Nov. 14, 2002
2002 NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER GAMEDAY NOTES
vs. Ohio State – NCAA Tournament First Round (Nov. 15)
The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (11-7-0) – ranked 19th in this week’s NSCAA coaches’ poll – looks to rediscover its tradition of strong play in the NCAA Tournament, with a first-round game vs. Big Ten Tournament champion Ohio State (10-10-1) on Friday, Nov. 15 at Alumni Field (7:00 p.m.) … that game will follow another Midwestern matchup between #14 Purdue and Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Illinois, slated to start at 4:30 p.m. at Alumni Field … the winners then will meet in the second round on Sunday, Nov. 17 (1:00 p.m., Alumni Field) … the Irish had a strong finish to the regular season, going 4-1 with wins over nationally-ranked UConn (the nation’s No. 4 seed in the NCAAs) and Michigan (one of 16 host teams), with the loss coming 3-2 on a rare late-game PK by a surging BYU team (the Cougars also are an NCAA host team this weekend) … the Michigan game had completed a stretch of four straight games vs. top-20 teams … ND has endured a series of injuries (mostly to players in the defensive third) and additionally had to play vs. #20 Purdue without junior F/D Melissa Tancredi (5-yellow-card suspension).
WEBSITES: For detailed information on the other three teams competing at Alumni Field this weekend, please consult their official websites: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com, www.purduesports.com and http://www.eiu.edu/~sprtinfo.
LIVE STATS AND AUDIO: Live in-game statistics for all three games this weekend at Alumni Field will be available at www.und.com … internet audio broadcasts of any games involving Notre Dame this weekend also will be available at www.und.com (available to subscribers of the College Sports Pass, see website for details) while Purdue will be providing a similar service for their games at www.purduesports.com (subscribers can listen to both sites for the same fee).
ND SPORTS HOTLINE: For schedule and result information on all 26 Notre Dame varsity sports, call (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer results).
PROBABLE NOTRE DAME LINEUP
Pos. … Player (Yr.; hometown) … 2002 stats
F … #12 Amy Warner (Jr.; Albuquerque, NM) … 18 GS, 9G-6A (3 GWG) … hat trick vs. Georgetown
F … #6 Amanda Guertin (Jr.; Grapevine, TX) … 18 GS, 7G-10A (4 GWG) … 2 CK assists vs. Maryland, UConn and Syr.
F … #7 Katie Thorlakson (Fr.; Langley, BC) … 16 GP/15 GS, 3G-3A … member of Canada’s Under-19 National Team
AM … #3 Randi Scheller (Jr.; Kutztown, PA) … 18 GS, 7G-1A (2 GWG) … GWG on CK header vs. UConn
DM … #11 Ashley Dryer (Sr.; Salt Lake City, UT) … 13 GP/12 GS, 1A … missed 5-plus games due to injuries
DM … #10 Mary Boland (So.; Hudson, OH) … 16 GP/12 GS, 5G (GWG) … strong defensive games vs. UConn, BYU
LD … #8 Candace Chapman (So.; Ajax, ONT) … 16 GS, 3G-4A (GWG) … member of Canadian National Team
CD … #22 Cat Sigler (Fr.; Windsor, CA) … 18 GS, 1G … has started every game at central D
CD … #17 Melissa Tancredi (Jr.; Ancaster, ONT) … 15 GP/13 GS, 3G … all three goals on CK headers
RD … #25 Kim Carpenter (Jr.; Webster, NY) … 18 GP/17 GS, 1A … 1st-year starter, also has started at M
G … #0 Erika Bohn (Fr.; Brookfield, CT) … 17 GP/16 GS, 1.31 GAA, 46 SV, 20 GA … first ND freshman G since ’93
NOTRE DAME CAREER STATS (veterans)
Amanda Guertin (Jr., F) … 64 GP/60 GS, 33G-20A, 86 pts (14 GWG)
Amy Warner (Jr., F) … 57 GP/50 GS, 27G-11A, 65 pts (9 GWG)
Randi Scheller (Jr., M) … 63 GP/43 GS, 17G-15A, 49 pts (3 GWG)
Ashley Dryer (Sr., M) … 79 GP/64 GS, 3G-12A, 18 pts
Melissa Tancredi (Jr., F/D) … 31 GP/23 GS, 7G-4A, 18 pts (1 GWG; injured in ’00)
Candace Chapman (So., D) … 37 GP/36 GS, 5G-6A, 16 pts (3 GWG)
Mary Boland (So., F/D) … 26 GP/17 GS, 7G-2A, 16 pts (1 GWG)
Kim Carpenter (Jr., M) … 42 GP/17 GS, 2G-1A, 5 pts
Kate Tulisiak (So., D) … 16 GP/4 GS, 0G-0A
Lauren Kent (Jr., G) … 11 GP/2 GS, 407:21, 4 GA, 16 SV, 0.88 GAA, 1-1-0
INSIDE THE BRACKET: Should Notre Dame advance to the third round, the Irish would face the team that advances from the site at top-ranked Stanford (Denver, California and Cal Poly joining the Cardinal) … if the Irish advance to the quarterfinal round, they would face the team that emerges from games played at BYU (including #8 seed Portland) and Charlotte … the NCAA third round and quarterfinal games (Nov. 29-Dec.1) will be played on campus sites while the College Cup semifinals (Dec. 6) and final (Dec. 8) will be played at the University of Texas … the other top eight national seeds include North Carolina (2), Pepperdine (3) and BIG EAST teams UConn (4) and West Virginia (5), plus Santa Clara (6) and UCLA (7) … all four BIG EAST teams in the NCAAs are serving as host sites (also Villanova) … ND’s 2002 opponents included four of the top eight national seeds (UConn, WVU, SCU and Portland) plus four other teams that are serving as host teams (BYU, Maryland, Michigan and Villanova) and two others that qualified for the NCAAs (Hartford and Purdue) … the Irish posted a 4-6-0 record vs. those 10 teams that made the 64-team field, with wins over UConn, Maryland, Michigan and Hartford.
