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Oct. 28, 2003

NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER – vs. Michigan (Wednesday, Oct. 29; 4:00 EST)

The second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team (18-0-1; 63-5 scoring edge) looks to complete the fourth undefeated regular season in the program’s history (also 17-0-1 in ’94, 18-0-1 in ’97 and 17-0-1 in ’00), with a non-conference game vs. Michigan at Alumni Field on Wed., Oct. 29 (4:00 EST) … ND then will play host to Miami in the BIG EAST quarterfinals (Sun., Nov. 2, 1:00 EST) … the Irish are riding a 10-game shutout streak (5th-longest in NCAA history) and have not trailed for the last 16-plus games (besting the previous team record of 14 games without a deficit, set in ’97) … ND leads the nation with a 0.26 goals-against average and ranks second in scoring (3.32 goals/gm) … the Irish have held 16 straight opponents to 0-3 shots on goal and have totaled 23 more goals (63) than opponent shots on goal (40, just 23 in last 16 games) … ND’s dominating season is all the more noteworthy with two starters sidelined all season (All-America junior right back Candace Chapman is out with an ACL knee injury while second team all-BIG EAST senior M Randi Scheller had season-ending hip surgery) … the Irish have not lost at home vs. a BIG EAST team since a wild 5-4 OT game vs. UConn in ’95 (a 49-game win streak) and are 127-8-2 (.934) in their last 137 overall home games (149-12-2 all-time at home) … ND solidified its spot among the nation’s top teams in mid-Sept. with a dominating defensive effort vs. perennial powers Stanford (0-0) and Santa Clara (2-1) at the SCU Classic before maintaining that momentum with a convincing win over #5 West Virginia (2-0) … ND has been ranked in the top two of the NSCAA coaches poll nine of the last 11 years (all but ’01 and ’02), earning No. 1 in ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’00.

INFORMATION HIGHWAY – This week’s games vs. Michigan and Miami will be available via an internet audio broadcast at www.und.com … the audio is available to SportsPass subscribers (see und.com audio/video link), who also can listen to audio from other ND sports and from other schools that are part of SportsPass (ND tentatively plans on providing audio for all home postseason games) … for schedule and result information on all 26 Notre Dame varsity sports, call the ND Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer results) … see mgoblue.com for opponent information.

SERIES NOTES – Notre Dame has won all nine previous games vs. Michigan: 4-3 in ’89 (@ND), 5-0 in ’97 (@ND), 1-0 in ’98 (2OT, @UM), 3-0 in ’98 (@ND, NCAA 2nd rd), 4-1 in ’99 (@ND), 5-1 in 2000 (@UM), 3-1 in the 2000 NCAAs (@ND), 2-1 in 2001 (@ND, OT) and 1-0 in 2002 (@UM) … the Irish hold a 28-7 series scoring edge and have scored three-plus goals in six of the nine games … Amanda Guertin scored the OT goal in 2000, sent back a shanked clearance to beat UM in the 2001 game and then cashed in another failed clearance for her third career GWG vs. UM (in ’02) … ND held a 16-6 shot edge in the ’02 game (4-1 in corners).

CAREER STATS VS. UM – Senior F Amanda Guertin has 3G-1A in four previous games vs. UM, including game-winning goals vs. the Wolverines in 2000 (3-1, NCAAs), 2001 (2-1, OT) and again in ’02 (1-0, at UM) … her classmate Amy Warner missed seven games in 2000 due to injury before coming off the bench to score in the 5-1 win at Michigan … no other active ND player has registered a point vs. Michigan (injured senior M Randi Scheller owns three career goals vs. UM).

WOLVERINE NOTES – Michigan (6-6-6, after 0-4-2 start) is battling for an NCAA Tournament spot after finishing fourth in the Big Ten (4-2-4), behind Penn State, Illinois and Purdue (UM will face Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals) … the Wolverines returned just five starters from their ’02 team that went 16-7-1 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals (with an upset win over Pepperdine) … senior F Stephanie Chavez (4G-3A) is the only UM player with double-digit points (junior F Kate Morgan has 4G) … UM has been outscored 18-17, with freshman Megan Tuura (0.47 GAA, 36 SV, 5 GA, 3-2-5) and senior Suzie Grech (1.47 GAA, 27 SV, 13 GA, 3-4-1) splitting time in the nets … UM owns wins over Iowa State (4-2, at Wis.), Wisconsin (2-0), Minnesota (1-0), Iowa (1-0), Central Michigan (1-0) and MSU (2-1, OT), plus ties vs. BYU (0-0, at Utah), Nebraska (1-1, at Wis.), at Illinois (0-0), at OSU (1-1), IU (0-0) and Purdue (1-1) and losses at Utah (1-4), vs. Oakland (0-1), vs. USC (1-2), at Northwestern (0-1), at Penn State (0-2) and vs. Kansas (1-2).

