Oct. 9, 2003

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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER – Game Notes – vs. Georgetown (Friday, Oct. 10; 7:00 p.m. EST)

(note: see PDF for complete release with charts and sidebars info.)

The second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team (12-0-1; 46-5 scoring edge) heads into the final full weekend of its eight-game homestand at Alumni Field (longest since ’92), with a BIG EAST Conference Mid-Atlantic Division game versus Georgetown on Friday, Oct. 10 (7:00 p.m. EST) and then a cross-divisional game vs. Miami on Sunday the 12th (1:00) … ND is 99-1-0 in its last 100 games when scoring three-plus goals (since ’95), with that loss coming last season at Georgetown (4-3; the Hoyas tied the game in the 80th minute and scored the GWG with 24 seconds left in regulation) … the Irish are 102-3-1 (.967) all-time at Alumni Field when facing an unranked opponent … a win vs. GU would mark ND’s fourth all-time unbeaten start after 14 games (the ’94, ’97 and ’00 squads all started 23-0-1) … ND is unbeaten in its last 15 overtime games (11-0-4, since ’99), with OT goals from seven different players in that stretch (including Katie Thorlakson last week vs. Villanova) … the Irish have shut out four straight opponents (and 7 of the last 9) while allowing just 13 shots on goal in the last 10 games (since their only deficit of the season, vs. ASU) … the Irish have not lost a home BIG EAST game since 1995 (a 46-game win streak) and are 122-8-2 (.932) in their last 132 overall home games … ND solidified its spot among the nation’s top teams in mid-Sept. with a dominating defensive effort vs. perennial powers Stanford (0-0) and Santa Clara (2-1) at the SCU Classic before maintaining that momentum with last week’s dominating win over #5 West Virginia (2-0) … ND has been ranked in the top two of the NSCAA coaches poll nine of the last 11 years (all but ’01 and ’02), earning No. 1 in ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’00.

INFORMATION HIGHWAY – Live stats will be provided for all ND home games (and select away games), with a link available via the main page at www.und.com … for schedule and result information on all 26 Notre Dame varsity sports, call the ND Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer results) … see www.guhoyas.com for info. on Georgetown.

IRISH AMONG TOP ALL-AROUND TEAMS – Notre Dame (3.54 goals per game, 0.33 goals-against avg.) has emerged as one of the nation’s top-ranked teams in both offense and defense, with Oklahoma State (4.33 gpg, 0.32 GAA) and top-ranked UNC (3.54 gpg, 0.23 GAA) being the only other teams ranked as high in both categories (ND is 4th in both categories, Oklahoma State is 1st in scoring and 2nd in GAA and UNC is 4th in scoring and 1st in GAA) … those three teams fittingly also are the only undefeated teams left among 245 Division I women’s soccer teams … other top-ranked scoring teams include Southern (4.00 gpg) and BC (3.64) while Pepperdine (0.36) is the third team with a better GAA than the Irish.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE – Here’s a rundown of ND’s devastating defense:

* The Irish (0.38) and sophomore Erika Bohn (0.33) both rank 4th in the nation for goals-against avg., just shy of the team record and on pace to best LaKeysia Beene’s individual record (both 0.37, in ’97).

* The Irish have held the opposition to 0-1 goals in all 13 games this season (and the last 18 fall games, plus all five in the spring of ’03) … the current 18-game streak of not allowing multiple goals ranks 3rd in ND history, behind a 24-game streak in 2000, 20 games in ’94 (and ahead of a 17-game streak in ’97) … the 2000 team (24) is the only ND squad ever to go deeper into a season without allowing a multiple-goal game than the current 13-game start.

* The Irish allowed 16 shots on net in the first three games but have clamped down in the last 10 (13), for 29 total opponents shots on target in 13 games.

* Since yielding a 25th-minute goal to Oklahoma in the fourth game of the season (Sept. 7), Notre Dame has played nearly flawless defense during the last nine-plus games (905 minutes), allowing just two goals, 37 shots, 12 shots on goals and 18 corner kicks in that stretch (for 90-minute averages of 0.2 goals, 3.7 shots, 1.2 shots on goal and 1.8 corners) … that stretch has included a 418-minute shutout streak that was snapped by Santa Clara and the current 391-minute shutout streak.

