Irish Make BIG EAST Road Swing To New Jersey This Weekend

Oct. 5, 2011

Full Match Notes Package in PDF Format

2011 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer — Matches 14-15

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-5-2 / 3-2-1 BIG EAST) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (7-4-2 / 3-3-0 BIG EAST)
DATE: October 7, 2011
TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET
AT: South Orange, N.J. – Owen T. Carroll Field (1,800)
SERIES: ND leads 16-1-0
LAST MTG: ND 2-1 (10/8/10)
WEBCAST: shupirates.com (PPV-live)
STATS/BLOG: UND.com (live)
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-5-2 / 3-2-1 BIG EAST) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-6-1 / 1-4-1 BIG EAST)
DATE: October 9, 2011
TIME: Noon ET
AT: Piscataway, N.J. – Yurcak Field (5,000)
SERIES: ND leads 18-1-2
LAST MTG: ND 3-2 (10/10/10)
WEBCAST: scarletknights.com (live) STATS/BLOG: UND.com (live)
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews

Storylines

• The Fighting Irish embark on their bi-annual swing through New Jersey, having won their last nine road matches at the BIG EAST’s Garden State schools (six by shutout).
• Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Rutgers are part of a logjam of teams in the BIG EAST’s National Division, with all eight teams in that division separated by just eight points (the top four by only three points).

Irish Make BIG EAST Road Swing To New Jersey This Weekend
After consecutive shutout wins last weekend, Notre Dame now plays its final two road matches of the BIG EAST Conference’s regular season slate, heading to Seton Hall on Friday night (7 p.m. ET) before moving on to Rutgers for a Sunday matinee (noon ET).

Notre Dame (6-5-2, 3-2-1) currently is in third place in the BIG EAST’s National Division, two points back of division leader Georgetown following 3-0 victories over Connecticut and Providence at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish put forth complete efforts in both wins, with six different players scoring points during the weekend, and Notre Dame holding its opponents to a combined 12 shots (six on goal).

Freshman Lauren Bohaboy scored three goals in last weekend’s wins, while senior Jessica Schuveiller added five points (2G-1A) to pace the Fighting Irish cause.

Rankings

• Notre Dame is receiving votes in the latest NSCAA poll.
• Neither Seton Hall nor Rutgers are ranked.

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Nothing like a pair of conference shutouts to boost your confidence. That’s what Notre Dame is looking to build upon after 3-0 whitewashes of Connecticut and Providence last weekend at Alumni Stadium. In those two wins, the Fighting Irish held their two opponents to a combined 12 shots (six on goal) and showed a new dimension to their offense with three goals from freshman forward Lauren Bohaboy and a five-point weekend (2G-1A) from newly-installed senior midfielder/tri-captain Jessica Schuveiller.

Senior forward Melissa Henderson added three assists last weekend, and now leads not only the Notre Dame roster, but the entire BIG EAST in goals (11), assists (6) and points (28). Fellow front-liners Bohaboy and sophomore Adriana Leon have five goals apiece, while Schuveiller has a career-high four scores.

Junior Maddie Fox looks to have settled in as the Fighting Irish goalkeeper, starting the past seven matches (eight overall). She leads the league with an .841 save percentage while ranking second in the BIG EAST with a 0.80 goals-against average and one solo shutout (plus two shared clean sheets).

Scouting Seton Hall
One of the highlights of the 2011 BIG EAST season has been the play of Seton Hall, which comes into Friday’s match with a 7-4-2 record, including a 3-3 mark in conference, putting the Pirates just three points off the pace in the National Division.

SHU is coming off a pair of home losses last weekend to Syracuse (4-1) and St. John’s (2-1), with the latter defeat coming on a Red Storm goal with 53 seconds left.

Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Ritter (6G) and senior defender/midfielder Taylor Wilson (4G-4A) lead Seton Hall in scoring this season, with all but one of Wilson’s goals and all of her assists coming in BIG EAST play. Redshirt senior Elizabeth Bond (4-3-1, 1.53 GAA, 3 ShO) and junior Jennifer Pettigrew (3-1-1, 0.74 GAA, 2 ShO) have split time in the Pirate goal.

