Nov. 14, 2004

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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER – NCAA Second Round vs. Wisconsin (Nov. 14, 2004)

The nation’s No. 4-seeded Notre Dame women’s soccer team (20-1-1; 63-12 scoring edge) will face Wisconsin in the 2nd round of the NCAAs (Sunday, Nov. 14 at Alumni Field, 1:00 EST) after posting a 4-0 win over Eastern Illinois in the 1st round (Wisconsin beat Dayton in overtime, 2-1) … the winner will move on to the 3rd round on the weekend of Nov. 19-21, vs. the winner of the Colgate at UConn game (neither of those teams is seeded in the top 16) … the 3rd round and the quarterfinals (Nov. 26-28) are held on campus sites of the higher-seeded team … Wisconsin (16-5-1) lost a 1-0 game to Michigan in the 1st round of the Big Ten Tournament.

FIRST-ROUND RECAP (ND 4, Eastern Illinois 0) – Hermann Trophy frontrunner Katie Thorlakson had two goals and an assist, becoming just the third ND player ever to reach 20 goals and 20 assists in a season … ND quickly bounced back from its first loss of `04, scoring in the 7th minute when Amanda Cinalli volleyed home a Thorlakson corner kick … Thorlakson, who has scored or assisted on 17 of ND’s last 19 goals, found the net eight minutes later and had the primary assist on a 2nd-half goal by Kim Lorenzen … Candace Chapman, who split time at left back and forward, then scored 48 seconds later, racing down the left side and sending a tough-angle shot into the right sidenetting … ND had a 27-3 edge in total shots (14-1 shots on goal) and held a 6-0 corner-kick margin, the 9th time this season (4th in last five 5) that the Irish have not allowed a corner …Cinalli’s goal held up as her 3rd GWG of `04 and marked the 5th time she has opened the scoring for the Irish (tied with Jen Buczkowski for most on the team) … Thorlakson’s 60 points now rank 4th in ND history (12 shy of Cindy Daws’ record, set in ’96) … BIG EAST teams went 5-0 in the first round, matching the Big 12 for the most teams remaining in the tournament (the ACC and Big Ten have four each) … Thorlakson matched her point total from five previous NCAA games (also 1G-2A) … Daws (26G-20A) and Jenny Streiffer (22G-22A) are the only other ND players to reach 20G-20A in a season … Thorlakson passed former teammate Amy Warner (99) into 14th on the ND career scoring list with 102 points, 10 behind ’91 grad. Suzie Zilvitis (she needs 6G-6A to join Streiffer, Daws, Meotis Erikson, Monica Gerardo and Anne Makinen as the only ND players with 40G-40A in their careers) … Daws (72; ’96), Streiffer (62; ’96) and Jenny Heft (61; ’98) are the only other ND players with 60-plus points in season.

QUICK NOTES ON THE IRISH – After handing Seton Hall an early lead on an errant goal kick (Oct. 22), ND scored the next 17 goals over the course of 5 games (before UConn rallied to win the BIG EAST title game, 2-1) and now is riding a 21-2 scoring edge over the last 6-plus games … Jen Buczkowski has 4 GWGs in the last 8 games while Erica Bohn now ranks 2nd in the nation with a 0.42 GAA … ND owns a 53-11-1 all-time record in postseason play (.820), including 32-3-0 at home (.912) and 27-10-1 in the NCAA Tournament (.723) … the Irish have held 17 of the last 18 opponents to 0-1 goals … since a rare deficit vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, ND has outscored the opposition 38-… the Irish have more goals (62) than opp. shots on goal (59; 2.7/gm) and have allowed just 34 corner kicks all season (1.6/gm, with 2 total opp. CKs in last 6 games) … 6th-year coach Randy Waldrum is 114-20-5/.843 in 6 seasons at ND and is three wins shy of his 300th overall win as a college coach (297-125-24 … ND owns a 28-4 first-half scoring edge … the Irish have reached 20 wins for the 9th time in the last 11 seasons … ND is 44-13-3 (.758) in the Waldrum era when facing a top-25 or postseason opponent.

INFORMATION HIGHWAY – Livestats for all ND postseason games can be accessed via the www.und.com main page … internet audio broadcasts are planned for all remaining games, home and away, available to College Sports Pass subscribers (see audio/video link on und.com main page) … College Sports Pass subscribers can view video/audio of the ND soccer coaches television show while listening to game audio of several sports (men’s soccer, football, basketball, hockey, baseball and more) from ND and other schools … game broadcasts are archived via the women’s soccer schedule page at und.com (see audio/video button for links to coaches shows) … game recaps are available via the ND Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer, then ‘2″ for women’s soccer).