CHAPMAN ADDS ANOTHER HONOR: Notre Dame sophomore Candace Chapman was named the 2002 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year last week, during a time when she was starring with the full Canadian National team at the Gold Cup (the North and Central American qualifying tournament for the 2003 World Cup) … Chapman was one of 11 players named to Gold Cup all-tournament team (an honor she also received two months ago at the Under-19 World Championship) … considered one of the world’s top young players, Chapman started at right midfield and right outside back in the Gold Cup, with Canada losing to the U.S. in the final game (2-1 in overtime, played at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles) … that unique experience saw Chapman playing face-to-face with legendary U.S. stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Tiffeny Milbrett (Chapman is a leading contender to be on Canada’s 2003 World Cup roster).
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER – BY THE NUMBERS
87-3-1 – All-time record at Alumni Field vs. unranked opponents
54 – Combined games lost to injury by six of ND’s top players in 2002
45-1-1 – ND’s record vs. Big Ten teams since 1989
28-14 – ND’s second-half goalscoring edge in 2002 (plus 2-0 in OT)
25 – Minutes of play spanning ND’s five-goal flurry in 5-2 comeback at #25 Maryland
19 – Current NSCAA ranking
15 – Number of home states and provinces represented by players on ND’s 2002 roster
14 – Amanda Guertin’s career gamewinning goals (7th ND history)
13 – ND’s current unbeaten streak in overtime games (10-0-3)
12 – Ranked opponents (at some point in season) faced by the Irish in 2002
10 – Guertin’s goalscoring streak at the end of the 2001 season
10-10 – First-half goalscoring by ND and its opponents in 2002
7 – Corner-kick assists by Guertin in 2002
4.0 – Senior defender/chemical engineering major Vanessa Pruzinsky’s cumulative GPA
3 – Guertin’s career overtime goals (ND record)
2 – All-time home losses in postseason play (26 wins)
ALUMNI SUPPORT: Alumni Field and postseason success have gone hand-in-hand for the Notre Dame women’s soccer team, with the Irish owning a 26-2-0 record in all-time postseason games played at home (18-2-0 in the NCAAs) … ND’s all-time overall record at Alumni Field is 135-12-2 (.913), including 111-8-2 in the last 121 (5-6-0 in the last 11) … the Irish own a 43-5-1 record in their last 49 home games, with a 2-2 tie vs. Wisconsin and the 3-2 NCAA loss to Cincinnati (both in 2001) prior to the 2002 losses to SCU, Portland, Purdue and BYU … ND’s all-time record at Alumni Field vs. unranked opponents is 94-3-1 (.964), including 88-2-1 (.973) in the last 84 home games vs. unranked teams (since a 2-0 loss to Creighton in 1990) … ND’s other Alumni Field losses vs. unranked teams came vs. Cincinnati in the second round of the 2001 NCAAs (3-2) and in another 3-2 game vs. BYU earlier this season (the Cougars now are ranked 15th in the NSCAA poll) … the Irish played to a 2-2 tie vs. unranked Wisconsin in a 2001 game at Alumni Field.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Notre Dame has played in every NCAA Championship since 1993, including six trips to the College Cup semifinals in the last eight years, four title-game appearances (’94-’96, ’99) and the 1995 championship season … the Irish own an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 24-8-1 (.742, second-best in the NCAA record book), with four losses coming at the hands of North Carolina in championship 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 the 2001 second-round loss to Cincinnati (3-2) remain ND’s only postseason losses at home (26-2-0), including 18-2-0 in the NCAAs … the Irish claimed the 1995 NCAA title with a semifinal win over North Carolina (1-0) and a triple-OT win over Portland in the title game (1-0) … ND is 16-3-1 in its last 20 postseason games (48-14 scoring edge), 21-4-1 in the last 26 (61-15) … the Irish own an 18-2-0 all-time record at home during NCAA Tournament play.
SERIES NOTES: Notre Dame has won all four previous games versus Ohio State (18-1 scoring edge), including games played at Alumni Field in 1994 (3-0) and 1996 (7-0), plus a pair of games at OSU in 1994 (3-0) and 1995 (2-1, OT) … ND and Purdue met for the first time earlier this (a 3-1 Boilers win at Alumni Field) while the only ND-Eastern Illinois meeting came in the 2001 NCAAs (a 2-0 first-round win for the Irish) … that game was the NCAA tournament debut for EIU (OSU and Purdue will be making their NCAA debuts this week).
ND VS. THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame owns a 46-6-1 all-time record vs. teams from the Big Ten Conference (45-1-1 since 1989), with the only post-1989 blemishes coming in 2001 (2-2 vs. Wisconsin) and earlier this season (3-1 loss to Purdue) … ND’s all-time series records vs. the Big Ten break down as follows: Indiana (11-1-0), Wisconsin (10-1-1), Michigan (9-0-0), Michigan State (9-2-0), Ohio State (4-0-0), Northwestern (2-0-0), Penn State (1-0-0), Minnesota (0-1-0), Purdue (0-1-0), Illinois (0-0-0) and Iowa (0-0-0).
FAR AND WIDE: Notre Dame’s typical starting 11 (from 10 states/provinces) is representative of school’s national student body … the 21-player roster includes players from 12 states (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington), two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario) and Iceland.
HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM: The Irish are 72-15-3 (.817) in the four-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum, including a 61-12-3 mark in the last 76 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999) … that stretch also spans the career of ND’s only two seniors, midfielder Ashley Dryer and injured D Vanessa Pruzinsky … Waldrum – who repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 – in ’99 became the only coach in the 18-year history of the NCAA women’s soccer championship to lead a team to the title game in his first season as that team’s head coach … he was the fourth first-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi’s, with the Irish beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in their backyard of San Jose, Calif. … Waldrum’s 21-year record as a college head coach (with both men’s and women’s teams) is 255-120-22 (.670) … he owns a 179-64-15 (.723) record in 13 seasons as a Division I women’s coach, including 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa (.580) and 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor … Waldrum entered the 2002 season ranked sixth among active women’s coaches for career winning percentage (min. 10 Division I seasons).
PRIMETIME PLAYERS: Notre Dame is 22-7-1 during the past three seasons when facing a ranked team and/or playing in the postseason, with a 63-30 scoring edge in those 30 “big games” … junior F Amanda Guertin has racked up 41 points in those big games (16G-9A) … Guertin’s classmate Amy Warner owns 8G-3A vs. ranked or postseason opponents (she missed half of the 2000 season due to injury) … Guertin owns 17 points in 12 previous postseason games with the Irish (8G-1A), leaving her three points shy of cracking the ND list for career postseason points (two goals would tie her for 7th on that ND postseason list) … Guertin scored five goals in the 2001 postseason (tied for 3rd-best in ND history), including two GWGs (also 3rd, one shy of the record) … she opened the scoring in three of those 2001 postseason games, one shy of Jenny Streiffer’s ND record (4, in ’99) … Guertin’s two GWGs in NCAA tournament play rank behind only Monica Gerardo (4, ’95-’98) in the ND record book while her five GW points rank fourth (four behind Gerardo’s record) … Guertin’s goal vs. West Virginia in the 2001 BIG EAST final (2:33) is the 5th-quickest goal in ND postseason history (followed by her classmate Amy Warner’s goal at 2:43, two days earlier in the semifinals vs. BC) … junior M Randi Scheller owns seven career postseason assists (in 12 GP/5 GS), just three shy of 8th place in ND postseason scoring history … Scheller shares the Irish record for gamewinning assists in one postseason (2, in 2000) … Holly Manthei (6, ’94-’97) is the only ND player with more career GWAs in the NCAAs than Scheller (2), who also ranks 5th on the Irish list for most assists in one NCAA tournament (3, in ’01).
NOTRE DAME CAREER POSTSEASON STATS (BIG EAST Tournament & NCAAs)
Amanda Guertin … 12 GS, 41 shots, 8G-1A (17 pts), 4 GWG … NCAAs: 6 GS, 3G-1A, 2 GWG
Amy Warner … 12 GP/6 GS, 20 shots, 3G (6 pts), 2 GWG … NCAAs: 6 GP/2 GS, 1G
Randi Scheller … 12 GP/5 GS, 10 shots, 1G-7A (9 pts), 1 GWG … NCAAs: 6 GP/2 GS, 4A
Ashley Dryer … 19 GP/18 GS, 24 shots, 1G-1A (3 pts) … NCAAs: 10 GS, 1G-1A
Melissa Tancredi … 4 GP/1 GS, 4 shots, 1G-1A (3 pts) … NCAAs: 2 GP/1 GS
Kim Carpenter … 6 GP, 2 shots … NCAAs: 2 GP
Candace Chapman … 5 GP/4 GS, 1 shot … NCAAs: 2 GP/1 GS
Mary Boland … 2 GP, 2 shots … NCAAs: 2 GP
Kate Tulisiak … 1 GP … NCAAs: 1 GP
Lauren Kent … 1 SV, 0 GA in 2 GP (35:08) … has yet to play in NCAAs
OHIO CONNECTIONS: One of OSU’s leading scorers, freshman F Colleen Hoban, was a high school teammate of ND sophomore D Kate Tulisiak at Walsh Jesuit High School … Hoban, Tulisiak and Irish sophomore M Mary Boland also were club teammates on the Ohio Internationals.
SCORING STREAKS: Notre Dame – which has not been shut out in its last 12 postseason games, since the 1-0 loss to UNC in the 1999 NCAA title game – carried a 31-game scoring streak into this season’s Sept. 6 Santa Clara game (third-best in ND history, behind a 55-game streak from 1997-99 and a 36-game streak from ’95-’96), with the streak ending in a 4-0 loss to SCU (followed by a 1-0 loss to Portland and the recent 3-0 loss at WVU) … the previous time that the Irish had failed to score was the 0-0 tie at UConn (10/22/00) … since 1994, ND has scored in 158 of 164 (.963) regular-season games (0-0 tie vs. UNC in ’94, 2-0 loss to UNC in ’95) and 49 of 52 postseason games (three shutout losses to UNC in NCAA title games).
BOLAND NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Notre Dame sophomore Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) has been named to the Verizon Academic All-District V team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America … with her selection to the 11-player team, Boland now qualifies for the 2002 women’s soccer Academic All-America ballot (that team will be announced in late November) … Boland – a psychology major who entered the 2002 fall semester with a 3.85 cumulative GPA – is a versatile player who formally was named to the All-Academic team as a defender (she earlier made starts at forward and currently is starting in the defensive midfield, after also playing at left back) …. one of just two sophomores named to the Academic All-District V team, Boland heads into the NCAAs as ND’s fourth-leading goalscorer (5G-0A). Her 2002 season highlights include a diving header to beat Seton Hall (1-0) and key defensive play in wins over Rutgers (1-0) and then-#8 UConn (3-1) … the ND women’s soccer team produced nine Academic All-American selections from 1995-2001, including two in both 2000 and ’01. Current senior defender Vanessa Pruzinsky – who became just the second Notre Dame student-athlete ever named a first team Academic All-American as a sophomore and a junior – was not eligible for consideration this year due to her season-ending ankle injury (she owns a 4.0 GPA as a chemical engineering major).