Head coach Kazbek Tambi is in his fifth season at Seton Hall with a 31-44-8 record, including an 0-4 mark against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Seton Hall Series
Notre Dame and Seton Hall will tangle for the 18th time on Friday night, with the Fighting Irish holding a 16-1 series lead on the Pirates, including a 7-1 record at Owen T. Carroll Field. Every match between the two schools (to date) has been played since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995.

The Fighting Irish also carry a 13-match series winning streak into this weekend’s contest, dating back to SHU’s 3-2 overtime victory on Oct. 18, 1998, in South Orange. During Notre Dame’s current run (which has coincided with head coach Randy Waldrum’s 13-year tenure), the Fighting Irish have outscored the Pirates by a 48-6 margin.

Notre Dame last played at Seton Hall on Oct. 11, 2009, earning a 2-0 win behind a goal and an assist from Melissa Henderson.

The Last Time Notre Dame And Seton Hall Met
Melissa Henderson and Rose Augustin each registered a goal and an assist as No. 5/7 Notre Dame showered Seton Hall with a season-high 32 shots on the way to a 2-1 BIG EAST Conference victory on Oct. 8, 2010, before an enthusiastic crowd of 1,513 fans at Alumni Stadium.

Henderson had a career-high 11 shots, including seven on goal, logging the most shots by one Notre Dame individual in a match since 2005, when Kerri Hanks took 12 shots in three different contests. (the last on Oct. 21, 2005 in a 4-0 win over Villanova at old Alumni Field). As a team, the Fighting Irish rang up their highest shot total since Nov. 14, 2008, when they squeezed off 34 shots in a 5-2 win over Toledo in the opening round of the NCAA Championship, also at old Alumni Field.

Notre Dame not only outshot Seton Hall, 32-4, but also held a 15-2 edge in shots on goal, one off its season high in that category (16 at Louisville on Sept. 26). The Fighting Irish added a season-high 14-0 margin in corner kicks.

Nikki Weiss got the victory in the Notre Dame net, making one save. Seton Hall goalkeeper Jennifer Pettigrew was the story of the night, doing everything she could to keep the match from turning into a blowout with 12 saves, while also benefiting from a team save and several kind caroms from the woodwork during the night.

Other Notre Dame-Seton Hall Series Tidbits

• Seton Hall head coach Kazbek Tambi also serves as the head coach of the United States Under-17 National Team, a position he has held since 2005. In that role, he has seen a number of current Notre Dame players come through the U.S. U-17 program, including senior midfielder Courtney Barg, senior forward Melissa Henderson, junior goalkeeper Maddie Fox, sophomore midfielder Mandy Laddish, sophomore defender Kecia Morway, freshman defender Taylor Schneider, freshman defender/midfielder Sammy Scofield, freshman midfielder/foward Karin Simonian, sophomore midfielder/defender Rebecca Twining and freshman goalkeeper Sarah Voigt.

Scouting Rutgers
Rutgers has had to battle through numerous obstacles this season, including injuries and a challenging non-conference schedule, all of which have left the Scarlet Knights with a 6-6-1 record (1-4-1 in the BIG EAST) that is not nearly indicative of the talent on the RU roster.

The Scarlet Knights are winless in their last five matches (dropping the past three by one goal), including home losses last weekend to St. John’s (1-0) and Syracuse (2-1, ot).

Redshirt sophomore forward Jonelle Filigno leads Rutgers with six goals and 13 points this year, while redshirt junior midfielder Stefanee Pace has scored twice. Redshirt junior Emmy Simpkins has played every minute in the Scarlet Knights’ goal this year, posting a 0.96 GAA with four shutouts.

