Irish Women's Soccer Set To Face Cincinnati

Nov. 18, 2001

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SECOND-ROUND MATCHUP – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (17-2-1)-on the heels of capturing its seventh consecutive BIG EAST title-headed into the 2001 NCAA Tournament as the nation’s No. 7 overall seed, winning Friday’s first-round game versus Eastern Illinois (2-0), after Cincinnati had rallied to beat Oakland, 3-2 …the Irish and Bearcats meet in second-round action at Alumni field, on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m.

GUERTIN TIES RECORD – Sophomore F Amanda Guertin (Grapevine, Texas) scored both goals in the win over EIU while tying the Notre Dame record for consecutive games with a goal scored (9) … Guertin’s recent streak includes scoring nine of ND’s last 14 goals … she has 25 goals in her young Irish career, including 10 gamewinners (six in 2001) … the ND record for goalscoring streak (9 games, good for sixth in NCAA history) is shared by Amy Van Laecke (1995) and Meotis Erikson (1997) … current USA National Team member Brandi Chastain holds the NCAA record with a 15-game goalscoring streak while playing for Santa Clara in 1990 … second place on that list is an 11-game streak by Hartford alum Maria Kun (1997) while three others have posted 10-game scoring streaks: Missy Gregg (Dayton, 1999), Courtney Linex (SMU, 1995) and Christie Pearce (Monmouth, 1996).

BIG-GAME BOOTERS – Several Irish players have turned in strong efforts this season vs. ranked teams and/or in the postseason, led by sophomore F Amanda Guertin’s nine goals (four GWG) and three assists in those 11 “big games” … in ND’s other nine games, Guertin has totaled just 3G-3A (one GWG) … other big-game performers have included senior m Mia Sarkesian (4G-3A, 2GWG) and sophomore F Amy Warner (4G, 2 GWG) … senior G Liz Wagner owns an 0.63 goals-against average in the 11 big games, with 31 saves and seven goals allowed … as a team, ND owns a 23-7 scoring edge and 187-83 shot margin in the 2001 big games.

INSIDE THE BRACKET – Should Notre Dame advance to the third round, the Irish likely would host another game at Alumni Field next weekend (Nov. 23-25)-versus the winner of the William & Mary at Virginia game … if the seeds hold to the quarterfinal round, No. 2 seed Santa Clara would play host to the team that emerges from the third-round game between the winners of ND and UVa sites … the top-six national seeds are North Caro-lina, SCU, UCLA, Portland, Stanford and Florida …the BIG EAST Conference placed the most teams (8) into the 2001 NCAA field, with Connecticut earning the No. 8 national seed while West Virginia is one of the 16 host sites (BIG EAST teams went 5-3 in the first round, with UConn advancing on Saturday to the round of 16).

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 26-1-0 record in all-time postseason games played at home (18-1-0 in the NCAAs) … the Irish also are unbeaten in their last 39 overall home games (38-0-1) and are 111-3-2 in their last 116 home games (since 1992) … Notre Dame made its run to the 2000 NCAA semifinals with home wins over Michigan (3-1), Harvard (2-0) and Santa Clara (2-1, OT).

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY – Notre Dame has played in every NCAA Championship since 1993, including six trips to the semifinals in the last seven years (plus a spot in the 1998 quarterfinals), four title-game appearances and the 1995 championship season … the Irish own an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 23-7-1 (.758), with four losses com-ing at the hands of North Carolina in the championship game (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 (still ND’s only postseason loss at home, at 25-0-1, including 17-0-1 in the NCAAs) … the Irish claimed the 1995 NCAA title with a semifinal win over North Carolina (1-0) and a triple-overtime win over Portland in the title game (1-0).

SERIES NOTES – Notre Dame owns a 4-0-1 series edge vs. Cincinnati (23-4 scoring edge, with a 2-2 tie at UC in 1995) … the Irish beat the Bearcats 7-1 in a 1997 NCAA first-round game (current fifth-year D Monica Gonzalez was a freshman F on that ’97 Irish team).

Team Notes

• Notre Dame returned 13 of its top 18 players from the 2000 team that spent most of the season ranked No. 1 while compiling a 23-1-1 overall record and advancing to the NCAA semifinals, with the biggest losses being top scorers Anne Makinen (14G-15A) and Meotis Erikson (13G-13A), plus Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker (who both saw extensive time at the central marking back position).
• ND’s typical starting 11 (from seven states and Ontario) is representative of the ND’s national student body … the 23-player roster includes players from 16 states, two foreign countries.
• The Irish are 61-7-3 (.880) in the three-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum, including a 50-4-3 mark in the last 56 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999).
• The current senior class has helped ND compile a 82-10-4 (.875) record from 1998-2001.
• Only three teams in the top 25-North Carolina, UCLA and Santa Clara-own records of two losses (UCLA, SCU) or better (UNC), with ND among the next group at two losses and one tie.
• The Irish closed the regular season with a 2-1 overtime win over No. 23 Michigan (ND and UNC were the only teams in that week’s NSCAA top eight who went unbeaten).

