Notre Dame Takes On Harvard

Nov. 15, 2000

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Notre Dame Women’s Soccer Game Notes
NCAA Third-Round Game
vs. Harvard (Nov. 17, 2000)

THE THIRD ROUND: The top-seeded Notre Dame women’s soccer team (21-0-1) will resume play in the 2000 NCAA Championship with a third-round game versus Harvard, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Nov. 17, at Alumni Field … the winner faces the winner of the Santa Clara at BYU game in the quarterfinal round (Nov. 24-26) … ND has advanced to the quarterfinals every year since 1994 … the Irish were one of 16 teams to enjoy a 1st-round bye before downing Michigan in the 2nd round (3-1) …. Harvard received one of 24 at-large berths in the NCAAs and opened with a 2-1 win over Quinnipiac before posting a surprising 3-0 win at Hartford in the 2nd round … just three of the 16 teams that received 1st-round byes failed to advance to the 3rd round, with two of those teams (Hartford, California) in ND’s quadrant of the bracket (the other was Florida).

GAME COVERAGE OFFERINGS: Media and fans wishing to track the progress of the ND-Harvard game may do so through a variety of offerings that are being finalized prior to gametime (please check back at the ND website for updated information in regards to these offerings) … the Notre Dame athletic department and WVFI-AM 640 tentatively will broadcast the ND-Harvard game, with the broadcast available via the internet at www.und.com or www.wvfi.nd.edu … ND also plans on introducing its sports hotline beginning with Friday’s soccer game, at (219) 631-3000, and in-game updates will be placed on the hotline … the Notre Dame website (www.und.com) also has added a “breaking news” voice mailbox on the main page … again, please check the Notre Dame website for updates and details about these potential offerings.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Notre Dame has played in every NCAA Championship since 1993, including five trips to the semifinals, four title-game appearances and the 1995 championship season … the Irish own an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 21-6-1 (.768), with three of those losses coming at the hands of North Carolina in the championship game (5-0 in ’94, 1-0 in OT in ’96, 2-0 in ’99) … ND dropped its first-ever NCAA Tournament game to George Mason in 1993 (2-1) while ending the ’97 season with an NCAA semi-final loss to UConn (2-1) and a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Portland at Alumni Field … the Irish claimed the 1995 NCAA title with a semi-final win over North Carolina (1-0) and a triple-overtime win over Portland in the title game (1-0).

POISON IVY: The first 12 seasons of Notre Dame women’s soccer featured 79 different opponents, with none of them coming from the Ivy League … that all changed this season on Oct. 18 at Yale-when Anne Makinen came off the bench to spark a 4-0 Irish win-and Notre Dame will face its second Ivy League opponent in the last month, when Harvard comes calling for the 3rd-round NCAA matchup.

SERIES OPENERS: Notre Dame has won its last 13 series openers, dating back to a 5-4 overtime loss to Connecticut in 1995 … the Irish own an all-time record of 56-23-2 in series openers (.704), including wins this season over Tulsa (2-0) and at Yale (4-0) … since 1993, ND is 23-3-0 in series openers, with two of those losses coming in ’93-to North Carolina (3-0, in Houston) and to George Mason (2-1, at Wisconsin in 1st round of NCAAs) … in series openers played at home, ND is 36-6-0 (11-1-0 since ’93) … during the 13-year history of Notre Dame women’s soccer, opposing teams have won just 14 percent of the time (9-57-2) when making their first visit to Notre Dame … since the beginning of the 1993 season, the Irish are 26-1-1 when facing an opponent making its first trip to ND, with the ’95 loss to UConn and a 2-2 tie vs. UNC in ’97 … noteworthy teams that have dropped their first game at ND include UCLA (8-0, ’97 NCAA quarterfinals), Nebraska (6-0, ’97 NCAA 2nd round), Santa Clara (1-0, ’95) and Washington (4-0, ’96) … Portland (2-1, ’92) and Stanford (3-0, ’92) are the more noteworthy teams to win their first game at ND, with UNC settling for the tie.

THE REALLY BIG SERIES OPENERS: The ND-Harvard game will mark the fifth time that the Irish have played a series opener in the NCAAs, with a 3-1-0 mark in the previous four (3-0-0 at home): a 2-1 loss to George Mason in the 1st round of the ’93 NCAAs (at Wisconsin), a 2-1 win over Maryland in the 1996 quarterfinals, a 6-0 win over Nebraska in the 1997 second round and an 8-0 win over UCLA in the ’97 quarterfinals.

2nd-Round NCAA Recap (@ND 3, MICH 1, Nov. 12)

ND shook off a disjointed 1st half before surging past upstart Michigan in the 2nd half … ND finished with a 29-4 shot edge and a 6-1 corner kick margin … Michigan managed just two shots in the 1st half but nearly held the lead, with Kacy Beitel smacking a 20-yard shot off the crossbar in the 24th minute before tying the game on a free kick-header combination seven minutes later … ND also opened the scoring on a set play before Ashley Dryer-who missed the final 16 minutes of the 1st half due to a bruised ankle-sparked the Irish in the 2nd half, with the primary assist on Amanda Guertin’s go-ahead goal before scoring the 2nd goal of her career for the final margin .. the 1st goal developed as Anne Makinen set up for a free kick just outside the left side of the penalty box and sent a dipping cross toward the left side of the goal, with Meotis Erikson making a run from the far side and deftly volleying the ball into the left side of the net (11:35) … Michigan’s goal came via a service from 40 yards out by Andrea Kayal, who sent the ball into the top part of the box … Beitel slanted in from the left and nudged a header past charging ‘keeper Liz Wagner (30:23) … ND retook the lead as Ali Lovelace played the ball to Dryer on the right flank … Dryer made a run at the right side of the box and slid a pass over to an unmarked Guertin, who showed the patience of a veteran before blasting an eight-yard shot past ‘keeper Carissa Stewart (53:46) …. eight minutes later, Dryer took a long pass from Monica Gonzalez on the left side and used a combination of moves to slide by a pair of Michigan players before sending a low crossing shot inside the far right post (65:55).

ND 1. Meotis Erikson 12 (Anne Makinen) 11:35, MICH 1. Kacy Beitel 10 (Andrea Kayal) 30:23, ND 2. Amanda Guertin 11 (Ashley Dryer, Ali Lovelace) 53:46, ND 3. Dryer 2 (Monica Gonzalez) 65:55.
Shots: MICH 2-2/4, ND 13-16/29.
Corner Kicks: MICH 1, ND 6.
Saves: MICH 9 (Carissa Stewart), ND 0 (Liz Wagner).
Fouls: MICH 12, ND 11.
Offsides: MICH 2, ND 0

Around The Horn – Quick Notes on the Irish Team Notes

• ND has outscored its opponents 71-7, a 10-to-1 ratio that ranks behind only ND’s ’97 squad (135-9, 15-to-1).
• The 2000 squad is the second in ND’s 13-year history to enter the NCAAs with an unbeaten record (the ’97 team likewise was 20-0-1).
• ND headed into the NCAAs as the No. 1 overall seed for the 2nd time in its history (also ’94).
• The current 22-game unbeaten streak ranks 3rd in ND history (24-0-0 from ’95-’96, 23-0-1 at start of ’97).
• Last week’s Michigan game marked the 14th time this season that ND has allowed 0-2 shots on goal (1).
• Prior to the BIG EAST quarterfinals vs. Miami, ND had played six of seven games on the road (during a 27-day stretch), including 10-of-11 days on the road from Oct. 14-24.
• The Irish have allowed just 4G in the last 17-plus games (1,628 minutes) and have 11 shutouts in the last 14 (75 shots-32 on goal-and 28 CKs allowed in that 14-game stretch).
• ND has led for 57% of the minutes while trailing just 1.4% of the time (28 minutes, vs. BC).
• ND’s 15 shutouts are three shy of the team record, set in ’95 and ’97.

