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2012 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer — Matches 6-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2-0 / 0-0-0 BIG EAST) vs. #19/18 Portland Pilots (4-1-0 / 0-0-0 WCC)
DATE: September 7, 2012
TIME: 7:00 p.m. PT (10:00 p.m. ET)
AT: Portland, Ore. – Merlo Field (4,892)
SERIES: ND leads 7-4-0
LAST MTG: UP 3-1 (11/25/05 @UP)
VIDEO: portlandpilots.com (live-free)
LIVE STATS: portlandpilots.com
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2-0 / 0-0-0 BIG EAST) vs. #RV/22 Washington Huskies (5-0-0 / 0-0-0 Pac-12)
DATE: September 9, 2012
TIME: Noon PT (3:00 p.m. ET)
AT: Seattle, Wash. – Husky Soccer Stadium (1,640)
SERIES: ND leads 4-0-0
LAST MTG: ND 5-0 (9/16/00 @Portland)
VIDEO: None
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
Storylines
- Notre Dame is making its first visit to the Pacific Northwest since the 2005 season.
- The Fighting Irish are in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive matches against teams currently ranked in one or both major national polls.
Notre Dame Heads West To Face No. 19/18 Portland, No. RV/22 Washington
For the second consecutive weekend, Notre Dame will face a pair of Top 25 opponents, as the Fighting Irish head west to visit No. 19/18 Portland at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET) Friday, followed by a Sunday matinee at No. RV/22 Washington (noon PT/3 p.m. ET). Portland will offer free live video of its match with Notre Dame through its web site (portlandpilots.com), and both UP and Washington will provide live stats as well.
Notre Dame (3-2) is coming off a hard-fought 1-0 loss at home to No. 19 North Carolina on Sept. 2 in the finale of the adidas Invitational at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish played almost evenly with the Tar Heels in the first half, but UNC began to exert added pressure on Notre Dame in the second half, eventually breaking through for the lone goal with 5:44 remaining.
Freshman goalkeeper Elyse Hight tied the Notre Dame stadium record with a season-high seven saves against North Carolina.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is not ranked.
- Portland is No. 19 in the NSCAA poll and No. 18 in the Soccer America poll.
- Washington is receiving votes in the NSCAA poll and is No. 22 in the Soccer America poll.
A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
- The Fighting Irish were picked to win the BIG EAST National Division title according to a preseason vote of the conference head coaches released Aug. 7. Notre Dame has won 13 BIG EAST regular-season titles (division or overall) since joining the conference 17 years ago, including regular-season crowns in eight of the past nine years.
- Junior midfielder/tri-captain Mandy Laddish represented the Fighting Irish on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, following up her second-team all-conference selection a year ago. Laddish had one goal and a career-high seven assists last season.
- Notre Dame will feature a very young roster in 2012, with half (12) of the 24-member Fighting Irish squad made up of freshmen (plus another six sophomores). The Notre Dame incoming class was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer, with seven Fighting Irish freshmen appearing in the top 60 of the TDS Class of 2012 rankings. Leading the rookie class is forward/midfielder/defender Cari Roccaro, a two-time consensus high school All-American and New York High School Player of the Year after piling up 39 goals and 19 assists during her prep career.
- Laddish and Roccaro are missing the first three weeks of the season while representing the United States at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan (the USA will play Germany in the championship match Saturday 6:20 a.m. ET on ESPNU/ESPN3). The Fighting Irish duo are the first Notre Dame players to participate in the U-20 World Cup since 2008, when Lauren Fowlkes started all six matches and helped the United States to the title.
Scouting Portland
Portland has 11 letterwinners, including six starters back from last year’s club that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. The Pilots (4-1) who are ranked 19th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and 18th in the current Soccer America poll, have posted four shutouts in five matches thus far, including an impressive 1-0 whitewash of then-No. 4 North Carolina in the season opener on Aug. 17 at Merlo Field.
UP is coming off a pair of shutouts last weekend, defeating Fresno State (5-0) and 22nd-ranked La Salle (3-0) at the Husky/Nike Invitational in Seattle. Junior forward Amanda Frisbie scored four goals against FSU, while redshirt junior defender Kendall Johnson gave the Pilots the lead for good against La Salle, scoring 4:50 into the match, before additional scores by junior forwards Micaela Capelle and Kaila Cameli approximately 10 minutes on either side of halftime.
