Irish Going To Carolina In Quest Of Second NCAA Title

Nov. 30, 2004

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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER – NCAA Semifinal vs. Santa Clara (Dec. 3, 2004); SAS Soccer Park (Cary, N.C.)

The nation’s No. 4-seeded and No. 2-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team (23-1-1; 68-13 scoring edge) will play in the NCAA College Cup semifinals for the 7th time, with the Irish readying for a rematch from the ’04 regular season as they will face familiar foe Santa Clara on Friday, Dec. 3, in the second semifinal (4:30 EST) at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. … UCLA and Princeton will meet in the earlier semifinal (2:00), with the championship game slated for Sunday at 1:00 (both semifinals and the final will be telecast live in ESPN2 … since ’94, only UNC (10) and SCU (8) have made more NCAA semifinal appearances than ND (7) … ND is 4-2 all-time in the NCAA semifinals, advancing to the title game from ’94-’96 and again in ’99 (the ’95 team won the title) … the Irish opened the NCAAs with a 4-0 win over Eastern Illinois before beating Wisconsin in the final minute (1-0; ND had a 18-1 shot edge and did not allow a shot on goal or CK) and then defeating UConn in the third round (2-0) and Portland in the quarterfinals (3-1) … SCU advanced wins wins over California (2-1), Stanford (1-0/2 OT), UNC (1-0/OT) and Illinois (2-0) … this will mark the 8th ND-SCU game in the 6-year tenure of ND head coach Randy Waldrum … six of the 16 seeded teams failed to advance to the 3rd round (including the 2-3-8-9-10) while ND was the only top-4 seed remaining in the quarterfinals (SCU is 16th, UCLA 14th and Princeton 7th).

INFORMATION HIGHWAY – Livestats can be accessed via the www.und.com main page (and ncaasports.com) while all three games this weekend will be shown live on ESPN2 … game recaps are available on the ND Sports Hotline (574-631-3000, press “4,” then “2”).

QUICK TEAM NOTES – ND has opened the NCAAs with a 10-1 scoring edge and dominant edges in total shots (74-18), shots on goal (37-6) and corner kicks (28-3) … ND’s ’04 postseason includes a 20-3 scoring edge, 130-33 in shots (avg. 19-5), 67-12 in shots on goal (10-2), 44-4 in CKs (6-1) … after handing Seton Hall an early lead on an errant goal kick (Oct. 22), ND scored the next 17 goals (before UConn rallied to win the BIG EAST title game, 2-1) and now is riding a 27-3 scoring edge over the last 8-plus games … the `03 and `04 Irish teams have combined for a 43-4-2 record … ND ranks 4th in the nation with a 0.52 GAA (4th ND history) and is 16th in scoring (2.72 goals/gm), as one of four teams in the top-16 of both scoring and GAA … ND owns a 56-12-1 all-time record in postseason play (.819), including 35-3-0 at home (.921) and 30-10-1 in the NCAAs (.744, 2nd-best all-time) … since joining the conference in ’95, ND is 110-10-3 (.907) in all games vs. BIG EAST teams … the Irish have more goals (68) than opp. shots on goal (64; 2.5/gm) and have allowed just 37 corner kicks all season (1.5/gm, with 5 total opp. CKs in the last 9 games) … ND is 47-13-3 (.770) in the Waldrum era when facing a top-25/postseason opponent … the Irish have held 20 of the last 21 opponents to 0-1 goals … ND spent six weeks at No. 1, completed the 4th unbeaten regular season in the program’s history and was unbeaten after 20 games for the 4th time (’94, ’97 and ’00 teams went 23-0-1) … ND owns a 28-4 first-half scoring edge … 19 players have started for ND this season (17 with 5-plus GS) … the Irish technically have played 31 games this fall (5-1-0 preseason Brazil trip) and took several days off from training late in the regular season …ND has reached 20 wins for the 9th time in the last 11 seasons and is one win shy of tying the team record for wins (24-2 in ’96), with three other teams all going 23-1-1 (’94, ’97, ’00) … ND was the nation’s final unbeaten/untied team and is 37-1-2 in its last 40 regular-season games … since a rare deficit vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, ND has outscored the opposition 44-6 … the 0-0 game vs. Rutgers on Oct. 22 prevented ND from matching the program’s best start (16-0-0, in ’00) … the Irish have won the BIG EAST regular-season title 8 of 10 times (all but ’98, ’02) … ND has been 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA poll 8 of 11 seasons since ’94 (all but ’99, ’01, ’02; #1 in ’94, ’95, ’96, ’00, ’04).

QUICK ND INDIVIDUAL NOTES – Randy Waldrum is 117-20-5/.842 in six seasons at ND and has 300 overall wins as a college coach (300-125-24) … jr. F Katie Thorlakson has scored/assisted on 22 of ND’s last 26 goals, is the 5th player in Div. I women’s soccer ever to reach 22 goals and 22 assists in the same season (22G-23A), has been named player of the year by Sports Illustrated on Campus and combines with sr. D Melissa Tancredi as final-15 candidates for the Hermann Trophy (no other team has a F and D on that list) … she also scored or assisted on all 7 of ND’s goals vs. SCU during the ’03 and ’04 regular-season games … jr. Erika Bohn leads the nation with a 0.41 GAA … so. M Jen Buczkowski has 4 GWGs in ND’s last 10 wins … sr. F and All-America candidate Mary Boland suffered a season-ending broken leg in the SCU game (Sept. 7) … Thorlakson elected to remain at ND for the entire ’04 season rather than leaving to play with Canada at the U-19 World Championship (Nov. 10-27) … Thorlakson has combined with Tancredi and sr. F Candace Chapman as ND’s potent “Canadian Connection” while three Chicago-area sophomores – Buczkowski (who opted not to play with U.S. in U-19 Worlds), defensive M Jill Krivacek and D Kim Lorenzen – also are key starters.

See PDF for updates roster and headshot sheet.

CLASSIC RIVALRY – Notre Dame owns a 6-3-0 series record vs. Santa Clara (4-1 at home, 2-0 in NCAAs) … the teams played just twice in the first 11 seasons of the ND program (’88-’98) but Friday’s game will be the 8th ND-SCU game in the past six seasons (’99-’04) … four of the games have seen one of the teams ranked 1st in the NSCAA poll (ND in ’95 and ’00, SCU in both ’99 games) … the home team is 6-2-0 in the series (5 at ND, 3 at SCU), with the Irish winning a neutral-site game in the ’99 NCAA semifinals … recent games have seen flurries of goals, as SCU scored four in a 20-minute span for a 4-2 win over the Irish in ’99, ND posted a 6-1 win over SCU at the 2000 Key Bank Classic, SCU scored four 2nd-half goals vs. the Irish in the ’02 ND Classic – and then ND broke open a 2-2 game with 3 goals in the final 10 minutes of the meeting earlier this season (5-2) … the series includes regular-season games in ’99 (4-2 SCU win) and ’00 (6-1 ND win, at Keybank Classic), with the Irish winning rematches in the NCAAs: 1-0 in ’99 semifinal and 2-1 in OT of 2000 quarterfinal, thanks to Meotis Erikson’s clutch goal) … other meetings include ND’s 1-0 home win in ’95, SCU’s 3-1 home win in ’96, SCU’s 4-0 win at the ’02 ND Classic (scoreless 1st half), ND’s 2-1 win in ’03 (Broncos’ first-ever loss at SCU Classic) and the 5-2 win for the Irish at the ’04 ND Classic.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS – As shown in the Tale of the Tape note on the opposite page, ND and SCU have similar statistical numbers in many defensive categories … ND holds a major edge in goals (68-38, 2.7-1.5 per game) and shots (21.4-12.7) but ND’s high corner-kick total (148) actually has been bested by SCU (167), with ND allowing just 37 opp. CKs (to SCU’s 63) … the Irish have played just one overtime game in their last 28 while SCU has played six this season (3-1-2) … ND also has totaled 9 wins by 3-plus goals (2 for SCU) … both teams had 10 pre-NCAA games vs. teams that made the NCAAs (ND was 9-1-0 in those games, SCU 5-3-2) … ND has a pair of double-digit scorers and four players with 25-plus points (SCU has none of either) … both teams have a veteran starting core (ND 3 senior starters, 3 juniors; SCU 4 seniors, 2 juniors), with SCU typically starting a pair of freshmen (F Amanda Cinalli is ND’s only freshman starter).

ANOTHER REMATCH – Notre Dame already has defeated two teams in the NCAAs, Eastern Illinois (4-0) and UConn 2-0), that it faced earlier in the 2004 season … this marks the 4th time in the program’s history that the Irish have played three-plus rematch games in the NCAAs … it happened three straight seasons in the mid-’90s, including the ’94 NCAAs that saw ND face four NCAA rematch games, vs. George Mason (3-1), William & Mary (2-1), Portland (1-0) and UNC (0-5 title game) … the ’95 team then played three rematch games in the NCAAs (5-0 vs. Wisconsin, 2-0 vs. UConn and 1-0 vs. UNC in semifinal) while the ’96 team beat Indiana (8-1) and Wisconsin (5-0) in NCAA rematches before losing the rematch with UNC in a 1-0 title game … ND’s six previous NCAA semifinal appearances have featured four rematch games (3-1-0): 1-0 wins over Portland in ’94 and UNC in ’95, a 2-1 loss to UConn in ’97 and a 1-0 win over SCU in ’99 … the Irish are 15-5 all-time in NCAA rematches (6-2 in the six-year Randy Waldrum era) and the ND program has won 7 of the last 9 when facing a rematch in the NCAAs, with wins over Michigan in ’98 (3-0) and ’00 (3-1), SCU in ’99 (1-0) and ’00 (2-1), Purdue in ’02 (3-1), and EIU (4-0) and UConn (2-0) in ’04 while the losses came to UNC in ’99 (0-2) and Michigan in ’03 (0-1).

COMMON OPPONENTS – ND and SCU have faced three common opponents in ’04 (ND is 2-0-1 vs. those teams, SCU 2-1-1) … ND beat Stanford early in the season (1-0) while SCU later tied Stanford (0-0) and beat the Cardinal in the 1st round of the NCAAs (1-0, OT) … SCU dropped an early game at Rutgers (0-1) while ND failed to puncture RU’s packed-in formation (0-0) … finally, SCU beat Portland late in the season to win the WCC title (1-0) while ND knocked off the Pilots in the NCAA quarterfinals (3-1)

Tale of the Tape – see PDF for statistical comparisons of ND and SCU

RECAPPING THE LAST MEETING (at ND 5, SCU 2, 9/5/04)

Katie Thorlakson factored into all five goals as #2 ND used a late flurry to defeat #4 SCU in the Adidas Classic … ND started slow but finished with a bang, scoring three times in a 4-minute span after SCU had forged a 2-2 tie in the 81st minute … the Irish finished with a 13-8 edge in total shots (10-4 shots on goal) while the Broncos held a 6-3 margin in CKs … SCU twice tied the game in the 2nd half, only to see the Irish quickly retake the lead … Thorlakson had the first hat trick of her career and added assists on the 1st and 4th ND goals (her 8 pts were most ever by an ND player vs. a top-25 team and she was the 3rd ND player to post a hat trick vs. a top-10 foe) … she duplicated her ND record from the previous week vs. Baylor by scoring or assisting on the team’s first five goals … her 8 points vs. SCU were the most by an Irish player in 6 years and were one shy of the then -ND record … 7 of her 8 eight points came in the 2nd half (3G-1A), tying another ND record she already shared with two others.

The Irish finally broke through when Thorlakson served a free kick from the right corner and Jen Buczkowski was in position at the near post for a header into the right side (38:02) … SCU tied it when Jordan Angeli’s rightside cross skipped through the box, ND failed to clear and Leslie Osborne poked the loose ball into the far left side of the net (63:39) … 90 seconds later, Thorlakson broke free into the right side of the box and was tackled hard to set up a PK (rising shot into the left side of the net, at 65:19) … SCU tied it again when Osborne sent a low, sharp cross from the left endline … Erika Bohn made a play on the ball but it squirted through her hands, with Megan Kakadelas knocking home the deflection (80:59).

ND again answered, after just 2:03 had elapsed, as Buczkowski sent a thru-ball and Thorlakson drilled a crossing shot into the left side for the 3-2 lead (83:02) … three minutes later, Thorlakson launched a cross from the right sideline, Annie Schefter made a slight redirection of the ball in the center of the box and Candace Chapman was waiting at the far post to ram home the goal (85:33) … the final tally came 68 seconds later, set up by a booming punt from Bohn … the ball bounced into the right side of the box and Thorlakson chipped her shot over charging ‘keeper Julie Ryder to complete the three-goal flurry (86:41) and give Bohn a rare ‘keeper assist.