Schedule and Location Notes

• The semifinal matchup vs. Boston College marked ND’s eighth road game in the last 12.
• ND is 129-7-2 (.940) at Alumni Field, including 111-3-2 in the last 116 and 89-1-1 vs. unranked teams … ND’s current 38-game home unbeaten streak (37-0-1) includes a 94-19 scoring edge.
• The Irish are 9-1-0 in games at Yurcak Stadium, including four BIG EAST Tournament wins (in 1997 and ’99) and a 3-1 record vs. Rutgers.

Streaks and Records

• The Irish set a team record on Sept. 7 with their 29th consecutive home win (2-1 in OT vs. Indiana) before seeing that streak snapped in a 2-2 tie vs. Wisconsin.
• The Irish are 34-2-2 in their last 38 regular-season games (the 2-1 loss at Rutgers prevented the Irish from tying the team record for regular-season unbeaten streak, 30-0-2 from 1993-95).
• Notre Dame is 8-0-3 in its last 11 overtime games.
• The Irish have not lost consecutive games since Sept. 28, 1992.
• The 7-0 win over St. John’s is ND’s most goals at home in the last 35 home games (since 10-0 win over Georgetown in 1999) while the 11 combined goals vs. SJU and Miami are most by the Irish in back-to-back games since totaling 13 at Wisconsin (9-2) and Indiana (4-1) on Oct. 27 and 31, 1999.

Postseason and NCAA Notes

• Notre Dame’s all-time NCAA Tournament winning pct. (.766, 24-7-1) ranks 2nd in NCAA history, highlighted by the 1995 NCAA championship season, the 1994, ’96 and ’99-and six trips to the Women’s College Cup semifinals in the past seven years (the 1998 team lost to Portland in the quarterfinals).
• ND is 16-2-1 in its last 19 postseason games (46-11 scoring edge), 22-4-1 in the last 27 (63-15).
• The Irish own a 18-1-0 all-time record at home during NCAA Tournament play.
• ND is 34-2-1 in its last 37 games vs. BIG EAST teams (76-5-2/.928 since joining in ’95).
• The Irish own an 18-0-0 all-time record in the BIG EAST Tournament (67-8 scoring edge).

Liz Wagner Notes (second team all-BIG EAST, first team all-region in 2000)

• Has come up big in the big games, totaling 69 saves and just 12 GA in 22 career starts vs. ranked teams and/or in the postseason (with an 19-2-1 record in those games).
• Her 0.39 season GAA in 2001 (6 solo shutouts, 10 shared) ranked 1st in the nation and 19th in NCAA Division I women’s soccer history … saw her 2000 shutout streak snapped at 700 minutes ( ND record, 12th in NCAA history), with the streak ending in the NCAA 2nd-round game vs. Michigan.
• Her 0.53 career GAA is on pace to best the Irish record set by Beene (0.63 career, 0.36 in ’97) and ranks 7th in NCAA history, within range of third (0.47).
• Has started all 45 games the past two seasons, allowing just 24 goals while playing nearly 93% of the minutes and allowing more than one goal in just four games (more than two in just one) … has logged 97.1% of the team’s minutes in 2001 (1,837 of 1,891).

Other Player Notes

• Six players have started all 20 games this season, including the defensive core of fifth-year player Monica Gonzalez, senior Lindsey Jones and freshman D Candace Chapman (the other D, junior Vanessa Pruzinsky, has 16 starts) … others who have started all 19 games include senior M Mia Sarkesian, sophomore F Amy Warner and senior G Liz Wagner.
• Sophomore F Amanda Guertin takes a nine-game goalscoring streak into the NCAAs and has points in 14 of the last 16 games (she has scored nine of ND’s last 14 goals).
• Freshman M/F Mary Boland returned to action vs. Villanova (Sept. 21), after missing five games due to an injury suffered in the final seconds of the opening win over Penn state (2-1) … Boland also missed eight games, after suffering an ankle injury late in the Oct. 7 game at Seton Hall.
• Sophomore F Melissa Tancredi’s goal vs. St. John’s at 0:27 tied for the second-quickest in ND history (and quickest since Michelle McCarthy’s 0:15 goal at Xavier in 1995).