ND WOMEN’S SOCCER – BY THE NUMBERS (see PDF)

FRONTRUNNERS – Notre Dame has not faced a deficit for nearly two months and 16-plus games, the longest such streak in the program’s history … the last – and only – time that the Irish have trailed in 2003 came early in the third game of the season, for 7:18 vs. Arizona State (ND then quickly claimed the lead and went on to a 3-1 win) … the Irish have led for 72% of the 1,738 minutes in 2003 while trailing for less than one-percent (0.4%) of the ’03 minutes, with Santa Clara being the only team to come back and tie the Irish this season (ND then retook the lead for good 12 minutes later) … the previous team record for longest streak without facing a deficit was a 14-game stretch in 1997, starting with a 5-0 win over Duke (9/21, after trailing two days earlier in a 2-2 tie vs. UNC) … the ’97 streak continued through a 6-1 win over UConn in the BIG EAST title game (11/9) but the streak ended one week later, when Cincinnati opened the scoring in a first-round NCAA Tournament game (ND then dominated for a 7-1 win) … the ’97 team spent the entire season ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA poll … ND’s 2000 squad earned the top ranking after seven games and did not face a deficit for the first 13 games (BC then scored first and led for 28 minutes, in a 3-1 Irish win) …that 2000 team added six more games without trailing before falling behind UNC in the 82nd minute of the NCAA semifinals (2-1 loss) … no other ND teams have gone 10-plus games without trailing at least once.

FANTASTIC FOUR – Notre Dame boasts possibly the nation’s top four-player forward rotation, including seniors Amy Warner (10 goals, 10 assists) and Amanda Guertin (9G-6A), junior Mary Boland (12G-4A) and sophomore Katie Thorlakson (8G-9A) … Boland and Warner are one of just three pairs of teammates in the nation with double-digit goals (the others are Southeastern Louisiana’s Kendra Oney, 19, and Kim McNally, 16, and Oklahoma State’s Adriane Radtke and Jolene Schweitzer, both with 12) … the Irish are on the verge of having three double-digit goalscorers for the first time since 2000 (when Meotis Erikson had 13, Guertin 11 and Warner 10) … nine of the previous 13 ND teams have featured three or more double-digit scorers, including four in ’94, ’98 and ’99, six in ’93 and ’96, and seven in ’97 … the four double-digit scorers in ’99 included Jenny Heft (20), Jenny Streiffer (19), Erikson (14) and Anne Makinen (13) … the ’97 team racked up 135 goals, led by: Makinen (23), Erikson (22), Streiffer (20), Heft (20), Shannon Boxx (13), Monica Gerardo (10) and Monica Gonzalez (10).

CONFERENCE CALL – Notre Dame’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 95-7-2 (.923; 76-7-2/.906 in BIG EAST) … the Irish are 52-1 in home games vs. BIG EAST teams, with 49 straight home wins over BIG EAST teams since a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95 (239-16 scoring edge, 36 shutouts, 13 with 1 GA) … since ’95, ND’s overall record vs. BIG EAST teams is 93-8-2 (.913; 1-1-0 vs. UConn in NCAAs).

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA NOMINEES – Four Notre Dame players recently were nominated for Verizon Academic All-America honors, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (the awards are TBA): fifth-year defender Vanessa Pruzinsky (4.00 cumulative GPA; chemical engineering major), senior midfielder Kimberly Carpenter (3.41; pre-professional science), junior forward Mary Boland (3.87; psychology) and sophomore goalkeeper Erika Bohn (3.67; business) … Pruzinsky was a first team Academic All-American in 2000 and ’01 (she was injured in ’02), becoming just the second ND student-athlete ever to be a first team Academic All-American as a sophomore and junior (freshmen are not eligible).

KEEP ON CRANKING – ND has avoided pitfalls that have hit other top teams, as the Irish and UNC have been the only unbeaten teams for several weeks while the other 295 Div. I programs include just five with one loss: UCLA, Princeton, Cal Poly, SE Louisiana and Hofstra.