ND Women’s Soccer – By The Numbers (see PDF)

HOYAS NOTES – Georgetown returned 17 of 24 letterwinners and 7 starters from its 2002 team that went 11-7-1 … top returners include senior M/F Jessie Beers-Altman (10G-6A in ’02) and junior M Nicole DePalma (4G-13A) … GU’s 4-8 record includes wins over Brown (3-2), Syracuse (2-0), Howard (9-1) and Providence (1-0, OT), plus losses to William & Mary (0-1), BC (0-3), George Washington (1-2), Yale (0-2), Pittsburgh (1-2), Villanova (0-2) and West Virginia (0-2) … Shara McNeill leads GU in scoring (6G-3A) … ND leads the GU series 7-1-0 (58-5 scoring edge)/.

CONFERENCE CALL – ND’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 89-7-2 (.918; 70-7-2/.899 in BIG EAST games) … the Irish are 49-1 at home vs. BIG EAST teams, with 46 straight home BIG EAST wins since a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95 (228-16 scoring edge, 32 shutouts, 13 games with 1 GA) … since ’95, ND’s overall record vs. BIG EAST teams is 89-8-2 (.909; 1-1 vs. UConn in NCAAs).

FRONTRUNNERS – Notre Dame has trailed just once all season – for a span of 7:18 early in the Sept. 5 game vs. Arizona State – with the Irish leading 71% of the 1,197 minutes while trailing less than one-percent (0.6%) of the ’03 minutes … ND’s 2000 team held the No. 1 ranking for most of the season while trailing just once in the first 24 games (for 28 minutes, in a 2-1 win over BC) before falling behind UNC with eight minutes left to play in the NCAA College Cup semifinals (a 2-1 loss).

PRIMETIME PLAYERS – Notre Dame is 26-8-2 in the last four seasons (’00-’03) when facing an NSCAA ranked team and/or playing in the postseason, with a 73-34 scoring edge in those 36 “big games” … Amanda Guertin has racked up 50 points in those big games (20G-10A) … fellow senior F Amy Warner owns 8G-5A vs. ranked or postseason opponents (she missed half of the 2000 season due to injury).

NCAA STAT LEADERS – ND heads into the weekend with the nation’s 4th-best team goals-against avg. (0.38) and is the nation’s No. 4 scoring team at 3.54 goals per game … ND headed into the last weekend as one of four teams (the others were Oklahoma State, BC and North Texas) with two players who already had posted 20-plus points (junior F Mary Boland now is 16th in the nation with 24 points and senior F Amy Warner 21st with 22) .. Boland also is 17th in the nation with 10 goals while Warner’s 8 assists rank 4th, behind Nikki Wojtowicz of Oklahoma State (14), UNC’s Alyssa Ramsey (11) and Creighton’s Lulu Quigley (9) … ND’s Erika Bohn (4th, 0.33) ranks among the national GAA leaders, trailing only OK State’s Kathrin Lehmann (0.21), UNC’s Aly Wingert (0.24) and Clemson’s Lauren Whitt (0.31).

QUICK-STRIKE ARTISTS – Notre Dame has scored in the first seven minutes of five games in ’03, with junior F Mary Boland responsible for three of those early goals … the team’s quickest goals have come in recent wins over West Virginia (1:24; Boland volley on long serve from Melissa Tancredi) and North Texas (4:28; Amanda Guertin shot from top of the box via short pass from Amy Warner) … other quick-strike goals by ND in 2003 have come vs. Hartford (6:32; Boland puts back own rebound, after classic 5-player combination sequence that includes right endline cross from Warner), vs. Oklahoma (5:58; Jen Buczkowski knocks in rebound after flurry in box) and at Santa Clara (5:03; Boland on lunging poke after leftside service from Katie Thorlakson).

GLORY DAYS – The 46-5 scoring edge is comparable to the program’s 5-year dominance in the mid-1990s, with 13-game scoring margins of: 59-8 in ’93, 53-5 in ’94, 47-10 in ’95, 60-6 in ’96 and 61-4 in ’97 (avg. of 56-7) … only two previous ND teams (4 in both ’97 and ’00) have allowed fewer goals in the first 13 games than the ’03 squad (5) … ND’s 0.38 team goals-against avg. would rank 2nd in ND history (behind the 0.36 in ’97, ahead of the 0.39 in ’00) … ND has 5-plus goals in four ’03 games.

NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK FACTS (see PDF, includes stats and notes on top players)

INTERNET AUDIO – Four ND women’s soccer regular-season games (plus possible postseason) will be available via internet audio broadcasts at www.und.com … the audio is available to SportsPass subscribers (see und.com audio/video link), who also can listen to audio from other ND sports and from other schools that are part of SportsPass (Santa Clara will provide a SportsPass broadcast of the ND-SCU game, see link on und.com) … the ND broadcast schedule kicked off last weekend with the games vs. West Virginia (Oct. 3) and Villanova (Oct. 5) and will continue with the UConn (Oct. 17) and Michigan (Oct. 29) tilts.

HEAD COACH Randy Waldrum – The Irish are 86-16-4 (.830) in the tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum (since ’99), including 74-13-3 in the last 90 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999) … Waldrum’s ND record spans the career of 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky … Waldrum – who repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 – in ’99 became the only coach in the 18-year history of the NCAA women’s soccer championship to lead a team to the title game in his first season as that team’s head coach … he was the fourth 1st-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi’s, beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in their backyard of San Jose … Waldrum’s 21-plus-year record as a college head coach (men’s and women’s teams) is 269-121-23 (.679) … he is 193-66-16 (.731) in 12-plus seasons as a Division I women’s coach, including 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa (.580) and 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor … Waldrum entered ’03 ranked 7th among active women’s coaches for career winning percentage (min. 10 Div. I seasons).

GOING THE DISTANCE – ND is unbeaten in its last 15 overtime games (11-0-4), since the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … that 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 quarter’s (adv. on PKs) … the 2000 team had OT wins over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarter’s (all 2-1), also playing to 0-0 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 before the ’03 team played to a scoreless tie with Stanford (at SCU) and beat Villanova in OT (1-0).

SHARING THE WEALTH IN OT – Notre Dame’s 11 overtime wins in the five-year Randy Waldrum era have included goals from seven different players (plus an own goal, vs. Stanford in ’00): Anne Makinen (vs. UConn in ’99), Amanda Guertin (ND record 3; vs. WVU in ’00, Michigan in ’01, BC in ’02), Meotis Erikson (vs. SCU in ’00 NCAA quarterfinals), Kelly Tulisiak (vs. IU in ’01), Amy Warner (2; vs. VU in ’01, Rutgers in ’02), Mia Sarkesian (vs. WVU in ’01) and Katie Thorlakson (vs. Villanova in ’03).

SECOND-GAME SUCCESS – Notre Dame has reversed its frustrating trend from recent years when playing two days after a previous game … the Irish are 7-0-0 this season when returning to the field two days after a previous game, with a 22-2 scoring edge … by comparison, the Irish were just 4-5-0 in 2002 during regular-season quick-turnaround games, totaling just 18 goals and allowing 16 in those nine games … ND’s second-game wins in ’03 have come vs. four teams that have been in the national rankings (3-0 vs. Wake Forest, 5-1 vs. Oklahoma, 2-1 at Santa Clara, 1-0 vs. Villanova), plus wins over W. Kentucky (5-0), Indiana St. (3-0) and Butler (3-0).

OT MASTERS – Senior Amanda Guertin holds the ND record for career OT goals (3), with her classmate Amy Warner and ’96 national player of the year Cindy Daws ranking second with two (including Daws’ goal vs. Portland in the ’95 NCAA title game) … Guertin (3G-2A) owns eight career points in OT, followed by Warner (6; 2G-2A) … Guertin’s other OT goals came at WVU in 2000 and at home vs. WVU in ’01 (both 2-1) … in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20, 2002, vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT vs. Villanova (’01) and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak’s OT goal in ’01 vs. Indiana (both 2-1) … she also had the cross that produced an OT own-goal to beat Stanford in ’00 and assisted on Guertin’s OT goal in ’02 at BC (1-0), playing a key role in five of ND’s last nine OT goals (Guertin on five of the last eight).