#4 Santa Clara 0 2 – 2
#2 Notre Dame 1 4 – 5
ND 1. Jen Buczkowski 3 (Katie Thorlakson ) 38:02; SCU 1. Leslie Osborne 3 (Jordan Angeli) 63:39; ND 2. Thorlakson 3 (PK) 65:19; SCU 2. Megan Kakadelas 2 (Osborne) 80:59; ND 3. Thorlakson 4 (Buczkowski) 83:02; ND 4. Candace Chapman 4 (Annie Schefter, Thorlakson) 85:33; ND 5. Thorlakson ( Erika Bohn) 86:41.

Shots: SCU 4-4 – 8, ND 4-9 – 13.
Corner Kicks: SCU 1-5 – 6, ND 3-0 – 3.
Saves: SCU 5 (Julie Ryder), ND 2 ( Erika Bohn).
Fouls: SCU 15, ND 13.
Yellow Cards: Thorlakson (ND) 8:34; Kakadelas (SCU) 73:54; Angeli (SCU) 81:13.

Postgame Comments from the last ND-SCU game (recap on p. 6)

ND COACH Randy Waldrum – “There’s no doubt that Katie Thorlakson is one of the best forwards in the country. She does it in big games and she played 90 minutes. She has the ability and composure to break games open. … You take a kid like Candace (Chapman) and I hope she keeps it going. She is on a roll and is finding goals in just a few minutes of play. What Katie and Candace are doing for us is huge. … Our captains have done a great job with the leadership of the team but in general our group is older and the leadership extends to a wider group of players. … The Brazil trip made a big difference in developing our lineup and getting in the groove as a team. There’s a great benefit to that foreign trip and getting some games under your belt.”

ND JUNIOR F Katie Thorlakson – “I like to win, so anything I can do to win I’ll do. … I always think that something has to change after the other team scores. You’ve got to pick up the intensity and go at them. … Today was a big showing of how good we can be and I just hope we keep building on that. … When I was in Japan (with the Canadian National Team, earlier this fall), my coach told me, `Katie, sometimes you are just happy getting the ball on the net.’ And it hit me, so now I try to score and I’m not happy with just making plays. … In Japan, I played with the (Canadian) senior team for the first time and you realize how fast the game is and how much you can impact the game and you just have to go for it.”

SCU HEAD COACH JERRY SMITH – “(When a team answers your goal), it’s a real demoralizing thing. All of us in coaching call that a `big five’ moment. Good attacking will beat good defending any time. Notre Dame’s attacking right off kickoffs and in other parts of the game was just better than our defending. … I’m a coach that doesn’t emphasize the physical stature of a player. So I think Katie (Thorlakson) is an example of why you don’t have to be the biggest or the fastest. She has a nice combination of determination, grit and skillfulness. She has a great feel for the game. She reminds me of a player I used to watch in the ’70s, he played for Germany – Gurd Muller. He was a very small forward but was very crafty and sneaky. If you research Gurd Muller, you will know that’s a huge compliment to Katie. She is a terrific player and we have a lot of respect for her. … This always has a been a great match and today’s score did not reflect what was another great match. Both teams tried to attack and both teams, at the end of the season, are going to be a tough team for anyone to beat. You like to play these type of games early because these are the teams that will test you and we know exactly what we have to work on. If you have weakness and play a team like Notre Dame, they are going to show them to you and they showed us our weaknesses to day so now we go back to the drawing board.”

RECAPPING THE FIRST EIGHT ND-SCU GAMES

at #1 SCU 4, #6 ND 2 (10/17/99) – SCU scores 4 in an early 9-minute span, before another record crow (4,051) at Buck Shaw … Aly Wagner scores twice (first on PK) while Mandy Clemens and Devyn Hawkins (header) round out the scoring spree … 2nd-half goals by ND’s Anne Makinen and Jen Grubb cap the scoring … the Broncos finish with a 16-8 shot edge and a 6-3 corner-kick margin.

#5 ND 1, #1 SCU 0 (12/3/99, NCAA semifinal, San Jose) – SCU fails to cash in a 17-3 shot advantage (plus 7-1 on corner kicks) while Ali Lovelace scores in the 75th minute … fellow freshman Nancy Mikacenic sets up the goal with a mid-field header on a kick from SCU `keeper Crystal Gordon … Lovelace races down the left side and rolls a crossing shot past Gordon’s outstretched body for her fourth goal of ’99 (all in the postseason) … LaKeysia Beene makes seven saves for the Irish while stopping several other tough crosses and thru-balls … 14,006 fans at Spartan Stadium represent the largest crowd ever to see an NCAA women’s soccer semifinal or final.

at #4 ND 6, #2 SCU 1 (9/8/00) – Anne Makinen has a hand in half of the ND goals while drawing postgame praise from SCU coach Jerry Smith as “the best overall player in college soccer” … SCU plays without two top players (D Danielle Slayton/ Olympic team; M Aly Wagner/quad pull) … Meotis Erikson notches the first goal on a clever move in the 18th minute … after SCU senior F Kathleen Celio scores, a thru-ball from Makinen sets up another tricky goal (from speedy Amy Warner) … with SCU pressing for the equalizer midway through the 2nd half, Makinen’s outlet springs Amanda Guertin for the critical third Irish goal … the hosts tack on three more scores in the final 10 minutes, including a PK from Makinen and a pair of goals from junior reserve Kelly Tulisiak … Liz Wagner makes six timely saves for the biggest win of her first season as the Irish starter (until the next ND-SCU game) … the game marks the first time SCU is outshot in 19 games and is the most goals by a SCU opponent in 20 years (ND also becomes the first SCU opponent with 20-plus shots since ’94).

at #1 ND 2, #24 SCU 1, OT (11/24/00, NCAA quarterfinal) – Meotis Erikson scores in the 5th minute of OT, sending #1 ND to the NCAA semifinals for the 6th time in 7 seasons … SCU forces OT in dramatic fashion (Anna Kraus blast from outside the box, 88th minute) and dominates scoring chances (18-4 shots, 9-3 CKs) but Liz Wagner makes several fantastic stops as part of her 8 saves … the physical game features 19 fouls by each team … ND plays most of the game without ace def.-M Ashley Dryer (inj. 26th minute) … two freshmen set up the GWG, as Amanda Guertin chases down a loose ball in the left corner and threads a pass down the endline … Randi Scheller then keeps the ball moving through the penalty area and Erikson converts at the near left post … Erikson earlier set up the first goal with a pass to Ali Lovelace, who ripped a crossing shot from the top left corner (17th minute).

#13 SCU 4, at #6 ND 0 (9/6/02) – USC transfer Megan Kakadelas scores the first goal and had the primary assist on another score five minutes later as SCU breaks open a tight game … ND holds a 7-5 CK edge while SCU owns the shot edge (13-9) … ND ace defender Vanessa Pruzinsky returns from injury but plays only the first half … SCU then takes advantage of her departure by scoring four 2nd-half goals … Kristi Candau (2) and Micaela Esquivel also score (vs. Lauren Kent) .. the game ends ND’s scoring streak at 31 games and represents the program’s largest margin of defeat ever at home (first home shutout loss since ’92).

#2 ND 2, at #18 SCU 1 (9/21/03) – The Irish defense limits SCU to one shot on goal and one corner kick while Katie Thorlakson and Mary Boland assist each other’s goals to hand the Broncos their first-ever loss in the SCU Classic … Thorlakson, (offensive MVP) provides the leftside cross that Boland sweeps into the far side of the goal and later bangs home Boland’s deflected shot at the left post for the 76th-minute GWG … Marian Dalmy’s goal in the 63rd minute ultimately would be one of just two times all season that a team came back to tie the Irish … the game is played in intense heat, with clever substitution by ND allowing Amy Warner to rest before returning to initiate the GWG sequence … ND holds a 14-5 shot edge (6-1 in CKs).

SOME USUAL SUSPECTS – The final four teams in the 2004 NCAA tournament include three of the most-common semifinalists during the past six seasons: Santa Clara (4; ’99, ’01, ’02, ’04), Notre Dame (3; ’99, ’00, ’04) and UCLA (3; ’00, ’03, ’04) … other teams to reach the College Cup semifinals during the past six seasons (corresponding with the Randy Waldrum era at ND) include UNC (5), Portland (3), Penn State (2) and four teams (UConn, Florida, Florida State, Princeton) with one appearance in that span.

NCAA SUCCESS STORIES – Notre Dame and Santa Clara have become two of the most successful programs in women’s soccer history, particularly in the past 10 years … SCU’s 16 all-time NCAA trips rank 5th all-time while ND is 9th with 12 all-time NCAA appearances … ND and SCU also are two of five teams to appear in each of the past 12 NCAA Tournaments (plus UNC, UConn, William & Mary) … UNC leads in all-time NCAA semifinal trips (22), followed by SCU (10), ND, Portland and UConn (all with 7) … since ’94, only UNC (10) has made more semifinal appearances than ND or SCU (7) … since the ND program started in ’88, the semifinal list is led by UNC (16), SCU (9) and ND (7).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP REUNION – The ND-SCU game will feature several players who competed in the 2002 Under-19 World Championship … the exciting tournament was capped by a 1-0 U.S. win over Canada in the title game, with 47,000 fans in attendance at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium … current ND junior F Katie Thorlakson was a key playmaker for Canada while current ND senior F/D Candace Chapman was named all-tournament, playing mostly right back with Canada while also shifting into the central midfield … three current SCU seniors – M Leslie Osborne, F Megan Kakadelas (assist on winning goal vs. Canada) and D Jessica Ballweg – played for the U.S. squad that racked up a 26-2 scoring edge … current ND junior M Annie Schefter was on track to be a starter for the U.S. team but was sidelined with a season-ending ACL knee injury in late July of 2002.

FRIEND OR FOE? – ND’s players hail from 13 states and several of the Irish regulars are former teammates of players on the Santa Clara side … three ND sophomores – M Jen Buczkowski, M Jill Krivacek and D/M Kim Lorenzen – have extensive ties to SCU sophomore G Julie Ryder, as teammates on the Illinois ODP and Region II ODP teams, plus the Eclipse Select club team that reached the national semifinals in the summer of ’04 (Buczkowski and Ryder also were teammates in the summer of ’04 with the W-League’s Chicago Cobras) … ND senior F Mary Boland and junior M Annie Schefter are products of the U.S. Under-19 National Team, as are three Santa Clara players: F Leslie Osborne, D Jessica Ballweg and F Megan Kakadelas (a transfer from USC and ’01 Pac-10 rookie of the year) … ND sophomore D Christi Shaner trained with Osborne at Under-19 National Team camps and was coached in previous national-team events by SCU’s Jerry Smith … ND sophomore F Molly Iarocci and SCU sophomore F Tiffany Roberts were club teammates with the Sereno Eagles … finally, ND freshman M Ashley Jones was a longtime ODP teammate of two current SCU freshmen: M Brittany Klein and F Meagan Snell.

GOING FOR TWO – The winner of the ND-SCU game will have the chance to become the only team besides UNC to win multiple national championships (George Mason, Florida and Portland also have one NCAA title) … the Irish won the title in 1995 while the Broncos were the 2001 champions.

ND’s NCAA HISTORY (see PDF)

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

GOING TO CAROLINA – The ND women’s soccer program has split 10 previous games played in the state of North Carolina but the Irish are 5-2-0 playing in the tarheel state, starting with the 1995 NCAA championship season that saw ND beat host UNC and Portland (3 OT) in a pair of 1-0 College Cup games at Fetzer Field … the Irish then added a pair of top wins at the 1996 Duke tournament (2-1 vs. UNC in OT, 2-0 vs. Duke) but lost to BIG EAST foe Connecticut in the 1997 NCAA semifinal played at UNC Greensboro Stadium (1-2) … the Irish returned to Fetzer Field for the 1998 UNC tournament (3-0 vs. Duke, 1-5 vs. UNC) but didnot play in North Carolina during the previous five seasons … the early years of the ND program included games at Duke (0-4) and UNCG (1-5) in 1990 and at N.C. State in `92 (3-4).