QUICK TEAM NOTES ON THE IRISH

* Streak #1 – ND’s streak of 10 straight shutouts (13 of last 15) is longest in the program’s history and 5th in NCAA history, besting the 1995 NCAA-title team that went eight games without a goal allowed … the shutout streak covers 944 minutes, besting the 1995 team’s record of 726 consecutive shutout minutes … the Irish also have allowed just one goal in the last 15-plus games, with an earlier 418-minute shutout streak ending on an unstoppable upper-90 shot by Santa Clara’s Marian Dalmy … just four previous Division I women’s soccer teams have posted longer shutout streaks, led by Santa Clara’s 16 in 1998, plus two UNC teams (13 in ’89, 12 in ’87) and the 1984 N.C. State squad (12) … ND’s total of 14 shutouts already is sixth in the ND record book, behind 18 in ’97 and ’98 (also 16 in ’96, ’98 and ’00 and 15 in ’94).

* Streak #2 – Notre Dame is riding a 19-game unbeaten streak that is tied for fourth in ND history (the ’94, ’97 and ’00 teams all started 23-0-1 while the ’95 and ’96 teams combined for a 24-0-0 streak).

* Streak #3 – ND’s current 12-game winning streak ranks sixth in the program’s history, with the top win streaks as follows: 24 games from ’95-’96, 17 in ’97, 16 in ’00, 14 from ’92-’93 and 14 in ’94.

* Streak #4 – The Irish recently had a stretch of 138 minutes without allowing a shot (vs. Butler and Georgetown, on Oct. 7 and 10) and went 149 minutes without an opponent shot on goal.

* Balanced Dominance – Notre Dame and top-ranked UNC are the only unbeaten teams remaining among 297 Division I women’s soccer programs, with the Irish also ranking second in the nation for scoring (3.32 goals per game, behind UNC’s 3.90) and first in goals-against average (team-record pace of 0.22).

* Big Gamers – The current senior class carries a 27-8-2 career record when playing in the postseason and/or facing an opponent ranked in the NSCAA top-25.

* BIG EAST Home Winning Streak – UConn was the last BIG EAST team to beat Notre Dame at Alumni Field (5-4 in ’95), with the Irish winning their last 49 home games vs. BIG EAST teams (93-8-2 overall vs. BIG EAST teams since ’95).

* Games-a-Plenty – The Irish recently completed a rugged stretch of six games in 13 days (Sept. 30-Oct. 12), followed by four days off before the showdown with BIG EAST rival Connecticut, ending a rare eight-game homestand.

* 12-to-1 Scoring Margin -The Irish now own a 63-5 season scoring edge, including 28-1 in the recent eight-game homestand (plus a 166-26 total shot edge/93-11 in shots on goal during that eight-game stretch).

* Unbeaten Start – The 2003 campaign marks the fourth time that ND has gone this far into a season (19) without suffering a loss (the ’94, ’97 and ’00 teams all started 23-0-1).

* Historic Dominance – The only previous ND team to allow comparable goals in the first 19 games was the record-setting 1997 squad that owned a 100-5 scoring edge at the 19-game mark, before a 7-0 win over Villanova.

* Rear-View Mirror – The Irish still have trailed only once all season (no deficits in the last 16-plus games), for just 7:18 in the third game vs. Arizona State (the Irish have led 72% of the minutes and trailed just 0.4%).

* One (Or None) Is Enough – ND has held its opponents to 0-1 goals in the last 24 fall games, tying the team record for longest streak of not allowing multiple goals in the program’s history and also the 2nd-best start (19 games) without allowing multiple goals (the 2000 team went 24 games before allowing UNC to score twice in the NCAA semifinals).

* Turnaround Success – ND now is 10-0 this season when playing two days after a previous game (28-2 scoring edge), after going just 4-5 (18-16 scoring edge) in 2002 regular-season “bounceback” games.

* Magic Number – The recent win over Georgetown avenged a 4-3 loss at GU in ’02 (minus 4 ND starters), the only time since a ’95 loss vs. UConn (5-4) that ND has scored three-plus goals and not won (now 102-1-0 in the last 103).

* Quick Strikes – Last week’s action at Seton Hall marked the 8th game this season ND has scored in the first 7:00.

* Half & Half – The Irish have been equally dominant in the first (34-3) and second half (28-2) this season, after managing just a 12-10 first-half scoring edge in ’02.