• The Irish have scored in the first half 17 times while going scoreless past the 55:00 mark just three times.
• Season stat edges: 542-123 in shots (avg. 24-6), 307-57 in shots on goal (avg. 14-3), 144-49 in CKs (avg. 7-2).
• ND has reached 30 shots six times this season and has owned a shot margin of 25-plus in eight games.
• The Irish are 42-4-2 (.896) in the two-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum.
• ND is 116-7-1 (.940) in 11 seasons at Alumni Field, including 92-3-1 in the last 96 and 81-1-0 vs. unranked teams (74 straight wins) … ND’s current 24-game home winning streak includes a 64-10 scoring edge.
• ND is ranked No. 1 for the first time since ’96.
• The Irish own a 34-3-1 all-time record when playing as the top-ranked team.
• ND posted the 3rd unbeaten regular season in its 13-year history (17-0-1 in ’94, 18-0-1 in ’97).
• ND returned 16 letterwinners but lost 5 starters from its ’99 team (21-4-1, NCAA runner-up).
• The Irish lead the nation in team GAA (0.31) and rank 8th in scoring (3.23 goals/gm).
• ND’s typical starting 11 (from nine states and Finland) is representative of the University’s national student body … the 27-player roster includes players from 17 states, two foreign countries.

• The Irish opened 16-0-0, besting the top start in team history (13-0-0 in ’96)
• ND surged to #1 with tough four-game stretch (Sept. 8-17), beating Santa Clara (6-1, most goals vs. SCU in 20 yrs) and Stanford (2-1, OT) in ND’s KeyBank Classic and current #2 Washington (5-0) and Portland (1-0, in tough atmosphere) at Portland Adidas Invitational.
• ND is 28-0-1 in its last 29 games vs. BIG EAST teams (70-3-2/.947 since joining the BIG EAST in ’95).
• ND owns a 15-0-0 all-time record in the BIG EAST Tournament (54-7 scoring edge).

Player Notes

• Anne Makinen has 17 pts (5G-7A) in 12 career BIG EAST Tournament games and 41 (14G-13A) in 24 career postseason games (including 5G-8A in 13 NCAA games) … Meotis Erikson has 12 pts (4G-4A) in 13 career NCAA games (9G-11A-29 pts in 24 total postseason games).
• Amy Warner (9), Amanda Guertin (11) and Randi Scheller (6) are close to joining the ’97 trio of Makinen (23) , Meotis Erikson (22) and Monica Gonzalez (10) as the second threesome of ND freshmen to reach 10G in a season … freshmen have scored 38% of ND’s goals (26 of 68).
• Guertin has 16 points in the last 12 games (7G-2A), Scheller has 12 (4G-4A).
• Erikson, Vanessa Pruzinsky and Liz Wagner are the only ND players to start all 22 games this season.
• Erikson has appeared in all 98 games of her career, tied with three other players for 6th in ND history … she could set the ND record for career GP (102) by appearing in five NCAA games.
• Wagner has come up big in the big games (24 SV, 2 GA in six regular-season games vs. top-25 teams) … her 0.30 season GAA (8 solo shutouts, 7 shared) now ranks 1st in the nation … Wagner’s 700-minute shutout streak was snapped in the NCAAs vs. Michigan.
• Makinen (63G-56A) and Erikson (58G-41A) are the second pair of ND classmates ever to reach 150 career points.
• Makinen is 4A shy of becoming the sixth Division I women’s soccer player ever to reach 60G-60A.
• Senior Kelly Lindsey is ND’s only player on the defensive third who had started more than 26 career games prior to 2000 (Makinen and Erikson were the only Ms or Fs with more than 26 GS).
• Junior M Mia Sarkesian-who had the first goal and assisted on the second in ND’s 3-0 BIG EAST semi-final win over Boston College-was named the tournament’s outstanding player, after playing a leading role in the pivotal midfield battle in the BIG EAST title game.

Michigan Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
“Notre Dame certainly is the best team we’ve seen this year, in terms of all-around and who they can bring in. … Notre Dame has so many weapons and good speed and everybody is so good on the ball.”

Notre Dame Head Coach Randy Waldrum
“During halftime, I didn’t talk to them about anything tactically. I told them, ‘If you want to waste 21 games from this year over the next 45 minutes by playing like you did the first half, then go do it. If you want to play Friday, then go get this thing turned around.’ There wasn’t anything tactically that we were doing wrong. We just weren’t focused and that’s my responsibility. I didn’t have them ready. “

“In the second half, we were better, corrected some problems and pretty much had the game under control. Amanda Guertin is so composed around the box and that kind of showed on her goal. She ran in there with speed, slowed down and settled it before knocking it in. … You want to see how your players are going to respond under pressure situations, and we’ve been under that enough times this season.”

“Michigan played very well but I didn’t think we were very good in any phase of our game today. We just seemed to not be focused today. We made a lot of mistakes positionally that we got away with it. It’s the first time all season that we’ve really been that disorganized. The first 20 minutes, we played pretty well.

“Meotis had a nice goal off Anne’s free kick but we brought some other players on. Normally, when we have get into a rotation we’ve been very good but we just didn’t step up to the plate.

“We always talk about how Mia Sarkesian and Ashley Dryer don’t get enough credit for what they do. But when Ashley went out in the first half, we really lost a handle of things in the midfield. And then to come back with an assist and a goal. It just shows how important a player she is for our team.”

GAME NOTES

REST FOR THE WEARY: ND is completing a six-day break from competition (Nov. 6-11), its longest stretch without a game all season … the Irish closed the regular season by playing four road games and being on the road for 11 days in a 12-day stretch (Oct. 14-24) … ND played twice in a week nine times this season and enjoyed significantly higher production in the first games of week (38-3 scoring edge) than in the second games (16-2), with most of those games typically played Friday-Sunday.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON: Detailed information on Harvard can be found at their official website (www.fas.harvard.edu/~athletic/).

MAKINEN, SENIORS MAKE FINAL PUSH: Senior M Anne Makinen is putting the finishing touches on her stellar Notre Dame career and is widely considered to be the favorite for national player-of-the-year honors … Makinen and the team’s other fourth-year seniors-F Meotis Erikson, D Kerri Bakker, D Kelly Lindsey and D/F Monica Gonzalez-have helped ND compile a record of 86-8-4 during the 1997-2000 seasons (.898), good for 4th in ND history … the class of 1998 won 92.1 pct. of its games (91-6-4, from ’94-’97) while the classes of ’97 (.903, 87-8-3, from ’93-’96) and ’99 (.901, 89-8-4, from ’95-’98) also enjoyed stellar four-year runs … if ND closes with five more wins to claim the NCAA title, the senior class will finish with a .902 four-year winning pct. (90-8-4) that would rank as the 3rd-best winning pct. and 2nd-most wins during any four-year period of the ND women’s soccer 13-year history.

STINGY: Notre Dame has yielded goals in back-to-back games just once this season, actually doing so in a three-game stretch from Sept. 3-10 vs. Providence (5-1), Santa Clara (6-1) and Stanford (2-1/OT) … since the Stanford game, the Irish have allowed just three goals in their last 17 games (by Boston College and Michigan twice), with shutout streaks of two games, five games, three games and three games in that stretch.

TOUGH TO AVOID THOSE LOSSES: Notre Dame (21-0-1) is the nation’s only unbeaten team among 271 Division I women’s soccer programs, with just two other teams owning a record with two losses (Washington) or better (once-beaten Nebraska), following Furman and Jacksonville’s losses in the 1st round of the NCAAs … the Irish have headed into the NCAAs without a loss just once previously, in 1997 (also 20-0-1, with that season ending on a 2-1 loss to UConn in the NCAA semifinals).

TOP SEED HISTORY: Notre Dame received the top seed in the 48-team NCAA tournament, marking just the second time that the Irish have been seeded first overall … the ’94 team was the top seed and posted wins over George Mason (3-1), William & Mary (2-1) and Portland (1-0) before losing to North Carolina (5-0) in the championship game …. the top four seeds in the tournament are guaranteed home field until the semifinals, which will be played Dec. 1 at San Jose’s Spartan Stadium (followed by the Dec. 3 championship game) … the other eight seeds include: No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 Penn State and No. 8 California.