Head coach Glenn Crooks is in his 12th season at Rutgers with a 129-89-28 record coming into this weekend’s action. He also has a 19-year career mark of 174-144-36, including a 1-11-1 record against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Rutgers Series
Sunday’s matinee will be the 22nd meeting in the series between Notre Dame and Rutgers, with the Fighting Irish owning an 18-1-2 lead on the Scarlet Knights (7-1 at Yurcak Field). Notre Dame also has won eight in a row and is unbeaten in its last 11 matches against Rutgers since RU posted a 2-1 win over the Fighting Irish on Oct. 5, 2001, in Piscataway.

Notre Dame made its most recent visit to Yurcak Field on Oct. 9, 2009, edging Rutgers, 1-0 on Lauren Fowlkes’ goal with 6:05 remaining (courtesy of an assist by current Fighting Irish junior defender Jazmin Hall).

The Last Time Notre Dame And Rutgers Met
Rose Augustin chalked up a goal and two assists, and Erica Iantorno added her first career game-winning score in the 67th minute as No. 5/7 Notre Dame celebrated Senior Day on Oct. 10, 2010, with a hard-fought 3-2 BIG EAST Conference victory over Rutgers on a sun-splashed afternoon before a crowd of 1,166 fans at Alumni Stadium and a national cable television audience on ESPNU.

Melissa Henderson sparked a two-goal flurry by the Fighting Irish midway through the second half, netting her team-high 12th goal of the season. Elizabeth Tucker also got into the scorebook with an assist on Augustin’s first-half goal, which was her career-high eighth of the year (to go along with six assists).

The Fighting Irish collected their ninth consecutive win behind a strong second half that saw the hosts outshoot Rutgers, 12-2, including a 5-1 spread in shots on goal. Notre Dame finished the day with a 15-6 shot edge (8-4 in shots on goal) and earned a 4-2 advantage on corner kicks, while the Scarlet Knights were called for 11 of the 18 fouls in the match.

Karla Schacher pulled the Scarlet Knights back within a goal with her score in the 77th minute, after setting up Rutgers’ first goal with a cross that deflected in off a Notre Dame defender for an own-goal.

Nikki Weiss earned the victory in the Fighting Irish net, making two saves. Meanwhile, Emmy Simpkins was credited with five saves in the Scarlet Knights’ goal.

Other Notre Dame-Rutgers Series Tidbits

• Notre Dame sophomore forward Adriana Leon and Rutgers redshirt junior defender Shannon Woeller were teammates with the Canada Under-20 Women’s National Team that competed in the 2010 CONCACAF U-20 Championships in Guatemala. Leon scored a team-high two goals in the tournament for Canada, which advanced to the semifinals. RU freshman forward/midfielder Amy Pietrangelo also has played for the Canadian U20s.
• Leon and Rutgers redshirt sophomore forward Jonelle Filigno are quite familiar with one another, as both teammates and opponents through their formative years in the Mississauga area of Ontario, as well as their time with the province’s National Training Camp and Ontario’s age-group teams that compete in various national tournaments.
• Leon, Woeller and Filigno all are rising stars for Canada Soccer, with Filigno having spent time with the full Canadian National Team alongside former Notre Dame All-Americans Candace Chapman (’05) and Melissa Tancredi (’04).
• Prior to transferring to Rutgers in 2009, RU senior defender Julie Lancos played one year at Florida State. Her last match in a Seminole uniform came on Nov. 28, 2008, when Notre Dame defeated visiting FSU, 2-0, at old Alumni Field in the NCAA quarterfinals (Lancos did not play in the match).
• Rutgers freshman midfielders Amanda DeVolk and Logan White both played their club ball for Sting Dallas, the same program that produced this year’s Notre Dame senior tri-captains — midfielder Courtney Barg, forward Melissa Henderson and defender Jessica Schuveiller.