* Sharpshooters – The efficient ND offense is averaging one goal every 5.7 total shots and every 3.1 shots on goal … the Irish have scored 5-plus goals in 5 games this season and have scored 3-plus goals in 11 games.

* Strong Stretch – Since allowing a 26th-minute goal by Oklahoma on Sept. 7, ND’s last 15-plus games (spanning 1,415 minutes) have included just 2 goals allowed, 66 opponent shots (22 on goal) and 36 corner kicks, for 90-minute averages during that stretch of 0.13 goals, 4.2 shots, 1.4 shots on goal and 2.3 corners.

* Depth Charges – Notre Dame players have combined to miss 149 games due to injury spanning the ’02 and ’03 seasons (40 games played; 31-8-1 record), with seven players already combining to miss 85 games due to injury in ’03.

* Far & Wide – ND’s ’03 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces and Iceland … the program’s all-time roster canvasses 30 states and three foreign countries … ND’s student-athlete population in the ’02-’03 academic year included nearly 800 individuals from 47 states (all but Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada) and 20 countries.

* OT-Tested – The Irish are unbeaten in their last 15 overtime games (11-0-4).

* Poll Position – ND has been ranked 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA poll during nine of the last 11 seasons (1st in four).

* Winning When They Should – Notre Dame is 104-3-1 all-time at Alumni Field when facing an unranked opponent.

ND WOMEN’S SOCCER – 2003 AWARDS (see PDF)

QUICK PLAYER NOTES

* Net Zero – Sophomore Erika Bohn has extended her shutout streak to an ND-record 969 minutes (5th NCAA history, besting Liz Wagner’s ND record 701 in ’00) and leads the nation with a 0.22 GAA (on pace to best LaKeysia Beene’s team-record 0.37 in ’97) … since a 26th-minute goal by OU, Bohn has allowed just one goal in the last 15-plus games (1,244 min.) … her last 29 starts include a 27-1-1 record (10 GA) … her shutout streak is longest since ’99, trailing two UNC ‘keepers (Anne Sherow’s 1,670 consecutive shutout minutes, spanning ’87 and ’88, and Jenni Branam’s 1,114 in ’99), SCU’s Crystal Gordon (1,269 in ’98) and Tiffany DeCoff of Holy Cross (1,004 in ’99) … Bohn has logged 93% of the minutes in ’03 (86% in ’02).

* Senior Spark – Senior M Kimberly Carpenter has emerged as a key offensive player at attacking midfielder, ranking 5th on the team with 13 points (5G-3A) after totaling just five combined points in her first three seasons (’00-’02) … she had a 6-game point streak that ended vs. Miami and had scored three times in a stretch of six ND goals.

* Fire & Ice – Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin have combined for 83 goals (Guertin is 9th in ND history with 46, Warner 12th with 37), 28 GWGs (17 by Guertin) and five OT goals (ND record 3 by Guertin).

* Big-Goal Scorer – Junior F Mary Boland registered her 5th game-winning goal of ’03 at Pittsburgh (tied for 9th in ND history) and has opened the scoring four times in ’03 … she enters the week ranked 29th in the nation for goals (12) and 27th in points (28) … Boland spent most of her prep career playing as a forward but her ND career also has included time at outside back and in the midfield, with her quick start (ND record 6G in first 3 games) igniting the ’03 offense.

* Iron Women – Senior F Amy Warner has made 62 consecutive starts while fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky has logged 91 career games and 89 starts (good for 10th in the ND record book).

* Getting Right Back – Versatile freshman Kim Lorenzen (Naperville, Ill.) was impressive in preseason training at forward but has found a home in the defense, as a starter both centrally and now right back.

* 4.0 Focus – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky graduated in May of 2003 with a 4.0 cumulative GPA as a chemical engineering major, the third ND student (first since ’74) ever to complete that feat.

* Fabulous Frosh – ND’s freshman class was ranked #5 by Soccer America, with M Jen Buczkowski (6th) and D Christi Shaner (22nd) rated among the top 25 freshman players.

* Goal Patrol – Irish players have combined for 11 multiple-goal games (compared to five in ’02) by eight players: Mary Boland vs. Hartford (3) and ASU (2), Maggie Manning and Amanda Guertin vs. Hartford (both with 2, with Guertin doing so again vs. Georgetown), Jen Buczkowski vs. Oklahoma (2), Katie Thorlakson and Annie Schefter vs. Western Kentucky (both with 2, then Thorlakson at Rutgers), Melissa Tancredi vs. North Texas (2) and Amy Warner at Seton Hall (3).