Notre Dame Career Stats vs. Santa Clara (see PDF)

CALIFORNIA GIRLS – Notre Dame’s all-time playing roster includes 20 California natives (most from any state), led by All-Americans LaKeysia Beene, Cindy Daws, Jen Renola and Rosella Guerrero (plus current U.S. National Team standout Shannon Boxx) … the 2004 roster includes northern California native Miranda Ford (a D/M from Portola Valley and Palo Alto HS) and two midfielders from southern California: senior Sarah Halpenny (Glendale/Immaculate Heart HS) and freshman Ashley Jones (Westlake Village/Westlake HS) … ND assistant coach Dawn Greathouse was a goalkeeper with the WUSA’s San Jose CyberRays during the 2002 and ’03 seasons (Beene and former ND defender Kelly Lindsey also played for the Cyber Rays) … here’s a look at some of ND’s top all-time players from California (Beene and Gerardo are slated to be in Cary rooting on the Irish, as are former greats Anne Makinen and Kelly Lindsey):

• G LaKeysia Beene (Gold River), played with San Jose CyberRays and U.S. National Team, All-American at ND
• M Shannon Boxx (Torrance), standout defensive midfielder with WUSA’s San Diego Spirit, N.Y. Power’s ’03 MVP, then named to all-tournament team at 2003 World Cup and won gold medal with U.S. at 2004 Olympics
• M Cindy Daws (Northridge), the 1996 national college player of the year
• F Monica Gerardo (Simi Valley), played two-plus seasons with WUSA’s Washington Freedom, now an assistant at University of Pittsburgh
• F Rosella Guerrero (Sacramento), clutch goalscorer and one of senior leaders of 1995 NCAA title team, an All-American at ND
• G Michelle Lodyga (Mission Viejo), one of early leaders of Irish program
• G Jen Renola (Los Gatos), shutouts in all four 1995 NCAA games, NSCAA ’96 player of the year
• D Ashley Scharff (Danville), starter on back line for ’95 NCAA champs

CRUNCH TIME – Here’s a look at Notre Dame’s all-time postseason records:

• MCC Tournament – 5-0-0 (all neutral)
• BIG EAST Tournament – 21-2-0/.919 (10-0-0 home, 2-1-0 away, 9-1-0 neutral)
• NCAA Tournament – 30-10-1/.744 (25-3 at home/.893, 2-1-1 away, 3-6 neut.)
• Postseason Totals – 56-12-1/.819 (35-3 home/.921, 4-2-1 away, 17-7 neutral)

IN THE BIG EAST RANKINGS
Notre Dame – 1st in goals-against average (0.52, 4th nationally), goals per game (2.72, 16th nationally) and shutouts (15, 1st nationally); 2nd in shots per game (21.4) and corner kicks per game (5.9); 4th in fouls per game (11.9)

Notre Dame Players
Katie Thorlakson – 1st in points (67, 2nd nationally), goals (22, 3rd nat.), assists (23, 1st nat.), GWGs (8) and shots (120) Candace Chapman – 3rd in pts (30) and goals (11), 5th in asts (8), 8th shots (68)
Jen Buczkowski – 2nd in assists (11; 18 in nation), 4th in points (27), 5th in GWGs (4), 11th in goals (8)
Amanda Cinalli – 5th in GWGs (4), 6th in gls (10) and pts (25), 9th in shots (66)
Annie Schefter – 7th in assists (7)
Erika Bohn – 1st in goals-against avg. (0.41; 1st in nation), 4th in save pct. (.810) and solo shutouts (8)

THAT WAS THEN … THIS IS NOW – Notre Dame now has played 24-plus games in each of the past two seasons and owns similar statistical numbers in many categories … the Irish are generating more shots this season (21.4/gm) but own a lower shooting pct. … the biggest jump has come in corner-kick margin (+111 in ’04, after +39 in ’03) … the Irish also have done a better job in shutting down the opponents’ 1st-half offense in ’04 (just 4 GA) … see PDF for stat comparison of ’03 and ’04.

ND IN THE NCAAs – Notre Dame is one of five teams to appear in each of the last 12 NCAAs (since ’93, with the others including UNC, UConn, SCU and William & Mary) … the Irish made six trips to the College Cup semifinals in the previous 10 years, including four title games (’94-’96, ’99) and the ’95 championship season … the Irish own an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 30-10-1 (.744, 2nd-best in NCAA record book), with four losses coming at the hands of UNC in title games (5-0 in ’94, 1-0 in OT in ’96, 2-0 in ’99, 2-1 in ’00) … ND dropped its first-ever NCAA Tournament game to George Mason in 1993 (2-1) while ending the ’97 season with an NCAA semifinal loss to UConn (2-1) and closing ’98 with a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Portland at Alumni Field … that game and second-round losses to Cincinnati (3-2) and Michigan (1-0) remain ND’s only postseason losses at home (31-3-0; 21-3-0 in the NCAAs) … ND’s 2002 season ended with a third-round NCAA loss at top-ranked Stanford (0-1) … the Irish claimed the 1995 NCAA title with a semifinal win over UNC (1-0) and a triple-OT win over Portland in the title game (1-0) … ND is 24-5-1 in its last 30 overall postseason games (71-22 scoring edge).

LONELY SEED – Notre Dame, ranked No. 2 but seeded 4th, was the highest seed that advanced to even the quarterfinal round of the 2004 NCAAs … in fact, this marks the third time in the past five seasons that only one top-4 national seed has gone on to reach the College Cup semifinals … the first time that ever happened in the 23-year history of the NCAA Division I women’s soccer tournament was when ND’s top-seeded team advanced in 2000 (Washington, Clemson and Nebraska each were tripped up) and it happened again in 2002 when North Carolina was the only top-4 seed to advance (#1 seed Stanford lost in earlier rounds, as did Pepperdine and Connecticut).

REACHING 24 – A win in Friday’s NCAA semifinal would make Notre Dame the second women’s soccer program ever to reach 24 wins in multiple seasons (the ’96 ND team went 24-2-0) … aside from UNC’s 13 seasons with 24-plus wins, only one other team (Florida, with 26 wins in ’98) has posted 24-plus wins … if the Irish post a pair of wins this weekend, it would tie for the 4th-most wins in NCAA history (UNC won 27 in ’97 and ’03 and Florida had 26 in ’98, wins UNC also posting 25-win seasons in ’92, ’94-’96 and ’98).

20-SOMETHING – Notre Dame has reached the 20-win plateau for the ninth time in the past 11 seasons … the 1996 team racked up an ND-record 24 wins, with 23 victories in 1994, ’97 and ’00, 21 wins in ’95, ’98 and ’99, and 20 Ws in 2003.

BIG-GAME PLAYERS – Notre Dame has won more than 75 percent of its “big games” during the Randy Waldrum era (’99-’04), posting a 47-13-3 record (.770) when facing an NSCAA top-25 or postseason opponent.

BALANCE OF POWER – Despite the absence of several top offensive players, ND ranks 16th in the nation with 2.72 goals/gm and is 4th with a 0.52 team goals-against avg., dominating opposing offenses by allowing just 141 total shots (5.6/gm), 64 shots on goal (2.5/gm) and 37 corner kicks (1.5/gm) … the Irish also are tied for 1st in the nation with 15 shutouts, as is SCU) … ND, UNC, Virginia and Princeton are the only teams ranked 16th or better in scoring and GAA … in ’03, ND and UNC finished among the top-5 for scoring (3rd; 3.04 goals/gm) and GAA (5th; 0.49).

TRENDY – Here’s a look at some of the ND players’ scoring and games-played trends (see PDF):

WALDRUM REACHES 300TH WIN – Sixth-year ND head Randy Waldrum posted his 200th career win as a Div. I women’s head coach vs. Miami on Nov. 2, 2003, and registered his 100th win at ND early this season at Texas Tech (Sept. 12) … Waldrum also coached eight seasons as a college men’s soccer head coach and now owns 300 combined wins as a men’s and women’s college head coach (300-125-24/.695, in 23 seasons), reaching the milestone in memorable fashion following the 3-1 NCAA quarterfinal win over Portland … since coming to ND in ’99, Waldrum’s teams have made three trips to the College Cup semifinals in six seasons (also ’99, ’00), trailing only UNC (5) and Santa Clara (4) for most semifinals in that six-year stretch … Waldrum owns a 224-70-17 mark (.748) in 15 combined seasons as the women’s head coach at Tulsa (61-36-9, 6 yrs), Baylor (46-14-3, 3 yrs) and Notre Dame (116-20-5/.842, including 43-4-2/.898 over the past two seasons) … he repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 and became the first three-time BIG EAST women’s soccer coach of the year (in ’03) before winning the award again in ’04 … in ’99, he became the only coach in the 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 1st-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semifinals, beating top-ranked and unbeaten Santa Clara in San Jose … Waldrum now ranks 7th among active women’s coaches for career win pct. (min. 10 Div. I seasons), as listed below (see PDF):

BLAME IT ON RIO? (actually … Campinas) – Notre Dame’s 2000 team had a preseason training trip to Brazil and went on to claim the No. 1 ranking before advancing to the NCAA semifinals … the ’04 team (10 days in Brazil, 6 weeks at #1) now has duplicated that pattern … the Aug. 10-19 trip (based in Campinas, Brazil) featured a 5-0-1 record and 16-3 scoring edge vs. top semi-pro women’s teams from the Sao Paulo area … the games attracted local spectators and included traditional exchange of gifts, plus group photos … the Irish enjoyed great camaraderie at the five-star Vitoria Hotel and soaked in the atmosphere at first-division Brazilian men’s games at Ponta Preta and Guarani … meals included many exotic and tasty forms of pizza and the unique Brazilian steakhouses with table-top carvings of a variety of entrees … top scorers on the trip included senior F/D Candace Chapman (4G), junior F Katie Thorlakson (6A) and the freshman duo of F/M Jannica Tjeder (3G-2A) and M Ashley Jones (2G-3A).

Notre Dame Veterans Career Postseason Statistics (see PDF)

BACKED INTO A CORNER – Katie Thorlakson’s potent offense extends to her corner kicks that have led to 9 Irish goals – including 5 in the postseason and 3 in the NCAAs (the last coming directly off her leftside inswinger, to cap the 3-1 win over Portland) … ND has now allowed an opponent goal off the CK set-piece all season while the team’s low total of 37 opponent CKs (1.5/gm) includes a 64-8 CK edge during the past 10 games (ND has owned the CK edge in each of those games and in 21 of 25 overall this season) … Portland managed a pair of CKs in last week’s game vs. ND, the most corners allowed by the Irish in the past 9 games (5 with 0, 3 with 1) … ND’s most dominant CK margins this season have included 14-1 vs. Eastern Illinois on the opening weekend and 12-0 vs. Providence … ND has been at least +5 in the CK margin 15 times this season (also +8 twice, +7 twice, +6 twice and +5 seven times).

FAR & WIDE – Notre Dame’s 2004 women’s soccer roster includes players from 13 states, two Canadian provinces, Iceland and Finland … the program’s all-time roster canvasses 30 states and three foreign countries … ND’s student-athlete population in ’02-’03 included nearly 800 individuals from 47 states (all but Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada) and 20 foreign countries … the states on the ’04 ND women’s soccer roster include: Arizona, California, Connecticut Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

FIRST-STRIKE WEAPONS – ND owns a 43-1-0 record in its last 44 games when scoring first (2-1 loss to UConn in ’04 BIG EAST title game) … freshman F Amanda Cinalli and sophomore M Jen Buczkowski each have opened the scoring in 5 games games this season (junior F Katie Thorlakson has 3 first-goals while senior F Candace Champan and junior M Annie Schefter have 2 each) … Chapman also has scored to open the scoring for ND twice after the opponent scored first (Cinalli has done so once) … nine different ND players have notched first-goals this season (others include Maggie Manning, Christie Shaner, Ashley Jones and Jill Krivacek).

IT TAKES TWO – ND’s lone loss of the ’04 season saw the Irish claim a 1-0 lead at UConn in the BIG EAST title game … the Irish then had several cracks at the magical 2-0 cushion that has proven to be insurmountable in the 17-year history of Notre Dame women’s soccer (instead, UConn rallied for the 2-1 win) … ND is 230-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and has won 207 straight games when stretching out to a 2-0 cushion, dating back to Sept. 15, 1991 (when Vanderbilt ultimately forced a 3-3 tie) … there have been only two other games in the program’s history when the Irish gave up a 2-0 lead (but still went on to win): a 4-3 victory over UConn in the ’96 BIG EAST title game (the Irish led 3-0 but the Huskies scored three straight) and a 3-2 win over Duke at a ’93 lateseason tournament in Houston … the last 120 opponents to face a 2-0 deficit vs. the Irish have been unable to even tie the score.