HALFWAY HOME WITH NO LOSSES – Notre Dame is unbeaten after 13 games for the fifth time in the program’s history … here’s a look at the longest season-opening unbeaten streaks in the ND record book:

Year Start (Scoring) … Notes

1994 – 24 games (104-11) … went 23-0-1 before losing to UNC in NCAA title game (5-0)

1997 – 24 games (134-7) … again fashioned 23-0-1 record before losing to UConn in NCAA semifinals (2-1)

2000 – 24 games (75-8) … another familiar record (23-0-1) precedes a 2-1 loss to UNC in the NCAA semifinals

2003 – 13 games (46-5) … scoreless tie vs. Stanford only non-win on 12-0-1 mark

1996 – 13 games (66-6) … started 13-0-0 prior to 3-1 loss at Santa Clara

1991 – 12 games … twice-tied team (10-0-2) drops 1-0 game at UMass

1995 – 10 games … opened 9-0-1 before losing to UConn (5-4 in OT)

JUMP DOWN, TURNAROUND … PICK A BALE OF THREE WINS – Notre Dame just completed a stretch of three wins in five days (2-0 vs. WVU, 1-0 vs. Villanova in OT, 3-0 vs. Butler), with the Irish now 12-3 during the five-year Randy Waldrum when facing such a turnaround challenge: 5-0 in the first games (23-1 scoring edge), 4-1 in the second games (8-4 scoring margin) and 3-2 in the third games (8-5 scoring edge) … here are the previous four times in the Waldrum era that the Irish played three times in five days: Sept. 15-19, 1999, vs. Butler (5-0), #8 Texas A&M (1-0, in Klein, TX) and SMU (0-1, in Klein); Oct. 11-5, 1999, vs. Georgetown (10-0), Villanova (4-0) and #16 Michigan (4-1); Sept. 21-25, 2001, vs. Villanova (2-1, OT), Georgetown (2-1) and #3 Nebraska (1-0); and Oct. 4-8, 2002, vs. Pittsburgh (4-0), at West Virginia (0-3) and vs. #17 Purdue (0-3).

MOVING ON UP – ND’s impressive career record book can be seen in the fact that Amanda Guertin did not crack the Irish top-10 career scoring list until notching her 43rd goal, roughly half of the record total racked up by 1999 graduate Jenny Heft (80) … here’s a look at where Guertin and classmate Amy Warner stand on the career points and goals list (see PDF):

STREAKY PLAYER – Amanda Guertin scored a goal in the final 10 games of 2001 – third-longest in Div. I women’s soccer history (SCU’s Brandi Chastain had a 15-game goal streak in ’90, Hartford’s Maria Kun an 11-game streak in ’97) … Guertin also scored goals in an ND-record seven straight postseason games, spanning ’01 and ’02 (she has 9G in 15 career postseason games) and had points in eight straight games (7G-6A) before the 1-0 loss at Stanford in ’02.

GETTING THE GWGs – Amanda Guertin continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (43G-24A, in 80 GP) – with her 17 gamewinning goals ranking 3rd on the ND all-time list (2 shy of Jenny Heft’s record) … 7 of Guertin’s GWGs have come in one-goal games, including three in OT (ND record) … nearly half of Guertin’s career goals (17 of 43, or 40%) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the others on the GWG list (see PDF):

SCHEDULE & RESULT NOTES – The eight-game homestand includes key BIG EAST battles vs. West Virginia, Villanova and UConn … ND opened with impressive wins at the UConn Classic over Hartford (9-1) and Wake Forest (3-0), with junior F Mary Boland earning BIG EAST offensive player of the week (3G-1A) … the Irish added ND Classic wins over #13 Arizona State (3-1) and Oklahoma (5-1), followed by a BIG EAST cross-divisional victory at St. John’s (2-0) and a 5-0 win over Western Kentucky … freshman M Jen Buczkowski and 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky received the respective offensive and defensive MVP awards at the ND Classic, with Buczkowski named BIG EAST rookie of the week.

PRUZSINKY DRAWS NATONAL MEDIA ATTENTION – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky has been spotlighted in a current feature on College Sports Television while the new Sports Illustrated On Campus is highlighting the high achiever in its current issue … Pruzinsky – the national high school player of the year and a 2002 invitee to U.S. Under-21 National Team tryouts – wrapped up her undergrad studies last May with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, becoming just the third chemical engineering major (and first since ’74) to graduate from Notre Dame with a 4.0.

