April 29, 2011

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The honors continue to flow in for the 2010 NCAA national champion Notre Dame women’s soccer team, as the Fighting Irish will be recognized for their latest title victory on Sunday at 4 p.m. (ET) prior to the South Bend Silverhawks’ baseball game against the Great Lakes (Mich.) Loons at Coveleski Stadium in South Bend. Members of the Notre Dame squad will be on hand for the ceremony, which will feature a video highlight tribute, and will see assistant coach Ken Nuber throw out the first pitch (head coach Randy Waldrum currently is in southern California, assisting at the United States Under-20 National Team camp).

Tickets for this game are on sale at the Coveleski Stadium box office, calling (574) 235-9988, or by going on-line to the Silverhawks’ web site at www.silverhawks.com. The South Bend Silverhawks are the Midwest League (Class A) affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Great Lakes Loons are affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 2010 Fighting Irish women’s soccer team captured its third NCAA national championship with a 21-2-2 record, ignoring a No. 4 regional seed (No. 13-16 overall) in the NCAA Championship by reeling off six consecutive wins in the tournament, the last four against seeded squads and two against No. 1-seeded teams. Notre Dame ultimately hoisted the hardware on the back of consecutive 1-0 College Cup wins over Ohio State and Stanford in Cary, N.C., two of the five shutout victories the Fighting Irish registered during their NCAA postseason run when they outscored the opposition by a staggering 15-1 margin.

The exclusive DVD documentary on the 2010 championship season entitled “The Extra Mile: The Story of the 2010 Notre Dame National Champion Women’s Soccer Team,” is now on sale, with order forms available by CLICKING HERE. A short excerpt from this documentary, which was produced in conjunction with LeSea Broadcasting and WHME-TV in South Bend and offers behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and stories about the Fighting Irish during their memorable 2010 season, can be seen by CLICKING HERE.

Led by Waldrum, the reigning National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Mondo National Coach of the Year, the Fighting Irish will return seven starters (plus three others with previous starting experience) and 20 total players from their national championship team, led by senior forward Melissa Henderson (Garland, Texas/Berkner) — the 2010 Hermann Trophy runner-up/Honda Sports Award recipient/NSCAA first-team All-American and United States Under-23 National Team forward, as well as 2010 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player/co-captain Jessica Schuveiller (Plano, Texas/Plano West) and 2009 NSCAA first-team All-America midfielder/Hermann Trophy semifinalist Courtney Barg (Plano, Texas/Plano West). Notre Dame also welcomes a stellar six-player incoming freshman class that includes five players ranked among the top 60 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.

For more information on the Notre Dame women’s soccer program, join the Fighting Irish women’s soccer news Twitter page (www.twitter.com/NDsoccernews) or sign up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the sidebar on the women’s soccer page at UND.com.

— ND —