BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year ([apos]05)
• First Team All-BIG EAST ([apos]04, [apos]05)
• Academic All-District V. ([apos]04, [apos]05)

Jen Buczkowski – a three-time NSCAA All-
American and one of the top midfielders in Notre
Dame women[apos]s soccer history – will serve as the
2007 team[apos]s volunteer assistant coach. A classic
playmaker who helped dominate possession
throughout her Irish career, Buczkowski remains
on the fringe of cracking the U.S. National Team
player pool, after previously playing at a high level
with various U.S. youth national teams.

Buczkowski never missed a game in her college
career while setting the Notre Dame record for
career games played (103; sixth-most in the NCAA
record book). Her other career stats with the Irish
included 77 points (22nd in ND history), 20 goals,
37 assists (13th) and 97 starts (6th).

As part of one of the winningest classes in
Division I women[apos]s soccer history, Buczkowski
played a lead role in Notre Dame[apos]s 92-8-3 record
(.908) from 2003-06. The only time that the Irish
were outshot in her career came in the 2006 NCAA
title game, a 2-1 loss to North Carolina that saw
Buczkowski battle courageously despite suffering
a major leg injury two days earlier. Buczkowski
and her fellow 2006 seniors averaged a 23-5 shot
margin in their career and were nearly unbeatable
at home, going 53-2-1 at Alumni Field.

A starter with the Under-21 National Team that
won the prestigious Nordic Cup in the summer of
2005, Buczkowski was one of three U.S. players to
log every minute of that tournament. The
Americans rolled up a 15-1 scoring edge during the
four games played in Sweden, capped by a 4-1 win
over Norway in the Nordic Cup final.

Buczkowski joined her Notre Dame teammate
Kerri Hanks and two others as the only players
among the final-15 candidates for both the 2005
and 2006 M.A.C. Hermann Award (national player
of the year).

Noted for her trademark composure on the ball
and ability to control the pace, Buczkowski has
been training in 2007 with the U.S. Under-21
National Team (which is transitioning to a U-23
squad). She closed her college career by earning
2006 second team All-America honors from the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Also a three-time first team all-BIG EAST honoree,
she finished as the fifth-leading scorer (15 points)
for a 2006 Irish team that spent most of the season
ranked number-one, led the nation in scoring margin
(85-11) and finished with a 25-1-1 record.

Buczkowski[apos]s excellence at Notre Dame also
extended to the classroom, as she graduated with
a 3.39 cumulative GPA and a degree in marketing.

The NSCAA named Buczkowski a first team
Scholar All-American in 2006 while the College
Sports Information Directors of America selected
her as an Academic All-District V performer in
each of her final three seasons.

Buczkowski led the talented 2006 team in minutes
played (2,137; 78/gm) and posted nearly half
of her 13 assists (6 of 13) during the postseason
(leaving her 8th on the ND list for career postseason
assists, with 11). She had pair of assists in the
BIG EAST title game versus 20th-ranked Rutgers
(4-2) before adding assists in the opening two
rounds of the NCAAs (vs. Oakland and Wisconsin-
Milwaukee), in addition to assisting on the first
goal in the 4-0 quarterfinal win over Penn State.

Her top honors as a junior included NSCAA
third team All-America and BIG EAST midfielder of
the year, en route to finishing sixth on the 2005
team with 21 points (7G-7A). The ninth-leading
scorer in the BIG EAST, Buczkowski directed a
2005 offense that led the nation in goals (110;
4.4/gm) and scoring margin (+95) while trailing
just three times all season (spanning 153 minutes).

Buczkowski holds the rare distinction of being
named both offensive and defensive MVP of the
Notre Dame Classic, earning the defensive honor
in 2005 after helping hold 11th-ranked Florida (4-1)
and #25 Maryland (6-0; 1A) to a single goal and
eight total shots (four on goal). Her 1G-1A in a 4-1
win over Gonzaga (4-1) helped land her on the alltournament
team at the Santa Clara Classic and
her header goal later opened the scoring versus
20th-ranked Michigan (3-0). Buczkowski[apos]s 2005
postseason output included 1G-1A in both the BIG
EAST quarterfinal win over Georgetown (6-0) and
the semifinal at 11th-ranked Marquette (3-0).