Frisbie, the reigning West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week, has a team-high nine points (4G-1A), 19 shots and 10 shots on goal for Portland this season. Cameli and Capelle each have two goals, while junior midfielder Ellen Parker has a team-high three assists to go along with her decisive goal against UNC.
Junior Erin Dees (0.33 GAA, .875 SV%, 2 ShO) did not miss a minute in the Portland goal during the first three matches, while redshirt sophomore Nichole Downing (0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%, 2 ShO) went the distance in both contests last weekend.
Head coach Garrett Smith is in his 10th season as the Pilots’ skipper with a 169-30-10 (.833) record, including a 1-1 mark against Notre Dame.
The Notre Dame-Portland Series
Two of the most storied programs in women’s soccer, Notre Dame and Portland will square off for the 12th time on Friday night, with the Fighting Irish holding a 7-4 edge in the series, including a 4-1 record in Portland.
Through the years the series has been split evenly between regular season and NCAA Championship matches, with Friday’s contest marking the sixth in regular season play (Notre Dame leads 3-2), along with six in the postseason (Notre Dame leads 4-2, including a 1-0 triple-overtime victory in the 1995 NCAA national championship match at Chapel Hill, N.C.).
The Fighting Irish and Pilots will be meeting for the first time since Nov. 25, 2005, when UP earned a 3-1 victory in the NCAA quarterfinals at Merlo Field, Portland’s first win in five tries against Notre Dame on its home pitch.
The Last Time Notre Dame And Portland Met
Megan Rapinoe made a big impact from her attacking midfield spot, scoring twice and adding an assist as top-ranked Portland defeated No. 5 Notre Dame in an NCAA quarterfinal showdown on Nov. 25, 2005, at Merlo Field in Portland.
Notre Dame saw its season come to an end a few games shy of repeating as NCAA champion, with the loss halting one of the most dominant seasons in the program’s history. Entering the match, the Fighting Irish had trailed in just two matches all season for a total of 77 minutes, before UP held the upper hand for the final 76:01 in the quarterfinal clash.
Brittany Bock capped her strong rookie season by scoring in the 25th minute, just six minutes after the Pilots had claimed a 2-0 lead on goals by Rapinoe (13:59) and Lindsey Huie (assisted by Rapinoe at 18:29). Rapinoe then scored again early in the second half (54:21), restoring the two-goal cushion as the Fighting Irish continued to battle in an attempt to get back in the match.
Notre Dame finished with a narrow shot edge (14-13) and had a similar margin in corner kicks (5-4), with both teams placing six shots on goal.
The Fighting Irish outshot all 25 of their opponents during the 2005 season and were led by a pair of outstanding forwards in ’04 Soccer America National Player of the Year Katie Thorlakson and eventual two-time Hermann Trophy recipient (’06, ’08) Kerri Hanks, who each scored 71 points in 2005, becoming just the second set of teammates ever to top 70 points in the same season.
Other Notre Dame-Portland Series Tidbits
- Notre Dame and Portland are “sister schools”, both affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross. Notre Dame was founded by Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., in 1842, while the Congregation of Holy Cross assumed ownership of UP in 1902 (a year after the school was founded) and held that role until 1967, when ownership was transferred to the Board of Regents.
- Portland’s current president, Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., served as executive vice president and special assistant to the president at Notre Dame from 1987-2002. Father Beauchamp also taught in the Notre Dame Law School and the top-ranked Mendoza College of Business, and earned two master’s degrees from Notre Dame (in business and divinity). In addition, he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2005. Father Beauchamp continues to be affiliated with Notre Dame in a variety of ways, including service on its Board of Trustees and the Notre Dame Australia Board of Governors.
- From 2004-11, former Notre Dame All-America football offensive lineman Larry Williams served as the director of athletics and recreation at Portland. Williams, who went on to play for four NFL teams and later returned to his alma mater for five years (1999-2004) as Notre Dame’s director of licensing, left Portland in December 2011 to accept a similar post at Notre Dame’s fellow BIG EAST institution, Marquette.