SCOUTING THE IRISH – The 2004 Notre Dame squad features 23 former letterwinners and 10 with significant starting experience, among them senior F/D Candace Chapman (missed ’03 season due to injury) … the Irish spent most of ’03 ranked No. 2 in the nation and raced out to an 18-0-1 record before losing to Michigan in the regular-season finale (3-2), Boston College in the BIG EAST semifinals (2-1) and Michigan again in the 2nd round of the NCAAs (1-0, with UM converting its only shot on goal) … returning starters included senior Mary Boland (Academic All-American, 12G-4A in ’03; out for ’04 after broken leg vs. SCU on Sept. 5) and junior Katie Thorlakson (Canadian U-19 National Team; 10G-11A in ’03) at the forward positions, plus a pair of proven midfielders who are former U.S. U-19 National Team standouts – junior Annie Schefter (4G-5A in ’03) and sophomore Jen Buczkowski (4G-6A in ’03) – to go along with junior G Erika Bohn (Academic All-American; 0.49 GAA, 967-minute shutout streak in ’03) and three defenders: 5th-year central D Melissa Tancredi (All-American; 4G-5A in ’03) and sophomore outside backs Christie Shaner (’03 BIG EAST rookie of the year, 1G-3A) and Kim Lorenzen (20 GS in ’03; also has played M in ’04) … other top returners included senior D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Icelandic National Team), sophomore M/F Lizzie Reed (2G-1A in ’03) and sophomore defensive M Jill Krivacek (2G-3A in ’03) … the four-member ’03 senior class included F Amy Warner (All-American; 37G-25A career, 10G-12A in ’03) and Amanda Guertin (48G-27A in career, 11G-6A in ’03), attacking M Kimberly Carpenter (6G-5A in ’03) and left back Vanessa Pruzinsky (94 career GS) … ND’s ’03 domination included 20 more goals (73) than opponent shots on goal (53) … ND’s freshman class was rated No. 2 by Soccer Buzz, 4th by Soccer America … four freshmen had impressive debuts on the preseason Brazil trip: F Amanda Cinalli (prep All-American, U.S. U-17 Team), F/M Jannica Tjeder (Finland U-21 Team), M Ashley Jones and G Lauren Karas … top scorers in Brazil (5-0-1; 16-3 scoring edge) included Chapman (4G), Thorlakson (6A), Tjeder (3G-2A) and Jones (2G-3A) … leading scorers after 25 GP: Thorlakson (22G-23A), Chapman (11G-8A), Buczkowski (8G-11A), Cinalli (10G-5A), Schefter (4G-7A).

NOTRE DAME VETERANS CAREER HIGHS (see PDF)

NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK-FACT SHEET (see PDF for notes and stats on the ND regulars)

“THOR” BRINGS THUNDER AND LIGHTNING TO PLAYER-OF-YEAR RACE – Here’s a look at junior forward Katie Thorlakson’s ever-growing player-of-the-year credentials (an honor she already has received from Sports Illustrated On Campus) … also see PDF for Thorlakson’s listing on various ND and NCAA stats charts
NATIONAL LEADER – ranks 1st in nation in assists (23; 12th NCAA history) and points (67; 23rd NCAA history) and 3rd in goals (22)
MULTIPLE THREAT – equally dangerous as finisher and set-up player, as one of 10 players in NCAA history (3rd from ND) with 20G-20A in same season (one of 5 ever to reach 22-22, wth 22G-23A) … nation’s only player with more than 15G-15A … also one of 10 ND players to reach 30G-30A in career (36G-37A; reached 30-30 in 62 GP, 4th-quickest in ND history)
TRUE LEADER – has helped overcome loss of several top offensive players due to graduation, injuries and national-team duty (ND’s other starting F are fr. Amanda Cinalli and sr. Candace Chapman, converted D coming back from ACL injury)
START FAST, FINISH FAST – early spurt included assisting on 6 of team’s 16 goals in preseason Brazil trip and 7-point game in opener vs. Baylor (2G-3A) while surge in last month includes 9-game point streak and G/A on 22 of team’s last 26 goals
NCAA RECORD BOOK – her 23A rank 12th in NCAA history and are 4th-most since 1997 (Jacksonville’s Marit Foss had 28 in 2000 while 2003 saw UNC’s Lindsay Tarpley with 27A and Alyssa Ramsey with 25A) … she also ranks 23rd in NCAA history with 67 points this season – 4th-most since 1999 behind the 2001 season standouts Abby Wambach of Florida (76) and Christie Welsh of Penn State (68), plus Tarpley’s 73 … needs 3 points to become the 17th Div. 1 player ever to reach 70 in a season.
BRONCO BUSTER – scored or assisted on all 7 ND goals vs. Santa Clara during the 2003 (2-1, at SCU) and 2004 (5-2, at ND) regular-season games
RUNAWAY – her 67 points are more than double ND’s 2nd-leading scorer (30)
PERFECT TEN – named CSTV National Student-Athlete of Week after ND record 10 pts in game vs. St. John’s (4G-2A, also tied ND record for goals in gm/most since ’97)
BIG WINNER – has tied ND record for gamewinning goals in a season (8, by Rosella Guerrero in ’94), with no other player on ’04 team having more than 4 GWGs … also ranks 8th in ND record book with 14 career GWGs, 5 shy of Jenny Heft’s record
ON A ROLL – has 33 pts (11G-11A) in current 9-game point streak (1G-1A vs. Seton Hall, 2G-2A vs. Michigan, 4G-2A vs. St. John’s, 1G vs. BC, 1A vs. UConn, 1G-2A vs. EIU, 1A vs. WIS, 1G vs. UConn, 1G-2A vs. Portland), after rare 4-game point “slump”
PULLING HER WEIGHT – has played role in nearly 70% of team’s goals in ’04 (45 of 68), with many other goals coming with her on the bench cheering the reserves
SIX-PACK – first ND player ever to score or assist on team’s first five goals in a game (in ’04 opener vs. Baylor and again vs. #4 Santa Clara) … went one better by having a hand in each of first six scores vs. St. John’s, yielding even more impressive streak of 12 straight Irish goals in which she scored or assisted (now 22 of 26, dating back to 2nd goal in 3-1 win over SHU)
PRIMETIME – has totaled 20 pts (7G-6A) in eight ’04 games vs. top-25 teams, including 3G-2A vs. #4 Santa Clara (only player in nation with 8-plus pts vs. top-25 team) … has racked up 24 pts (8G-8A) through 7 postseason games in ’04, besting the ND record for points in one postseason (Anne Makinen, 8G-3A in ’97) … no other players in ND history have more than 15 points in one postseason … also has tied ND records for goals (8, Makinen) and assists (8, Holly Manthei) in one postseason and owns ND record with 3 gamewinning assists this postseason … her 11 pts (3G-5A) in the ’04 NCAAs are one shy of Monica Gerardo’s ND record (5G-2A, in ’97) while her 5A in the ’04 NCAAs has tied that ND mark … her 24 points this postseason are four times the postseason points she totaled in ’02 and ’03 combined (2G-2A) … enters College Cup semifinal with G/A on ND’s last 4 goals
RECORD PACE – averaging 2.68 pts/gm in ’04 and would total 72 pts over 27 games (ND record is 72 points by ’96 national player-of-the-year Cindy Daws)
PILE-O-POINTS – her 67 points rank 2nd in ND history (most since ’98) and are 25 beyond her combined total from ’02 and ’03 (42) … joins Cindy Daws (72; ’96), Jenny Streiffer (66; ’96) and Jenny Heft (61; ’98) as only ND players with 60-plus pts in a season … her 23A rank 4th in ND history while her 22G are 5th
CENTURY MARK – her 109 career pts would rank near top of many school’s record books but she is 14th at ND (36G-37A), still 9G and 4A away from those top-10 lists … also now ranks 8th in ND history with 1.63 points per game in her career
BIG GAMES – only player from top-25 team with 8-plus pts in game … one of two in nation to post 8-plus pts in multiple ’04 gms (only player with 4G in gm, 3A in another)
BIG EAST’S BEST – first ND player named BIG EAST off. player of year … 3-time BE player of week: 2G-4A vs. Baylor and EIU (8/30); 3G-2A vs. #13 Stanford and #4 SCU (9/6); 1G-1A vs. #20 WVU and Providence (10/4), no award final week (6G-4A vs. Mich. and SJU) … Soccer Buzz/Soccer America nat’l teams of week (8/30, 9/6)
WARMUP – most regular-season goals (13) by ND player since ’99 (Jenny Heft, 16), 3rd to reach 14G-14A in reg. season (10th with 43-plus reg.-season pts)
HOT CORNER – her corner kicks have produced 9 ND goals (4 postseason, 3 NCAAs), including one leftside inswinger that went directly in for a goal
OL’ RELIABLE – has appeared in 68 straight games (since ’02 U-19 World Champ.)
SHOOT FOR THE STARS – her 120 shots have bested ND record (106, by Anne Makinen in ’98) and are nearly triple her total from `02 (46, ’03 team leader had 62)
FINDING THE NET – 5-game goal streak from Sept. 19-Oct. 3 (4 GWGs)
SHARPSHOOTER – owns .180 shot pct. and is averaging 5.6 shots per goal (rest of team is just .111/9.0) … also converting 1G every 3.1 shots on goal (22 of 67)
CONFERENCE CALL – leads BIG EAST in pts, goals, assists, GWGs, shots (120)
RACKING ‘EM UP – has posted games with 10 pts (4G-2A , SJU), 8 pts (3G-2A, SCU), 7 pts (2G-3A, Baylor) and 6 pts (2G-2A, Michigan), with 5 multi-goal games
REPEAT OFFENDER – joined Jenny Streiffer (’96) as only ND players with 8-plus pts in multiple games of same season (Monica Gerardo only other player to do in career) … first ND player with 3-plus goals in multiple games of season since Jenny Heft’s three hat tricks in ’98
HOME SWEET HOME – 69 pts in 30 games at Alumni Field past two seasons (24G-21A, 9 GWG), including 51 in 15 home games this season (17G-17A, 7 GWG)

SEEING 20-20 – Katie Thorlakson recently joined an elite list of 10 all-time Div. I players to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in a season and now is part of an even more exclusive group, as one of five to reach 22G-22A … six of the 20-20 players – former ND great Cindy Daws (26G-20A, ’96), UNC’s Mia Hamm (32-33, ’92), Robin Confer (20-22, ’97) and Lindsay Tarpley (23-27, ’03), UConn’s Sarah Whalen (21-22, ’97) and Santa Clara’s Mandy Clemens (24-23, ’99) – each received some type of national player-of-the-year recognition after their 20-20 seasons … others on that short list include former ND player Jenny Streiffer (22G-22A, ’96), four-time All-American and UC Santa Barbara legend Carin Jennings (20G-26A, ’86) and UNC Greensboro’s Kati Kantanen (24G-20A, ’97) … Thorlakson and Tarpley are the only 20-20 players in the past five seasons … Thorlakson joined Hamm, Tarpley, Clemens and Streiffer as the 5th to reach 22G-22A … with one more goal, she would join Hamm, Tarpley and Clemens as the only “23-23” players – and with two more goals and one assist, she would rank alongside Hamm as the only players ever to reach 24G-24A.

RACKING ‘EM UP – Katie Thorlakson’s 10 pts vs. St. John’s (4G-2A) are 5th-most by a Div. I player this season (306 schools) while her 8 vs. #4 Santa Clara are tied for 8th (most by any player vs. a top-25 opponent) … she is the only player from a current top-25 team who has posted 8-plus pts in a game (doing so twice) and joins Detroit’s Mary Parker (12 vs. Clev. St., 8 vs. Niagara) as the only players to post 8-plus pts in multiple games this season … her 4-goal game has been bested just four times this season while only six players in the nation have totaled more assists in a game this season than Thorlakson’s 3A vs. Baylor … she combines with Sam Houston State’s Yoanna Garcia as the nation’s only players to post 4-plus goals and 3-plus assists in games this season (Thorlakson did so in different games while Garcia had 5G-4A vs. Texas Southern).

LOFTY COMPANY – Here’s a look at the former Irish players who have welcomed Katie Thorlakson as one of the most accomplished scorers in the program’s history:
• She and Amy Warner (’00 and ’02) are the only ND players since 2000 with 3-plus goals in a game more than once in their careers
• She and Jenny Streiffer (2G-5A vs. PC, 3G-2A vs. SHU, in ’96) are only ND players with 8-plus points in multiple games during the same season (Streiffer also had a 4G/8-point game in ’97 while Monica Gerardo had 4G games in ’96 and ’97)
• The other nine ND players in 30G-30A club: Shannon Boxx (39G-57A), Cindy Daws (61-67), Meotis Erikson (59-46), Gerardo (73-44), Rosella Guerrero (55-32), Alison Lester (45-36), Anne Makinen (65-56), Michelle McCarthy (59-38) and Streiffer (70-71) … Daws, Erikson, Gerardo, Makinen and Streiffer are five of 34 Div. I players to reach 40G-40A while Daws, Streiffer and Makinen are among 16 in 50G-50A club … Daws, Streiffer and just thee other players in NCAA history have reached 60G-60A (Streiffer and former UNC great Mia Hamm are the only 70-70 players)
• 3rd ND player to reach 14G-14A in regular season (1st since ’97), joining Daws (21G-17A in ’96) and Streiffer (18G-21A in ’96, 16G-16A in ’97)

BEST OF THE BEST? – Following the quarterfinal win over Portland, ND head coach Randy Waldrum did not mince words in his assessment of the national player-of-the-year race, saying, “Christine Sinclair is a great player in her own right. But for this particular year, you saw tonight why Katie Thorlakson is the best player in the country right now. She is a different kind of player. Katie is going to be involved for 90 minutes and she’s going to get other people involved in the game. Christine is that prototype great goalscorer. You give her a chance and she’s going to score, you saw that tonight when we made a little bit of a mistake.” … if Amanda Cinalli had a vote but, it would go to her fellow ND frontrunner, saying, “No doubt Katie is the best player in the country. She is such a great role model and strong presence on the field. Her skills are unbelievable and she’s a great person to look up to.” … Sinclair has seen a boost in her national teammate, noting that “the experience Katie has had with the (Canadian) national team has helped her a bunch. I remember playing with her on the under-19s and she has improved so much. She is a tremendous player. She is playing with more confidence taking players on and, if she gets stopped, the next time she’ll try it again.”