No Worries … We’ve Got This
A few observers around the country may have raised an eyebrow at Notre Dame’s 6-5-2 record this season. But consider the following:

• The Fighting Irish played five matches against Top 25 opponents (actually all were ranked 17th or higher in at least one of the two major polls), and four of those contests came on the ranked team’s home pitch. This doesn’t even factor in Wisconsin, which rose to No. 23 in the Sept. 5 Soccer America rankings, more than two weeks after Notre Dame blanked the Badgers, 2-0 in the season opener at Alumni Stadium.
• Two of those losses were on the road at teams that would rise to No. 1 in the national rankings the following weeks (North Carolina and Stanford), and in both matches (plus the draw at No. 17/18 Santa Clara and overtime loss at No. 14/15 Marquette), Notre Dame was in a position to win or claim no worse than a draw inside the final 10 minutes.
• Overall, four of Notre Dame’s five losses have been by one goal, with two coming on the road in overtime (No. 3 North Carolina and No. 14/15 Marquette) and a third on the road in the final three minutes of regulation (No. 2 Stanford).
• Following up on that point, the fates have been unkind to the Fighting Irish when it’s mattered most. At UNC, senior defender/tri-captain Jessica Schuveiller had her potential game-winning header in the 85th minute tag the crossbar, something her classmate, midfielder Ellen Jantsch, would duplicate in the 72nd minute of a tied match at Santa Clara. In addition, Jantsch nearly doubled Notre Dame’s lead at Stanford with a 72nd-minute header that grazed the left post, while Schuveiller almost netted the equalizer against Louisville in the 62nd minute as her free kick from outside the box beat Cardinals’ goalkeeper Chloe Kiefer, only to be cleared off the line by Louisville defender Casey Whitfield.
• Head coach Randy Waldrum is known for playing a rugged non-conference schedule as a means of preparing his squad (especially his younger players) for the tests they will face later on, particularly in the postseason. In fact, in 12 of Waldrum’s 13 seasons at Notre Dame (all but ’06), the Fighting Irish have faced at least two Top 25 opponents during their non-conference slate.
• It’s not as though Waldrum, his staff, and even some of his players haven’t rebounded from a slow start before. In 2007, the Fighting Irish opened 3-4-1 before going unbeaten in their next 17 outings (16-0-1) to reach the College Cup. In 2009, Notre Dame began the year 3-3-0, then compiled a 19-match unbeaten streak (18-0-1) that led to another College Cup berth.

Sunday School
Notre Dame is unbeaten in 23 of its last 26 matches on Sunday (20-3-3), including a 17-match unbeaten streak that was snapped with a 2-0 loss to Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals on Oct. 31, 2010.

Still, the Fighting Irish own a 39-5-4 (.854) record in the past 48 contests when closing out the weekend, dating back to September 2007 (when Notre Dame lost three consecutive Sunday matches to nationally-ranked Stanford, Oklahoma State and Penn State, all by 2-1 scores and the first two in overtime).

Bohaboy/Schuveiller Nab Weekly Honors
Freshman forward Lauren Bohaboy was selected as the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week, while senior defender/midfielder Jessica Schuveiller was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

In addition, Bohaboy was chosen for the 11-player Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week, Schuveiller appeared on the Soccer America National Team of the Week, both players earned a spot on the Our Game Magazine National Team of the Week according to releases by all three media outlets this week.

Bohaboy is Notre Dame’s first BIG EAST Rookie of the Week selection since Oct. 27, 2008, when her current senior teammate/tri-captain Melissa Henderson collected the second of her two conference rookie citations that season. Bohaboy earned this week’s award after scoring three goals last weekend in 3-0 victories over BIG EAST foes Connecticut and Providence at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish freshman striker posted the first two-goal outing of her career in last Friday’s win over Connecticut, netting her first score just 40 seconds after Schuveiller put Notre Dame on the board midway through the first half, and then adding a second goal less than five minutes into the second half. Bohaboy capped her weekend with the opening (and match-winning) goal in Sunday’s win over Providence.