THE BRACKETS: Should Notre Dame advance to the quarterfinal round (Nov. 24-26), the Irish would face the winner of the 3rd-round game between Santa Clara (15-6-1) at BYU (18-3-1), with that game set for Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m. MST … SCU advanced with a 3-1 home win over Cal Poly and a 2-0 win at 8th-seeded California while BYU dispatched Stanford (5-0) in the 2nd round … four other 3rd-round games will be played on Friday night: Virginia at 5th-seeded North Carolina, Connecticut at 4th-seeded Nebraska, Florida State at 3rd-seeded Clemson and Dartmouth at 7th-seeded Penn State … the final two 3rd-round games will be played on Sunday: Texas A&M at 6th-seeded UCLA and Portland at 2nd-seeded Washington.

ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM ON THE NCAAS
“Receiving the top seed is a great tribute to the hard work, cohesiveness and resiliency that this team has shown throughout the season. You always will face tough tests in the postseason and I expect that to be the case this year. Michigan is a team that had an up-and-down season before getting some solid results in the Big Ten Tournament. They have some dangerous players up top that you always have to contend with but they are a team that we have played several times in the last few seasons.

SIX STRAIGHT RANKS SIXTH

• ND’s string of six consecutive BIG EAST championships rates as the 6th-longest ever recorded in any of the 20 BIG EAST-sponsored sports and is 3rd-longest in any of the nine “team-based” sports, trailing only UConn’s seven consecutive women’s basketball titles (’94-’00) and Pittsburgh’s seven consecutive volleyball titles (’88-’94, with ND winning the next four after joining the league in ’95).

• Pittsburgh also won 10 straight BIG EAST championships in men’s swimming and diving (’83-’92) and nine straight in women’s swimming and diving (’83-’91) while Boston College won eight consecutive BIG EAST men’s tennis titles from ’81-’88.

• To put ND’s tournament streak in greater perspective, no school ever has won more than two consecutive BIG EAST titles in men’s basketball while the longest BIG EAST championship streaks in field hockey and women’s outdoor track have been just three years.

• Four others sports-men’s golf, men’s soccer, softball and men’s indoor track-have failed to produce a streak of better than four straight titles by one team while the longest BIG EAST title streaks in women’s tennis and men’s outdoor track have been five years.

• ND’s six straight women’s soccer titles equals the title runs fashioned by the ’83-’88 Villanova women’s indoor track teams and VU’s ’89-’94 women’s cross country squads.

PRIMED FOR POSTSEASON: Senior M Anne Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson have done their share of scoring during the postseason, with Makinen amassing 41 points (14G-13A, 3 GWG) in 24 career postseason games while Erikson has 30 (10G-10A) … that dynamic duo has combined to average 3.0 points per game in the postseason, including a combined 2.3 points per game in NCAA Tournament play (Makinen has 5G-8A and Erikson 4G-4A in 13 career NCAA Tournament games) … senior D Kelly Lindsey started all of ND’s 20 postseason games during the previous three seasons and has 2G-1A in 13 career NCAA Tournament games (including a game-winning assist in the 2-1 win over Nebraska in ’98, plus the winning sudden-victory penalty kick vs. the ‘Huskers in the ’99 NCAA quarterfinals) … more than half (4G-3A) of sophomore F Ali Lovelace’s 20 career points have come in the postseason … junior G Liz Wagner (who led three shutout efforts in the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament) had limited postseason experience prior to 2000, including short stints in the ’99 BIG EAST Tournament vs. Seton Hall and UConn and 12 minutes of action in the second round of the NCAAs vs. Dayton … Wagner actually saw some late-game action as a field player in 1998 BIG EAST Tournament routs of West Virginia and Syracuse (roster limits expanded from 18 to 22 players this season).

YOU NEVER KNOW

• Conventional thinking predicted that ND would experience a dropoff after losing five starters from the 1999 NCAA runner-up team to graduation, including three All-Americans (F/M Jen Streiffer, D Jen Grubb and G LaKeysia Beene) and ND all-time leading goalscorer Jenny Heft (80 career goals, with Streiffer ranking 2nd at 70), plus hard-nosed D Kara Brown (5th in ND history with 99 GP) … those five seniors combined to log 485 games from ’96-’99, including 440 starts.

• While struggling at times this season with consistent finishing, ND has risen to the top of the polls thanks to a skilled midfield that excels in possession and distribution and steady play in the defensive third that has yielded just six goals in 21 games (compared to 18 GA in the first 21 games of ’99).

• ND’s trio of central-based midfielders-senior Anne Makinen, junior Mia Sarkesian and sophomore Ashley Dryer-has provided consistent ball control that has yielded huge edges in shots (542-123), shots on goal (307-58) and corner kicks (144-49).

• The Irish defense has thrived thanks to a seven-player group that has found strong chemistry despite limited experience … that group has included junior G Liz Wagner, senior central Ds Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker, junior right back Lindsey Jones and sophomore left back Vanessa Pruzinsky.

• Senior Monica Gonzalez also has seen significant time on the D flank while sophomore Nancy Mikacenic has done a solid job when called on to play in the middle-giving the Irish D an effective six-player rotation … Lindsey is the only player among the six D who had made more than 26 career starts in the Irish defense prior to this season (Jones made 17 starts as a freshman M, Gonzalez was used strictly as a F prior to 2000 … and Wagner had no previous career starts) … Mikacenic (21 GS as a M in ’99) has started five games in place of the injured Lindsey.

SCOUTING THE IRISH: Notre Dame returned 16 of 22 letterwinners but lost five starters from its ’99 team that went 21-4-1 and advanced to the NCAA title game … senior M and leading national player-of-the-year candidate Anne Makinen (13G-15A) has scored or assisted on nearly half of ND’s goals this season (28 of 71) while other top scorers include freshman Fs Amy Warner (9G-4A) and Amanda Guertin (11G-3A) and senior F Meotis Erikson (12G-9A) … junior Liz Wagner has played most of the minutes in the nets, with 44 saves, six goals allowed (one on a PK) and the nation’s top GAA (0.30).

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: There was plenty of women’s soccer action at ND’s Alumni Field during the eight-day stretch of Oct. 29-Nov. 5, as the facility served as the site of the BIG EAST semifinals (Nov. 3) and championship game (Nov. 5) after also hosting the Oct. 29 quarterfinal game vs. Miami … ND also could play host to three NCAA Tournament games, meaning the Irish potentially could play six straight postseason games at home.

FOR STARTERS: The Irish rediscovered their 1st-half scoring form in the regular-season finale at Michigan, with scores from senior F Monica Gonzalez and junior M Mia Sarkesian … ND had totaled just two 1st-half goals in the previous five games (vs. BC, Syracuse), compared to 20 first-half goals in the first 12 games … the Irish have totaled 16 second-half goals during the last nine games (compared to just nine in the first half) … over the course of the entire season, ND has scored 11 more goals in the 2nd half (40) than in the first 45 minutes (29) … ND owns a 29-4 scoring edge in the 1st half, 40-3 in the 2nd half (2-0 in OT) … the Irish own a 29-2 scoring edge away from home this season (42-5 at home).

IRISH POST BEST START: ND’s 16-0-0 start bested the ND record for top won-loss record to open a season (the ’96 team opened 13-0-0) … that ’96 team posted a 66-6 scoring edge through the first 13 games before dropping a 3-1 game at 9th-ranked Santa Clara (just days after the Irish had risen to No. 1 in the polls) … the ’96 team owned five wins over ranked teams during that 13-0 start, including victories over No. 14 Wisconsin (3-1), No. 13 Washington (4-0), No. 4 UConn (2-1), No. 1 UNC (2-1, OT) and No. 18 Stanford (4-0) … by comparison, the current Irish squad owns a 68-6 scoring edge and has posted four wins and one tie vs. teams that were ranked in the NSCAA poll at game time: No. 2 Santa Clara (6-1), No. 10 Stanford (2-1, OT), No. 15 Washington (5-0), No. 25 UConn (0-0) and No. 24 UConn (1-0).