PERFECT RECORDS BEGIN TO DWINDLE – The first half of the ’03 season has taken its toll on many top teams, as only three Division I teams entered the week with unbeaten records … North Carolina has no losses or ties while Notre Dame and Oklahoma State each have one tie on their unbeaten records.

PLAYING THE BEST – ND has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, going 23-10-3 vs. NSCAA ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn St., 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. WVU, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan … the Irish posted 2002 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1), #13 Michigan (1-0) and #14 Purdue (3-1) … over the course of the ’01-’03 seasons, ND owns an 11-6-1 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (29-5-1 vs. unranked teams), including 2003 wins over #16 Santa Clara (2-1) and #8 West Virginia (2-0) and a scoreless tie vs. #24 Stanford.

LINEUP NOTES

FURIOUS FORWARDS – ND’s system includes a pressuring “forecheck” from the team’s frontrunners … four of those players – Mary Boland (2), Amanda Guertin, Maggie Manning and Katie Thorlakson – already have posted multiple-goal games this season while Amy Warner scored in five of the first six games and ranks 4th in the nation with 8 assists.

FIRE & ICE – Veterans Amanda Guertin (43 career goals; 6 in ’03) and Amy Warner (34; 7 in ’03) rank as one the nation’s premier pairs of senior forwards, with 27 game-winning goals (17 by Guertin) and five OT goals (3 by Guertin).

BOLAND STEPS FORWARD – Junior Mary Boland spent most of her prep soccer days playing as a forward but her ND career also has included time at outside back and in the midfield … Boland’s quick start to the 2003 season (3G-1A in opener vs. Hartford; 10G in first 13 games) ignited the surging ND offense and solidified her return to forward.

MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE – Despite the graduation of 4-year starter/defensive ace Ashley Dryer and the season-ending hip surgery to senior Randi Scheller (2nd team all-BIG EAST in ’02), the Irish midfield has been energized by the emergence of two “newcomers” in sophomore Annie Schefter (3G-4A; missed all of ’02 with ACL knee injury) and freshman Jen Buczkowski (2G-5A) – with the pair ranking 6th and 7th on the ND scoring charts.

LORENZEN SETTLES INTO BACK – Versatile freshman Kim Lorenzen (Naperville, Ill.) was impressive in preseason training at forward but has found a home in the defense, with strong play as a starter both centrally and at outside back.

OTHER QUICK NOTES ON THE IRISH

* Notre Dame enters the Georgetown game as the No. 4-scoring team in the nation, averaging 3.54 goals/gm while the 46 total goals already have surpassed ND’s total goal output from the 2002 regular season (40) … the Irish also rank 4th in the nation with a 0.38 season goals-against avg.

* Senior F Amy Warner ranks 4th nationally in total assists (8) and 21st in total points (21) while junior F Mary Boland is 14th in total goals (10) and 10th in total points (24). o Sophomore G Erika Bohn has allowed just 7 goals – no games with 2-plus GA – in her last 18 fall games with ND (11 shutouts, 7 with 1 GA) … Bohn enters the weekend ranked 4th in the nation with a 0.33 goals-against avg.

* ND players have combined to miss 134 games due to injury spanning the ’02 and ’03 seasons (34 games; 25-8-1 record), with seven players already combining to miss 70 games due to injury in ’03.

* The Irish are unbeaten in their last 15 overtime games (11-0-4).

* Senior F Amanda Guertin ranks 3rd in ND history with 17 career GWGs (ND record 3 in OT) … Guertin’s 10-game goalscoring streak in ’01 ranks 3rd in NCAA history (former SCU great Brandi Chastain holds the record of 15).

* 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky graduated in May of 2003 with a 4.0 cumulative GPA as a chemical engineering major, becoming just the third Notre Dame student (first since ’74) ever to complete that feat.

* ND’s freshman class was ranked #5 by Soccer America, with M Jen Buczkowski (6th) and D Christi Shaner (22nd) rated in the top 25.

* Three ND freshmen – Buczkowski, fellow M Jill Krivacek and D Kim Lorenzen – helped lead Team Illinois to the 2003 Olympic Development Program national title, defeating New Jersey and future teammate Lizzie Reed in the title game.