In addition to her conference award, Bohaboy is the second Notre Dame player this season to earn a place on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week, following Henderson’s selection on Sept. 5. It’s also the first time that she has been recognized with a weekly honor by Top Drawer Soccer — current Fighting Irish sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Tucker was the last Notre Dame rookie to make the squad with her TDS National Player of the Week selection on Nov. 29 (after scoring two goals at No. 6 Oklahoma State in last year’s NCAA Championship quarterfinals).

Schuveiller was a factor at both ends of the pitch for Notre Dame last weekend, piling up five points (2G-1A) on the offensive side. She also helped anchor a Fighting Irish defense that registered consecutive shutouts while holding its opponents to a combined 12 shots (six on goal) in the two matches. Schuveiller recorded her first career multi-point match (1G-1A) against Connecticut, scoring the first (and match-winning) goal against the Huskies before assisting on Bohaboy’s second score against UConn. Schuveiller than converted an insurance goal in the win over Providence, scoring just 1:59 into the second half.

Bohaboy currently is tied for second on the team with five goals, all of which have come in the past five matches during BIG EAST play. Meanwhile, Schuveiller has posted a career-high four goals and nine points (4G-1A) this season, including goals in each of her last three matches.

Henderson A Trend Setter
If you’re looking to spot a trend in Notre Dame’s success during the past four seasons, look no further than senior forward Melissa Henderson. Since the Garland, Texas, native arrived in South Bend, she has scored 63 goals (second-most among active Division I players, and sixth in school history) and added 24 assists for 150 career points (11th in school history), making her one of 26 Fighting Irish players with at least 20 goals and 20 assists in her career.

This season, Henderson leads Notre Dame in goals (11), assists (6) and points (28). She also leads the BIG EAST in numerous offensive statistical categories, including goals, assists, points, assists per match (0.46) and points per match (2.15), and she’s a close second in goals per match (0.85) and shots (52), as well as third in shots per match (4.00).

On the national stage, Henderson ranks among the top 20 in four NCAA statistical categories — total goals (9th), total points (9th), goals per match (16th) and points per match (18th). She’s also coming on fast in total assists (34th) and assists per match (58th).

What’s more, Henderson has hat tricks this season against Indiana and Cincinnati (one of only three BIG EAST players with a three-goal night, and the only one to do it more than once), giving her five career hat tricks, which is tied for third in school history behind only two-time Hermann Trophy recipient Kerri Hanks (6) and Jenny Heft (6).

These markers have been particularly valuable to Fighting Irish fortunes. In fact, during Henderson’s career, Notre Dame is 39-2-3 when she scores a goal, something she’s done in 17 of her last 28 outings, dating back to last season. The Fighting Irish also are 50-2-3 all-time when Henderson tallies a point, which she has done in 35 of the past 48 contests, a stretch that carries back to 2009.

The only times Notre Dame has lost when Henderson had a goal or point came earlier this season, when she scored goals at No. 2 Stanford (lost 2-1 on Sept. 9) and No. 14/15 Marquette (lost 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 25).

Henderson Called Into U-23 Camp
Senior forward Melissa Henderson arrives in New Jersey this weekend after completing a week-long training camp with the United States Under-23 National Team at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The camp, which featured 25 of the nation’s top college players and young professionals, was jointly overseen by U.S. Soccer Women’s Development Director Jill Ellis, U.S. Soccer Women’s Technical Director April Heinrichs and U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage.

Sundhage was at the camp to evaluate players for possible call-ups to U.S. National Team camps heading into next January’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Vancouver, and potentially for the run to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Henderson is no stranger to U.S. Soccer, having played with age-group national teams since 2006, including the past three years with the U-23 National Team. In that program’s most recent cycle, which concluded this summer, Henderson scored five goals and added an assist, including three goals at the Four Nations Tournament in Leicester, England, in February/March 2011, leading the United States to the tournament title.

Man-O-Mandy
Sophomore midfielder Mandy Laddish has emerged as one of the leading playmakers in the BIG EAST this season, currently tying for third in the conference with five assists.