PERFECT MARK: The Irish concluded Mid-Atlantic Division play with an undefeated record (6-0-0) for the second consecutive season and own a 54-2-2 (.948) all-time record in BIG EAST regular-season play (including cross-divisional games and the recent tie at UConn, which was not part of the official BIG EAST schedule) … prior to the tie at UConn, ND had won 25 straight games vs. BIG EAST teams (19 regular season, six BIG EAST Tournament) … ND’s only blemishes in BIG EAST regular-season play include a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in the ’95 NCAA Championship season, a 1-1 tie at UConn in ’98, a 3-2 loss two days later at Seton Hall and the recent 0-0 tie at UConn …. since joining the BIG EAST in ’95, the Irish own a 70-3-2 record (.947) in all games vs. BIG EAST opponents (including a 2-0 win over UConn in the ’95 NCAA quarterfinals and a 2-1 loss to UConn in the ’97 NCAA semi’s) … Notre Dame’s 75 games vs. BIG EAST teams since ’95 have included a 370-33 scoring edge (avg. 4.9-0.4), with a 60-7 scoring edge in 15 BIG EAST Tournament games (avg. 4.0-0.5).

IRISH COMPLETE UNDEFEATED REGULAR SEASON: The 5-1 win at Michigan yielded just the third undefeated regular season in the 13-year history of ND women’s soccer (17-0-1) … the ’94 team headed into the postseason with a similar 17-0-1 mark while the ’97 Irish squad went 18-0-1 in the regular season.

SCORE 10, LET IN 1: ND owns a 71-7 scoring edge, yielding nearly a 12-to-1 scoring ratio that trails only the high-scoring ’97 squad (135-9, 15-to-1 ratio) in the program’s 13-year history.

READY, SET, GO!: Set plays have produced six ND goals in the last 10 games: Anne Makinen’s corner kick that led to the own goal at Villanova, Mia Sarkesian’s volley that was set up by a CK at Syracuse, Meotis Erikson’s free kick at SU, Makinen’s free kick at Yale, Sarkesian’s header off a CK at Michigan, and Erikson’s volley of a Makinen free kick vs. Michigan in the NCAAs.

SCORING ‘EM AND STOPPING ‘EM: ND, UCLA and Nebraska are the nation’s only teams ranked in the top eight for scoring offense and team goals-against average … ND is 1st in GAA (0.310) and 8th in scoring (3.23), UCLA 2nd in GAA (.338) and 5th in scoring (3.04) and Nebraska 4th in GAA (.491) and 2nd in scoring (4.13).

ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM ON THE POSTSEASON:
“This game (at UConn, Oct. 21) could prove to be a good lesson for us and we are looking forward to having some more spacing between games that comes with the postseason. Right now, the team needs some time-physically and mentally-to get refocused and rested.

“But it’s been a tremendous season. To have predicted that we would be 16-0-1 heading into the final regular-season game-with two starters missing a stretch of games-would have been a pretty bold statement heading into this season, but this team has shown great leadership and chemistry while playing with a lot of resiliency. It’s a special group and we are looking forward to the next few weeks.”

BIG EAST HONORS

• Three ND players-senior M Anne Makinen, senior D Kelly Lindsey and freshman F Amy Warner-earned first team all-BIG EAST honors while senior F Meotis Erikson, sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky and junior G Liz Wagner were named second team all-BIG EAST.

• Makinen-who also was named BIG EAST midfielder of the year-became the second BIG EAST player ever named first team all-BIG EAST four times (Irish D Jen Grubb was the first to do so, from ’96-’99) … 2nd-year ND head coach Randy Waldrum also repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year.

• ND has produced an all-BIG EAST goalkeeper during all six of its season in the conference while also producing 13 all-conference forwards, 12 all-BIG EAST midfielders and 11 all-conference defenders.

• At least two ND forwards have received all-BIG EAST honors in every season (1995-2000) except ’97 while two Irish defenders have received all-conference honors every season since ’95 except ’98.

• ND’s 26 all-time BIG EAST 1st-teamers include nine midfield honors, seven forwards, seven defenders and three goalkeepers.

NO. 1 SIGN BURNS ON: October 12 brought a new look to the night sky on the northeast corner of the Notre Dame campus, as the traditional, lighted numeral one was placed atop Grace Hall, in honor of the Irish women’s soccer team’s ascension to the number-one ranking …. the eight-foot sign, for years under the auspices of Grace Hall (a men’s residence hall from 1969-96), had not appeared since it last was lit in honor of the ’95 NCAA championship won by the women’s soccer team … the number-one sign, built by Father Bob Malone and a group of seminarians, originally went up at Moreau Seminary (located at the north end of St. Joseph’s Lake) in January of 1974, following Notre Dame’s 1973 national championship football season … designed to be lit anytime a Notre Dame team was ranked number one, it later moved to Howard Hall (at the center of campus, near the old Notre Dame Bookstore) before finally shifting to the roof of Grace Hall … the sign was proudly displayed during the end of the 1988 football season (when the Irish captured the national title) and returned during parts of the 1989, ’90 and ’93 football campaigns.

IRISH REMAIN NO. 1: ND has returned to the top of the national polls for the first time since ’96, following a pair of quality wins on Sept. 16-17 over current No. 2 Washington (5-0) and current No. 10 Portland (1-0), coupled with UNC’s 2-1 loss earlier that week at Clemson … North Carolina (now 17-3-0) dropped out of the top spot and is seeded fifth in the NCAAs … the Irish are ranked first in the NSCAA poll and various other polls conducted by soccer-specific publications and websites, including the long-running poll compiled by the editors of Soccer America, the SoccerTimes.com national coaches poll and the American Soccer Writers media poll (coordinated by collegesoccerdaily.com).

NO. 1 HISTORY: The previous year in which ND sat atop the NSCAA poll in the regular season was ’96, when the Irish owned the top spot for the final two months (a 2-1 win over UNC on Oct. 4 of that year, followed by a 2-0 win over Duke, bumped the Irish up from No. 2) …. ND spent the final month of ’94 as the No. 1-ranked team, thanks to an earlier 0-0 tie with UNC and the Tar Heels’ loss to Duke in early October.

RISING TO THE TOP: Following Nebraska’s 2-1 loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 15, Notre Dame became the only undefeated team left in all of Division I women’s soccer (spanning 271 teams) … ND’s strength of schedule has improved since the start of the 2000 season, as Portland (10th), Washington (2nd), Boston College and Michigan (both not currently ranked) each have entered the NSCAA poll in recent weeks …. other 2000 Irish opponents currently ranked in the NSCAA poll include No. 15 Stanford, Santa Clara (just fell out of the poll) and #24 Connecticut.

BULLSEYE ON THEIR BACKS: ND owns a 34-3-1 all-time record (20-1-1 in the regular season) when playing as the top-ranked team in the NSCAA poll … ND’s losses as the No. 1 team have come at Santa Clara in ’96 (3-1) and in a pair of NCAA title games vs. UNC (5-0 in ’94, 1-0 in ’96), with the tie coming last week at UConn (0-0).

A WILD YEAR: Following Nebraska’s 2-1 loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 15, Notre Dame became the nation’s only remaining unbeaten team (among 271 Division I women’s soccer programs) … just two other teams own a record with two losses or better: one team with one loss and no ties (Nebraska) and twice-beaten Washington.

REGULARS IN THE LINEUP: Due to the use of various lineups and a handful of injuries, just three ND players have started all 22 games this season: senior F Meotis Erikson, sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky and junior G Liz Wagner … six others have appeared in every game: freshman F Amanda Guertin (19 GS), freshman M Randi Scheller (5 GS), junior M Mia Sarkesian (21 GS), sophomore M Ashley Dryer (18 GS), junior D Lindsey Jones (20 GS) and senior D Kerri Bakker (17 GS) … Erikson has started every game of her ND career (98), as has Pruzinsky (48).