ND-OSU POSTSEASON HISTORY: Although Notre Dame and Ohio State never have met in NCAA tournament women’s soccer action, the Irish and Buckeyes have met in head-to-head NCAA tournament action in several other sports during recent years … OSU has posted a pair of wins over Notre Dame in NCAA women’s volleyball matches (3-2 at ND in the 1996 second round and 3-1 in the 1998 first round, at Stanford) … the ND women’s lacrosse team won its first-ever NCAA tournament game in an 11-7 victory over Ohio State last spring … the 2002 Irish baseball team also posted a pair of wins over OSU (8-6, 9-6) en route to winning the NCAA South Bend Regional and advancing all the way to the College World Series.
SECOND SEASON GIVES NEW LIFE: Notre Dame tied for fourth in the BIG EAST Conference Mid-Atlantic Division standings (3-3-0) but did not advance to the BIG EAST Tournament based on the head-to-head tiebreaker versus Georgetown (a last-minute goal gave the Hoyas a 4-3 win) … the Irish had a 7-3-0 overall BIG EAST record when including cross-divisional games (which do not factor into determining BIG EAST Tournament bids), highlighted by a 3-1 win over eventual champion Connecticut and a 1-0 win at Boston College (the No. 3 seed in the Northeast Division) … ND’s challenging 18-game regular-season schedule included 10 opponents that made the NCAA field, led by four of the national top-eight seeds: No. 4 seed UConn, 5th-seeded West Virginia, No. 6 seed Santa Clara and 8th-seeded Portland … the Irish faced four other teams that are among the 16 first/second-round NCAA hosts: BYU, Maryland, Michigan and Villanova – while two other 2002 Irish opponents (Purdue and Hartford) also qualified for the 64-team field … ND’s 2002 opponents combined to win nearly 65 percent of their games (213-124-23) and only four of the 18 opponents had losing records … four Irish opponents – BYU (Mountain West), Santa Clara (WCC, tied), Hartford (America East) and UConn (BIG EAST) – won their conference titles (the Irish posted wins over the Hawks and Huskies) while WVU played in the BIG EAST title game … four others reached their conference tournament semifinals: Villanova and Rutgers in the BIG EAST, Purdue in the Big Ten (failed to advance on PKs) and Maryland in the ACC (lost to champ UNC).
CHAPMAN NAMED BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Notre Dame sophomore Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ontario) has been named the 2002 BIG EAST Conference women’s soccer defensive player of the year … Chapman – who just returned from playing with the Canadian National Team at the Gold Cup, as a starting outside midfielder/defender – follows former ND greats Kate Sobrero (’97) and Jen Grubb (’98, ’99) as the third Irish player ever named BIG EAST defensive player of the year (since ’95) … she is ND’s youngest player (by class) ever to receive any player-of-the-year honor from the BIG EAST … Chapman has made starts in 2002 at right, left and one of the central back spots (plus midfield and forward) as the Irish have juggled their lineup in the wake of injuries that sidelined starting defenders Vanessa Pruzinsky and Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, plus highly-touted freshman Annie Schefter (a probable starter in the back) … after missing the first two games of 2002 while playing at the Under-19 World Championship, Chapman started the final 16 games of the regular season while totaling three goals and five assists and earning defensive MVP honors at the Notre Dame Classic and the Maryland Classic … her goal after shifting to the midfield sparked a 5-2 comeback at #25 Maryland while she also scored versus Pittsburgh (in her first college start at forward), added an assist in the 3-1 win over #9 Connecticut and scored versus BYU.
WARNER REPEATS AS BIG EAST FIRST TEAMER: Junior forward Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) joined teammate Candace Chapman on the 2002 first team all-BIG EAST squad … Warner – who also was named first team all-BIG EAST as a freshman (2000) – leads Notre Dame in goals (9) while sharing the team points lead (24) with classmate Amanda Guertin … her three gamewinning goals included clutch scores versus Hartford (2-1) and Rutgers (1-0, double-OT) while she also netted her second career hat trick in the 4-3 loss at Georgetown … Warner’s six assists include the pass that set up Guertin’s overtime goal at Boston College (1-0) … she and Chapman are the ninth and 10th ND players ever named first team all-BIG EAST in multiple seasons, with Warner joining two-time honorees Jenny Heft (’98, ’99) and Jenny Streiffer (’96, ’99) as the only forwards among those nine repeaters.
SCHELLER, SIGLER ROUND OUT BIG EAST HONOREES: Junior M Randi Scheller (Kutztown, Pa.) was named second team all-BIG EAST while freshman D Cat Sigler (Windsor, Calif.) was named to the 2002 BIG EAST all-rookie team … Scheller – who joined Warner, Sigler and Guertin as the only Irish players to start all 18 games – is tied with Guertin as the team’s second-leading goalscorer (7), plus one assist … after splitting time during 2002 in the offensive and defensive midfielder roles, Scheller’s season highlights include the gametying goal vs. Hartford, the final goal vs. Maryland, the gamewinner vs. UConn and a two-goal game vs. Syracuse … Sigler started all season at one of the central back spots, combining with Chapman and the other defensive players to post eight shutouts and a 1.32 goals-against average. She headed in a Guertin corner kick for an early score in the 4-0 win over Pittsburgh.