BIG-GAME RESULTS – The Irish are 18-5-2 vs. NSCAA top-25 teams in the Randy Waldrum era (58-7-3 overall), with three losses vs. UNC (when UNC was ranked 1, 3 and 5) plus a 1999 loss (4-2) at Santa Clara when the Broncos were top ranked and the recent 3-1 loss at No. 15 UConn … ND is 6-1-0 vs. top-25 teams this season, with wins over #8 Penn State, #25 Hartford, #3 Nebraska, #19 West Virginia, #24 Miami and #23 Michigan … ND also is 19-2-1 during the past two seasons when facing a ranked team and/or playing in the postseason, with a 49-13 scoring edge in those 21 “big games” … senior G Liz Wagner has totaled 69 saves and 12 goals allowed in those 22 games while sophomore F Amanda Guertin has racked up 29 points in those big games (12G-5A) … Guertin’s classmate Amy Warner owns eight career goals and one assist in “big games” while junior F Ali Lovelace has 3G-6A during games vs. ranked teams and/or in the postseason.

POSTSEASON PRODUCTION – Sophomore F Amanda Guertin (7G-1A), junior F Ali Lovelace (5G-4A) and senior M Mia Sarkesian (5G-4A) lead Notre Dame in career postseason points … in fact, more than half of Lovelace’s 25 career points (8G-9A) have come in the postseason, including five of eight goals (three in the BIG EAST Tournament), while one-third of Sarkesian’s career goals (5 of 15, three in BET) have come in postseason … the only other ND players with more than 10 career points in the postseason are fifth-year D Monica Gonzalez (3G-5A) and surging sophomore F Amanda Guertin (5G-1A) … Sarkesian’s postseason heroics include three gamewinning goals, trailing only Monica Gerardo (5) and Amy Van Laecke (4) in Irish history … she also had a huge assist on the header that led to Randi Scheller’s rebound volley that held up as the gamewinner vs. WVU in the BIG EAST title game (2-1).

“SECOND-SEASON” SURGE – The ND offense will be looking for a postseason surge, as the Irish have averaged just 2.4 goals per game (47)-with just four games of more than two goals (4-0 at Pitt and Miami, 7-0 vs. St. John’s, 3-0 vs. BC) … by comparison, the 2000 ND team averaged 3.8 goals in the regular season and hit three-plus goals in nine of those 18 games … surprisingly, the 2000 Irish team (7.3 shots per goal in regular season) and the 2001 ND squad (7.8) posted similar regular-season shooting efficiencies-with the major difference coming in shots per game (the 2000 team averaged 24.8 shots in the regular season, compared to just 18.4 in 2001).

“GERTY” GETTING GOALS – Sophomore F Amanda Guertin (14G-6A), who leads ND in goals, points (34) and gamewinning goals (6), owns a nine-game goalscoring streak and has registered points in 13 of the previous 15 games … Guertin was named BIG EAST player of the week after scoring both Irish goals in the recent 2-0 win at Yale before scoring in overtime to beat #23 Michigan (2-1) … she then was named MVP of the BIG EAST Tournament after scoring in all three Irish wins … she set up two other Irish goals in the BET (although not credited with an assist), including the corner kick that led to the gamewinner in the BIG EAST title game.

PRIME-TIME PLAYER – The strong play of Liz Wagner (Spring, Texas) often was lost on observers from the 2000 season, particularly if they witnessed a game where she hardly touched the ball (she faced just 23 shots in 14 regular-season games vs. unranked teams) as compared to seeing one of her many stellar efforts vs. ranked teams and in the postseason-when she made 38 saves and allowed just six goals in 11 such “big games” … Wagner added nine saves and one goal allowed in the opening week of 2001 vs. Penn State and Hartford, two saves vs. Nebraska (1-0), four vs. both West Virginia (2-1) and Miami (4-0), two at UConn (1-3) and one vs. Michigan (2-1), before making three saves in the 2-0 BIG EAST quarterfinal win over St. John’s, four in the semifinal win over BC and two in the title game vs. WVU-yielding a total of 69 saves and 12 goals allowed in 22 career “big games” (with a 19- 2-1 record in those games) … Wagner’s nation-leading 0.39 GAA in 2000 included a 700-minute shut-out streak (12th-longest in NCAA history) and a pair of prime-time, eight-save efforts at UConn (0-0) and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarterfinals (2-1, OT) … she did not give up multiple goals in 2000 until the 2-1 NCAA semifinal loss to North Carolina-just the second time that Wagner and the Irish trailed during the entire 2000 season, spanning just 35 minutes. WAGNER IN THE NCAA RECORD BOOK – Liz Wagner’s 0.53 career GAA would rank 7th in NCAA history, just behind Carla DeSantis (UMass, ’85-’88) and former Portland ‘keeper Erin Fahey (0.50, ’91-’95) … Wagner also owns the nation’s 3rd-best career GAA since 1995, behind UNC’s Siri Mullinix (0.28, ’95-’98) and Santa Clara’s Crystal Gordon (0.47, ’97-’00) … Wagner ranks first in ND history for career GAA, followed by LaKeysia Beene (12th in NCAA history, 0.63, ’96-’99) and Jen Renola (16th in NCAA history, 0.69, ’93-’96) … with a strong showing in the 2001 postseason, Wagner could finish as high as 3rd on the NCAA career GAA list (a spot currently shared by two players, at 0.47).

