Dec. 3, 2004
CARY, N.C. – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team had a busy first full day in the Raleigh-Durham area while preparing for Friday’s NCAA semifinal showdown with Santa Clara (live on ESPN2, at 4:30 EST).
The team arrived on Wednesday night, Dec. 1, and trained at the practice field adjacent to SAS Soccer Park in Cary. Select members of the team and administration then participated in various meetings and media sessions before the team had another practice on Thursday afternoon, again on the practice field as the game field was not quite ready at that time (see photo gallery for photos from Thursday).
Thursday night then featured the traditional tournament banquet, with fifth-year defender Melissa Tancredi serving as the team’s speaker in an address to the crowd.
Plenty of parents and some noteworthy alums (among them Monica Gerardo, LaKeysia Beene, Kelly Lindsey, Anne Makinen and Kelly Tulisiak) have converged on Cary to help cheer Notre Dame on to victory.
Be sure to check back to und.com and the College Cup Central link for continuing coverage as the Irish take aim at a win over Santa Clara while continuing their quest for the program’s second national title.
Quotes from the media sessions follow below:
Notre Dame Head Coach Randy Waldrum
“Most people don’t realize what a great game we played with Santa Clara earlier this year. They just look at the score and see that we won 5-2. It was a 2-2 game with six or seven minutes left to play and we were able to break it open late. Santa Clara has an incredible program and we’ve got a lot of respect and we know them very well. That is one good thing, we know Santa Clara extremely well. We’ve played them I think seven or eight times in the last six years. It seems like it’s kind of always down between us when we get to this point.”
“We have some key players who are very good in the air with great size. Melissa Tancredi rarely gets beat in the air and we normally dominate the box in most instances and that translates to the attacking side. Katie Thorlakson has become better with her service on the corner kicks and finding the spaces. As a coach, you’ve got to look at what you have and try to be successful at that. And having multiple targets just makes it harder for the matchups.”
“You can learn from your wins and your losses and basically we had got to a comfort level before the loss to UConn and we usually don’t give the lead up too often. UConn came out and played extremely motivated in the second half and we didn’t match that, so I think it might have been a wakeup call. After that it was a matter of realizing that’s the last time you can lose before your season is over, that’s when the team stepped up. It was a mental problem where we let that game get away but the team has been very strong mentally since that loss.”
“I would say hands-down that Katie Thorlakson is the best player in the country. The thing that really separates Katie is that she is a 90-minute player. She is going to contribute in the overall flow of the game. She has a knack for keeping other players around her in the game. And when you look at her stats, 22 goals and 23 assists, only five players in Division I history ever have done that and you are talking about players on the caliber of Mia Hamm. And it has been against a tough schedule.”
“The Notre Dame name gets you in the door just about anywhere. You are the most recognizable institution in the country but we’ve found that we are very well known overseas. There’s a lot of other factors than just the name that sell it. Kids realize that there may not be professional soccer in their livelihood. They want to go somewhere where they can play for a national championship and grow as players, and we think we provide that in our program, but they are going to get the academics as well. That’s one thing that we sell our recruits. Notre Dame is a place where you get a degree for life. People at Notre Dame want to make sure they know what you are doing and they want to make sure the rest of your life that you are contributing something to society and staying in touch. So that makes it a special place.”
Junior Forward Katie Thorlakson
“I think our team focuses a lot on ball movement and our defense is very strong. So we like to build up from our defense to our forwards and get a lot of support from our midfield.”
“(The Canadians) all know how each other play and we all bring a physical attribute to the game. We know what it takes to win.”
“I’ve taken a lot of time to try and finish the ball this season. Last year I was behind Amy Warner, one of our best goal scorers, and I had less of a role. With the loss of Mary Boland, I’ve had to step up and take a bigger role.”
“When it came down to it, this was the time for me to be at Notre Dame. I knew I was going to miss out on something great either way. And considering that I had been to the U-19 World Championship before, I wanted to be at Notre Dame this year.”
Junior Midfielder Annie Schefter
“I think we are all expecting a very different game and a very different look as far as what we expect from Santa Clara. The last game we played was a long time ago, we’ve changed and they’ve changed. It was kind of a weird game and we’re not expecting a similar type of game. We are hoping to come out and play our best because they are very good team.”
“We’ve dealt with some major injuries the past few years and now this year with one of our best players, Mary Boland, going down. Every team has to deal with it, you’re always going to have adversity. You just have to roll with the punches.”
Senior Defender Melissa Tancredi
“We have been playing for a long time this year since going to Brazil in early August. It was a great chance to work the freshmen into things and it helped our chemistry as a team. We were able to learn where certain players are comfortable on the field.”
“We had a banquet where we brought most of the 1995 team in and they talked about focus and how being really, really close to your team helped a lot with them winning the national championship. The things they had to say really hit home with all of us. They didn’t tell us it was going to be easy, it’s hard work to get to this point.”
Sophomore Defender Kim Lorenzen
“Most of it has to do with the fact that (the Chicago players) have grown up and changed as players together. Playing with Jen (Buczkowski) and Jill (Krivacek), it changes you and you learn from them.”
“It’s more of a work ethic more than focused on the physical side. Jen, Jill and I played for teams that really emphasized technical play and making good decision on the field more than overpowering the opposition.”
Sophomore Midfielder Jill Krivacek
“I always wanted to come to Notre Dame and just having the chance to be in the `final four’ is a great thing. Last year was a disappointment for us and I think I actually will feel what all this means when I’m out on the field. So I’m really excited.”
“I remember when I was growing up, I would put in extra work with just the thought of someday playing at Notre Dame. It was great motivation to someday be in this position as part of this great program.”
“We use our size advantage in the air and on punts and goalkicks. We can tell how our intensity is by our heading duels. If we have a good percentage over the other team, then we are playing pretty well. Also having good success off free-kicks and corner kicks, when you get to this point those things are key.”
“It was awesome that Jen (Buczkowski) decided to stay and it showed her great commitment. She made the best decision for her.”