Not bad for someone who played much of her rookie season at the holding midfield spot (in place of the injured Courtney Barg) and thus ended up with five points (2G-1A) for the year.

As Tough As An Old Schu
Senior defender/midfielder Jessica Schuveiller has been a mainstay for the Notre Dame defense throughout her career. In fact, the rugged (and still remarkably underrated) native of Plano, Texas, has started all 91 Fighting Irish matches and played 93.7 percent of her team’s minutes (7,805 of a possible 8,329) since she set foot on campus more than three years ago.

In that time, Schuveiller has helped Notre Dame post 74 wins, 52 shutouts and a 0.70 goals-against average (GAA), with only three teams scoring more than two goals in a single match against the Fighting Irish under her watch (UNC 6-0 on Sept. 4, 2009, at Alumni Stadium; Duke 3-1 on Aug. 28, 2010, in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Marquette 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 25, 2010, in Milwaukee).

A two-time NSCAA all-region pick and the 2010 NCAA Women’s College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Schuveiller was one of 25 players (along with classmate Melissa Henderson) named to this year’s Soccer America Preseason All-America Team.

Three Best Friends Anyone Could Have
Chemistry is key to the success of any team, but Notre Dame has a unique formula that supports its framework this season. The Fighting Irish are led by three senior captains — midfielder Courtney Barg, forward Melissa Henderson and defender/midfielder Jessica Schuveiller — who not only form the backbone of their starting lineup, but have been best friends since the fifth grade back in suburban Dallas. In fact, the trio played together on age-group teams for the elite Dallas Texans soccer club starting with the U-11s and continuing through the rest of their pre-college days (moving to the newly-formed Sting Dallas club for their final season in 2007-08 before coming to Notre Dame).

Actually, Barg and Schuveiller have known each other even longer, going back nearly 15 years to the second grade before linking up with Henderson three years later.

ND Seniors Among Nation’s Best
The 2011 Notre Dame senior class currently is the third-most successful group in the country on the basis of total victories, with a four-year record to date of 74-12-5 (.841) that includes a national championship (2010), an NCAA runner-up finish (2008) and a trip to the 2009 NCAA Women’s College Cup semifinals.

The .841 winning percentage compiled by the Fighting Irish seniors is fourth-best on the national scene.

We Love The New Digs
Alumni Stadium is quickly earning a reputation as not only one of the nation’s finest college facilities, but also a truly intimidating place for visiting teams. In fact, following Notre Dame’s loss to top-ranked North Carolina in its first match at the new stadium (Sept. 4, 2009), the Fighting Irish have won 30 of their last 32 at home, outscoring their opponents, 82-10 in that span while recording 21 shutouts. Notre Dame also had a 23-match home winning streak before it was snapped on Oct. 31, 2010, with a 2-0 loss to Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals.

Packing Them In
Not only has Notre Dame experienced great success at Alumni Stadium, but the Fighting Irish also are seeing the rewards at the turnstiles as well. Notre Dame currently ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 1,910 fans per home match this season, which would challenge the current school record for single-season average attendance (1,938 in 2007).

Notre Dame’s rise in attendance this season includes a stadium-record 3,511 fans for its Sept. 2 contest against Tulsa on the opening night of the Notre Dame adidas Invitational. That crowd was not only the second sellout in stadium history (after 3,007 attended the opener vs. North Carolina on Sept. 4, 2009), but also the 10th-largest crowd in the nation this season.

Incidentally, Notre Dame’s match at North Carolina on Aug. 26 attracted the largest crowd of the 2011 season thus far, with 5,236 fans on hand for the Tar Heels’ 2-1 overtime win.

The Fighting Irish also have played in front of three sellout crowds this year (home vs. Tulsa on Sept. 2; at Stanford on Sept. 9; at Cincinnati on Sept. 18).

