Sept. 16, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Katie Thorlakson and Kerri Hanks entered the week as the nation’s top scoring tandem and their output on Friday night only strengthened that case, as each of the star forwards totaled two goals and two assists in leading the fifth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team to a 6-0 win over visiting DePaul, in the BIG EAST Conference opener for both teams.
Notre Dame (6-1-0) – which pushed its home unbeaten streak to 18 games and now is unbeaten in 60 consecutive home BIG EAST games (59-0-1) – dominated the run of play to the tune of a 25-2 edge in total shots, plus 15-1 in shots on goal and 5-1 in corner kicks. The Irish added to their nation-leading goal total that now includes 38 total scores (5.4 goals per game).
Sophomore forward Amanda Cinalli and junior midfielder Jen Buczkowski also scored for the Irish, with Buczkowski adding an assist on the fifth goal of the night.
DePaul (1-4-0) joined a long list of teams that have failed to knock off the homestanding Irish, as teams making their first visit to Alumni Field now are just 3-39-1 versus Notre Dame during the past 13 seasons (dating back to 1993).
Hanks entered the weekend with a share of the national goalscoring lead, pushing that total to 13 after the pair of goals versus DePaul. The second-semester freshman is averaging nearly two goals per game and already is more than halfway to the Notre Dame freshman record of 23 goals (set by Anne Makinen, in 1997).
Thorlakson – who checked in as the nation’s co-assist leader this week (plus sixth in points, with Hanks second) – now owns eight goals and 10 assists for the season. The six-point night pushed her career total to 138, passing current U.S. National Team standout Shannon Boxx into 10th in the Notre Dame record book. Thorlakson’s 45 goals and 48 assists make her the 22nd player in the 24-year history of Division I women’s soccer ever to reach 45 goals and 45 assists (16 have been “50-50” players).
The forward trio of Hanks (13G-3A/29 points), Thorlakson (8G-10A/26) and Cinalli (4G-5A/13) now has combined for 25 goals and 18 points – yielding 68 points between the three frontrunners in just seven games of the 2005 season (an average of nearly 10 pts/gm).
Senior midfielder Annie Schefter set up the first goal with her second assist of the season, sending a thru-ball into the center of the box. Thorlakson raced free and beat ‘keeper Sarah West with a shot to the lower left corner (8:51) that held up as her 14th career gamewinning goal.
Despite her high goal total, Hanks had totaled just one assist in the first six games of the 2005 season. That changed quickly in the early moments of the first half, as she provided the primary assists on goals by Cinalli and Thorlakson in a span of less than four minutes.
An entry pass from Hanks set up Cinalli on the right side of the box and her fellow 2004 signee showed her skill on the ball, receiving the pass with her back to the goal and quickly spinning to her left past the defender before striking a 16-yard shot that was perfectly placed into the lower corner of the far-left post (13:03).
Minutes later, Hanks was buzzing around the goal area and popped from close range that was batted by West – but Thorlakson knocked the rebound into the net for the early 3-0 lead (16:24).
A deflection also led to the fourth Irish goal midway through the half, this time on a cross from the left corner. West punched the ball forward but Buczkowki was there and quickly redirected the ball into the net to score for the second straight game (26:10).
Thorlakson may prove to be one of the top assist players in NCAA women’s soccer history and Hanks may well be on her way to ranking among the game’s top finishes. Both of those skills were on display early in the second half, as a pair of goals in a span of 104 seconds put the game out of reach.
Buczkowski – playing vs. a DePaul team that includes 10 of her former teammates (from Elk Grove HS and various club and state teams) – threaded the ball to Thorlakson near the top of the box and the Canadian National Teamer then sent a lead pass into the right side of the box. Hanks was making one of her classic slanting runs and took the ball in stride before punching a shot past West and into the left side of the net (48:59).
The final goal – less than two minutes later – was similar to the preceding goal, appearing almost as if the Irish were running a controlled drill for a particular play. Thorlakson again provided the pass from the top of the box to the right side and Hanks showed the range of her shots by delivering a much harder shot, blasting the ball into the far-left corner for the 6-0 final.
Junior Christie Shaner continued to provide strong play at one of the center back spots, subbing for her injured classmate Kim Lorenzen. Sophomore Ashley Jones again was running at Shaner’s usual left back spot while fifth-year veteran Candace Chapman was at her familiar right-back spot to round out the strong showing by the back line.