* Meet You In The Middle – Despite the graduation of four-year starter/defensive ace Ashley Dryer and season-ending hip surgery to senior Randi Scheller (2nd tm all-BIG EAST in ’02), the midfield has been energized by the emergence of two “newcomers”: sophomore Annie Schefter (4G-4A; missed ’02 with ACL) and freshman Jen Buczkowski (2G-6A) – ranking 6th and 8th on the ND scoring charts.

* Furious Forwards – ND’s system includes a pressuring “forecheck” from the team’s frontrunners … five of those players – Mary Boland (2), Amanda Guertin (2), Katie Thorlakson (2), Amy Warner and Maggie Manning – have posted multiple-goal games this season, with Warner also ranking seventh in the nation with 10 assists.

* Setup Specialist – Senior F Amy Warner ranks 7th nationally in assists (career-best 10), 24th in points (30) and 35th in goals (10).

NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK-FACT SHEET (see PDF for stats and bullet notes on top 17 players

WALDRUM NEARING 200th WOMEN’S SOCCER WIN – Fifth-year ND head coach Randy Waldrum is on the verge of his 200th career win as a Division I women’s head coach, carrying a 199-66-16 mark (.737) in 14 combined seasons at Tulsa, Baylor and Notre Dame … the Irish are 91-16-4 (.838) in the five-year Waldrum era, including 76-13-3 in the last 92 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999) …his ND record spans the career of 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky … Waldrum – who repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 – in ’99 became the only coach in the 18-year history of the NCAA women’s soccer championship to lead a team to the title game in his first season as that team’s head coach … he was the fourth first-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi’s, beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in San Jose … Waldrum’s 22-plus-year record as a college head coach (men’s and women’s) is 275-121-23 (.684) … his women’s soccer record includes 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa and 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor … Waldrum entered ’03 ranked 7th among active women’s coaches for career winning percentage (min. 10 Div. I seasons).

CLUTCH CANADIAN – Sophomore F Katie Thorlakson (Langley, B.C.) has picked key times for all four of her game-winning goals in 2003 … two of her GWGs have come vs. top-15 teams (#10 Santa Clara and #15 Connecticut), plus the overtime goal vs. Villanova and the early strike at Rutgers (3-0) … she also is the only current ND player with multiple career goals vs. UConn (her goal tied the ’02 game, 1-1, in a 3-1 win) … the ’02 ND-UConn game proved to be a key turning point for the program, with current senior Melissa Tancredi making the full-time move from F to central D while Thorlakson shifted permanently from M to F … since those key shifts, the Irish are 24-2-1 in their last 27 games.

ROAD WARRIORS – Notre Dame has posted some noteworthy road wins the past two seasons (11-3-0), including a pair of wins at the 2000 Portland Classic (5-0 vs. Washington, 1-0 vs. the Pilots; lifting ND to the #1 ranking), 2002 wins at Maryland, Michigan and Boston College (plus vs. Hartford, at Maryland), the 2003 season-opening wins over Hartford and Wake Forest (at UConn Classic) and solid results at the ’03 Santa Clara Classic (0-0 vs. Stanford, 2-1 vs. SCU).

PLAYING THE BEST – ND has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, going 24-10-3 vs. NSCAA ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn St., 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. WVU, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan … the Irish posted 2002 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1), #13 Michigan (1-0) and #14 Purdue (3-1) … over the course of the ’01-’03 seasons, ND owns an 11-6-1 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (29-5-1 vs. unranked teams), including 2003 wins over #16 Santa Clara (2-1), #8 West Virginia (2-0) and #15 UConn (2-0) and a scoreless tie vs. #24 Stanford.

PRIMETIME PLAYERS – ND is 27-8-2 in the last four seasons (’00-’03) when facing an NSCAA ranked and/or postseason opponent ( 75-34 scoring edge in those 36 “big games”) … Amanda Guertin has 50 points in those big games (20G-10A) while Amy Warner owns 8G-5A vs. ranked/postseason opponents (missed half of ’00 due to injury).

NCAA STAT LEADERS – ND enters the Michigan game with the nation’s best team goals-against avg. (0.26) and is the nation’s No. 2 scoring team at 3.32 goals per game (behind UNC’s 3.82) … senior F Amy Warner ranks 7th in the nation for assists (10), 24th in the points (30) and 35th in goals (10) while junior F Mary Boland is 29th in the nation with 12 points and 27th in points (29) … ND’s Erika Bohn continues to rank first among the national goals-against average leaders (0.22).