THE VETERAN – Versatile defender Monica Gonzalez (Richardson, Texas) is the battle-tested vet-eran of the Irish squad, completing her fifth year due to a sophomore season lost due to injury … in addition to logging 94 career games (48 starts), Gonzalez-a converted forward and the team’s tallest player at 5-11-is a founding member of the three-year-old Mexican National Team … she opened 2001 at the left back position where she made most of her 18 starts in 2000, when she chipped in one goal and four assists while ranking as one of the best players on the field in the regular-season showdown at UConn and the NCAA semifinal matchup with North Carolina … Gonzalez also had a solid showing the past eight weeks at another new position, central defender, with her dominating play in the air helping neutralize Nebraska’s four-player forward unit in that key 1-0 Irish win (she also has been shifted to the midfield, and even to forward, at times during the 2001 season).

SERIES OPENERS – With the win over Eastern Illinois, Notre Dame has won its last 16 series openers, dating back to a 5-4 overtime loss to Connecticut in 1995 … the Irish own an all-time record of 60- 23-2 in series openers (.718), including wins this season over Penn State (2-1) and Hartford (2-0) … since 1993, ND is 27-3-0 in series openers, with two of those losses coming in ’93-to North Carolina (3-0, in Houston) and to George Mason (2-1, at Wisconsin in 1st round of NCAAs) … in series openers played at home, ND is 40-6-0 (14-1-0 since ’93) … during the 14-year history of Notre Dame women’s soccer, opposing teams have won just 14 percent of the time (9-61-2) when making their first visit to Notre Dame … since the beginning of the 1993 season, the Irish are 32-1-1 when facing an opponent making its first trip to ND, with the ’95 loss to UConn and a 2-2 tie vs. UNC in ’97 … noteworthy teams that have dropped their first game at ND (in addition to PSU and Hartford) include UCLA (8-0, ’97 NCAA quarterfinals), Nebraska (6-0, ’97 NCAA 2nd round), Santa Clara (1-0, ’95), Washington (4-0, ’96) and Harvard (2-0, ”00 NCAA third round) … Portland (2-1, ’92) and Stanford (3-0, ’92) are the more noteworthy teams to win their first game at ND, with UNC settling for the tie.

ADDED PRESSURE – The ND-Eastern Illinois game marked the sixth time that the Irish have played a series opener in the NCAAs, with a 5-1-0 mark in those games (5-0-0 at home): a 2-1 loss to George Mason in the 1st round of the ’93 NCAAs (at Wisconsin), a 2-1 win over Maryland in the 1996 quarterfinals, a 6-0 win over Nebraska in the 1997 second round, an 8-0 win over UCLA in the ’97 quarterfinals and the 2-0 win over Harvard in the third round of the 200 NCAAs.

EXPERIENCE IN THE BACK – Fifth-year player Monica Gonzalez (94 games played) and senior Lindsey Jones (95) are just the second pair of Notre Dame defensive teammates to reach 90 career games, lending veteran stability to a defense that includes junior Vanessa Pruzinsky (a three-year starter) and surging freshman Candace Chapman … ND’s only other pair of defensive team-mates with 90-plus career GP were Jen Grubb (100) and Kara Brown (99) in 1999 … senior M Mia Sarkesian also played her 90th career game vs. EIU … just three previous ND senior classes have included three-plus players with 90 or more GP: the five-player 1999 group (also Fs Jenny Streiffer, 100, and Jenny Heft, 96, plus G LaKeysia Beene at 90), the 1996 group of D Kate Fisher (98), G Jen Renola (98) and M Cindy Daws (94) and the 2000 seniors that included F Meotis Erikson (101), D Kelly Lindsey (91) and M Anne Makinen (90).