* ND has been ranked 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA poll during nine of the last 11 seasons (ranked 1st in four seasons).

* Irish players already have combined for eight multiple-goal games this season, by seven different players (compared to five in all of ’02): Mary Boland vs. Hartford (3) and ASU (2), Maggie Manning and Amanda Guertin vs. Hartford (both with 2), Jen Buczkowski vs. Oklahoma (2), Katie Thorlakson and Annie Schefter vs. Western Kentucky (both with 2) and most recently Melissa Tancredi vs. North Texas (2).

* ND’s ’03 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces and Iceland … the program’s all-time roster canvasses 30 states and three foreign countries … ND’s student-athlete population during the ’02-’03 academic year included nearly 800 individuals from 47 states (all but Idaho, Mississippi and Nevada) and 20 foreign countries.

* The current senior class carries a 26-8-2 career record when playing in the postseason and/or facing an opponent ranked in the NSCAA top-25.

INJURY WOES CONTINUE – ND’s ’02 season was hampered by injuries to several top players (totaling 64 games missed, plus 70 thus far in ’03 for a total of 134) … the Irish are playing in the ’03 season minus two top players – as junior All-America D Candace Chapman suffered a torn ACL knee injury while training with the Canadian National Team (in preparation for the World Cup) while senior M Randi Scheller underwent preseason hip surgery … junior starting central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir has returned after missing four games with a broken arm (Sept. 5-13) while three others – sophomore M Jenny Walz (ACL), freshman D Kari Kennedy (foot) and junior D Kate Tulisiak (back) – are nearing their returns after being sidelined for several weeks … veteran D Vanessa Pruzinsky (ankle) made a full-time return at the ND Classic … Scheller will have the option to apply for a 5th year of eligibility in ’04, as will central D Melissa Tancredi (she missed ’00 with an ACL injury) … Pruzinsky is a current 5th-year player (out most of ’02 with ankle injury) while Chapman will be a senior in ’04 and have her own option at a 5th year in ’05 … here is the updated injury report:

Candace Chapman (Jr., D) – torn ACL while training with Canada for World Cup (out for year)

Randi Scheller (Sr., M) – hip capsule surgery in late August (out for year)

Jenny Walz (So., M) – rehabbing from ACL knee surgery (nearing return)

Kari Kennedy (Fr., D) – preseason foot injury (nearing return)

Kate Tulisiak (Jr., D) – nagging back injury (nearing return)

BOHN ON A ROLL – Sophomore G Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) is 23-2-1 in her last 26 starts with the Irish (21-1-1 in last 23), allowing just 14 goals in that 26-game stretch (with 14 shutouts and 11 games with 1 GA) … her only losses in that stretch include: a 3-2 game vs. BYU that included a fluke goal (after a clearance deflected off the referee) and a rare late-game PK to break the 2-2 tie; and the season-ending loss at top-ranked Stanford, with the game’s only goal coming in the 81st minute as Bohn turned in possibly her top all-around game of ’02 … Bohn now has logged 23 consecutive games with the Irish (18 fall, 5 spring) without allowing multiple goals (last done by BYU on Oct. 19, 2002).

MAGIC NUMBERS — The three-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win for ND, with the Irish now 195-3-1 all-time (.982) when scoring three-plus, with losses to N.C. State in the ’92 opener (4-3), to UConn in ’95 (5-4, OT) and at Georgetown in ’02 (4-3), plus a 3-3 tie vs. Vanderbilt in ’91… the Irish had won 88 straight when scoring 3-plus, before the GU loss (now 99-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995) … ND also is 268-8-11 (.953) holding the opponent to 0-1 goals, including 1-0 losses in ’02 to eventual NCAA champ Portland and top-ranked Stanford … prior to the Portland loss, the Irish had been 56-0-3 in the previous 59 games when allowing 0-1 GA (since 1-0 loss to SMU in ’99, playing minus Finnish national teamer Anne Makinen) … the program’s 16-year history includes just 281 goals allowed in 355 games (0.79 GA per game) … the Irish have allowed more than one goal in only 68 all-time games (19%) and have yielded 3-plus goals in just 32 all-time games (9%; including two 6-goal games by the opponent, four 5-goal and six 4-goal) … 91% of ND’s all-time games have seen the Irish hold the opponent to 0-2 goals (ND is just 4-27-1 all-time when allowing 3-plus).