GLORY DAYS – The 63-5 scoring edge is comparable to ND’s 5-year dominance in the mid-1990s, with 19-game scoring margins of: 87-13 in ’93, 83-8 in ’94, 76-15 in ’95, 111-10 in ’96 and 100-5 in ’97 (average of 91-10) … only one previous ND team (5 in 1997) can match the 2003 team’s low number of goals allowed at the 19-game mark (5) … ND’s 0.26 team GAA would rank first in ND history (ahead of the 0.36 in ’97, 0.39 in ’00).

QUICK-STRIKE ARTISTS – Notre Dame has scored in the first 7:00 of eight games this season (total of nine quick-strike goals), with junior F Mary Boland responsible for three of those early scores while six other players each have scored one quick goal this season … the team’s quickest goals have come vs. West Virginia (1:24; Boland volley on long serve from Melissa Tancredi), at Seton Hall (1:30; Amy Warner near-post shot after taking pass from Jill Krivacek) and twice at Rutgers (2:44 by Katie Thorlakson from close range, after leftside pass from Warner; and at 3:53 on Tancredi header, via Thorlakson corner kick) … other quick-strike goals by ND in 2003 have come vs. Hartford (6:32; Boland puts back own rebound, after classic 5-player combination sequence that includes right endline cross from Warner), vs. Oklahoma (5:58; Jen Buczkowski knocks in rebound after flurry in box), at Santa Clara (5:03; Boland on lunging poke after leftside service from Katie Thorlakson), vs. North Texas (4:28; Amanda Guertin shot from top of the box via short pass from Warner) and vs. Georgetown (5:39; Kimberly Carpenter redirects Vanessa Pruzinsky shot).

FAR & WIDE – Notre Dame’s 2003 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario) and Iceland … the states on the ’03 roster touch all corners of the nation: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

GOING THE DISTANCE – ND is unbeaten in its last 15 overtime games (11-0-4), since the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … that team went on to post a 2-1, double-OT win at UConn and played to a 1-1 tie at Nebraska in the NCAA quarter’s (adv. on PKs) … the 2000 team had OT wins over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarter’s (all 2-1), also playing to 0-0 at UConn … ’01 featured an unprecedented five OT games (2-1 vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan; 2-2 vs. Wisconsin) while the ’02 team added 1-0 OT wins over Rutgers and BC … the ’03 team has played to a scoreless tie with Stanford (at SCU) and beat Villanova in OT (1-0).

SHARING THE WEALTH IN OT – ND’s 11 overtime wins in the five-year Randy Waldrum era include goals from seven players (plus an own goal vs. Stanford in ’00): Anne Makinen (vs. UConn in ’99), Amanda Guertin (ND record 3; vs. WVU in ’00, Michigan in ’01, BC in ’02), Meotis Erikson (vs. SCU in ’00 NCAA quarter’s), Kelly Tulisiak (vs. IU in ’01), Amy Warner (2; vs. VU in ’01, Rutgers in ’02), Mia Sarkesian (vs. WVU in ’01) and Katie Thorlakson (vs. Vill. in ’03).

OT MASTERS – Senior Amanda Guertin holds the ND record for career OT goals (3), with her classmate Amy Warner and ’96 national player of the year Cindy Daws ranking second with two (including Daws’ goal vs. Portland in the ’95 NCAA title game) … Guertin (3G-2A) owns eight career points in OT, followed by Warner (6; 2G-2A) … Guertin’s other OT goals came at WVU in 2000 and at home vs. WVU in ’01 (both 2-1) … in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20, 2002, vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT vs. Villanova (’01) and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak’s OT goal in ’01 vs. Indiana (both 2-1) … she also had the cross that produced an OT own-goal to beat Stanford in ’00 and assisted on Guertin’s OT goal in ’02 at BC (1-0), playing a key role in five of ND’s last nine OT goals (Guertin on five of the last eight).