WHAT They’ve Said About Katie Thorlakson

Santa Clara Head Coach Jerry Smith – “(Thorlakson) is a player with international experience and she can raise her level to whatever level it needs to be. Good forwards can be quiet for periods of a game and then turn it up. … I’m a coach that doesn’t emphasize the physical stature of a player. So I think Katie is an example of why you don’t have to be the biggest or the fastest. She has a nice combination of determination, grit and skillfulness. She has a great feel for the game. She reminds me of a player I used to watch in the ’70s, he played for Germany – Gurd Muller. He was a very small forward but was very crafty and sneaky. If you research Gurd Muller, you will know that’s a huge compliment to Katie. She is a terrific player and we have a lot of respect for her.”

Wisconsin Head Coach Dean Duerst (asked to compare Thorlakson and Tiffany Weimer of Penn State) – “They are very comparable and outstanding goalscorers. Weimer has some people around her that play her through a little bit more forward. She scores a lot more goals on just breakaways and she kind of just hides out there whereas Katie is very involved in every aspect of Notre Dame’s game. … They are two of the premier players that I’ve seen in the past few years in the country.”

Eastern Illinois Head Coach Stave Ballard – “Thorlakson is dynamic and does so many things. She knows the game well, she’s technical, she’s quick and she can do it 1-v-1 but she also shares the ball and that’s so nice to see. She is a complete player and I just love watching her play. It’s fortunate in soccer that you don’t have to be 6-foor-10 to be a dominant player, even on the men’s side you see players who are 5-5 who are dominant players. And (Thorlakson) is great in the air. She is 5-3 but she can get up with the best of them. She reads the flight of the ball. There are so many things she adds to that team and it’s a pleasure to watch that on the field.”

ND Head Coach Randy Waldrum – “Candace Chapman is readjusting to forward and Amanda Cinalli is still a young kid. Sometimes they aren’t in sync with Katie and we have to try different things. That all shows what Katie does because there have been several games where she’s had to carry the load. She is a tremendous model for the other kids to see, to play with her and see how she handles different situations. It amazes me how much she fights people off. She has been double- and triple-teamed the past month. That all makes her stats even more incredible. Most scoring players up front just score goals and don’t do anything else but Katie is in the game 90 minutes and brings others in. You rarely find a player with those kind of stats on both sides, with goals and assists.”

THORLAKSON STAYS – Junior F Katie Thorlakson announced in late Sept. her intention to remain with the Irish for the entire ’04 season, foregoing the previous plan to leave for three weeks to compete Canada at the Under-19 World Championship (Nov. 10-27, in Thailand) … that event overlapped with the first three/four rounds of the NCAAs … several others – including ND sophomore M Jen Buczkowski – made similar decisions in recent months … Thorlakson graduated early from high school and already had played in the ’02 Under-19 World Championships (most of the players in the ’04 event were college freshmen, sophomores and high schoolers) … Buczkowski is the playmaker of the Irish midfield and has been a starting defender with the U.S. U-19 squad … the U.S. federation required team members to sit out the entire semester from their respective colleges or high schools (ND signee Kerri Hanks has been a leading scorer for the U.S. U-19s and has delayed her enrollment until the ’05 spring semester) … Buczkowski made a surprise announcement at the team’s ’04 spring banquet, informing the team she would be returning to Notre Dame for the fall of ’04.

Katie Thorlakson ON REMAINING FOR ENTIRE ’04 SEASON – “It was a really hard decision. I thought about all the stress and decisions I’ve had to make the last three years and the positions I’ve put myself in, never really feeling I was part of something and going back and forth from one team to another. This year has been so special with ND and I just decided to forego going to the U-19 World Championships. With that team, a number of girls will step up and be leaders and maybe it will be a good opportunity for them. … I could have gone for just a couple of weeks to Thailand and coach (Waldrum) allowed me to do that and gave me a lot of space in this process. I just realized that I needed to be at school and playing soccer here. (At Syracuse) there was an incident where I could have gotten into a scuffle and that’s something I might have done in the past, but then I probably would have been kicked out and would not have been able to score the winning goal. It’s all become a matter of putting the team over myself. I’ve worked hard at showing more restraint in my emotions. … Playing for the National Team is an awesome experience. Most of my best friends are from that team that played in 2002. They are the best players in your country and you are best friends. … At the same time, we are even more like family here at Notre Dame. We are together just about year-round. Our team concept really came together during the Brazil trip, playing hard and playing to win.”

ND HEAD COACH Randy Waldrum – ” Katie and Jen love their national teams but they also love this team here at Notre Dame, so it’s a tremendously difficult decision for them. But I also think it shows how both have matured. It says a lot about them as people and teammates and shows how much they care about this program and this school. Katie’s attitude, intensity and leadership have been just as phenomenal as her performance on the field. She has made a great commitment to being a great player and I can’t think anyone in the college game is playing as well as her. This is a huge moment for our program because it shows the commitment of an elite player willing to stay and help win a national championship.”

CANADIAN CONNECTION – Notre Dame’s three Canadian natives – 5th-year D Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ont.), senior F/D Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ont.) and junior F Katie Thorlakson (Langley, B.C) – have been key leaders of the ’04 squad, combining for 52% of the team’s goals (34 of 65) and 49% of the points (99 of 203) this season.

Thorlakson ranks 2nd in the nation (among players from 306 Division I teams) with 63 points and 1st with 21 assists, plus 4th in goals (21) … she set an ND record with 10 points vs. St. John’s (the 4G tied an ND record) while her 8 points vs. #4 Santa Clara (3G-2A; most ever by ND player vs. top-25 teem) are 7th-most in the nation this year and made her the 3rd ND player ever to post a hat trick vs. a top-10 opponent … she became the only ND player ever to score/assist on ND’s first 5 goals in a game, vs. Baylor (2G-3A) and SCU, before having a hand in the first six goals vs. SJU (and 12 straight over 3 games, with 7G-5A).

Chapman ranks 3rd in the BIG EAST in points (30) and 5th in goals (11) and assists (8) despite playing a reduced minutes as she returns from ’03 ACL surgery (she can apply for a 5th year in ’05).

Tancredi, coming off an All-America season in ’03, is the leader of ND’s back line from her central D spot and has helped the Irish limit the opposition to 141 total shots (5.6/gm), 64 shots on goal (2.6/gm) and 37 corners (1.5/gm).

Chapman, who started at right back for ND in ’01 and ’02, has started with the Canadian National Team (mostly flank mid.) while Tancredi emerged as a starting central D with Canada after the ’03 college season … Thorlakson made her first appearance with Canada’s full national team (prior to the ’04 college season) and is a standout with the U-19 National Team.

WINDY-CITY TRIO – The “Canadian Connection” is not the only noteworthy trio on the ND women’s soccer team, as three Chicago-area natives have played key roles … the three sophomores – M Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove HS), D/M Kim Lorenzen (Naperville North HS) and defensive M Jill Krivacek (Geneva; Rosary HS) – led the Illinois team to the 2003 Olympic Development national title before starting their Notre Dame careers … each of the Chicago natives play key, but subtle, roles on the Irish squad, with Lorenzen’s great versatility allowing her to play anywhere on the field (she scored the gamewinning goal in the 74th minute at #20 West Virginia and had the primary assist on Buczkowski’s GWG vs. #20 Boston College) … the 5-foot-10 Krivacek has fortified the defensive midfield spot while Buczkowski is the classic field general and is 3rd on the team with 27 points (8G-11A).

BIG & BRIGHT – The lone star state has deep connections to Notre Dame women’s soccer (all three coaches and three players are Texas natives):
• Sixth-year ND head coach Randy Waldrum is a native of Irvin, Texas, played at Midwestern State (Wichita Falls, Texas) from ’77-’80, coached the men’s teams at Austin College (’82) and Texas Wesleyan (’88) and coached the Baylor women from ’96-’98 (he was the Texas Longhorns club’s director of coaching from ’87-’89).
• 2nd-year assistant Alvin Alexander is an Arlington native and his Lamar HS team was a rival of Waldrum’s MacArthur HS (they were teammates at Midwestern) … Alexander’s background in Texas youth soccer includes eight years as a staff coach/trainer with the North Texas and Midland Olympic Development programs (’93-’01) … he coached u-13/u-15 girls and u-11 boys with the elite Dallas Texans club (’02-’03) and built Black Magic into one of best clubs in West Texas (’89-’99) … he held coaching/administrative duties with teams at Oakridge HS (’99-’03), American Eagles girls developmental team in Colleyville (’01-’02), Arlington Strikers boys (’99-’00) and Texas-Permian Basin men’s team in Odessa (’95-’97) – and also was player/coach with Permian Basin Mirage pro indoor team.
• 2nd-year assistant Dawn Greathouse is a native of Allen, Texas, and played for Waldrum as the starting ‘keeper at Baylor … she also starred for the Texas Longhorns and the Region III and North Texas ODP squads.
• Sophomore M Claire Gallerano (Dallas/Ursuline HS) helped lead the Dallas Texans to the ’03 USYSA national club title.
• Prep All-America F Kerri Hanks – a ’03 signee who will not enroll at ND until next spring, due to U-19 World Championship training with the U.S. team – earned the USYSA’s Golden Boot Award as the tournament’s top scorer with the ’03 Texans.
• Current freshman G Lauren Karas (Flower Mound HS) also has starred for the Dallas Sting and Texans club teams, plus the Region III and North Texas ODP teams (she earned the Golden Glove Award with North Texas at the 2004 ODP nationals).
• ND’s all-time roster includes 16 Texas natives, most notably: early scoring leader Stephanie Porter (’90-’93; Spring/Klein HS); steady M Tiffany Thompson (’91-’94; Houston/Cypress Creek HS); clutch ‘keeper Liz Wagner (’98-’01; Spring/Klein HS); All-America D Monica Gonzalez (’97-’01; Richardson/Plano East HS); and high-scoring F Amanda Guertin (’00-’03; Grapevine HS).

PUNCHING THE CLOCK – Current junior F Katie Thorlakson missed the first two games of her ND career due to the 2002 Under-19 World Championship but has not missed a game since joining the Irish (68 straight) … junior M Annie Schefter (missed ’02 due to injury) and sophomore M Jen Buczkowski each have appeared in all 49 games over the past two seasons while four sophomore have played in 48 of the 49: D Christie Shaner (46 straight, dnp vs. ASU in ’03), D Kim Lorenzen (39, dnp vs. Indiana State in ’03), F/M Lizzie Reed (38, dnp vs. West Virginia in ’02) and DM Jill Krivacek (33, dnp vs. UConn in ’03).

POSTSEASON AWARDS BEGIN TO ROLL IN – The past few weeks have seen several Notre Dame players recognized on the conference, regional and national level:
• 5th-year D Melissa Tancredi and junior F Katie Thorlakson are among 15 final candidates for the Hermann Trophy (player-of-the-year) … Thorlakson also was named national player of the year by Sports Illustrated on Campus and was recognized by College Sports Television as the CSTV National Student-Athlete of the Week (for all sports) after totaling 6G-4A vs. Michigan and St. John’s.
• Junior G Erika Bohn, junior M Annie Schefter and sophomore M Jen Buczkowski were named to the Academic All-District V. first team (as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America), with Bohn then earning 1st team Academic All-America honors while Schefter was named to the 2nd team … sophomore D Christie Shaner was a 2nd team Academic All-District V. selection.
• ND became the first team since ’95 to sweep the top three BIG EAST awards – offensive (Thorlakson) and defensive (Tancredi) player and coach (Randy Waldrum) of the year … Buczkowski and freshman F Amanda Cinalli joined Tancredi and Thorlakson on the 1st team all-BIG EAST squad while three others were named 3rd team: Shaner, sr. F Candace Chapman and so. M Jill Krivacek.