Her third-team All-America effort in 2004 contributed
to the magical national-title season (25-1-
1) that culminated with a penalty-kick victory over
UCLA. She was one of four Irish players to convert
in the shootout, as Notre Dame edged the Bruins
(4-3; after 1-1 in regulation/OT). Her conversion
gave the Irish their first lead in the PKs (2-1), on a
rising shot into the right side as the goalkeeper
Valerie Henderson shuffled the other way.

The third-leading scoring on the 2004 team (27
points; 8G-11A), Buczkowski finished 18th among
the national assist leaders and ranked among the
BIG EAST leaders in assists (2nd), points (4th),
gamewinning goals (5th, with four) and goals (8).
Notre Dame[apos]s dominant possession in 2004 saw
the Irish goal total (71) nearly equal the number of
shots on goal allowed (73). Buczkowski was on the
field for most of that domination, ranking third on
the team in minutes (2,153; 80/gm) – including 15
games with 90-plus (five in the NCAAs).

Buczkowski – who opened 2004 strong with 1G-
2A in a 7-2 win over Baylor – also opened the scoring
five times in 2004, tying for the team lead. One
of those opening goals, a header, came in the
annual showdown with Santa Clara and she
clinched her spot on the ND Classic all-tournament
team by assisting on the gamewinner (5-2).

Despite having no gamewinning goals in the
first 37 games of her career, Buczkowski posted
four GWGs in a seven-game span of 2004 – highlighted
by her 90th-minute score at Georgetown
(2-1; 89:36, one of four times ND has won in the
final minute). She added a late goal to beat Boston
College (1-0), scored early at Michigan (4-0) and
had another GWG vs. BC (2-0; BIG EAST semifinal).

Buczkowski collected Freshman All-America
and BIG EAST all-rookie team honors with a 2003
team that outscored its opponents 73-12. Her 14
points (4G-6A) included 2G-3A in an offensive MVP
performance at the Notre Dame Classic (in wins
over Arizona State, 3-1, and Oklahoma, 5-1).

A two-year starting defender with the U.S. U-19
National Team, Buczkowski decided to play for the
Irish in the fall of 2004 rather than sit out that
entire semester for the U-19 World Championship.

She earlier played against teams from Germany
and Holland with the U-19s (2003, in Mexico) and
played a 2001 international tournament in France
with the U-16 National Team.

The three-year prep All-American – ranked by
Soccer America as the nation[apos]s 6th-best incoming
recruit in [apos]03 – joined the Notre Dame program
along with her former state ODP and club teammates
Jill Krivacek and Kim Lorenzen, who led
Illinois ODP to the 2003 national title (current ND
junior Brittany Bock also was on that team) after
being national runner-up in 2001. Buczkowski[apos]s
busy 2004 summer included playing with Krivacek
and Lorenzen on the Eclipse Select team that
came just shy of the USYS under-19 national title
game (she also played for the W-League[apos]s Chicago
Cobras in 2004). The summers of 2005 and [apos]06 saw
Buczkowski ([apos]06 all-star) and Krivacek play with
the W-League[apos]s Chicago Gaels and they previously
had been teammates with Lorenzen on the
Chicago Sockers club team that played up an age
group and won the 2003 u-23 state title.

Named by Gatorade as the 2003 Illinois player
of the year, Buczkowski played three seasons at
Elk Grove High School before focusing on nationalteam
duty. Her 190 career points at EGHS (69G-
52A) included leading the team in scoring each
season (20G-25A/21G-15A/28G-12A, from [apos]00-[apos]02).
She earned all-state honors in 2002 while serving
two seasons as a team captain.