Aug. 29, 2005
Notre Dame forward Kerri Hanks has been named the BIG EAST Conference women’s soccer offensive player of the week, after opening her college career with seven goals and an assist in last week’s pair of games at the University of Vermont Classic. Hanks – who trained with the U.S. Under-19 National Team last fall and joined the Irish in the spring of ’05 – set the Notre Dame record for goals in back-to-back games (7), tied the record for goals in a game (4, in the 6-0 win over Vermont) and already is one shy of tying the team record for hat tricks in a season.
The Dallas native became the third Notre Dame player ever to post hat tricks in consecutive games (also Cindy Daws as a senior in ’96 and Meotis Erikson in her 1997 freshman seson) and was the first Irish freshman in 13 years to register a hat trick in the season opener, scoring three times and adding an assist in the 11-1 win over New Hampshire. Rosella Guerrero is the program’s only other freshman to register a hat trick in a season opener (4-3 loss to N.C. State, in ’92).
Kerri Hanks – shown in action last spring vs. Mexico – set a Notre Dame record by scoring seven goals in a two-game span.
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Hanks – who turned in a thrilling goal for the Irish last spring, scoring on a flick-header to tie Mexico in stoppage time – is one of 21 all-time Notre Dame players to score a hat trick (14 have done so as freshmen) but she joins Amy Warner (in ’00) as the only Irish freshmen with hat tricks since 1997. In the UNH game, she helped quickly end an early tie by assisting on a Susan Pinnick goal and then registered her hat trick in a 13-minute stretch. Hanks scored on a one-timer inside the far-left post (pass from Maggie Manning), cashed in a Katie Thorlakson thru-ball inside the left post and later knocked in Thorlakson’s endline cross for a 5-1 lead.
Two days later, she scored the first three goals vs. Vermont in a 20-minute stretch and later joined Thorlakson as one of four Notre Dame players ever to score four goals in a game (Thorlakson had her four-goal game in ’04 vs. St. John’s). Hanks joined Monica Gerardo as the program’s only freshmen ever to score four goals in a game. Gerardo scored four times vs. Indiana in ’95 and also had a 4G-game vs. Seton Hall in ’96 (as did Jenny Strieffer in a ’97 game vs. Georgetown).
The addition of Kerri Hanks has boosted an already potent Notre Dame offense that returned 97% of its goalscorers from the 2004 national championship team.
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Hanks joined Susie Zilvitis (’88) and Erikson (’97) as the only Notre Dame freshmen with two hat tricks in a season. The Irish record for hat tricks in a season (3) is shared by Daws (’96) and Jenny Heft (’98) while five others have posted two hat tricks in a season.
The first 17 seasons of Notre Dame women’s soccer (’88-`04) had seen just 10 players register hat tricks in a season opener (6) or the second game (4) but Hanks did so in both game-1 and game-2. She joined Guerrero and her fellow ’96 graduate Michelle McCarthy as the only Irish players with two career hat tricks in an opener or game-2.
Hanks opened the scoring vs. Vermont on a 20-yard direct kick to the upper-right corner, later scoring on a tricky leftfooted far-post shot and then putting back a deflected shot (the final two goals were assisted by Amanda Cinalli). She broke free for her final goal, scoring on a shot to the lower left corner.
Kerri Hanks has been a top scorer at every level, including three years with the U.S. Under-19 National Team program in which she totaled 22 goals in 30 games.
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The second-semester freshman previously was the top scorer with the U.S. Under-19 National Team (22 goals in 30 games), scored 47 goals in two seasons at Allen High School and won two USYSA Golden Boot Awards while starring with the elite Dallas Texans club team that won the 2003 national title and lost the ’05 title in a penalty-kick shootout. Hanks already is just three goals shy of becoming the 17th Notre Dame freshman with double-digit goals in her first season with the Irish.