DYNAMIC DUO – Two members of ND’s Canadian Connection – 5th-year central D Melissa Tancredi and junior F Katie Thorlakson – are among the 15 final candidates named for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy … ND is the only team with a D and F on that elite list … Portland (junior F Christine Sinclair, junior M Lindsey Huie) and UNC (junior F Lindsay Tarpley, sophomore F Heather O’Reilly, junior F Lori Chalupny) also have multiple players on the final 15 … Tancredi (and former Irish F Amy Warner) also were on the list of 2003 final-15 candidates for the Hermann Trophy … five others who have returned to the final ballot in ’04 include Tarpley, Chalupny, Stanford senior G Nicole Barnhart, Tennessee senior D Keeley Dowling and Penn State junior F Tiffany Weimer … Tancredi and Dowling are the only D among the 2004 final-15 … others on the list include two BIG EAST players (UConn senior F Kristen Graczyk and Rutgers senior M Carli Lloyd), plus Hawaii junior F Natasha Kai, Santa Clara senior M Leslie Osborne and Nebraska sophomore M Brittany Timko … Thorlakson, Sinclair and Timko (all products of the Canadian National Team program) are among nine of the final-15 candidates who are set to return in 2005 … three finalists will be announced in early Dec., with the winner announced on Jan. 7 at the MAC … two members of the ND men’s program – senior D Kevin Goldthwaite and Jack Stewart – are among the final 15 for the men’s Hermann Trophy, making ND the only school with multiple candidates for both awards.

SENIOR SALUTE – Reaching the College Cup semifinals comes as a well-deserved reward for a battle-tested group of seniors who have endured more than their share of individual and team heartache … fifth-year standout Melissa Tancredi and fellow senior Gudrun Gunnarsdottir have been rock solid as the central defenders while Candace Chapman has made an impressive switch back to forward after being an All-American at right back in 2002 (she missed all of ’03 due to an ACL knee injury, as did Tancredi in ’00 while Gunnarsdottir missed several games due to injury earlier in her career) … a streak of bad luck also saw illness/injury with Chapman in ’01 and Tancredi in ’03 lead to rare 2nd-round NCAA exits for the Irish (Chapman also was injured early in the 2002 third-round game, when ND still was close to upsetting top-ranked Stanford) … finally, their classmate Mary Boland was lost early this season with a broken leg but the talented forward has remained a supportive teammate throughout the past few months (the senior class also includes two other key members, in outside back Kate Tulisiak and midfielder Sarah Halpenny )

All of that subplot was not lost on ND head coach Randy Waldrum, who said after the win over Portland: “You have to feel so good for our seniors. You see ( Gudrun Gunnarsdottir ) go through a broken ankle and broken wrist during her career and Tancredi with her ACL and other injuries she’s gone through. And then Candace with her ACL. Those kids have endured and are just warriors for you. They were all great today and `Gunna’ has been great the past few weeks in the playoffs. And you see why Tancredi is the best defensive player in the country. She and `Gunna’ really kept Sinclair in check the whole game. I’m really happy for those kids. They deserve this but they have even bigger goals ahead of them.”

2004 Awards (see PDF)

BIG EAST Award Notes (see PDF)

ACADEMIC ELITE – Junior G Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) has continued the ND women’s soccer program’s tradition of producing first team Academic All-Americans while her classmate, M Annie Schefter (Yakima, Wash.), has been named to the 2004 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America … the ND women’s soccer program’s unmatched tradition of Academic All-America excellence includes 15 selections in the past 10 seasons – more than double the total from any other team (UNC has the 2nd-most in the last 10 years, with 7) … ND and Drake (2) were the only schools with multiple players named to the 1st or 2nd team (Saint Louis and Tennessee had two players among the three Academic All-America teams, each with a 2nd- and 3rd-teamer) … Bohn is the only non-senior on the 1st team and joined Texas F Kelly Wilson and Washington D Clare Rustad as the only 1st-teamers from teams that qualified for the ’04 NCAAs … Bohn is one of just six members of the ’04 Academic All-Americans to repeat the honor … Schefter is one of six non-seniors on the 2nd team and should be a strong contender for 1st-team honors in ’05 (she also will have the option of applying for a 5th year of eligibility in ’06).

Bohn – a ’03 second team Academic All-American who carries a 3.63 cumulative GPA, as an art studio major – currently owns a 0.41 season goals-against avg. that ranks best among ‘keepers from 306 Division I teams and is just shy of LaKeysia Beene’s team record (0.36, set in ’97) … after allowing a goal at Georgetown, the six-foot Bohn then surrendered just two goals in her next 970 minutes of game action (0.19 GAA in that 12-game stretch) … Bohn was an NSCAA 2nd team All-Great Lakes Region pick in `03 (TBA in ’04) and was called into U.S. Under-21 National Team camps in summer of ’04 … she is a 2nd-year member of the Academic Honors Program that pairs high achievers with faculty mentors and is a team leader in Life Skills community service programs, including Soccer Cycle Challenge (benefiting cancer research), Alex’s Lemonade Stand (helping children with cancer) and the annual Christmas Party with pediatric oncology patients … she and her family currently reside in Rutland, Vt. (they moved after she completed high school).

Schefter – a 3.73 student as a double-major in pre-professional studies and psychology – has been a key to ND’s domination of the midfield while ranking 5th on the team in scoring with 15 points (4G-7A) … a former member of the U.S. Under-19 National Team, she missed the ’02 season due to a summer knee injury but has made a strong return to appear in all 49 games the past two seasons … her strong all-around play has helped the Irish dominate possession while rolling up a 68-13 season scoring edge, plus 535-141 in shots (avg. 21-6), 267-64 in shots on goal (11-2.6) and 148-37 in corners (6-1.5) while facing just five deficits totaling 88 minutes … her ’04 highlights include the goal that beat #11 Stanford (1-0) and assists in the 5-2 win over #2 Santa Clara and NCAA wins over Eastern Illinois and Portland … Schefter opened the ’04 season with points in each of first four games (2G-2A) and is a key part of ND’s highly-effective set-play offense … she also was invited to participate in the Academic Honors Program (faculty mentoring) this year.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA TRADITION – The ND women’s soccer team’s previous Academic All-America history includes: G Jen Renola and F Amy Van Laecke in ’95 (both 2nd team) and again in ’96 (both 1st team); F Jenny Streiffer in ’97 (1st team) and again in ’98 (2nd team); D Vanessa Pruzinsky (1st team in ’00, ’01, ’03); F Meotis Erikson in ’00 (3rd team); D Monica Gonzalez in ’01 (2nd team); and the ’03 trio of Pruzinsky, G Erika Bohn (2nd team) and F Mary Boland (2nd team) … Renola also was recognized as the ’96 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for fall and winter “at-large” sports while Pruzinsky was the 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for women’s soccer (that award superseded the at-large program, starting in ’01 … Bohn joins Renola, Van Laecke, Streiffer and Pruzinsky as the program’s fifth player to post multiple Academic All-America seasons …she will return in ’05 with the chance to join fellow Connecticut native Pruzinsky as the program’s only three-time recipients (Pruzinsky graduated with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, becoming just the third ND chemical engineering major ever to accomplish that feat and the first to do so in nearly 30 years) … five ND players now have combined for seven first team Academic All-America honors, with the Irish program producing at least one first-teamer in five of the past nine years … at least one ND player has been named Academic All-America in eight of the past 10 seasons (all but ’99 and ’02) and the program easily could have laid claim to honorees in the other two years as well (Streiffer somehow was passed over in her 1999 All-America season while an injury to Pruzinsky prevented her from earning her third straight Academic All-America honor in ’02) … ND’s ’03 squad was the first in women’s soccer history ever to produce three Academic All-Americans and the ’04 Irish team would have matched that feat if not for the early-season broken leg suffered by Boland (disqualifying her, based on the required 50% of games played) … Boland would have been a strong contender for Academic All-American of the Year, due to her 3.90 cumulative GPA as a psychology major (4.0 in fall of ’03) and status as a first team all-BIG EAST player in ’03.

IRISH UNMATCHED IN THE CLASSROOM – Notre Dame’s 2004 Irish team actually is overflowing with players who own strong Academic All-America credentials (the CoSIDA team recognizes “starters or top reserves” who have a GPA of at least 3.20), with others (in addition to the four mentioned above) including senior central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (3.31, finance) and sophomore right back Kim Lorenzen (3.53, business) … as a group, the ND women’s soccer team posted a 3.32 team GPA in the ’04 spring semester while seeing 22 of 25 players register a semester GPA of 3.0-plus (with 13 at 3.4-plus) … in addition to their dominating play that has helped the Irish again total more goals this season (68) than opponent shots on goal (64), the four veteran starters on the back line – sophomore left back Christie Shaner, Gunnarsdottir, Lorenzen and fifth-year central back Melissa Tancredi – have combined for a 3.28 cumulative GPA, spanning 18 combined semesters of study at Notre Dame.

ROOKIE REWARDS – Amanda Cinalli’s three goals in the NCAAs make her the 16th ND freshman – but first since 2000 (when Amanda Guertin had 11, Amy Warner 10) – to post double-digit goals in her first season with the Irish … if she can score twice more, the 1st team all-BIG EAST performer would become the first ND freshman in seven years to reach 12 goals (Anne Makinen set the still-standing ND freshman record with 23 goals in ’97 while her classmate Meotis Erikson had 22).

Notre Dame Freshmen with Double-Digit Goals (see PDF)

FRESHMAN FOCUS – The rookie tandem of freshman F Amanda Cinalli and M Ashley Jones played key roles in all three games vs. UConn this season … Cinalli scored late for the 1-0 regular-season win and Jones had her only goal of the season to open the scoring in the BIG EAST title game before adding the big assist on Candace Chapman’s gamewinning goal vs. the Huskies in the NCAA third round.

SO-LONG SLUMP! – Two of ND’s starting forwards, senior Candace Chapman and freshman Amanda Cinalli, both recently have ended 8-game goal droughts by scoring in the postseason (Chapman did so vs. St. John’s in the BIG EAST quarterfinal and Cinalli in the NCAA opener vs. Eastern Illinois).

FANTASTIC FOUR AGAIN? – Amanda Cinalli’s pair of goals vs. Portland made the 2004 squad the 11th ND team in the last 15 years to feature at least three double-digit goalscorers (junior Katie Thorlakson has 22G and senior Candace Chapman 11) … if sophomore M Jen Buczkowski can add 2 more goals, it would yield four double-digit goalscorers for the 8th time in ND history (4 in ’94, ’98, ’99, ’03; 6 in `93 and ’96, 7 in ’97) … the double-digit goalscorers on the high-powered 1997 team included Anne Makinen (23), Meotis Erikson (22), Jenny Streiffer (20), Jenny Heft (20), Shannon Boxx (13), Monica Gerardo (10) and Monica Gonzalez (10) … Thorlakson (10) joined Mary Boland (12), Amanda Guertin (11) and Amy Warner (10) with double-digit goals in 2003 (ND was the only team with four double-digit scorers prior to the ’04 NCAAs).

SUPER FROSH – Freshman F Amanda Cinalli scored the late GWG at UConn and had the primary assist on the first goal (by Jen Buczkowski) at Syracuse, earning BIG EAST rookie of the week honors for Sept. 13-19 … Cinalli, currently 4th on the team in scoring (25 pts; 10G-5A), then became the first freshman to be honored by the BIG EAST this season as offensive (or defensive) player of the week, after a pair of key goals in BIG EAST road wins over Villanova (1-0) and Georgetown (2-1) on Oct. 8 and 10 … her goal at VU came on a well-placed crossing shot from 30 yards that ripped into the upper right corner of the net … Cinalli’s 25 points and 10 goals both rank among the BIG EAST freshman leaders and she ranks 11th overall among BIG EAST players in goals… Cinalli scored ND’s first two goals of the season in the 7-2 win over Baylor, becoming just the 4th freshman ever to open the season scoring for the Irish and likewise was the 4th ND player ever to score the first 2G in a season … she opened the scoring in the NCAAs vs. Eastern Illinois to snap her 7-game goal drought and spark the Irish to the 4-0 win.

TIMELY SURGE – Amanda Cinalli ended an 8-game goal drought by scoring ND’s first goal of the 2004 NCAAs (duplicating her first goal scored in the ’04 regular-season opener) in the 4-0 win over Eastern Illinois before scoring twice for an early cushion vs. Portland in the NCAA quarterfinal round (3-1) … Cinalli became the 14th ND player to score multiple goals in an NCAA game and has tied an ND record by opening the scoring in two NCAA games (as did Amy VanLaecke in ’96, Jenny Streiffer in ’99 and Amanda Guertin in ’02) … Cinalli’s goal vs. Portland at the 3:42 mark was the quickest by an ND player in the postseason since the 2001 BIG EAST final (when Guertin scored at 2:33 vs. West Virginia) … Cinalli’s quick strike ranks as the 7th-earliest in an ND postseason game and has been bested by Irish players just twice in NCAA Tournament action: Jenny Heft’s goal 89 seconds into the 1997 quarterfinal vs. UCLA (1:29) and Streiffer’s goal one second later in the ’99 quarterfinals at Nebraska (1:30).