UNBEATEN AT HOME – Notre Dame-which is unbeaten in its last 39 home games (38-0-1)-is aiming for its sixth unbeaten season at home, with the others coming in 1993 (9-0-0), 1994 (10-0-0), 1996 (15-0-0), 1997 (11-0-1) and 2000 (15-0-0) … the Irish are 12-0-1 at Alumni Field this season and own an impressive home record of 111-3-2 (.966) since losing to Stanford on Oct. 2, 1992.

EXTRA-TIME SUCCESS – Since losing to UNC in the 1999 opener (3-2, OT), the Irish are unbeaten in their last 11 overtime games (8-0-3) … ND has played five OT games this season, besting the team record for OT games in a season (four, in 1995 and 2000) and also setting a team record for OT wins in a season (the 2000 team won three) … the seven OT wins the past two seasons have featured GWGs from five different players: Amanda Guertin (2), Meotis Erikson, Kelly Tulisiak, Amy Warner and Mia Sarkesian (the 2000 Stanford game ended on an own goal).

GOALS-A-PLENTY – Notre Dame-currently riding a 28-game scoring streak (3rd in ND history)- scored in a record 55 consecutive games from Aug. 29, 1997, to Sept. 17, 1999 (all of the ’97 and ’98 seasons and the first five games of ’99) … the streak came to an end in a 1-0 loss to SMU, with All-America midfielder Anne Makinen not playing for the Irish due to commitments with Finland’s na-tional team … ND scored in 98 of the 101 games in Makinen’s career and injuries limited her play in the other two games where the Irish were shut out (she played just the first 30 minutes of the 2-0 loss to UNC in the ’99 NCAA title game and came off the bench late in the first half of an 0-0 tie at UConn in 2000) … ND’s previous record for scoring streak was a 36-game run from Oct. 19, 1995 to Dec. 6, 1996 (ending with the 1-0 OT loss to UNC in the title game) … stretching from 1992-2001, ND has scored in 96.2 percent of its games (227 of 236) … since 1994, the Irish have scored in 192 of 198 (.970, three shutouts in NCAA title games)-with goals in 144 of 147 regular-season games (.980) during that eight-year stretch.

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS – Notre Dame has allowed just five 1st-half goals all season, with three of those goals coming in the same weekend (two in the first 10 minutes at Rutgers and one right before halftime at Seton Hall) … Wisconsin also surprised the Irish with a goal in the first minute of play … ND did not allow a first-half goal in seven games-before WVU scored in the BIG EAST title game-en route to shutout wins over St. John’s (2), Miami, Yale and BC (UConn scored three 2nd-half goals to beat the Irish and Michigan scored in the 2nd half of 2-1 loss to ND) … ND also has allowed just 55 first-half shots this season, for an average of 2.8 opponent shots and 0.25 goals during the first half. SENIOR SALUTE – The five-player senior class-has helped ND compile a record of 82-10-4 (.875) from 1998-2001, with four BIG EAST and tournament titles and an NCAA runner-up finish in 1999 (plus a trip to the 2000 NCAA semifinals and the ’98 quarterfinals) … the senior class includes the team’s co-captains, M Mia Sarkesian (Canton, Mich.) and D Lindsey Jones (South Bend, Ind.), plus fifth-year D Monica Gonzalez (Richardson, Texas), G Liz Wagner (Spring, Texas) and F Kelly Tulisiak (Medina, Ohio) … those five players also have combined for 12 Dean’s List semesters (at least one from each), with four by Gonzalez, three by Tulisiak and two each by Jones and Wagner.

GAMES IN THE BANK – The Irish returned four of five starters in the defensive third (including Liz Wagner in the goal), with a wealth of experience contained in the threesome of Monica Gonzalez (now 94 GP/48 GS), Lindsey Jones (95 GP/69 GS) and Vanessa Pruzinsky (70GP/70 GS)… those three-who each trained previously at forward or midfield-have combined to play in 259 career games at Notre Dame, with 187 starts … ND’s other starter in the defense, freshman Candace Chapman , is one of six Irish players to start all 20 games in the 2001 regular season (she previously was a forward and never had played defense before 2001), giving the starting defense 279 com-bined games of collegiate experience (207 starts).

MIA’S MAGIC – Senior midfielder Mia Sarkesian continues to make a name for herself as a big-game goalscorer, after netting gamewinners in the same week vs. No. 3 Nebraska (1-0) and No. 19 West Virginia (2-1, OT) … Sarkesian’s 15 career goals at ND include six gamewinners, plus pres-sure- packed scores vs. top-ranked North Carolina in 1999 (2-1 lead, lost 3-2 in OT) and vs. Boston College in 2000 (ends ND’s only deficit of regular season, win 2-1) … her more noteworthy GWGs also include the lone score in a 1-0 win over Stanford, during third-round action of the 1999 NCAAs.