DEFENSIVE-MINDED: ND’s hard-nosed D has held the opposition to six goals while having a hand in just 10 goals on the other side of the field (2G-8A) … sophomore Nancy Mikacenic (1G-3A) is the “leading scorer” among the Irish D but her header goal came on a corner kick while she was playing in the midfield (in the opener vs. Detroit) while two of her three assists also came as a midfielder … senior Monica Gonzalez (1G-1A) scored last week-while playing as a forward at Michigan-while junior Lindsey Jones (2A), sophomore Vanessa Pruzinksy (1A) and freshman Megan Rogers (1A) round out the scoring by the Irish D … seniors Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker have yet to register a point in 2000 … not counting points recorded at other positions, the Irish D has accounted for just seven (7A) of the team’s 193 points (3.6 percent) … by comparison, 2000 graduates Jen Grubb (9G-8A) and Kara Brown (2G-16A) combined to total 46 points from the back during the 1999 season (those two D alone accounted for 15.0 pct. of the points in ’99).

SILVER STREAKS: Prior to the tie at UConn, ND nearly tied the team record for consecutive wins in a season (the ’97 squad won 17 straight before losing 2-1 to UConn in the NCAA semi’s) … ND’s last regular-season loss came Oct. 17, 1999 (4-2 game at then-No. 1 Santa Clara) … since that time, the Irish set a team record by winning 20 straight regular-season games (the ’94-’95 teams combined to win 17 straight regular-season games) and now are 21-0-1 in the last 22 regular-season games … ND is 29-1-2 in its last 32 games overall … a regular-season win over UConn also would have equaled the 2nd-longest overall winning streak in the program’s 13-year history (the ’95 and ’96 teams combined to win 24 straight) … ND’s current 22-game unbeaten streak ranks 3rd in ND history (the ’95-’96 teams went 24-0-0, the ’97 team opened 23-0-1).

RACKING UP THE HONORS: ND amassed 15 of 28 weekly BIG EAST awards for offensive player, defensive player and rookie (UConn was next with four) … due to strong play in front of her, Irish junior Liz Wagner was nominated just three times for goalkeeper of the week-seven saves vs. Santa Clara and Stanford, six vs. Washington and Portland and eight in the 0-0 game at UConn (Wagner has faced just 23 shots on goal in ND’s other 13 games) … the Irish produced three straight offensive players of the week (senior M Anne Makinen, senior F Meotis Erikson, junior M Mia Sarkesian) while ND players collected seven straight defensive player-of-the-week awards (three by Kelly Lindsey, one by fellow senior Kerri Bakker, three by sophomore Vanessa Pruzinsky) … Amanda Guertin was the third Irish freshman to be honored by the BIG EAST in a three-week stretch, following fellow F Amy Warner (three-time honoree) and M Randi Scheller.

NO GOALS A RARITY: The 0-0 game at UConn on Oct. 21 marked just the third scoreless tie in ND history and the first in six seasons (also at Dayton in ’91 and vs. North Carolina in a ’94 game played in St. Louis).

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD: ND has trailed just once this season while holding the lead for 57% of the minutes … just four teams have managed to forge a tie (1-1) vs. the Irish this season-Providence, Stanford, West Virginia and Michigan in the NCAAs-while Boston College is the only team to hold a lead on ND in 2000 (for 28 minutes), meaning that the Irish have trailed for just 1.4% of the minutes this season.

GAINING EXPERIENCE … AND WINS: Notre Dame’s regular starting lineup during the 2000 season includes three players who had no previous starts on the Division I level-freshman Fs Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin and junior G Liz Wagner-plus several others with limited starting experience prior to 2000: senior D Kerri Bakker (3 GS prior to 2000), freshman M Ashley Dryer (15), junior M Mia Sarkesian (17), junior D Lindsey Jones (17) and sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky (26) … the only members of the everyday starting 11 with more than 26 starts prior to 2000 were senior D Kelly Lindsey (68), senior M Anne Makinen (66) and senior F Meotis Erikson (63) … by comparison, the Irish headed into the 1999 season with eight players who had more than 26 career starts.

ROAD WARRIORS: Since dropping a 4-2 game at Santa Clara on Oct. 17, 1999, ND is 13-1-2 record in its last 16 games away from Alumni Field … the Irish have put up solid numbers on the road in 2000 (9 games), including a 29-2 scoring edge (the other 4 GA have come at home), a 166-72 shot edge (21-9 avg.) and a 96-32 edge in shots on goal (12-4 avg.).

BREAKING THE SEAL: Three different ND players-senior M Anne Makinen, senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman F Amy Warner-each scored the first goal of the game three-plus times in the first 11 games before freshman F Amanda Guertin joined that group with the first goal in the 8-0 win at Georgetown … junior M Mia Sarkesian then did the honors vs. BC, Syracuse (and BC again) while Erikson netted the first goal at Yale, senior Monica Gonzalez did the honors at Michigan and Warner scored off the bench vs. Miami … Makinen opened the scoring in three consecutive games (vs. Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Rutgers), after earlier scoring the first goal versus Detroit and Tulsa … Erikson scored first vs. Santa Clara, Washington, Portland and Yale (before also opening the scoring in the NCAAs vs. Michigan) while Warner broke the ice vs. Providence, Stanford, West Virginia and then Miami.

HOMESTANDERS: ND’s home record in 11 seasons at Alumni Field is 116-7-1 (.940), including 92-3-1 in the last 96 games-highlighted by a 27-game win streak from ’92-’95 (5th-longest in NCAA history) … ND’s last three home losses have been at the hands of #5 UConn in ’95 (5-4, OT), #6 Portland in the ’98 NCAA quarterfinals (2-1) and top-rated UNC in the ’99 opener (3-2, OT) …the Irish currently carry a 24-game home winning streak, with a 64-10 scoring edge in those games … ND’s all-time record at Alumni Field vs. teams not ranked in the NSCAA poll is 81-1-0 (35-6-1 vs. ranked teams), with 74 straight home wins over unranked teams dating back to a 2-0 loss to Creighton in ’90 … ND played at Moose Krause Field in the program’s first two seasons (’88 and ’89), with a home record of 19-5-1 during that span (all vs. unranked teams).

BACK-TO-BACK GOALS: Despite a dropoff in overall scoring, ND has shown the ability to score quick back-to-back goals … the Irish have scored twice in a span of 5:21 or shorter 12 times this season, highlighted by five times when ND scored twice in 2:36 or less …. eight players have combined to score the second goals in those flurries, including two each by sophomore F Ali Lovelace, senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman Fs Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin … ND has scored a pair of bunched goals twice in the same game vs. Santa Clara, Seton Hall and Georgetown … in addition to the bunched pairs listed below, the Irish have posted two noteworthy three-goal flurries, scoring three times in 5:01 to stunningly take a 3-0 lead on Washington while putting the Yale game away with three goals in a late 6:54 stretch:

QUICK STRIKES
Notre Dame has jumped out to 1-0 leads in the first 12:00 of seven games this season, including the 2nd-round NCAA win over Michigan (3-1) … the Irish opened the season by scoring in the 12th minute vs. Detroit and scored in the 8th minute the next week vs. Providence … the most important quick-strike goal of the season came Sept. 17 at Portland, as Meotis Erikson’s score in the 8th minute quieted the raucous 3,500-plus crowd and held up as the game’s only goal (the Irish ascended to the top of the national rankings one day later) … Erikson also volleyed in a leftside free kick from Anne Makinen to open the scoring in the NCAAs vs. Michigan.

BIG GAPS
Notre Dame has posted dominating stat edges in 2000: 71-7 in scoring, 542-123 in shots ( avg. 24-6), 307-57 in shots on goal (avg. 14-3) and 144-49 in corner kicks (avg. 7-2) … the Irish have held seven teams to 0-2 shots and have allowed more than eight shots just four times (10 by Santa Clara, 11 by Portland, 16 by UConn, 16 by Michigan) … ND has allowed 0-2 shots on goal in 14 games (none in three) while SCU (7), UConn (8) and Michigan (8) are the only teams to uncork more than four shots on goal vs. the Irish … 17 of 22 ND opponents have been limited to 0-3 corner kicks (Portland had 7, Yale 4, UConn 5 and 4).