- Notre Dame senior defender/tri-captain Jazmin Hall and sophomore defender/midfielder Taylor Schneider, along with Portland junior forward Amanda Frisbie, all matriculated from the high-powered Dallas Texans club program.
- Similarly, Notre Dame sophomore defender Sammy Scofield and Portland junior goalkeeper Erin Dees are products of the elite Chicago-area Eclipse Select club.
- During its 25 seasons, Notre Dame has had two Oregon natives on its roster. Lake Oswego resident Maggie Manning was the most recent Oregonian to suit up for the Fighting Irish, playing in 76 matches (16G-12A) from 2002-05, and helping Notre Dame win a national championship in 2004.
Notre Dame vs. West Coast Conference
Notre Dame is 22-11-1 (.662) all-time against current West Coast Conference members, with a 6-6-1 (.500) record on the road.
The Fighting Irish will be facing a WCC opponent for the second consecutive Friday night, having defeated No. 24/16 Santa Clara, 2-1 on Aug. 31 in the Notre Dame adidas Invitational at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish are seeking two wins over WCC teams in the same season for the second time in three years, having ousted Santa Clara (home) and Loyola Marymount (road) by identical 1-0 scores in 2010.
Notre Dame will be seeking its first road win on a WCC campus since that visit to LMU on Sept. 12, 2010, when Melissa Henderson scored 1:11 into the match and the Fighting Irish defense made it stand up for the clean sheet victory over the Lions.
Scouting Washington
Fueled by 14 returning letterwinners, including seven starters, Washington (ranked 22nd in the Soccer America poll and receiving votes in the NSCAA balloting) is unbeaten in five matches this season, scoring multiple goals in each contest, while logging three shutouts.
Like Portland, the Huskies also defeated La Salle (2-0) and Fresno State (3-1) last weekend in Seattle. Junior forward Lindsay Elston had a goal and an assist in both matches, while junior forward/midfielder Hillary Zevenbergen added a goal in each outing.
Elston leads UW with 12 points (4G-4A) in the early going this year, while Zevenbergen has a team-high 15 shots, including 10 on goal.
Senior Kari Davidson (0.29 GAA, .950 SV%, 2 solo/1 shared ShO) has seen the bulk of the action in goal for Washington, although redshirt freshman Megan Kufeld (0.67 GAA, .857 SV%, 1 shared ShO) got the call and the win against Fresno State.
Head coach Leslie Gallimore is in her 19th season at UW with a 194-150-31 (.559) record. She also has a 23-year career mark of 226-175-40 (.558) that includes an 0-4 record against Notre Dame.
The Notre Dame-Washington Series
Sunday will mark just the fifth match in the series between Notre Dame and Washington, with the Fighting Irish having won all four prior encounters with the Huskies, most recently earning a 5-0 victory on Sept. 16, 2000, at Portland’s Merlo Field (the only time Notre Dame has faced UW under current head coach Randy Waldrum).
The Fighting Irish will be visiting the Washington campus for the second time, registering a 3-1 win over the Huskies on Sept. 5, 1997.
The Last Time Notre Dame And Washington Met
Second-ranked Notre Dame shook off a sluggish start by erupting for three goals in a five-minute span before using its depth to wear down No. 15 Washington, as the Fighting Irish posted a 5-0 victory over the Huskies in first-round action at the University of Portland adidas Invitational on Sept. 16, 2000.
Notre Dame got two goals each from sophomore forward Ali Lovelace and senior midfielder (and eventual 2000 Hermann Trophy recipient) Anne Makinen, who also set up Lovelace’s first goal. Senior forward Meotis Erikson used some clever moves to score the day’s first goal before Lovelace came off the bench to spark the Fighting Irish with a pair of strong individual efforts four minutes apart that broke the match open.
A pair of well-placed long balls gave the Fighting Irish a 2-0 lead in a span of 64 seconds midway through the first half. Junior defender Lindsey Jones set the first goal in motion with a serve from the defensive third. Erikson received the ball at the top of the box and used her patented moves to shake loose from the UW defenders before crossing a shot into the sidenetting on the far left side (26:10).