SERIES NOTES – Notre Dame holds a an 11-1-1 series edge vs. Wisconsin (47-13 scoring edge) and had won 10 straight in the series before a 2-2 tie in ’01 … that game also halted ND’s 43-game win streak vs. Big Ten teams and ended ND’s team-record 31-game home winning streak … Wisconsin won the first game of the series (6-0, in ’89) … the closest games in the 10-game series streak came in ’92 and ’95 (both 1-0) … the Irish posted NCAA 2nd-round wins over Wisconsin in ’95 and ’96 (both 5-0) … ND won 9-2 at Wisconsin in ’99, led by Jenny Streiffer and Anne Makinen (each with 2G-2A), Jen Grubb (2G-A) and Meotis Erikson (G-2A) … ND’s 6-1 home win over the Badgers in ’98 included a hat trick from Wisconsin native Jenny Heft.

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

NEW FACES – Sunday’s game will feature just three players who saw time in the previous ND-Wisconsin game (2-2, in ’99) … Gudrun Gunanrsdottir started at center back and Candace Chapman at right back for the Irish (Chapman assisted on the 2-1 goal) while Amy Vermeulen came off the bench for the Badgers.

THE LAST MEETING (2-2; 9/9/01) – #3 ND overcame a sluggish 1st half to claim a 2-1 lead early in the 2nd half but Kelly Kundert scored her second goal of the game with 6:38 left in regulation … ND was forced to shuffle its lineup, as Monica Gonzalez moved from the defense to midfield, in place of injured Randi Scheller … Gonzalez tied the game midway through the 1st half, with a strong shot from outside the box … Amy Warner gave the Irish a 2-1 lead in the 57th minute … ND held an 18-12 edge in shots, 7-4 in corner kicks … the Irish also continued to play without top youngsters Mary Boland and Melissa Tancredi … the tie ended ND’s team-record home winning streak at 29 games, dating back to a 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … Kundert capitalized on an ND breakdown and sent a loose ball into the vacated net for the early lead … passes from Kelly Tulisiak and Mia Sarkesian later worked the ball to Gonzalez, who ripped a leftfooted shot from the top of the box (tying the game in the 28th minute) … ND took the lead when Candace Chapman made a run down the right side and played the ball to Warner, who sent a leftfooted 20-yard shot over the head of ‘keeper Kelly Conway (56:10) … the tying score was set up by a 3-on-2 counterattack, following a corner at the other end …Kristen Betz gathered the loose ball on the left flank and changed fields to Kundert, who scored on a low shot from the upper right corner of the box.

VS. THE BIG TEN – Prior to the 2-2 tie. vs. Wisconsin in ’01, ND had posted 43 straight wins vs. Big Ten teams (’89-’01; now 48-3-1 since mid-’89 and 49-8-1 all-time, with 216-50 scoring edge) … ND never has faced Illinois or Iowa and is unbeaten vs. Ohio State (5-0-0), Northwestern (2-0) and Penn State (1-0-0) … ND’s other records vs. the Big Ten include 10-1-1 vs. Wisconsin, 11-1-0 vs. Indiana, 10-2-0 vs. Michigan, 9-2-0 vs. Michigan State, 1-1-0 vs. Purdue and 0-1-0 vs. Minnesota.

THAT WAS THEN … THIS IS NOW (see PDF for comparison of ND’s ’03 and ’04 stats)

TALE OF THE TAPE (see PDF for statistical comparion of ND and Wisconsin)

ND RECORD BOOK (see PDF for update on Katie Thorlakson in the ND record book)

BADGERS NOTES – See www.uwbadgers.com.

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/.913 (10-0-0 home, 2-1-0 away, 9-1-0 neutral)

• NCAA Tournament – 27-10-1/.723 (22-3 at home/.880, 2-1-1 away, 3-6 neut.)

• Postseason Totals – 53-12-1/.811 (32-3 home/.914, 4-2-1 away, 17-7 neutral)

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 (65 straight) … junior M Annie Schefter (missed ’02 due to injury) and sophomore M Jen Buczkowski each have appeared in all 46 games over the past two seasons while four sophomore have played in 45 of the 46: D Christie Shaner (43 straight, dnp vs. ASU in ’03), D Kim Lorenzen (36, dnp vs. Indiana State in ’03), F/M Lizzie Reed (35, dnp vs. West Virginia in ’02) and DM Jill Krivacek (30, dnp vs. UConn in ’03).