POLL POSITION

• ND has been ranked in the top-7 of the NSCAA poll since Sept. 14, 1993 (86 straight polls) and has held down a spot in the top-six since Sept. 15, 1999. o The Irish have been ranked 1st-3rd in 61 of 88 polls during the past seven seasons and have been ranked in the top-five in 73 of the last 88 polls (in the top 10 of all but one). o ND’s spots in the last 88 NSCAA polls include 17 weeks at No. 1, 32 at No. 2, 12 at No. 3, four at No. 4, eight at No. 5, 11 at No. 6, three at No. 7 and one at No. 12.

22-GAME CHECKUP: With 22 games in the books (the Irish could play as many as 26), ND is on pace to challenge several team records … ND has allowed just seven goals (the team record is nine, in ’97) while the 0.31 team GAA is below the record of 0.36 (also set in ’97) … the Irish have posted 15 shutouts and could make a run at the record (18, in ’95) … ND set the team record for best start (the ’96 team opened 13-0-0) and-prior to the tie at UConn-was one win shy of tying the record for longest single-season winning streak (the ’97 team won 17 straight midseason games) … ND also won 20 straight regular-season games (the previous team record was 18, from ’95-’96) …. Anne Makinen’s record for shots in a season (106, in ’98) could be bested this season by either Makinen (83) or Meotis Erikson (90) … Makinen owns five game-winning goals this season (Rosella Guerrero’s eight in ’94 are the ND record).

SHARPSHOOTING: ND will be looking to rediscover its improved shooting accuracy, as the Irish were averaging one goal ever 7.8 shots before scoring three goals on 12 shots at Syracuse, 4G on 19 shots at Yale, no goals on seven shots at UConn and 5G on 27 shots at Michigan (one goal every 5.4 shots over the course of those four games) followed by just 3G on 30 shots vs. Miami, three on 27 vs. BC, an own goal on 10 shots vs. UConn and 3G on 29 shots vs. Michigan in the NCAAs (ND technically cashed in nine of 86 shots in the BIG EAST Tournament, or one goal every 9.6 shots) … the current overall average of 7.5 shots/goal is highest in ND history, up from ’98 (6.8) and ’99 (6.1) .. the best shot-to-goal ratio in ND history was 4.40 (in ’96) … the 2000 Irish are averaging 24.6 shots/gm, which ranks ahead of every previous ND season except ’97 (30.9) and ’98 (26.8) … seniors Anne Makinen (83 shots) and Meotis Erikson (90) have taken the bulk of ND’s shots this season (they have combined to average 8.1 shots/gm) … the top shooting percentages among ND regulars include junior F Kelly Tulisiak (4G on 15 shots, 3.8 shots/goal), freshman F Amy Warner (9 on 46, 5.1) and freshman F Amanda Guertin (11 on 59, 5.4).

ARE WE THERE YET?: There have been times during recent weeks in which the Irish women’s soccer team has felt like it was several weeks farther along in the season, due in large part to the preseason trip to Brazil that included seven games versus Brazilian club teams … including the games in Brazil, ND has played 28 games in 2000 (the equivalent of playing the regular season, a full allotment of eight postseason games and two additional games).

A-M FREQUENCY DIALED IN FOR SCORING: ND’s 27-player roster includes five players whose first names begin with A and five who begin with M (plus five that start with K and four with L) … five of the 10 players whose names start with A or M have combined to score ND’s first goal in every game, including five each by senior M Anne Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson, four by freshman F Amy Warner, three by junior M Mia Sarkesian and one each by freshman F Amanda Guertin and senior Monica Gonzalez (Makinen also had the corner kick that led to an own goal in the 1-0 game at Villanova and Guertin’s cross was knocked in for the own goal vs. UConn) … all told, eight players from the “A-M frequency” (also sophomore F Ali Lovelace and sophomore M Ashley Dryer) have combined to score 80 percent of the team’s goals (57 of 71), with that 71-goal total not including three own goals that the A-M players helped set up (Makinen’s pass sprung Warner for a cross that was deflected in for a 2-1 overtime win over Stanford) … the names of ND’s top four forwards and entire starting midfield (all listed above) each start with an A or M.

RUGGED STRETCH: The Sept. 17 game at Portland completed a challenging stretch in which the Irish posted three consecutive wins over ranked opponents (#2 Santa Clara, #10 Stanford and #15 Washington), followed by the win over a Portland team that entered the NSCAA poll the next week at #14 … the last time ND played three straight NSCAA ranked opponents was in the 195 NCAA championship run …. early in that season, ND posted successive wins over #13 Wisconsin, #19 Michigan State and #3 Stanford … later in ’95, a rugged four-game stretch in the regular season yielded a 5-4 loss to #5 UConn, a 1-0 win over #6 SCU, a 2-2 tie with #11 Duke and a 2-0 loss to #1 North Carolina.

BRONCO BUSTERS: Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Santa Clara marked: SCU’s first consecutive losses since Sept. of 1994 (vs. LMU, Stanford and UNC), the first time SCU was outshot (23-10) in 19 games, and the most goals by an SCU opponent in 20 seasons-dating back to an 8-0 loss to UC Davis in ’80 (the last team to reach five goals vs. SCU was UNC, in ’91) … ND also became the first team to post more than 20 shots vs. Santa Clara since Washington did it in ’94 (23-18, in a 2-2 game).

FAR & WIDE

• ND’s typical starting 11 is representative of the University’s national student body, as that starting unit includes players from nine states and Finland (senior M Anne Makinen), with the lone duplicate state being Texas (junior G Liz Wagner and freshman F Amanda Guertin) …. the others hail from Connecticut (sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky), Indiana (junior D Lindsey Jones), Michigan (junior M Mia Sarkesian), Nebraska (senior D Kelly Lindsey), New Jersey (senior D Kerri Bakker), New Mexico (freshman F Amy Warner), Utah (sophomore M Ashley Dryer) and Washington (senior F Meotis Erikson).

• The top five reserves represent three more states: Ohio (junior F Kelly Tulisiak), Pennsylvania (freshman M Randi Scheller) and Georgia (sophomore F Ali Lovelace), plus repeats for Washington (sophomore D Nancy Mikacenic) and Texas (senior D/F Monica Gonzalez).

• ND’s 27-player roster includes players from 19 states and countries (the above 13, plus California, Canada, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and New York).

• ND’s all-time roster includes players from 29 states and two countries, the above 19 plus: Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

50-50 PROPOSITION: Senior M Anne Makinen (Helsinki, Finland) scored on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 vs. Seton Hall and Rutgers, giving her 60 career goals to move past ’96 graduate Michelle McCarthy (59) into 5th on the ND all-time list … she then scored vs. Georgetown to move into a tie on the ND goalscoring list with 97 grad. Cindy Daws before adding her 62nd career goal at Yale, her 63rd vs. Miami and 64th vs. BC … Makinen was stuck on 49 career assists since Sept. 17 before assisting on all three Meotis Erikson goals in the 8-0 win at GU (Oct. 6)-becoming the 13th player in Division I history, and the third ND player, to eclipse the 50-goals, 50-assists plateau (she entered 2000 as the nation’s only active 40-40 player) … Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A, ’96-’99) and Daws (61G-67A) are the only previous ND players to reach 50-50 … Makinen still has a shot at reaching 60-60, needing 4A to become the 6th Division I player to earn that distinction … members of the 60-60 club include Streiffer, Daws, Carin Jennings (102G-60A, UC Santa Barbara, ’83-’86), Mia Hamm (103G-72A, UNC, ’89-’93) and Mandy Clemens (67G-65A, Santa Clara, ’96-’99) … Streiffer and Hamm are the only members of the very exclusive 70-70 club.

