Jan. 10, 2000

MELBOURNE, Australia – Notre Dame senior All-American goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene played all 90 minutes to record her first international shutout as the U.S. women?s soccer national team played Sweden to a 0-0 tie on Monday in the second game of the Australia Cup. Irish junior defender Kelly Lindsey also played the full 90 minutes and helped the U.S. hold Sweden to just six shots. The Americans opened the tournament with an 8-1 win over the Czech Republic on Friday on two goals and an assist from Irish senior Jenny Streiffer. The U.S. will play host Australia on Thurs., Jan. 13, in Adelaide at 7:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. EST).

?The defense was solid all game,? said Beene, who has played every minute of both games in Australia. ?They really got stuck into tackles and won most of the air balls, which was very important against Sweden because they had some big players. I couldn?t be more confident in the defense.?

The U.S. held an 8-6 advantage in shots, but could not find the net despite numerous chances. Beene made numerous grabs on dangerous crosses but did not have to make a save in the shutout. The Americans had five corner kicks to just one for the Swedes. Lindsey, who played 90 minutes as a central defender against the Czechs, moved to the outside right defense against Sweden. Streiffer started and played the first half before leaving the game at halftime.

Beene capped her goalkeeping career at Notre Dame with a 0.63 career goals against average, the lowest in Irish history. After blanking eighth-ranked Stanford 1-0 in the NCAA third round, Beene helped the Irish reach the NCAA Women?s College Cup final with a semifinal shutout of top-ranked Santa Clara, the nation?s highest-scoring team. She was named to the Women?s College Cup all-tournament team for her performance. Beene totalled 6971 minutes in her career with a 65-8-3 record.

Lindsey recovered from surgery on both knees following the 1998 season and sat out all of the spring practice season in 1999. Her solid play as a central defender was a major part of Notre Dame?s success during the 1999 season. After her recovery slowed her during the start of the season, Lindsey finished the season by playing in 24 of 26 games, starting 22. She helped the Irish advance to the NCAA Women?s College Cup by converting the decisive penalty kick in the NCAA quarterfinals at fourth-ranked Nebraska.

Streiffer capped her senior season as the teams? leading scorer with 19 goals and 15 assists for 53 points, earning her All-America honors for the second time in her career. The 1999 BIG EAST championship most outstanding player finished her Notre Dame career as its all-time leading scorer with 70 goals and 71 assists for 211 points. Also a two-time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American, Streiffer joined Mia Hamm as the only NCAA Division I women?s soccer players to score 70 goals and assist on 70 goals in a career.