BIG EAST HONOR NOTES: A total of 17 Notre Dame players have combined for 31 first team all-BIG EAST honors since 1995, with that group including six defenders combining for 11 first-team awards, three midfielders (nine awards), five forwards (eight awards) and three goalkeepers … Candace Chapman in 2001 joined Amy Warner (2000) as two of seven all-time ND players to earn first team all-BIG EAST honors as a freshman, with Chapman and Jen Grubb (’96) ranking as the only Irish defenders to be BIG EAST first-teamers as a rookie … the others include M Anne Makinen (’97) and Fs Monica Gerardo (’95), Jenny Streiffer (’96) and Meotis Erikson (’97).
GAINING EXPERIENCE: One of the keys to Notre Dame’s 2002 postseason success could be how the Irish hold up in the defensive third, where the five defenders and freshman G Erika Bohn have combined to make just 110 starts on the collegiate level, with 145 games played … some of those 110 starts have come at different positions, for junior right back Kim Carpenter, sophomore left back Candace Chapman and junior central back Melissa Tancredi (Chapman did not play defense until starting her college career while Tancredi made the shift to defense last month, due to three season-ending injuries in the back) … Chapman is the only defensive starter who has started a postseason game for the Irish in the defensive third (4, in 2001) … the OSU game will mark the first time that the Irish have started a goalkeeper with no college postseason experience since Jen Renola in the 1993 MCC Tournament (Bohn, or junior Lauren Kent will be the first G to make her NCAA debut without any conference tournament warmup games) … the 2001 defensive starters headed into the 2001 NCAAs with 334 career games played and 246 starts among the five players.
STRONG DOWN THE STRETCH: Dating back to 1990, Notre Dame has won its last 26 games that were played during the final week of the regular season, with a 132-15 scoring edge in those final-week games (26-3-0 all-time record in final regular-season week, since ’88) … those wins include six in the Randy Waldrum era: 9-2 at Wisconsin and 4-1 at Indiana (both in 1999), 5-1 at Michigan in 2000, 2-1 vs. the Wolverines in ’01 and the 2002 wins over Syracuse (6-0) and at BC (1-0, OT).
LINEUP STABILIZES: Despite an onslaught of injuries, the Irish have fielded a strong lineup in the last five games (4-1 record) … junior Melissa Tancredi has moved from F to central D, dominating in the air (she won all 18 heading duels vs. UConn and scored on a CK header) to go along with her physical play and strong tacking … freshman Katie Thorlakson has moved up to F (scoring her first goals vs. UConn, BYU and Syracuse), senior M Ashley Dryer has returned from her seven-game injury layoff and sophomore Mary Boland has shifted up to defensive M, shutting down UConn playmaker Sarah Popper and BYU All-American Aleisha Cramer-Rose … sophomore Candace Chapman – who started at midfield and forward in recent weeks – has returned to D (left back), with junior M Kim Carpenter at right back … ND’s other starters have been at their respective spots all season: junior Fs Amanda Guertin and Amy Warner, junior M Randi Scheller and freshman central D Cat Sigler (each has started all 18 games) – plus freshman G Erika Bohn (16 GS).
KEY PIECE OF PUZZLE: The return of senior M Ashley Dryer to the lineup sparked the Irish to the 3-1 win over #8 UConn (Oct. 13) … in the previous seven games (when Dryer was sidelined with knee and ankle injuries), ND had totaled just 12 goals while allowing 12 by the opposition (three games in which the opponents scored 3-plus goals) … in the five games since Dryer’s return, ND has owned a 13-4 scoring edge and 92-40 shot edge (43-21 in shots on goal, 30-13 in corner kicks).
LIGHTING THE SPARK: Freshman F/M Katie Thorlakson – a key part of Canada’s attack in the Under-19 World Championship – could be due for an offensive breakthrough, after scoring to tie the game in the 3-1 comeback vs. #8 UConn (her first goal with the Irish, to go along with 2A), adding the goal that forged a 1-1 tie vs. BYU (3-2 loss) and posting 1G-1A in the 6-0 win over Syracuse (she had 3G-1A in the season-ending run of four wins in five games).
‘TIS BETTER TO GIVE?: Despite a dropoff in goal production (26 over first two seasons, 7 in 2002), junior Amanda Guertin continues to emerge as a dangerous playmaker due to her pinpoint corner kicks and effectiveness on other set plays … Guertin has one-third of ND’s assists in 2002 (10 of 30), matching her combined total in 2000 and ’01 … seven of Guertin’s assists in ’02 have come via the CK – two each in comeback wins over #25 Maryland (5-2, to classmate Melissa Tancredi on 2nd and 4th goals) and #8 UConn (3-1, to junior M Randi Scheller and Tancredi after 1-1 tie) and two more in the 6-0 win over Syracuse (to Scheller and sophomore M Mary Boland), plus the kick that produced freshman D Cat Sigler’s goal for 3-0 lead vs. Pittsburgh (5-0) … another Guertin set play (a free kick that clanged off the left post) set up Candace Chapman’s goal that opened the scoring vs. BYU (3-2 loss).
VETERAN LEADERS: Notre Dame’s starting forwards and midfielders include four battle-tested veterans (one senior and three juniors) who have combined for 263 games played, 217 starts, 82 goals and 60 assists … juniors Amy Warner (57 GP/50 GS, 29G-11A, 9 GWG) and Amanda Guertin (64 GP/60 GS, 33G-20A, 14 GWG) – a.k.a. “fire and ice” – have the makings of becoming one of ND’s top all-time forward classmates while junior Randi Scheller (63 GP/43 GS, 17G-15A) and senior Ashley Dryer (79 GP/64 GS, 3G-12A) provide experience in the midfield.