Moments later, Makinen picked off a Huskies’ clearing attempt and quickly crossed the ball from the left flank. Lovelace had position on a pair of UW defenders near the right post and deftly trapped the cross before whirling to her left and snapping a low shot by a surprised Solo inside the near right post (27:14).
Lovelace turned in a more impressive effort on the third Irish goal, at a similar spot on the field. Two Huskies players appeared to have moved the ball past Lovelace in the penalty box area but Lovelace jumped back into the play and stole the ball with her back to the goal before quickly completing a 180-degree turn and striking a low crossing shot inside the far left post (31:11).
Makinen then scored twice in less than seven minutes early in the second half, slotting home a rebound of Erikson’s blast off the crossbar (57:40) and converting from the penalty spot (64:12) to seal the victory.
Notre Dame held a decisive shot margin (16-7), with just two of the UW shots requiring saves. Elizabeth Wagner (two saves) and Sani Post (no saves) split the shutout in the Fighting Irish goal, while Washington netminder Hope Solo recorded seven saves.
The Last Time Notre Dame And Washington Met In Seattle
Jenny Steiffer scored the first goal and assisted on the match-winner, lifting second-ranked Notre Dame to a 3-1 victory over Washington on Sept. 5, 1997, at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle.
Streiffer opened the scoring at 10:43, redirecting a shot by Meotis Erikson from six yards away.
Washington equalized 30 minutes into the contest as Jana Wilson headed in a free kick by Natalie Campbell. The goal was the first surrendered by Notre Dame in the ’97 season, halting a 210-minute scoreless span.
Holly Manthei scored the decisive goal with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, beating UW goalkeeper Gretchen Mensinger with a 12-yard header off a lofting cross from Streiffer (42:56).
Jenny Heft added an insurance goal in the 71st minute, booting in a rebound off a corner kick from Manthei.
Mensinger turned away six shots on goal by the Fighting Irish, who held a 28-11 edge in total shots (9-3 on goal). Notre Dame goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene registered two saves.
Other Notre Dame-Washington Series Tidbits
- Washington head volleyball coach Jim McLaughlin served as an assistant coach in 1996 for current Notre Dame head coach Debbie Brown. McLaughlin also is married to former Fighting Irish soccer standout Margaret Jarc (’93), who earned four monograms at the University from 1989-92, playing in 69 matches while logging 15 goals and seven assists. Jarc still appears in the Notre Dame record books for the second-fastest season-opening goal in program history (1:20 into a win over Saint Joseph’s-Ind. in her college debut on Sept. 5, 1989). She later served as an assistant coach at her alma mater from 1995-96 under then-head coach Chris Petrucelli, helping the Fighting Irish win the national championship in 1995.
- UW head women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff spent six seasons (1996-97 to 2001-02) as an assistant coach under current Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw, helping the Fighting Irish to a pair of NCAA Final Fours, including the 2001 national championship. McGuff also is married to former Notre Dame women’s basketball player, assistant coach and director of basketball operations Letitia Bowen (’95).
- Washington head men’s soccer coach Jamie Clark is the son of current Notre Dame men’s soccer coach Bobby Clark. Jamie served two seasons (2006-07) as an assistant coach on his father’s Notre Dame staff, mentoring 2006 Hermann Trophy recipient Joseph Lapira, while helping the Fighting Irish to a pair of NCAA Championship quarterfinal appearances (both ending one goal shy of the College Cup, the latter in overtime at Wake Forest).
- Washington associate head coach Amy Griffin currently is serving as the goalkeeper coach with the United States Under-20 National Team at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan. As part of her U.S. Soccer U-20 duties, she also is coaching two Notre Dame players — junior midfielder/tri-captain Mandy Laddish and freshman forward/midfielder/defender Cari Roccaro.
Notre Dame vs. Pac-12 Conference
Notre Dame is 19-7-1 (.722) all-time against the current Pac-12 Conference alignment, although Sunday’s match at Washington will mark just the seventh time the Fighting Irish have played a Pac-12 school on its home pitch (Notre Dame is 2-4 all-time in such matches).