STILL NO LOSSES – Notre Dame is unbeaten after 19 games for the fourth time in the program’s history … here’s a look at the other longest season-opening unbeaten streaks in the ND record book (see PDF):

MOVING ON UP – ND’s impressive career record book can be seen in the fact that Amanda Guertin did not crack the Irish top-10 career scoring list until notching her 43rd goal, roughly half of the record total racked up by 1999 graduate Jenny Heft (80) … here’s a look at where Guertin and classmate Amy Warner stand on the career points and goals list (see PDF):

STREAKY PLAYER – Amanda Guertin scored a goal in the final 10 games of 2001 – third-longest in Div. I women’s soccer history (SCU’s Brandi Chastain had a 15-game goal streak in ’90, Hartford’s Maria Kun an 11-game streak in ’97) … Guertin also scored goals in an ND-record seven straight postseason games, spanning ’01 and ’02 (she has 9G in 15 career postseason games) and had points in eight straight games (7G-6A) before the 1-0 loss at Stanford in ’02.

GETTING THE GWGs – Amanda Guertin continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (46G-24A, in 84 GP) – with her 17 gamewinning goals ranking 3rd on the ND all-time list (2 shy of Jenny Heft’s record) … 7 of Guertin’s GWGs have come in one-goal games, including three in OT (ND record) … nearly half of Guertin’s career goals (17 of 46, or 39%) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the others on the GWG list (see PDF):

SECOND-GAME SUCCESS – ND has reversed its frustrating trend from recent years of struggling in the second game of a three-day stretch … the Irish are 10-0-0 in ’03 when returning to the field two days after a previous game (27-2 scoring edge) … the Irish were just 4-5-0 in ’02 regular-season “turnaround games,” totaling just 18 goals and allowing 16 in those nine games … ND’s second-game wins in 2003 have come vs. four teams that have been in the national rankings (3-0 vs. Wake Forest, 5-1 vs. Oklahoma, 2-1 at Santa Clara, 1-0 vs. Villanova), plus wins over W. Kentucky (5-0), Indiana St. (3-0), Butler (3-0), Miami (3-0), Pittsburgh (1-0) and Seton Hall (2-0).

PRUZSINKY DRAWS NATONAL MEDIA ATTENTION – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky was spotlighted in a recent feature on College Sports Television while a recent Sports Illustrated On Campus highlighted the high achiever … Pruzinsky – the national high school player of the year and a 2002 invitee to U.S. Under-21 National Team tryouts – wrapped up her undergrad studies last May with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, becoming just the third chemical engineering major (and first since ’74) to graduate from Notre Dame with a 4.0.

INJURY WOES CONTINUE – ND’s ’02 season was hampered by injuries to several top players (totaling 64 games missed, plus 85 thus far in ’03 for a total of 149) … the Irish are playing in the ’03 season minus two top players – as junior All-America D Candace Chapman suffered a torn ACL knee injury while training with the Canadian National Team (in preparation for the World Cup) while senior M Randi Scheller underwent preseason hip surgery … sophomore M Jenny Walz (ACL) has returned to practice after being injured in the spring … junior starting central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir has returned in a reserve role (after missing four games with a broken arm) while freshman D Kari Kennedy (foot) and junior D Kate Tulisiak (back) made their 2003 debuts on Oct. 10 vs. Georgetown … veteran D Vanessa Pruzinsky (ankle) made a full-time return at the ND Classic … Scheller will have the option to apply for a 5th year of eligibility in ’04, as will central D Melissa Tancredi (she missed ’00 with an ACL injury) … Pruzinsky is a current 5th-year player (out most of ’02 with ankle injury) while Chapman will be a senior in ’04 and have her own option at a 5th year in ’05.

BOHN ON A ROLL – Sophomore G Erika Bohn is 29-2-1 in her last 32 starts (27-1-1 last 29), allowing just 14 goals in that 32-game stretch (20 shutouts, 11 with 1 GA) … her only losses in that stretch: 3-2 game BYU with a fluke goal (clearance deflected off referee) and a rare late-game PK; and the season-ending loss at top-ranked Stanford, with the only goal coming in the 81st minute … Bohn now has logged 29 consecutive games with the Irish (24 fall, 5 spring) without allowing multiple goals (last done by BYU on Oct. 19, 2002).

MAGIC NUMBERS – The 3-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win in ND history, with the Irish 198-3-1 all-time (.983) when scoring 3-plus, losing to N.C. State in the ’92 opener (4-3), UConn in ’95 (5-4, OT) and at Georgetown in ’02 (4-3), plus a 3-3 tie vs. Vanderbilt in ’91… the Irish had won 88 straight when scoring 3-plus, before the GU loss (now 102-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995) … ND is 274-8-11 (.954) in all-time games when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals, including tough 1-0 losses in ’02 to eventual NCAA champ Portland and top-ranked Stanford … prior to the UP loss, the Irish had been 56-0-3 in the previous 59 games when allowing 0-1 GA (dating back to 1-0 loss to SMU in ’99, playing minus Finnish national teamer Anne Makinen) … the program’s 16-year history includes just 281 goals allowed in 361 games (0.78 GA per game) … the Irish have allowed more than one goal in only 68 all-time games (19%) and have yielded 3-plus goals in just 32 all-time games (9%; including two 6-goal games by the opponent, four 5-goal and six 4-goal) … 91% of ND’s all-time games have seen the Irish hold the opponent to 0-2 goals (ND is just 4-27-1 all-time when allowing 3-plus).