SCHEDULE STRENGTH: ND has faced seven opponents ranked in the NSCAA top-25 at game time (five others ranked at other times) … three previous ND teams faced seven top-25 teams in the regular season: the ’92, ’94 and ’95 teams (in the 14th game) and the 2000 team (16th game) … ND’s opponents ranked at game time have included: Santa Clara, Portland, Maryland, WVU, Purdue, UConn and Michigan … five others – Hartford, Rutgers, Villanova, BYU and BC – have were ranked at times in 2002 … ND is 6-6-0 vs. teams that have been ranked at some point in 2002.
PLAYING THE BEST: ND has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, with a 21-9-2 record vs. ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn St., 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. WVU, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan … the Irish own 2002 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1) and #13 Michigan (1-0), with losses to ranked teams Santa Clara (0-4), Portland (0-1), WVU (0-3) and Purdue (1-3) … over the course of the 2001 and ’02 seasons, ND owns an 8-5-0 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (18-5-1 vs. unranked teams).
PRUZINSKY, GUNNARSDOTTIR LIKELY OUT FOR SEASON: ND’s top defenders – senior captain Vanessa Pruzinsky (Trumbull, Conn.) and sophomore Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Seltjarnames, Iceland) – likely will miss the rest of the 2002 season … Pruzinsky – the BIG EAST preseason defensive player of the year, after starting 72 of ND’s 73 games in her first three seasons – has been slowed by a nagging ankle injury, playing just the first 50 minutes of the Sept. 6 Santa Clara game and 60 minutes in the lategoing of the Sept. 20 Rutgers game (ND did not allow a goal in either stretch) … Gunnarsdottir – the BIG EAST defensive player of the week after opening wins over Providence and Virginia Tech – missed six games with a foot injury (Sept. 13-29), played sparingly vs. Pitt. and started vs. WVU and Purdue, before being sidelined in the late moments of the Purdue game (she had surgery on Oct. 10 to repair ligament damage in her right ankle) … Pruzinsky (4.0 GPA, as chemical engineering major) may have the option to apply for a fifth year of eligibility.
DEFENSIVE CHALLENGES: ND entered 2002 looking to replace three of five starters from the defensive third adding further frustration to a string of injuries to the defense … in addition to the above season-ending injuries to Vanessa Pruzinsky and Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, the Irish have played all season without highly-touted freshman Annie Schefter – a likely starter at left back who was a starter with the U.S. Under-19 National Team and was rated by Soccer America as the No. 11 incoming freshman … Ashley Dryer – one of the nation’s premier defensive midfielders – missed five games and parts of two others, due to nagging knee and ankle injuries … ND’s many options in the back have included junior F Melissa Tancredi, who suffered a leg injury late in the June 27 Villanova game (sidelining her for the Georgetown game; she also dnp vs. Purdue due to a 5-yellow-card suspension ) … other options have included versatile sophomore Mary Boland (two games missed) and junior Kim Carpenter, who has shifted back from midfield … sophomore Candace Chapman has started at outside and central back (also M and F), after returning from the Under-19 World Championship.
INJURY TOLL REACHES 54 GAMES: An assortment of injuries and illnesses have forced six of the team’s top-13 players to miss a combined 51 games (not including partial games missed, or misses due to Under-19 World Championship) … the games missed include 16 by senior D Vanessa Pruzinsky, five by senior M Ashley Dryer and two by sophomore D/F Mary Boland – plus freshman D/M Annie Schefter (18, season-ending ACL injury), sophomore D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (11, including last 5) and junior F/D Melissa Tancredi (2) … Pruzinsky, Gunnarsdottir and Schefter are expected to miss the rest of the season.
FIRST-HALF FORTRESS: Notre Dame did not allow a 1st-half goal in its first nine games, with the next five games producing eight 1st-half goals by the opposition (2 by Georgetown and WVU, 3 by Purdue, 1 by UConn) … ND (10) and its opponents (10) have combined for just 20 1st-half goals, compared to more than twice as many (42) in the 2nd half (28 by ND, 14 by the opponents) … the Irish also have allowed opponents an average of just 4.0 shots and 1.7 corner kicks in the first half this season … in the last nine games, ND has been outscored 10-8 in the 1st half but owns a 13-4 edge in the 2nd half … the Irish also were stingy in the first half during the 2001 season (with seven 1st-half GA in 20 games).
MIDWEST MACHINE: ND’s dominance within the Midwest part of the country includes a recent 43-game winning streak versus Big Ten Conference teams (that ended in the 2-2 game vs. Wisconsin in 2002) – dating back to a 3-0 loss to Michigan State on Sept. 22, 1989 (the Irish are 44-1-1 in their last 46 games vs. BIG Ten teams, with the 3-1 loss to Purdue earlier this season) … since the 1989 loss to MSU, the Irish are 116-5-6 overall (.937) vs. Midwest teams, including 2001 wins over Penn State (2-1), Nebraska (1-0 and Michigan (2-1, OT) and this season’s win over the Wolverines (1-0) … the winning streak vs. Big Ten opponents included 11 wins vs. Indiana, 10 vs. Wisconsin, nine vs. MSU, seven vs. Michigan, four vs. Ohio State and one each vs. Northwestern and Penn State … the 2001 season-opening visit by 8th-ranked Penn State marked the biggest threat to that streak (in terms of opponent ranking) since then-No. 8 Wisconsin dropped a 2-0 game to ND in ’94.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last 13 overtime games (10-0-3), dating back to the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … that team went on to post a 2-1, double-OT win at UConn and played to a 1-1 tie at Nebraska in the NCAA quarterfinals (advanced on PKs) … the 2000 team had three OT wins – over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals (all 2-1), also playing to a scoreless tie at UConn … the ’01 season featured an unprecedented five OT games, with 2-1 wins vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan and a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin … the OT streak continued in 2002, with the 1-0 wins over Rutgers and at Boston College.