BIG-TIME HELPER – Freshman M Ashley Jones has four assists this season and each has been the primary assist on gamewinning goals … two of those big passes have come in the postseason: on Jen Buczkowski’s goal vs. #19 Boston College in the BIG EAST semifinals and the leftside cross on Candace Chapman’s header last week vs. #15 UConn in the NCAA third round … Jones earlier had set up Buczkowski’s goal vs. #20 BC in the regular season (1-0) and also assisted on Maggie Manning’s early goal in the 3-0 win at Texas Tech … junior F Katie Thorlakson leads the team with 5 GWAs, followed by Jones (4) and Buczkowski (3).

TRUE WINNERS – Junior F Katie Thorlakson has scored or assisted on 14 of ND’s 23 gamewinning goals this season (8 GWG, 6 GWA) for a team-leading 22 gamewinning points (35% of the team’s total GWP) … next on that list are sophomore M Jen Buczkowski (4 GWG, 3 GWA, 11 GWP) and freshman F Amanda Cinalli (4 GWG, 1 GWA, 9 GWP).

PRIMETIME POINTS – Sophomore defensive M Jill Krivacek has totaled 2G-1A (5 points) in six career NCAA Tournament games (3 GS), compared to 1G-4A (6 points) in the rest of her ND career (42 GP/23 GS) … the biggest of those points came on the goal in the NCAA 2nd round vs. Wisconsin (1-0), when she headed in a Katie Thorlakson corner kick with just 53 seconds left in regulation.

LAST-MINUTE HEROES – The first 379 games in ND women’s soccer history had seen the Irish win in the final minute (regulation or OT) just twice but it then happened twice more in the next 10 games … in fact, Jen Buczkowski’s goal at Georgetown on Oct. 10 (2-1), with 44 seconds left in regulation, made her the first ND player since ’94 to win a game by scoring in the final minute … then, in the 2nd round of the NCAAs, Buczkowski’s longtime club and ODP teammate Jill Krivacek scored with 53 seconds left for the thrilling 1-0 win over Wisconsin … Buczkowski had not registered a game-winning goal in her first 37 games with the Irish but the score at GU sparked a 7-game stretch in which she totaled 4 GWGs … Krivacek now has just three goals in her ND career but two are GWGs and the third came in the ’03 NCAAs … even after the recent fantastic finishes, just five of the program’s 389 all-time games have featured a last-minute GWG (by either team) – and GU’s Harbin Field has been the site for two of them … Buczkowski’s goal helped avenge the heartbreaking loss suffered by the Irish on their previous visit to GU … the Hoyas won that day, 4-3, on a goal with 24 seconds left in regulation, in a game that also remains the only time in the last 10 seasons that the Irish have scored three goals and failed to win (111-1-0) … the previous ND player to win a game in the final minute of play was Michelle McCarthy, whose goal with 25 seconds left in OT (119:35) completed a wild comeback vs. William & Mary, 4-3 … Jody Hartwig’s goal in the 85th minute had forged a 2-2 tie for the Irish in that game but the Tribe scored first in OT (non-sudden death) before future All-American Rosella Guerrero answered with another tying goal … the only other Irish player to score a last-minute GWG was future All-American Ragen Coyne, vs. Wright State in the 1992 Midwest Conference championship game (89:24).

BAM! … BUCZKOWSKI DOES IT AGAIN – Sophomore M Jen Buczkowski did not register a gamewinning goal in the first 37 games of her ND career before delivering a pair of GWGs in the late moments of back-to-back wins at Georgetown (89:16; 2-1) and vs. #20 Boston College (79:06; 1-0) … three games later, she added her 3rd GWG in the 4-0 win at Michigan and then had the GWG in the BIG EAST semifinal vs. BC (2-0; giving her 4 GWGs in span of 5 wins) … Buczkowski also has surged to 2nd among BIG EAST players with 11 assists, trailing only her teammate Katie Thorlakson’s 23 (tops in the nation).

NET ZERO – Junior G Erika Bohn has surged to 1st in the nation with a 0.41 goals-against average, within range of the ND record of 0.36 set by LaKeysia Beene in ’97 … Bohn’s 0.70 career GAA is just shy of Jen Renola’s 0.69 for 3rd in ND history (also behind Liz Wagner’s 0.57 and Beene’s 0.62) … she had a 639-minute shutout streak snapped late in the BIG EAST title game vs. UConn (2-1 loss) but now has allowed just those 2 goals in her last 823 minutes of action (0.22 GAA in that span, dating back to the Oct. 10 game at Georgetown) … Bohn is 49-5-2 in her last 56 overall decisions with the Irish (since 3-2 loss to BYU on 10/19/02), allowing just 27 goals in that 56-game stretch (33 with 0 GA, 17 with 1 GA) … her 62 official starts at ND (in fall games) include 36 in which she has not allowed a goal, 16 with one goal allowed, 4 with two goals allowed and just 5 with three-plus goals (3-4 at Georgetown, 0-3 vs. West Virginia, 1-3 vs. Purdue and 2-3 vs. BYU in ’02, plus 2-3 vs. Michigan in ’03) … since the BYU game, Bohn has limited the opponent to 0-1 goals in 47 of her last 51 fall games (35 with 0 GA, 12 with 1 GA, 2-1 loss to BC, 3-2 loss to UM, 5-2 win over Santa Clara, 2-1 loss at UConn) … as a team, ND has risen to 4th on the GAA charts (0.52), behind Princeton (0.39), Stanford (0.43) and Penn State (0.47) … ND is the only team currently in the top-5 of the GAA leaders that also finished in the top-5 on that list in 2003 (5th, at 0.49) … the current GAA also ranks 4th in ND history, behind the 0.36 in ’97, 0.39 in ’00 and 0.49 in ’03 … Bohn now has logged nearly 5,500 minutes in her ND career (5,425).

DEPTH CHARGES – The 2004 season has been a unique one in many ways for Randy Waldrum’s squad, as the veteran Irish coach and his players have embraced a system of deeper substitution and rotating lineups … 19 different players have started for the Irish this season, including 17 who have logged at least five starts … ND often has elected to not start several top players on the second game of a weekend, instead bringing them off the bench for a “shock troops” effect that was made popular by legendary ND football coach Knute Rockne (he often would start his entire 2nd team, then bring in the top group later in the game).

The team’s top reserves in general situations have included a pair of freshmen – F/M Jannica Tjeder and M Ashley Jones – along with senior F/D Candace Chapman or sophomore F/M Lizzie Reed (Chapman and Reed have split time as a starting F in ’04) … Chapman starred as a right back with ND in ’01 and ’02 (when she was an All-American) and has shifted back to the defense at times this season (she also has been a standout flank M with the Canadian National Team) … others who have turned in strong efforts off the bench and as spot starters include senior outside back Kate Tulisiak, junior D/M Jenny Walz and sophomore defensive M Claire Gallerano.

FURIOUS FLURRIES – Notre Dame turned in a three-goal flurry in a five-minute stretch midway through the first half of the BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. St. John’s but the Irish then outdid themselves early in the second half, tacking on three more goals in a span of just 78 seconds to suddenly lead by a 6-0 margin.

SHANER SHINES AS MEMBER OF DOMINATING DEFENSE – Sophomore left back Christie Shaner, considered by coach Randy Waldrum to be ND’s “most consistent defender” in ’04, was named BIG EAST defensive player of the week after helping hold #20 Boston College to one shot on goal, in the 88th minute of that 1-0 win (Oct. 16) … Shaner, a 2nd team all-BIG EAST pick in ’03 and a 3rd teamer in ’04, is part of a veteran back line that also includes: 5th-year central back Melissa Tancredi (a 2003 All-American and one of 15 final candidates for the ’03 and ’04 Hermann Trophy), senior central back Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (a starter with the Icelandic National Team) and sophomore right back Kim Lorenzen.

Lorenzen’s all-around athleticism affords her the versatility to play any field position (she often shifts to a flank M role) and she has surged to 6th on the team in scoring (3G-4A, 10 pts), recently delivering a clutch GWG at West Virginia (3-1) and the late primary assist to beat Boston College, 1-0 (both teams were #20 at game time), plus 1G-1A in the BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. St. John’s and a goal in the NCAAs vs. EIU … Tancredi – the ’03 and ’04 BIG EAST defensive player of the year – is a starter with the Canadian National Team while Shaner is in the U.S. Under-21 National Team player pool.

The ’04 defense has allowed just 13 goals (0.52 GAA; 4th in nation), 141 total shots (5.6/gm), 64 shots on goal (2.6/gm) and 37 corner kicks (1.5/gm) with just five deficits (88 min.) … the four backline starters have combined for 241 career games played at ND (196 starts) … Tancredi (2,132; 85/gm) and Shaner (2,009/80) lead the ’04 team in minutes played while Lorenzen is 5th (1,809), with Gunnarsdottir logging 1,656 (dnp 3 gms/minor inj.).

CONSISTENCY BREEDS SUCCESS – Sixteen previous ND players (from the ’96 and ’99 teams) share the team record for games played in a season (26) but they soon could be joined by a whopping 11 current ND players who already have logged 25 GP in ’04 … those players include forwards Katie Thorlakson, Amanda Cinalli and Candace Chapman, midfielders Jen Buczkowski, Annie Schefter and Jill Krivacek, defenders Christie Shaner, Kim Lorenzen and Melissa Tancredi, and top offensive subs Ashley Jones and Lizzie Reed … Tancredi also is on the verge of becoming the 13th ND player to start 26 games in a season.

STRONG POSTSEASON – The 2004 Notre Dame team has compiled one of the most dominating postseason in the program’s history … ND’s +97 shot margin in the ’04 postseason (130-33) ranks 2nd only to the 1997 Irish squad (+157, 192-35) while the team’s +18 postseason scoring margin (21-3) ranks 3rd behind the ’97 (+31) and ’96 (+22) teams … the Irish also have featured 9 different goalscorers in the ’04 postseason (record is 10, in ’94, ’96, ’97) also have posted 5 shutouts (one shy of the record 6 in ’95) … when looking at just the NCAAs, the ’04 team owns the 2nd-best shot margin (+56, 74-18; behind +101/124-23 in `97) and 2nd-most shutouts (3, behind 4 in ’95) in the program’s single-season NCAA history.

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS – The ND defense has been particularly stingy in the 1st half the past four seasons, allowing just 26 goals in the 1st half of those 89 games (0.30/gm) … the 1st half in ’02 saw little scoring (12-10 ND edge), compared to a 40-7 first-half edge in ’03 (30-4 in ’04, while allowing just 61 first-half shots and 11 corner kicks) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the first (70-11) and second half (65-14) over the past two seasons … the ’04 ND squad owns a 30-4 season scoring edge in the 1st half, plus 262-61 in shots (avg. 10.5-2.4), 134-25 in shots on goal (5.4-1.0) and 72-11 in CKs (2.9-0.4) … in the NCAAs, the Irish 1st-half dominance now includes 4-0 in goals, 43-6 in shots, 24-3 in shots on goal and 16-1 in corners … ND has not allowed a 1st-half goal in the last 8 games and the only 1st-half goal by an ND opponent in the last 11 games came after a fluke short goal kick, in the Oct. 24 Seton Hall game).

OPENING-DAY RECORDS – Amanda Cinalli’s goal vs. Baylor made her the 4th freshman ever to score ND’s first goal of a season, with others including Margaret Jarc (’89; 4-1 vs. St. Joseph’s), Rosella Guerrero (’92; 3-4 vs. N.C. State) and current senior Mary Boland (’01; 2-1 vs. Penn State) … Cinalli became the 4th ND player to score the team’s first two goals in a season, joining Alison Lester (’91; 2-0 vs. Mercyhurst) and Guerrero (’92; 3-4 vs. N.C. St.; ’93, 12-0 vs. LaSalle) … Katie Thorlakson’s 2G-3A vs. Baylor tied the ND record for pts in a half (7) shared by Tasha Strawbridge (3G-1A vs. Valparaiso, ’90) and Monica Gerardo (3G-1A at Providence, ’98).

TULISIAK TAKES CHARGE – Senior D Kate Tulisiak played a reserve role her first two seasons and missed most of ’03 due to a back injury, but she picked an ideal time for the first point of her career after intercepting a pass and providing the endline cross as Amanda Cinalli scored in the 84th minute for the 1-0 win at UConn on Sept. 17 … she also helped hold UConn (1-0) and Syracuse (2-1) to 14 combined shots, 4 shots on goal and 3 corner kicks, en route to earning BIG EAST defensive player of the week.

CLUTCH CANADIAN – Sophomore F Katie Thorlakson (Langley, B.C.) picked key times for all four of her game-winning goals in ’03, with two vs. top-15 teams (#10 Santa Clara, #15 UConn), plus the OT goal vs. Villanova and the early strike at Rutgers (3-0) … she 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 5th-year 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 48-6-2 in their past 56 games.