Updated Thorlakson Notes – her 138 points now are just 4 behind Rosella Guerrero (9th,with 142) on the ND career points list … averaging 1.79 pts/gm in her ND career (6th-best in Irish history) … now tied with Alison Lester for 10th on ND career goals list (45), moving past Susie Zilvitis and now just 3G behind former teammate Amanda Guertin … now ranks 6th in ND history with 42 career gamewinning points (her 14 GWGs still rank 8th, one behind Jenny Streiffer, while her 14 GWAs are 4th) … Streiffer (21 GWA) is the only player in the ND record book with more GWGs and more GWAs than Thorlakson … posted sixth game of her career with 6-plus points (all in past 34 GP) … has totaled 95 pts in past two seasons (34 GP, 2.79 ppg) … owns pts in 16 of past 18 games with the Irish … has appeared in all 77 games of her ND career … her two-year totals at Alumni Field in ’04 and ’05 include 66 pts (22G-22A0 in 18 GP (3.67 ppg, 8 GWG) … has 39 pts in her past 9 home games (13G-13A) and 84 pts in past three seasons at home (29G-26A, 10 GWG in 34 GP from ’03-’05) … the 21 previous players to reach 45G-45A include four from ND (Streiffer, Cindy Daws, Anne Makinen and Meotis Erikson) and seven from UNC (Mia Hamm, Alyssa Ramsey, Debbie Keller, Robin Confer, Cindy Parlow, April Heinrichs and Tisha Venturini), plus former players from SCU (Mandy Clemens), UCSB (Carin Jennings), Monmouth (Christie Pearce), Penn State (Christie Welsh), Florida (Abby Wambach), Army (Holly Pedley), UConn (Jen Carlson), Portland (Shannon MacMillan) and two-school performer Danielle Garrett Fotopoulos (SMU/Florida)
Trendy – ND owns a 67-8 scoring edge over the past 17-plus games … the Irish have held 29 of their past 30 opponents to 0-1 goals … ND’s all-time record in series openers now is 73-25-2 (.7340), including 41-5-0 since ’93 and 50-8-0 in all series openers at home (24-3-0 since ’93) … have gone 50-1-1 in past 52 games when scoring first … own a 305-9-12 all-time record (.954) when holding opponent to 0-1 goals (108-3-5 since 9/9/99) and 219-3-1 (.984) when scoring 3-plus goals (119-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995) … ND is 43-2-2 in its past 47 regular-season games … the Irish own 212 straight wins when claiming a 2-0 lead (235-0-1 all-time) … ND is 120-4-2 all-time at Alumni Field when facing a team not ranked in the NSCAA top-25.
Other Updated Team Notes – Hanks ranks 8th on the ND freshman goalscoring list (13) … Buczkowski is one of four Chicago-area players on the ’05 ND team (also Jill Krivacek, Kim Lorenzen and Brittany Bock) … Buczkowski and Schefter have played in all 58 games during the past three seasons (Shaner in 57 of the 58, including 55 straight) … Buczkowski has registered 9 of her 12 career goals and 34 of 46 career points (74%) with the Irish in the confines of Alumni Field … ND has posted three 6-0 wins this season (also vs. Vermont and Maryland), plus the 11-1 win over UNH … the ND players have combined for 898 career games played (544 GS) … ND has allowed just 28 goals in the 1st half of games during the ’01-’05 seasons (98 GP; 0.29/gm) … the Irish have been equally dominant in the 1st (90-13) and 2nd half (85-16) over the past three seasons (’03-’05), including 20-2 in the 1st half and 18-3 in the 2nd half during the ’05 season … since a 3-2 loss to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002, ND has trailed in just 12 of 62 games for 283:06 (5.1% of 5,504:11), going 54-6-2 in that 62-game stretch … Randy Waldrum now is 125-21-5 (.844) in 7 years at ND … the Irish have owned the corner-kick mating in 16 of the past 19 games and have scored in 197 of 205 all-time regular-season games (.961) … ND’s updated season stats include a 38-5 scoring edge (avg. 5.4-0.7), plus 148-27 in shots (21.1-3.9), 90-14 in shots on goal (12.9-2.0) and 41-8 in CKs (5.9-1.1) … ND’s 5.43 goals-per game would finish just shy of the ND record (5.45, in ’97) … the ’96 ND team (5.25) is the only other to average more than 4.3 gpg … ND’s 3.9 shots allowed/gm would break the ND record of 4.0 (set in ’97), as would the 2.00 SOG allowed/gm (besting the 2.12, also in ’97) … the Irish also are on pace for the lowest opp. CK avg. in ND history (1.14; standing record is 1.2 in ’97) … Hanks is on pace for 75 pts in the 18-game regular season, Thorlakson for 69 (Daws holds the ND record for pts in a full season, with 72 in ’96).
DePaul (1-4-1) 0 0 – 0
#5 Notre Dame (6-1-0) 4 2 – 6
ND 1. Katie Thorlakson 7 (Annie Schefter) 8:51; ND 2. Amanda Cinalli 4 (Kerri Hanks) 13:03; ND 3. Thorlakson 8 (Hanks) 16:24; ND 4. Jen Buczkowski 2 (-) D 5. Hanks 12 (Thorlakson, Buczkowski) 48:59; ND 6. Hanks 13 (Thorlakson) 50:43.
Shots: DEP 0-2 – 2, ND 17-8 – 25
Corner Kicks: DEP 0-1 – 1, ND 2-3 – 5
Saves: DEP 9 (Sarah West), ND 1 (Lauren Karas 1 in 62:16; Nikki Westfall 0 in 27:44)
Fouls: DEP 11, ND 9
Offsides: DEP 1, ND 3
Yellow Card: Jen Lee (DEP) 6:20
Attendance: 1,914