OT MASTER: Junior Amanda Guertin holds the ND record for career OT goals (3), with her classmate Amy Warner and ’96 national player of the year Cindy Daws ranking second with two OT goals (including Daws’ goal vs. Portland in the ’95 NCAA title game) … 11 other former ND players scored one OT goal … Guertin holds the ND record for OT points (8; 4G-2A; see quality and quantity note), followed by Warner (6; 2G-4A) and Daws (5G; 2G-3A) … Guertin’s other OT goals came at West Virginia in 2000 and at home vs. WVU in 2001 (both 2-1) … in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20 vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT vs. Villanova (’01) and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak’s OT goal in the ’01 win over Indiana (both 2-1) … she also had the cross that produced an OT own-goal to beat Stanford in 2000 and assisted on Guertin’s OT goal in the 2002 regular-season finale at BC (1-0), thus playing a key role in five of ND’s last nine OT goals (Guertin has scored or assisted on five of the last eight).
HAT TRICKERY: Amy Warner’s three-goal effort at Georgetown (Sept. 29) made her the 13th ND player ever to post multiple hat tricks in her career (also vs. Providence on Sept. 3, 2000 – the earliest hat trick ever posted by an ND freshman) … 10 previous ND players have totaled three-plus hat tricks, led by Jenny Heft’s six (’96-’99), five each from Rosella Guerrero (’92-’95) and Monica Gerardo (’95-’98) and four by Michelle McCarthy (’92-’95).
PRIME-TIME FLURRY: ND’s outburst in the 5-2 win at #25 Maryland (all the Irish goals came in the final 25 minutes) is the most goals ever scored by the Irish vs. an NSCAA top-25 opponent on its home field … it matched the 6th-highest goalscoring day for the Irish in any game vs. a top-25 foe (2nd-most since ’97) and tied ND’s 2nd-highest goal output in a regular-season game vs. a top-25 team … ND’s top scoring games vs. top-25 teams include ’97 postseason wins over UConn (6-1, BIG EAST title game), Nebraska (6-0, NCAA 2nd rd) and UCLA (8-0, NCAA quarterfinal), 8-1 vs. Indiana in ’96 NCAA 1st rd and 6-1 vs. Santa Clara in 2000.
DRYER DOES IT AGAIN: Lost amidst the 4-0 loss to SCU was another stellar defensive effort from senior M Ashley Dryer (Salt Lake City, Utah) … Dryer essentially neutralized SCU’s star midfielder Aly Wagner (she did not factor into any goals), later was named to the Maryland Classic all-tournament team (lead role in midfield battle, while fighting off illness), and then combined with sophomore Mary Boland to hold Rutgers All-American Carli Lloyd (one shot) in check during a 1-0 OT win … in the 2001 BIG EAST Tournament, Dryer shut down BIG EAST midfielder of the year Sarah Rahko (B.C.) in the semifinals before holding another top M (Lisa Stoia) in check to help beat WVU in the title game.
GETTING THE GWGs: Junior Amanda Guertin (Grapevine, Texas) continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (33G-20A, in 64 GP) – with her 14 gamewinning goals ranking 7th on the ND all-time list (one behind 2000 grad. Jenny Streiffer) … seven of Guertin’s GWGs have come in one-goal games, including three in OT (an ND record) … nearly half of Guertin’s career goals (14 of 33, or 40.6%) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the others on the GWG list:
Name (pos., years) … GWG/Gls (Pct. GWGs)
1. Jenny Heft (F, 1996-99) … 19/80 (23.8%)
2. Michelle McCarthy (F, 1992-95) … 18/59 (30.5%)
3. Rosella Guerrero (F, 1992-95) … 16/55 (29.1%)
Monica Gerardo (F, 1995-98) … 16/73 (21.9%)
Anne Makinen (M, 1997-2000) … 16/65 (24.6%)
6. Jenny Streiffer (F, 1996-99) … 15/70 (21.4%)
7. Amanda Guertin (F, 2000- ) … 14/33 (42.4%)
8. Meotis Erikson (F, 1997-2000) … 13/59 (22.0%)
9. Amy Warner (F, 2000) … 9/27 (33.3%)
QUALITY & QUANTITY: Amanda Guertin’s gamewinning goals have come with both frequency and in countless clutch situations … here’s a look at some of the top moments in her career:
* Unassisted goal in OT to hold off upstart West Virginia and maintain #1 ranking (2-1, 2000)
* GWG vs. Boston College (2-1) to end ND’s only deficit of 2000 (prior to NCAA semifinals)
* GWG in 2000 NCAA second-round win over Michigan (3-1)
* Pass that initiated Meotis Erikson’s OT goal vs. #4 Santa Clara (2-1), sending ND to 2000 NCAA College Cup semifinals
* GWG vs. #8 Penn State in 2001 Key Bank Classic (2-1)
* Direct score via corner kick for GWG vs. Georgetown (2-1, 2001)
* Flick pass as part of set play for only scoring in 1-0 win over #3 Nebraska (2001)
* Free-kick cross that led to double-header goal, beating #19 WVU in another OT game (2-11, 2001)
* Scored both goals in 2001 win at Yale (2-0), then cashed in a shanked clearance to beat Michigan in OT (2-1, 2001)
* Scored again directly on corner kick to open scoring vs. St. John’s in 2001 BIG EAST quarterfinal (2-0)
* Set up Amy Warner rebound goal, then scored for 2-0 lead in 3-0 win over BC (2001 BIG EAST semi’s)
* Scored and provided corner kick that led to late GWG vs. WVU in 2001 BIG EAST title game (2-1)
* Netted both goals in 2001 NCAA first-round win over Eastern Illinois (2-0)
* Provided pair of corner-kick assists and scored GWG in 5-2 comeback at #25 Maryland (2002)
* Duplicated that effort with two more corner-kick assists in final two goals of 3-1 comeback vs. #8 UConn (’02)
* Cashed in GWG in 59th minute for 1-0 win at #13 Michigan (’02), her third career GWG vs. the Wolverines
* Set ND record by scoring third OT goal of her career, in 1-0 game at Boston College to close 2002 regular season
GERTY’S GOALS: Junior F Amanda Guertin scored a goal in each of the final 10 games of 2001 – good for the third-longest goalscoring streak in Division I women’s soccer history (Brandi Chastain had a 15-game streak for Santa Clara in 1990, Hartford’s Maria Kun compiling an 11-game streak in ’97) … Guertin scored in six of seven games during the 2002 spring season and has scored in 2002 games vs. Virginia Tech, Maryland, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Michigan and Boston College.
