Sept. 15, 2006

The top-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team (6-0-0) resumes its five-game road stretch with games in the Midwest this week at DePaul (Friday, Sept. 15; 4:00 p.m. CDT) and Michigan (Sunday, Sept. 16; 1:00 p.m. EDT) … the ND-Michigan game will be telecast live by Detroit-based Comcast Local and other affiliates (more details are forthcoming on coverage) … fans are reminded that the new – and free – IrishAlert text-message service for Notre Dame women’s soccer will make its debut this week (see sidebar link on und.com women’s soccer page for quick and easy sign-up).

(Note: due to Sunday’s game being televised, Notre Dame’s full gamenotes package will be updated following the DePaul game and prior to the Michigan game; also note that the full gamenotes were upated prior to the previous game at SMU, which also was televised.)

FRIEND OR FOE? – Notre Dame’s Chicago pipeline includes seniors Jen Buczkowski, Jill Krivacek and Kim Lorenzen, sophomore Brittany Bock and freshmen Amanda Clark and Michele Weissenhofer … those players have plenty of previous playing experience with one another and with various DePaul players:

* Buczkowski and DePaul’s Erin Walter played alongside each other at Elk Grove HS and on various youth teams … Buczkowski also is a former teammate of 10 other DePaul players: Lauren Spacht and Kelly Debaene (state ODP), Eclipse Select players Amy Witt, Julianne Stitch and Erin Walter (also with Witt on the W-League’s Chicago Gaels and Stitch with the W-League’s Chicago Cobras), and former Chicago Sockers players Michelle Magee, Jen Hall, Ashley Andrews, Jen Lee and Amanda Marier.

* Lorenzen also played alongside: Spacht and Debaene with state ODP, Marier; Lee and Andrews (all on the Sockers); Stitch, Walter and Witt (with the Eclipse) and Jenny Dyer, at Naperville North HS … Krivacek played alongside Lee, Witt, Stitch and Marier on the Sockers/Eclipse.

* Bock has longtime playing ties to DePaul’s Molly Bochardt (namely on Team Chicago), also playing previously on teams with Lauren Holcomb (Windy Cty Pride), Dominique Locasio (Eclipse) and Alissa VonderHaar (ODP Region II and Eclipse).

* Clark and Wiessenhofer likewise played on various youth teams with Bochardt while their classmate and Cleveland-area native Courtney Rosen played alongside DePaul’s Emma Liebourte on the Internationals club team.

QUICK NOTES ON THE IRISH – Notre Dame led the nation in scoring during the 2005 season (4.40 goals/gm) and currently ranks third nationally with 3.50 gpg (behind West Virginia’s 4.33 and UTEP’s 4.14) … Weissenhofer shares the national lead with eight assists … ND also ranks 24th in team goals-against avg. (0.33) and is one of just 14 teams (among nearly 300 nationwide) that entered the week having yet to suffer a loss or tie … the Irish are riding a 42-game scoring streak (second-longest in ND history) and own a 21-2 overall scoring edge this season (14-0 in the second half) … the Irish are allowing just 3.0 shots on goal per game and are averaging 8.3 corner kicks … ND is 6-0-0 for the ninth time in the program’s 19-year history and could go 7-0-0 for the seventh time, with a win over DePaul … 10 ND players have combined on the team’s 21 goals … the ND senior class has yet to be outshot during their careers, helping the Irish amass a 73-7-2 record from 2003-06 … ND beat DePaul last season (6-0, at ND) in the first game of the series.