ANNE’S ARSENAL: Anne Makinen has totaled 41 points (13G-15A) in 21 games played (19 starts), despite being marked heavily as ND’s top offensive weapon .. Makinen heads into the Harvard game with a career average of 2.14 points/gm (184 points in 86 games) … her 56 career assists rank 5th all-time an ND (she just edged past 2000 Jen Grubb, who had 53), just one behind Shannon Boxx (’99) … Makinen’s 184 career points rank 5th on the ND all-time list, moving past Holly Manthei’s career total from ’94-’97 (176) to trail only Jenny Streiffer (211, ’96-’99), Monica Gerardo (190, ’95-’98), Cindy Daws (189, ’93-’96) and Jenny Heft (189, ’96-’99) … Makinen needs to total 48 points this season-she needs 7 more-to pass Gerardo into 2nd on the ND all-time scoring list.

MAKIN’ WAVES: Anne Makinen-who has points in 15 of 21 games played this season (19 starts)-has been the focal point of the Irish offense this season, as the three-year All-American has scored or assisted on 40% of ND’s goals (28 of 71), including five game-winning goals and four primary game-winning assists … her outlet pass also sprung Amy Warner for the cross that led to the game-ending own goal versus Stanford while her bending corner kick led to the own goal in the 1-0 game at Villanova … with her team struggling to cash in its chances vs. Tulsa on Sept. 1, Makinen took over in the lategoing by scoring a pair of goals for a 2-0 win … two days later, in the 5-1 win over Providence, her play from her central midfield spot helped the Irish eclipse 30 shots for the third straight game … her pass into the middle set up Amy Warner’s second goal of the PC game and Makinen added a long cross late in that game that Warner half-volleyed to complete her hat trick … Makinen had 1G-2A in the 6-1 win over No. 2 Santa Clara before setting up the game-ending sequence versus Stanford …. at the Portland Invitational, Makinen’s long cross set up Ali Lovelace’s goal for a 2-0 lead on Washington and Makinen added a rebound goal and PK goal in that 5-0 game … the next day, her cross from the right set up Meotis Erikson’s goal in the 1-0 win over Portland … most recently, Makinen’s rocket shot from the top of the box held up as the only score in a 1-0 game with Pittsburgh before she opened the scoring to ignite the 6-0 win over Seton Hall and converted a second-half PK to give ND the lead in the 2-0 game with Rutgers … she came off the bench in the 53rd minute to spark the 4-0 win at Yale, setting up Meotis Erikson for the first goal before sending a free kick over the wall and into the left corner for a late 2-0 cushion … Makinen’s rebounded shot was knocked in by Monica Gonzalez for an early lead in the 5-1 win at Michigan, she blasted home ND’s second goal in the 3-0 win over Miami, and she completed a strong combination play for a 2-0 lead in the semi-final win over BC (3-0) … Makinen’s left side free kick set up Erikson’s volley to open the scoring in the NCAA’s vs. Michigan.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: The Irish have scored 1st-half goals in 18 of 22 games this season while going past the 55:00 mark without any ND scoring in just three games … senior M Anne Makinen has come to the rescue several times with ND needing a 2nd-half goal … on Sept. 1 vs. Tulsa, the offense was struggling before Makinen fired home a shot in the 69th minute and scored again for the 2-0 win … one month later, Makinen converted a penalty kick in the 53rd minute vs. Rutgers and ND went on to another 2-0 win … one week later at Villanova, Makinen’s leftside corner kick bent toward the goal and led to the decisive own goal in the 80th minute … most recently, Makinen came off the bench in the 54th minute at Yale and set up the first ND goal less than two minutes later, after slicing through the Bulldogs defense and sliding a pass to Meotis Erikson for the 1-0 lead (Makinen converted a free kick in the 83rd minute to spark a late flurry in the 4-0 win) … Mia Sarkesian’s first goal of the season-in the 38th minute vs. BC-helped erase ND’s only deficit of 2000 (Erikson assisted on that looping shot from 20 yards out).

What They’ve Said About Anne Makinen

SANTA CLARA HEAD COACH JERRY SMITH:
“Anne Makinen is the best player in college soccer. She is a great international player, let alone a great college player. The international game is a much tougher game to be good than the college level. … I have such a high opinion of (Anne) that she would have to play just awesome for me to be kind of surprised. We talked about it in our team meeting. We just don’t have enough players that can kind of corral her.”

NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM:
“Tonight (Oct. 18 at Yale) was a classic example of why Anne Makinen is the best player in college soccer. She takes the game to another level for our team and presents a whole different set of challenges for teams trying to defend us. It was amazing how the game changed so quickly after she checked in.”

YALE HEAD COACH RUDY MEREDITH:
“I’d always known Anne was a great player from watching her on TV but this was the first time I’d seen her in person and she completely changed the game from the moment she stepped on the field. She was creating great offensive chances but also made her teammates better. That’s the sign of great player and she’s the best I’ve seen this year.”

Notre Dame Individual Notes

CORNER KICKERS: Despite being one of ND’s most dangerous players in the penalty box area, senior M Anne Makinen has taken many of ND’s corner kicks this season and is considered the team’s top option for that role due to her strong leg and pinpoint accuracy … senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman F Amanda Guertin also have been used on CKs … Erikson set up an Irish goal versus PC with one of those set plays, as did Makinen in the Detroit game … Makinen’s late corner at Villanova was bending into the goal before being kicked into the net by a VU player, for the game’s only goal … Guertin’s CK at Syracuse led to a header-volley combination by Ashley Dryer and Mia Sarkesian in the first two minutes of that 3-0 win while Erikson’s CK set up Sarkesian’s header goal at Michigan,

DYNAMIC DUO: Senior M Anne Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson have joined 2000 graduates Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A, 211 pts) and Jenny Heft (80G-29A, 189 pts) as the second pair of ND classmates to each reach 150 career points … Makinen ranks 5th in ND history with 184 points (64G-56A) while Erikson ranks 7th with 158 (58G-42A).

KEEP THAT MOTOR RUNNING: Notre Dame senior F Meotis Erikson (Kennewick, Wash.) has been a durable and reliable member of the Irish lineup throughout her career, appearing in all 98 of ND’s games during the past four seasons (starting 85 of them) … Erikson could become the 9th Irish player to appear in every game of her career (see list below) and only two players currently on that list logged more games than Erikson: M Shannon Boxx (101, ’95-’98) and M/D Kara Brown (99, ’96-’99) … Erikson recently moved past former D Kate Sobrero (97, ’94-’97) and is tied with D Kate Fisher (’93-’96), G Jen Renola (’93-’96) and F Monica Gerardo (’95-’98) for 6th on the ND list for career games played … Erikson recently moved up on that list past current Irish G coach LaKeysia Beene (90, ’96-’99), F Rosella Guerrero (91, ’92-’95), M Cindy Daws (94, ’93-’96) and F Jenny Heft (97, ’96-’99) … Erikson could surpass Boxx’s record 102 total by playing in the maximum five NCAA games … Brown ranks 5th on that list with 99 GP while the top four include Boxx and three with an even 100 GP: M Holly Manthei (’94-’97), M/F Jenny Streiffer (’96-’99) and D Jen Grubb (’96-’99) … Erikson and classmate Anne Makinen are tied for 12th at ND for career games started (85), one behind Tiffany Thompson (’91-’94) and three back of Michelle McCarthy (’92-’95)

MOTORING: Senior F Meotis Erikson scored three goals on Oct. 6 at Georgetown, becoming the 11th ND player to post three-plus hat tricks in her career (senior M Anne Makinen also has three career HTs) … Erikson registered three goals twice in a five-game span in late October of ’97 … just four previous ND players have turned in four-plus hat tricks: Jenny Heft (6, ’96-’99), Rosella Guerrero (5, ’92-’95), Michelle McCarthy (4, ’92-’95) and Monica Gerardo (4, ’95-’98) … Erikson’s hat trick is the 49th in ND history and the 25th in the last five seasons (freshman Amy Warner had 3G vs. PC on Sept. 3) … Erikson has points in four of the last five games (2G-3A) and seven of the last nine (4G-5A) … Erikson’s recent surge gives her 158 points (58G-42A) for her career, passing ’96 graduate Michelle McCarthy (156) into 7th on the ND all-time scoring list … her 58 goals also rank 7th in ND history, one behind McCarthy, with Erikson ranks 9th on the assists list.