1ST-HALF FORTRESS – The ND defense has been particularly stingy in the first half during the past three seasons, allowing just 20 goals in the first half of those 55 games … the first half in ND’s 2002 games featured little scoring by either team (12-10 ND edge) but the Irish have erupted for a 24-3 first-half scoring edge in 2003 (21-2 in second half).

FAR AND WIDE – Notre Dame’s 2003 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario) and Iceland … the states on the ’03 roster touch all corners of the nation: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky in May 2003 became the third chemical engineering major (and first since ’74) to graduate from ND with a 4.0 cumulative GPA … Pruzinsky is a two-time Academic All-American, with ND’s other top candidates for that award in ’03 including junior F/M Mary Boland (3.87, psychology), sophomore M/D Annie Schefter (3.67, College of Science) and sophomore G Erika Bohn (3.67, College of Business).

HAT TRICK OPENERS – Mary Boland is the 5th ND player ever to register a hat trick in a season opener and now has scored in all three openers of her Irish career (including ND’s first goal in ’01 and ’03), with a diving header to open the scoring in the ’01 vs. Penn State (2-1) and the final goal in the ’02 win at Providence (3-0) … previous Irish players with hat tricks in openers: Rosella Guerrero as a freshman vs. N.C. State in ’92 (4-3 loss), Guerrero and sophomore Michelle McCarthy in ’93 at LaSalle (12-0 win), and senior Amy Van Laecke and sophomore Monica Gerardo in ’96 at PC (14-0).

SEVEN-POINT START – Mary Boland’s seven points in the opener vs. Hartford (3G-1A) are most by an ND player since Jenny Streiffer had 3G-1A vs. Miami on Oct. 1, 1999, in the first year of the Randy Waldrum era … Streiffer holds the ND record for points in a game, with 9 (3G-3A) in the ’96 win over Providence (14-0).

ALUMNI UPDATE – Several former Notre Dame women’s soccer players have been in the news during recent weeks:

* D Kate Sobrero (’98) and M Shannon Boxx (’99) were named to the 18-player U.S. National Team roster that is competing in the World Cup, with both ND alums serving as starters … Sobrero played for the U.S. team that won the ’99 World Cup and was on the ’00 Olympic team … Boxx was the surprise of the roster, with no previous National Team experience but an impressive ’03 season in the WUSA (she became the first player ever to score in her first three games with the National Team, in two tuneup games and the 3-1 World Cup opening win over Sweden).

* Sobrero and Boxx were two of five former ND players who played in the Women’s United Soccer Association 2003 all-star game, as were Washington Freedom D Jen Grubb (’00), Boston D Monica Gonzalez (’02) and San Jose CyberRays G LaKeysia Beene (’00) … Sobrero and Gonzalez helped Boston win the WUSA regular-season title while Grubb – who played every minute in the first three WUSA seasons – captained the Freedom to the ’03 WUSA Founders Cup title after a 2-1 OT win over the Atlanta Beat … other ND alums played in the ’03 WUSA: M Anne Makinen (’01; Philadelphia Charge), D Lindsey Jones (’02; N.Y.), D Kelly Lindsey (’01; San Jose) and M Monica Gerardo (’99; Washington).

* Three of the above players recently became college assistants: Gerardo at University of Pittsburgh (where former ND assistant Sue-Moy Chin is the first-year head coach), Lindsey at the nationally-ranked University of Colorado and Boxx at Cal State Dominguez Hills … Boxx also is enrolled in graduate school at Pepperdine and is one of several former ND players who are set to be married in coming months (as are Sobrero and former midfield great Holly Manthei).

FRESHMAN CLASS RANKED AMONG BEST IN NATION – Soccer America rated ND’s 10-player freshman class as the 5th-best group of incoming recruits, behind Santa Clara, UCLA, Texas and Portland … Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove, Ill.) was No. 6 on the list of top recruits (second among M, behind Nebraska’s Brittany Timko, who was 2nd overall) … D Christie Shaner (Ambler, Pa.) was No. 22 on that list, making ND one of seven schools with multiple players on that top-25 list … M/D Lizzie Reed (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) joins the above players as ND freshmen who were prep All-Americans.