HIT & MISS – Notre Dame has averaged 22 shots per game in ’04 but has met with mixed results when it comes to finding the net, averaging 8.0 shots per goal … here’s a look at the team’s five best and five worst shooting-pct. games of 2004 (see PDF):

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team has been forced to overcome injuries to some top players during the past five seasons, most notably in 2002, ’03 and ’04 (276 total games lost to injury in that 3-year span) … many of those players were sidelined for large chunks of the season or were lost at key postseason junctures … here’s a sampling of some of the more noteworthy injuries that the Irish have overcome in the past five seasons (see PDF):

GREAT STARTS – The ’03 season saw ND go unbeaten after 19 games for the 4th time in the program’s history while the ’04 team surpassed that feat with a 19-0-1 start … ’04 marked the 2nd time an ND team has won the first 15 games of the season (then 0-0 vs. Rutgers), one shy of the record-setting 16-0-0 start in ’00 … here’s a look at ND’s top season-opening streaks (see PDF):

GOING THE DISTANCE – Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last 17 overtime games (12-0-5), since the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … prior to the recent 0-0 game vs. Rutgers, the Irish played 18 straight non-OT games (longest since the ’97 and ’98 teams combined for 31 straight non-OT games) … after the opening ’99 loss to UNC, that Irish 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 quarterfinals (adv. on PKs) … the 2000 team had OT wins over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals (all 2-1) plus a 0-0 tie 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 had a 0-0 tie with Stanford (at SCU) and OT wins over Villanova (1-0) and Miami (2-1, BE quarter’s).

OT-TESTED … BUT RUSTY – Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last 17 overtime games (12-0-5) and is 12-1-5 overall in OT during the Randy Waldrum era but the Irish have played to overtime just once in their last 28 games (0-0 vs. Rutgers, on Oct. 22, 2004).

SHARING THE WORK IN OVERTIME – Notre Dame’s 12 overtime wins in the Waldrum era include goals from seven players (own goal vs. Stanford in ’00): Anne Makinen (vs. UConn, ’99), Amanda Guertin (ND record 4; vs. West Virginia in ’00, Michigan in ’01, Boston College in ’02, Miami in ’03 BIG EAST quarter’s), Meotis Erikson (vs. SCU in ’00 NCAA quarter’s), Kelly Tulisiak (vs. Indiana, ’01), Amy Warner (2; vs. Villanova in ’01, Rutgers in ’02), Mia Sarkesian (vs. WVU, ’01) and Katie Thorlakson (vs. Villanova, ’03).

MAGIC NUMBERS – The 3-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win for ND, with the Irish 212-3-1 all-time (.984) 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 116-1-0 since 10/6/95) … ND is 296-9-12 (.952) all-time when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals (102-3-5 since 9/9/99), 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 17-year history includes just 301 goals allowed in 391 games (0.77 GA per game) … the Irish have allowed more than one goal in only 73 all-time games (19%) and have yielded 3-plus goals in just 33 all-time games (8%; including two 6-goal games by the opponent, four 5-goal and six 4-goal) … 92% of ND’s all-time games have seen the Irish hold the opponent to 0-2 goals with a 313-26-15/.905 record in those games (ND is just 4-28-1 all-time when allowing 3-plus).

GOALS-A-PLENTY – Stretching from ’92-’04, the Irish have scored in 94.8% of their games (292 of 308) … since ’94, the Irish have scored in 254 of 267 (.951; three shutouts in NCAA title games) – with goals in 190 of 198 regular-season games (.960) over that 11-year stretch … ND saw its 31-game scoring streak (3rd-best in Irish history) end in ’02.

GOAL PATROL – Notre Dame players have combined for 21 multiple-goal games over 49 games in the past two seasons (compared to just five in all of ’02), by 10 different players … three different players – Amanda Cinalli, Katie Thorlakson and Candace Chapman – had two goals in the 2004 opener vs. Baylor, with Thorlakson adding 3G vs. Santa Clara, 2G vs. both UWGB and Michigan and then 4G vs. St. John’s while Maggie Manning had 2G at Texas Tech and Chapman added 2G vs. Seton Hall while Cinalli had 2G vs. Portland … current players who posted multiple-goal games in ’03 included: Manning vs. Hartford (2), Jen Buczkowski vs. Oklahoma, Thorlakson and Annie Schefter vs. Western Kentucky, Melissa Tancredi vs. North Texas and Thorlakson at Rutgers.

FRONTRUNNERS – Since a 3-2 loss to BYU (10/19/02), ND has trailed in just 10 of 53 games for 269:26 (5.6% of 4,829:29), going 46-5-2 in that 53-game stretch … 5 of ND’s 10 deficits in that span have been 11 minutes or shorter while only three teams have led the Irish more than 40 minutes over that 51-game stretch (Michigan for 60, Boston College for 83, Pittsburgh for 41).

CONFERENCE CALL – The win in the NCAA third-round game vs. UConn made Notre Dame +100 in the won/loss columns vs. BIG EAST teams, since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish are 110-10-3 (.907) in all games vs. BIG EAST teams over the past 10 seasons (’95-’04), including 87-7-2 in the regular season (.917), 21-2-0 in the BIG EAST tournament (.913) and 2-1-0 in the NCAAs … UConn (4) remains the only BIG EAST team to beat the Irish more than once since ’95 … the Irish are 59-1-1 in home games vs. BIG EAST teams, with the 0-0 tie v. Rutgers on Oct. 22 ending a string of 53 straight home wins over BIG EAST teams since a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95 (now 56-0-1 in last 57 BIG EAST home games, with a 254-18 scoring edge, 39 shutouts, 15 with 1 GA).

VS. THE FIELD – ND faced eight of the ’04 NCAA Tournament teams during the ’04 regular season and BIG EAST Tournament, going 9-1-0 – with wins over Eastern Illinois (3-0), Stanford (1-0), Santa Clara (5-2), at UConn (1-0), at West Virginia (3-1), at Villanova (1-0), vs. Boston College (1-0, 2-0 BET) and at Michigan (4-0), plus 2-1 BIG EAST final loss at UConn … ND’s top ’04 scorers in reg.-season games vs. teams from the NCAA field: junior F Katie Thorlakson (7G-7A, 21 pts, GWG, 10 GS) , sophomore M Jen Buczkowski (5G-3A, 13 pts, 3 GWG, 10 GS), senior F Candace Chapman (3G-2A, 8 pts, 10 GP/5 GS), freshman F Amanda Cinalli (2G-3A, 7 pts, 2 GWG, 10 GP/9 GS) … the Irish compiled a 22-5 scoring edge vs. the above NCAA Tournament teams (186-65 shot edge, 51-25 in corners) … 3 of Buczkowski’s 4 GWGs and half of her 26 pre-NCAA points came vs. NCAA Tournament teams.

WINNING TRADITIONS – Several ND players led their clubs and state Olympic Development teams to elite status before joining the Irish … five current sophomores helped their teams post top national finishes in ’03 and the current freshmen lived up to that standard … Ashley Jones completed the rare double of winning 2004 national titles with her California South state ODP team and Southern California United club … her classmate Kerri Hanks earlier won the Golden Boot Award as the tournament’s top scorer with the ’03 Dallas Texans national champs while Lauren Karas earned the Golden Glove with North Texas at ’04 ODP nationals (her team lost to Jones and Cal-South, 1-0) … Susan Pinnick led the Carmel (Ind.) Commotion to a runner-up finish at the 2003 USYSA under-17 nationals while Kelly Simon was a member of the St. Louis-based Busch Soccer Club that was the ’01 and ’02 national runner-up.

FRESHMAN CLASS #2 – Soccer Buzz ranked ND’s incoming class 2nd-best in the nation while Soccer America had the Irish 5th … the six signees for ’04 included highly-regarded forwards Amanda Cinalli (Maple Hts, Ohio), Kerri Hanks (Allen, Texas), Susan Pinnick (South Bend, Ind.) and Jannica Tjeder (Espoo, Finland), plus M Ashley Jones (Westlake Village, Calif.) and G Lauren Karas (Flower Mound, Texas) … Hanks is the leading scorer for the U.S. Under-19 National Team while Cinalli and Pinnick have been members of the U-17s (all three were prep All-Americans) … each of the five U.S. signees was a member of her respective ODP regional team … Karas was a member of the U-16 National Team pool while Jones helped lead her ODP squad and the Southern California United club to national titles … Tjeder is one of the top young players in Finland, playing for the u-17, u-19 and u-21 teams … ND’s ’04 roster is comprised of four top-ranked recruiting classes … ND joins UNC and Virginia as the only teams to have their recruiting classes in the SB top 15 from ’01-’04 (ND 14-9-5-2 from ’01-’04; UNC 2-1-6-3; UVa 1-3-11-12) … ND and UNC are the only teams to be in the SB top-15 classes every year since those rankings began in ’98 (ND 11-4-9 from ’98-’00; UNC 2-1-2) … SA has ranked top-10 classes since ’02, with ND and UNC the only teams in the SA top 10 every year from ’02-’04 (ND was 9-5-4 from ’02-’04; UNC 1-6-2) … ND and Texas (3rd in ’03 and ’04) are the only teams to attract SA top-5 classes each of the past two seasons … SB’s top-15 classes for ’04: Texas A&M, ND, UNC, Penn St., Texas, Clemson, Portland, Maryland, Ohio St., Cal, Villanova, UVa, Michigan, Illinois, Santa Clara … SA’s top-10: A&M, UNC, Texas, PSU, ND, Nebraska, OSU, Portland, Florida, Cal.

NATIONAL TEAMS – Three former ND players – D Kate Sobrero Markgraf, G LaKeysia Beene and defensive M Shannon Boxx – recently have been starters with the U.S. National Team, with Sobrero and Boxx starting for the ’03 World Cup (3rd place) and ’04 Olympic (gold) teams … nine current members of the ND program have been active with various national teams, including Candace Chapman and Melissa Tancredi (starters with Canada’s national team) and Chapman and Katie Thorlakson with Canada’s U-19 National Team … Annie Schefter, Mary Boland, Jen Buczkowski and Kerri Hanks have been starters with the U.S. U-19s while Gudrun Gunnarsdottir is a member of Iceland’s national team and Jannica Tjeder has been a regular with Finland’s U-17, -19 and -21 teams … former Irish D Monica Gonzalez is a founding member of Mexico’s women’s national team and captained Mexico in its historic appearance at the ’04 Olympics (former Irish F Monica Gerardo also was a founding member of the Mexican team).

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN – Four members of the ND women’s soccer team – plus senior F Mary Boland (broken leg in 4th game of ’04, out for season) – will not compete with the Irish in ’04 … freshman F Kerri Hanks – rated by Soccer America as the nation’s No. 4 signee and part of the No. 2-ranked freshman class (per Soccer Buzz, No. 4 class per SA) – is training with the U.S. for the U-19 World Championship (Nov. 10-27 in Thailand) and will enroll next spring … 5th-year M Randi Scheller (hip), freshman F Susan Pinnick (neck/back; summer club team van accident) and freshman M Kelly Simon (shoulder surgery) are out due to injuries … Pinnick, like classmates Hanks and Amanda Cinalli, was a prep All-American and played alongside Cinalli on the U.S. U-17s.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE – The quarterrfinal win over Portland gave Notre Dame its seventh unbeaten season at home (14-0-1) and first since the 2000 team went 15-0-0 at Alumni Field … others are ’91 (10-0-0), ’93 (8-0-0), ’94 (8-0-0), ’96 (14-0-0) and ’97 )11-0-1).

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES – Notre Dame owns a 166-14-3 all-time record (.915) at Alumni Field, including 48-10-1 vs. top-25 teams … 8 of ND’s last 10 home losses have been by a single goal … ND went unbeaten at home in the 2004 regular season (9-0-1), marking the 9th time in the 15-year history of Alumni Field that ND has not lost a regular-season home game (all but ’90, ’92, ’95, ’02, ’03) … the Irish have won nearly 92% of their all-time regular-season home games at Alumni Field (133-11-3, .915), including four seasons with one loss … in 10 of the last 11 seasons (all but ’03), the Irish have suffered 0-1 regular-season losses at home (97-7-3, .921 in that 11-year stretch) … ND has added five postseason home wins for a 14-0-1 home record that includes a 47-7 scoring edge (avg. 3.1-0.4), plus 357-61 in shots (24-4), 178-30 in shots on goal (12-2) and 99-21 in corner kicks (7-1).

Top scorers at Alumni Field in ’04 include junior F Katie Thorlakson (17G-17A, 51 pts, 3.4 ppg, 7 GWG), senior F Candace Chapman (9G-4A, 22 pts), sophomore M Jen Buczkowski (4G-8A, 16 pts, GWG) and junior M Annie Schefter (4G-6A, 14 pts, 2 GWG) … Thorlakson has totaled 24 points in her last six home games (8G-8A) and has totaled 69 points at Alumni Field over the past two seasons (24G-21A, 9 GWG in 31 GP) … Schefter has scored all 8 of her career goals (4 GWG) at home while Buczkowski has registered 8 of her 10 career goals and 30 of her 39 career points with the Irish in the confines of Alumni Field.