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 86 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 (28-4 in ’04) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the first (68-11) and second half (61-13) over the past two seasons.

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.

PRIMETIME PLAYERS – Notre Dame has won more than 75 percent of its “big games” during the Randy Waldrum era (’99-’04), posting a 44-13-3 record (.758) when facing an NSCAA top-25 or postseason opponent.

NOTRE DAME VETERANS CAREER POSTSEASON STATISTICS (see PDF)

DOMINATING DEFENSE – ND’s veteran back line includes: 5th-year central back Melissa Tancredi, senior central back Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and sophomore outside backs Christie Shaner and Kim Lorenzen … the ’04 defense has allowed just 12 goals (0.54 GAA), 131 total shots (5.7/gm), 59 shots on goal (2.7/gm) and 34 corner kicks (1.6/gm) with just five deficits (88 min.) … the four backline starters have combined for 229 career games played at ND (185 starts) … Tancredi (1,862; 85/gm) and Shaner (1,766/80) lead the ’04 team in minutes played while Lorenzen is 5th (1,566), with Gunnarsdottir logging 1,386 (8th; dnp 3 gms/inj.).

HOME SWEET HOME – The Irish own a 163-14-3 all-time record (.914) at Alumni Field (136-10-2 in last 148) – with a 29-game home win streak (5th NCAA history) from ’99-’01 … 8 of ND’s last 10 home losses have been by a single goal … ND’s Alumni Field record vs. teams not in the NSCAA top-25 is 115-4-2/.959 (46-10-1 vs. ranked teams) … junior F Katie Thorlakson has totaled 62 points at Alumni Field the past two seasons (22G-18A, 9 GWG in 27 GP) while junior M Annie Schefter has scored all 8 of her career goals (4 GWG) at home … sophomore M Jen 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.

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

IRISH REMAIN UNBEATEN AT HOME – Notre Dame 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 two postseason home wins (7-0 vs. St. John’s, 4-0 vs. Eastern Illinois) … ND’s 11-0-1 home record in ’04 includes a 41-6 scoring edge, plus 300-46 in shots (25-4), 155-25 in shots on goal (13-2) and 77-18 in corner kicks (6-1) … top scorers at Alumni Field in ’04 include junior F Katie Thorlakson (15G-14A, 44 pts, 3.7 ppg, 7 GWG), senior F Candace Chapman (8G-4A, 20 pts), sophomore M Jen Buczkowski (4G-8A, 16 pts, GWG) and junior M Annie Schefter (4G-5A, 13 pts, 2 GWG) … Thorlakson has totaled 17 points in her last three home games (6G-5A).

NET ZERO – Junior G Erika Bohn has surged to 2nd in the nation with a 0.42 goals-against average, within range of the ND record of 0.36 set by LaKeysia Beene in ’97 … Bohn’s 0.71 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) … Bohn is 47-5-2 in her last 54 overall decisions with the Irish (since 3-2 loss to BYU on 10/19/02), allowing just 26 goals in that 53-game stretch (32 with 0 GA, 16 with 1 GA) … her 60 official starts at ND (in fall games) include 35 in which she has not allowed a goal, 15 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 45 of her last 49 fall games (34 with 0 GA, 11 with 1 GA, 2-1 loss to BC, 3-2 loss to UM, 5-2 win over Santa Clara, 2-1 loss to UConn) … as a team, ND has risen to 9th on the GAA charts (0.54) … all 8 teams ahead of ND on that list made the NCAAs and the top-5 won in the 1st round (Stanford, Penn State, Princeton, Virginia and Kansas) … see PDF for updated NCAA leaders for individual and team GAA.

GOING THE DISTANCE – ND 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).

SHARING THE WEALTH IN OT – ND’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).

FRONTRUNNERS – Since a 3-2 loss to BYU (10/19/02), ND has trailed in just 10 of 50 games for 269:26 (5.9% of 4,559:29), going 43-5-2 in that 50-game stretch … five of ND’s nine deficits in that span have been 11 minutes or shorter while only three teams have led the Irish more than 40 minutes over that 48-game stretch (Michigan for 60, Boston College for 83, Pittsburgh for 41).

THOR BRINGS THUNDER AND LIGHTNING – Katie Thorlakson continues to lead the nation in assists (19) while ranking 2nd in points (60) and 6th in goals (20, 2nd among players from ranked teams) … here are updated NCAA stat leaders (after 1st round) … see PDF for updated NCAA stat leaders.