Our Fearless Leader
Now in his 13th season at Notre Dame, head coach Randy Waldrum ranks third on the NCAA Division I career winning percentage list with a .785 (366-91-25) mark in his 22 years in the women’s game. He also is second among active coaches for career winning percentage, while his 366 career wins rank fifth on the all-time NCAA Division I charts — Waldrum earned his 350th career victory on Oct. 3, 2010, vs. St. John’s at Alumni Stadium.

A two-time National Coach of the Year (2009 by Soccer America, 2010 by NSCAA), Waldrum has led Notre Dame to eight NCAA College Cups, five NCAA finals and two national championships (2004 and 2010). He also is second in NCAA Division I history with eight College Cup appearances and five title-match berths in his storied career.

New Kid On The Block
Notre Dame added another player to its roster on Sept. 13, as junior midfielder Nicole Borner joined the squad after successfully competing in preseason tryouts.

A native of Pendleton, N.Y., and a 2009 graduate of Starpoint High School, Borner spent the 2009-10 academic year at Binghamton University, where she played in 15 matches for the Bearcats, helping them to a 9-7-2 record and berth in the America East Conference championship semifinals. She then transferred to Notre Dame prior to the 2010-11 academic year, but did not play soccer after undergoing a pair of surgeries on her right foot.

The 2-0 Guarantee
Notre Dame is 330-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and has won its last 307 contests when going ahead 2-0 (dating back to a 3-3 draw with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati).

In fact, just two of the past 219 Fighting Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have forced a draw, something achieved by four opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (ND won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at old Alumni Field (ND led 2-0, later tied 2-2 and 3-3, ND won 4-3), Duke on Nov. 30, 2007, in the NCAA quarterfinals at old Alumni Field (ND won 3-2), and most recently, Villanova on Oct. 12, 2008 in Villanova, Pa. (ND won 3-2 in OT).

Three … Is The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women’s soccer history, with a 301-3-1 (.989) record in those games, including a 203-1-0 (.995) mark since Oct. 6, 1995.

Golden Domers Golden In OT
Overtime has usually been the right time for Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish are 20-6-13 (.679) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since 1999) when going to an extra period or two. Notre Dame also is unbeaten in 11 of its last 14 overtime contests.

The Fighting Irish have gone to extra time on four occasions this year, one off the school record of five OT matches, first set in 2001 and duplicated in 2007 (the last time Notre Dame went to bonus soccer in four or more matches).

Two current Notre Dame players have scored “golden goals” in their college careers — senior forward Melissa Henderson (Nov. 9, 2008 vs. UConn in the BIG EAST final at old Alumni Field) and senior defender/midfielder Jessica Schuveiller (Nov. 6, 2009 vs. St. John’s in the BIG EAST semifinals at Storrs, Conn.).

Captains’ Choice
A trio of seniors — midfielder Courtney Barg, forward Melissa Henderson and defender /midfielder Jessica Schuveiller — were selected to serve as Notre Dame’s captains this year through a preseason vote of their teammates.

Schuveiller is making history as the first three-year captain in the 24-year history of Fighting Irish women’s soccer. When she first earned the armband in 2009, Schuveiller was Notre Dame’s first non-senior captain since Amy Warner in 2002.

Barg and Henderson are in their first seasons as team captains.

Next Up: Georgetown/Villanova
The Fighting Irish return home for their final three matches of the regular season, starting next weekend with Georgetown (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET) and Villanova (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) visiting Alumni Stadium.

Fresh off a trip to last year’s NCAA Championship quarterfinals, Georgetown currently leads the BIG EAST’s National Division with 12 points (4-2-0 record), on top of an overall mark of 10-4-0. The Hoyas are home this weekend, taking on Cincinnati and Louisville.

Villanova (6-6-2, 2-4-0) started the season well (six-match unbeaten streak), then had a dip during the middle of September (six-match losing streak), before rebounding nicely last weekend with resounding home wins over Pittsburgh (3-1) and then-No. 22/21 West Virginia (4-1). The Wildcats also will play host to Louisville and Cincinnati this weekend before next week’s trip to South Bend.

— ND —