Last season, the Fighting Irish dropped their only match against a Pac-12 opponent, falling 2-1 at second-ranked Stanford on a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes. As it turns out, the Cardinal were the last Pac-12 team Notre Dame defeated, with the Fighting Irish posting a 1-0 win over Stanford on Dec. 5, 2010, in the NCAA College Cup final at Cary, N.C., to claim their third national championship.
Notre Dame last defeated a Pac-12 school on its campus on Sept. 10, 2004, edging Arizona State, 2-1 in Tempe, Ariz.
Match #4 Recap: Santa Clara
Sophomore defender Sammy Scofield picked the perfect time to score her first career goal, heading in a service from junior midfielder/tri-captain Elizabeth Tucker with 18:25 remaining to help Notre Dame defeat No. 24/16 Santa Clara, 2-1 on Aug. 31 in the adidas Invitational opener for both teams before a crowd of 1,271 fans at Alumni Stadium.
Freshman forward Crystal Thomas gave the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead at 37:58, converting a penalty kick, before SCU tied the match 1:46 into the second half on an unassisted goal by Olivia Klei.
Freshman goalkeeper Elyse Hight went the distance between the pipes for Notre Dame, registering three saves. Andi Tostanoski had five saves, including three sensational stops in the second half, for Santa Clara.
The Fighting Irish earned their third consecutive win by outshooting the Broncos, 17-11, including a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. Each team registered four corner kicks during the match, while SCU committed 13 fouls, one more than Notre Dame.
Beyond The Box Score: Santa Clara
- Notre Dame earned its first win over a ranked opponent since Oct. 30, 2011, when the Fighting Irish posted a 1-0 victory at No. 5/9 Marquette in the BIG EAST quarterfinals.
- It was the first Top 25 home win for Notre Dame since Nov. 14, 2010, when the Fighting Irish ousted 22nd-ranked USC, 4-0 in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
- Santa Clara was the highest-ranked opponent Notre Dame had defeated at home since the Fighting Irish edged the eighth-ranked Broncos, 1-0 on Sept. 3, 2010, also at Alumni Stadium.
- The Fighting Irish improve to 11-6-1 all-time against Santa Clara, including an 8-1 record at home.
- Four of the past six Notre Dame goals have been scored by players who found the back of the net for the first time in their careers. Scofield joined the list after Thomas, freshman forward Anna Maria Gilbertson and sophomore midfielder Karin Simonian opened their career accounts in the 5-0 win over East Carolina on Aug. 26 at Alumni Stadium.
Match #5 Recap: North Carolina
Despite another gritty, blue-collar performance from its young but increasingly poised back line, Notre Dame could not find the combination in the offensive third, and No. 19 North Carolina finally broke through for a goal with 5:44 remaining for a 1-0 victory to claim the title at the 20th annual adidas Invitational on Sept. 2 before a spirited crowd of 1,925 fans at Alumni Stadium.
Freshman goalkeeper Elyse Hight did all she could to keep the Fighting Irish in contention, registering a season-high seven saves to earn a spot on the all-tournament team with sophomore defender Sammy Scofield and freshman midfielder Glory Williams. The loss snapped Notre Dame’s three-match winning streak in what was its second match in three days against a Top 25 opponent.
Maria Lubrano was the hero for North Carolina, taking a pass from the tournament’s Offensive Most Valuable Player, Summer Green, and scoring from close range at 84:16. Brooke Elby was credited with the secondary assist on the goal, making a winner of goalkeeper Anna Sieloff, who came on at halftime for Adelaide Gay and was not called upon to make a save.
UNC finished with an 18-3 edge in total shots, as well as an 8-0 advantage in shots on goal. The Tar Heels also earned six of the eight corner kicks on the afternoon, while fouls were almost even (8-7 against the Fighting Irish).
Beyond The Box Score: North Carolina
- Notre Dame fell to 32-6-2 all-time in the adidas Invitational, with the loss marking just the fourth time the Fighting Irish had been shut out in their home tournament since the event debuted in 1992 (Notre Dame has a 110-40 aggregate scoring margin in the 20-year history of the adidas Invitational).
- Hight tied the Alumni Stadium record for saves by a Notre Dame goalkeeper, a mark first set on Sept. 3, 2010, by Nikki Weiss in a 1-0 win over Santa Clara.