CONFERENCE CALL: ND’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 86-7-2 (.916), including 67-7-2 (.895) in BIG EAST games (since ’95) … the Irish own a 48-1 record in all-time home games vs. BIG EAST teams, with 44 straight home wins vs. BIG EAST teams (5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95) … the 44-game home win streak vs. BIG EAST teams includes a 225-16 scoring edge, 30 shutouts and 13 games with 1 GA (4-3 vs. UConn) … since joining the BIG EAST in ’95, ND’s all-time record in vs. BIG EAST teams (1-1-0 vs. UConn in NCAAs) is 86-8-2 (.906).
ROAD REVERSAL: The 1-0 win at #13 Michigan ended ND’s three-game losing streak on the opponent’s field (now 7-5 in the last 12, after win at BC), with the losses coming at recent Villanova (1-2), Georgetown (3-4) and current WVU (0-3).
RESULT NOTES: With the 5-0 win at Providence, ND now is 13-2-0 in all-time season openers (9-1-0 in last 10; 3-2 OT loss to UNC in ’99) … the 4-0 loss to Santa Clara represented ND’s largest margin of defeat ever at home (the Irish had not been shut out at home since ’92) … ND suffered consecutive shutout losses (0-1 vs. Portland) for the first time since ’89 … following the 5-2 win at Maryland, the Irish have not lost to an ACC team other than UNC since a 2-1 loss to Duke on Sept. 25, 1992 (8-0-1 vs. ACC teams, other than UNC, since that game) … Purdue (3-1) and BYU (3-2) became just the second and third teams since 1993 to beat the Irish in their first visit to Alumni Field (31-3-1 in that stretch).
TOURNEY HONORS: Sophomore D Candace Chapman (Ajax, Ontario) was named defensive MVP of the ND Classic (Sept. 6-8) and the Maryland Fila Classic … Chapman – who made plays all over the field in the ND Classic battles with Santa Clara and Portland – opened the UP game at central defense, with strong marking of her Canadian national teammate Christine Sinclair (before shifting to right back) … she played both positions vs. Hartford and started centrally vs. #25 Maryland, before shifting to midfield and sparking the 5-2 comeback by scoring the first ND goal (she cleared a 1st-half shot off the goalline). … junior F Melissa Tancredi (Ancaster, Ontario) was named the tournament’s offensive MVP … Tancredi was an emergency starter at central D in the Hartford game and was hampered by a nagging Achilles injury (she came off the bench vs. Maryland) … Tancredi’s hustle and physical presence changed the tenor of the Maryland game, with her headers providing the tying and 4-2 goals … ND’s all-tournament selections at the Fila Classic included junior F Amy Warner (GWG goal vs. Hartford, rebound shot to set up GWG vs. Maryland, unofficial assist on last ND goal), senior M Ashley Dryer – who turned in a gutsy effort while battling illness – and freshman G Erika Bohn, who registered a variety of big plays including a breakaway stop with the Hartford game tied and a lunging tip over the crossbar with the Irish trailing the Terps, 2-1 in the 75th minute.
BIG EAST HONORS: Three ND players were honored by the BIG EAST for midseason roles in wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall … junior F Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) was named BIG EAST offensive player of the week, sophomore Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) defensive player of the week and freshman Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) goalkeeper of the week … Warner’s goal ended the RU game with 9:17 left in the second OT (she ran onto a thru-ball from Maggie Manning and arched a crossing shot into the upper left corner) … two days later, Warner’s leftside cross initiated a double-header sequence, with Boland scoring on the diving header vs. SHU … Boland started at left back, limiting RU and SHU to a total of seven shots on net, and shifted to midfield in the 2nd half of the RU game, filling in for injured defensive M Ashley Dryer … Boland picked up where Dryer left off, as the Irish limited RU’s top player Carli Lloyd to one shot for the game … Bohn – the first freshman to start in the nets for the Irish since Jen Renola in ’93 – made six saves and stopped several other RU scoring chances before helping foil several potential chances vs. SHU … Boland’s classmate Gudrun Gunnarsdottir was BIG EAST defensive player of the week after the opening wins over Providence (3-0) and Virginia Tech (5-0).
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RETURN: Notre Dame welcomed back two players who competed in the Under-19 World Championship, held during late August in three Canadian cities … the exciting tournament was capped by a 1-0 OT U.S. win over Canada in the title game, with 47,000 fans in attendance at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium … Portland’s Christine Sinclair earned the “golden boot” award as the tournament’s top scorer (10 G) and formed a potent offensive tandem with ND freshman Katie Thorlakson (who played mostly as an attacking M) … ND sophomore Candace Chapman also was a starter with Canada, playing mostly right back while also shifting to central midfield … Irish freshman M Annie Schefter was on track to be a starter for the U.S. but was sidelined with an ACL knee injury in late July.