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS – The ND defense has been particularly stingy in the first half the past three seasons, allowing just 20 goals in the first half of those 61 games … the first half in ’02 featured little scoring (12-10 ND edge), compared to a 34-3 first-half edge in ’03.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky in May 2003 became the third chemical engineering major (and first since ’74) to graduate from ND with a 4.0 cumulative GPA … Pruzinsky is a two-time Academic All-American, with ND’s other top candidates for that award in ’03 including junior F/M Mary Boland (3.87, psychology), senior M Kimberly Carpenter (3.41, psychology) and sophomore G Erika Bohn (3.67, College of Business).

EARLY SPARK – Mary Boland is the fifth ND player to register a hat trick in an opener and has scored in all three openers of her career (including ND’s first goal in ’01 and ’03), with a diving header to open the scoring in ’01 vs. Penn State (2-1) and the final goal in the ’02 win at Providence (3-0) … previous Irish players with hat tricks in openers: Rosella Guerrero as a freshman vs. N.C. State in ’92 (4-3 loss), Guerrero and sophomore Michelle McCarthy in ’93 at LaSalle (12-0 win), and senior Amy Van Laecke and sophomore Monica Gerardo in ’96 at PC (14-0) … Boland’s 7 points vs. Hartford (3G-1A) are most by an ND player since Jenny Streiffer had 3G-1A vs. Miami on Oct. 1, 1999 … Streiffer holds the ND record for points in a game, with 9 (3G-3A) in the ’96 win over Providence (14-0).

ALUMNI UPDATE – Several former Notre Dame women’s soccer players have been in the news during recent weeks:

* D Kate Sobrero (’98) and M Shannon Boxx (’99) were named to the U.S. National Team that finished third at the World Cup, both serving as starters … Sobrero played for the U.S. team that won the ’99 World Cup and was on the ’00 Olympic team … Boxx had no previous National Team experience but had an impressive ’03 season in the WUSA (she became the first player ever to score in her first three games with the National Team, in two tuneup games and the 3-1 opener vs. Sweden) … she also headed in a Mia Hamm corner kick for the gamewinning goal vs. Canada in the third-place game and was one of 16 players named to the all-World Cup team.

* Sobrero and Boxx were two of five former ND players who played in the WUSA 2003 all-star game, as were Washington Freedom D Jen Grubb (’00), Boston Breakers D Monica Gonzalez (’02) and San Jose CyberRays G LaKeysia Beene (’00) … Sobrero and Gonzalez helped Boston win the WUSA regular-season title while Grubb – who played every minute in the first three WUSA seasons – captained the Freedom to the ’03 WUSA Founders Cup title (2-1 in OT vs. Atlanta Beat) … other ND alums in the ’03 WUSA: M Anne Makinen (’01; Phil. Charge), D Lindsey Jones (’02; N.Y.), D Kelly Lindsey (’01; San Jose) and M Monica Gerardo (’99; Wash.).

* Three of the above now are college assistants: Gerardo at Pittsburgh (where former ND assistant Sue-Moy Chin is the first-year head coach), Lindsey at Colorado and Boxx at Cal State Dominguez Hills … Boxx is enrolled in graduate school at Pepperdine and is one of several former ND players set to be married in coming months (as are Sobrero and former midfield great Holly Manthei).

FRESHMAN CLASS RANKED AMONG BEST IN NATION – Soccer America rated ND’s freshman class 5th in the nation, behind Santa Clara, UCLA, Texas and Portland … Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove, Ill.) was No. 6 on the list of top recruits (second among M, behind Nebraska’s Brittany Timko, who was 2nd overall) … D Christie Shaner (Ambler, Pa.) was No. 22, making ND one of seven schools with multiple players on that top-25 list … M/D Lizzie Reed (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) also was a prep All-American.

See PDF for game capsules (linescores and postgame notes)