- The Fighting Irish were held without a shot on goal for the first time in program history, with the previous low of one shot on goal being set on a handful of occasions, most recently on Dec. 4, 2009, against North Carolina in the NCAA College Cup semifinals at College Station, Texas (UNC also won that match 1-0 in similar fashion, netting the match-winning goal with 7:58 to play).
- For the second time in five matches this season, Notre Dame started seven freshmen (also in 1-0 loss at Wisconsin on Aug. 17).
- Both Fighting Irish losses this season have come by 1-0 scores with the lone goal coming inside the final seven minutes (Wisconsin scored with 6:19 to play).
- In the past two seasons, nine of the 10 Fighting Irish defeats have come by one goal, with two occuring in overtime and another four when the match-winning goal was scored in the final 14 minutes of regulation.
- Hight, Scofield and Williams each earned all-tournament team honors for the first time in their respective careers.
- Hight and Williams are the first Notre Dame freshmen to make a regular-season all-tournament team since 2006, when Michele Weissenhofer was named to the adidas Invitational squad (when the tournament was known as the Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic).
Meet The #BabyIrish
Combine Notre Dame’s youthful roster (which includes 12 freshmen and six sophomores) and head coach Randy Waldrum’s growing fascination with Twitter and it’s no surprise that this year’s squad already has its own hashtag, courtesy of their coach … #BabyIrish.
Not only does the hashtag pay tribute to the median age of his team, but Waldrum also has used the term to refer to the (sometimes painful) growing process that the Notre Dame squad is going through this season.
Although he knows his team must crawl before it can walk, Waldrum insists that he doesn’t plan to keep the hashtag for long. The goal is see his charges continue developing on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to the point where they’re just the #Irish by the end of the 2012 campaign.
The 2-0 Guarantee
Notre Dame is 334-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and has won its last 311 contests when going ahead 2-0 (since a 3-3 draw with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati).
In fact, just two of the past 223 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 304-3-1 (.989) record in those games, including a 206-1-0 (.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 20-6-14 (.675) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since 1999) when going to an extra period or two. Notre Dame also is unbeaten in 12 of its last 15 overtime contests.
Last year, the Fighting Irish tied a pair of school records by going to extra time on five occasions (also in 2001 and 2007) and registering three draws (also in 1991 and 2001).
No current Notre Dame player has scored a “golden goal” in her college career. Jessica Schuveiller netted the most recent overtime matchwinner for the Fighting Irish on Nov. 6, 2009, heading home a cross from Rose Augustin at 98:42 to beat St. John’s in the BIG EAST semifinals at Storrs, Conn.
Any Given Sunday
Notre Dame is unbeaten in 26 of its last 30 matches on Sunday (22-4-4), 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 41-6-5 (.837) record in their last 52 contests when closing out the weekend (usually on the back end of a two-match set), 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).
Our Fearless Leader
Now in his 14th season at Notre Dame, head coach Randy Waldrum ranks fourth on the NCAA Division I career winning percentage list (second among active coaches) with a .780 (373-96-26) mark in his 23 years in the women’s game. As he closes in on his 500th career match (expected to come Sept. 21 when the Fighting Irish face Pittsburgh), Waldrum ranks fifth on the all-time NCAA Division I wins list, having 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.
Oh Captain, My Captain
The 2012 Notre Dame squad is being led by a trio of first-time captains, as senior defender Jazmin Hall, and junior midfielders Mandy Laddish and Elizabeth Tucker were selected via a preseason vote of their teammates.
Next Up: Louisville/Cincinnati
Notre Dame opens BIG EAST Conference play at 4 p.m. (ET) Sept. 14 when it plays host to No. 25/12 Louisville at Alumni Stadium. The match, which will be televised live to a national cable audience on ESPNU, is a rematch of last year’s BIG EAST Championship semifinal won by the Cardinals, 2-1, in Morgantown, W.Va. (Louisville’s second one-goal victory over Notre Dame last season).
The Fighting Irish then will welcome Cincinnati to town for a 1 p.m. (ET) match on Sept. 18. Notre Dame won last year’s matchup with the Bearcats, 4-1 in Cincinnati, scoring four unanswered goals after UC took an early lead.
— ND —