WALDRUM WORKING WONDERS: Second-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum-who repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year-has seen his Irish teams post an impressive 42-4-2 combined record (.896), including a solid 10-3-2 mark vs. NSCAA top-25 teams and a ’99 season that ended in the NCAA title game … if ND picks up four more wins and captures the NCAA title, Waldrum’s two-year winning pct. with the Irish would top 90% (.904, 46-4-1) … Waldrum 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 first-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi-finals, with the Irish beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in their backyard of San Jose, Calif. …. Waldrum’s 19-year record as a college head coach (with both men’s and women’s teams) is 225-109-21 (.663) … he owns a 149-54-14 (.719) record in 10-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 the 2000 season ranked 15th among active women’s coaches for career winning percentage (he ranks 26th on the total wins list).

ROOKIE TRIO
Freshmen have combined to score nearly 40% of the ND goals this season (27 of 71) …Fs Amanda Guertin (11) and Amy Warner (9) and M Randi Scheller (6) could become just the second trio of ND freshmen ever to each reach 10 goals in their rookie season (in ’97, Anne Makinen had 23, Meotis Erikson 22 and Monica Gonzalez 10) … Guertin is the 14th ND freshman to reach 10 goals in her debut season … Guertin and Scheller have provided boosts to the offense in recent weeks while helping fill the void left by the injury to their classmate Warner (who came off the bench to score vs. Michigan and Miami) … Guertin has points in eight of the last 12 games (7G-2A) while Scheller has 4G-4A in that 12-game span (she had 2G-2A in the first 10).

VERSATILE VETERAN
Senior Monica Gonzalez has filled many roles for the Irish in recent weeks, including stints as a starter at three different positions during the last six games … Gonzalez started in the midfield at Yale and Connecticut during fall break (she turned in a solid game while playing all over the field-and all 120 minutes-at UConn) before making a start at forward vs. Michigan in the regular-season finale … she has started at left back in all four postseason games (most of her 15 starts have been in the D).

IMPACT PLAYER
Speedy freshman F Amy Warner has not started a game for the Irish since the Sept. 29 Seton Hall game but she made her presence felt off the bench in her first two games back in the lineup, scoring shortly after checking into the victories over Michigan (capping that 5-1 win) and Miami (for a 1-0 lead in that 3-0 game) … Warner has opened the scoring for ND in four games this season, 3rd-highest on the team behind Meotis Erikson and Anne Makinen (5 each).

BIG-GAME PERFORMER: Despite facing just 50 shots on goal all season, junior Liz Wagner-who leads the nation with an 0.30 season goals-against average-has made several big plays vs. ranked opponents … in six regular-season games vs. NSCAA top-25 teams, Wagner totaled 24 saves while allowing just two goals (she has 20 saves and 45 GA in ND’s other 17 games) … in the 6-1 win over then-No. 2 Santa Clara, Wagner made five big saves, including an early breakaway and a diving stop in the second half … she finished the KeyBank Classic (which included a 2-1 OT win over Stanford) with seven saves, as the backstop to a defense that allowed just 16 shots … Wagner then made six saves at the Portland Invitational but turned in several other big plays in both games (she thwarted two early scoring chances by current No. 4 Washington before holding off current 17th-ranked Portland’s late charge) … she arguably was the best player on the field in the 0-0 tie at UConn, making eight saves while smothering several other Huskies chances at a charged-up Marrone Stadium, and her three saves vs. UConn in the BIG EAST title game included stops of the two best scoring chances in the game (by either team) … Wagner is in the midst of her first season as a starter while facing the challenge of replacing All-American LaKeysia Beene and losing two starting defenders from the ’99 team (including four-time All-American Jen Grubb).

ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM ON WAGNER: “I think you saw tonight (Oct. 21 at UConn) why Liz Wagner has to be considered for BIG EAST goalkeeper of the year. In a lot of our games she hardly has touched the ball and it’s hard to appreciate her skill and leadership in that type of game. But every time she has been tested in a big game, she has answered the bell. The way she has played for us-along with the play of an inexperienced defense that has battled through some injuries-have been invaluable.”

SHUTOUT CITY: ND’s GAA (0.31) is on pace to best the team record (0.36) set in ’97, when the Irish allowed just five goals in the regular season and nine overall … the Irish have allowed just four goals in the last 1,628 minutes of action (the equivalent of 18 games), stretching back to Stanford’s goal in the 80th minute on Sept. 10 … the Irish have posted 11 shutouts in the last 14 games (15 total), allowing just 75 shots (32 on goal) and 28 corner kicks during that 14-game stretch … Michigan’s goal in the regular-season finale prevented ND from tying the team record for fewest goals allowed in the regular season (5, in ’97) … junior G Liz Wagner and the Irish allowed just one goal in each game of the KeyBank Classic, vs. two of the nation’s top teams (Santa Clara, Stanford), before posting a pair of shutouts in the Portland adidas Invitational (vs. current #2 Washington and current #14 Portland), the 2-1 win at WVU and the five straight shutouts vs. Pittsburgh (1-0), Seton Hall (6-0), Rutgers (2-0), Georgetown (8-0) and Villanova (1-0), followed by shutouts at Syracuse (3-0), Yale (4-0) and 25th-ranked UConn (0-0) and BET shutouts of Miami, BC (both 3-0) and UConn (1-0).

SHUT DOWN: In the season-opening win over Detroit (6-1), the Titans nearly scored the game’s first goal during an early flurry but ND responded by not allowing a shot for the final 83 minutes … the final shot margin (49-2) ranks as one of the largest in ND history (the team record for shots is 59) … the Irish gave up an early shot (not on goal) by Pittsburgh on Sept. 24 before holding the Panthers without a shot in the final 76 minutes … one week later, ND allowed Seton Hall just one shot (off goal) in the final 86 minutes before holding Rutgers without a shot of any kind for the entire 90:00 … the RU game marked the 13th time in ND history-and sixth in the last six seasons-that the Irish have held the opponent without a shot … most recently, ND held Miami without a shot for a 45-minute mid-game stretch before holding BC without a shot for a 55-minute midgame stretch during the BIG EAST semifinals.

FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: Junior M Mia Sarkesian has totaled just eight goals in her ND career (65 GP) but many have come in clutch situations … she scored on a looping 20-yard shot late in the first half to tie the regular-season BC game and halt ND’s only deficit of the 2000 season (that was her first goal of the season, to go along with one assist) … two days later, Sarkesian’s volley of a corner kick-header combination gave ND a 1-0 lead in the first two minutes at Syracuse and she worked a give-and-go to set up Randi Scheller’s clinching goal late in the game (3-0) … her early header then ended up being the game-winner in the 5-1 game at Michigan (all three of her scores have been GWGs) and “Mia’s magic continued in the BIG EAST semi-final win over BC, when she headed in a cross for a 1-0 lead … Sarkesian’s last five goals all have been game-winners (including four in 2000) … all three of Sarkesian’s 1999 goals came in big games: versus top-ranked North Carolina in the ’99 opener (UNC won 3-2 in OT), vs. Seton Hall in the BIG EAST semifinals (5-0) and vs. Stanford in a 1-0 NCAA third-round game.

BIG-GOAL SCORER
Sophomore F Ali Lovelace-whose 20 career points include 11 in the postseason (4G-3A) saved her goalscoring for when it mattered most in the ’99 season, as all four of her ’99 goals came in the postseason … Lovelace scored twice to cap the scoring in the 5-0 BIG EAST quarterfinal win over Miami before giving ND a 4-1 lead in the 4-2 win over UConn in the BIG EAST title game … Lovelace then scored one of the biggest goals in ND women’s soccer history, showing her speed to break free down the right side and place a crossing shot into the net in the 75th minute to knock off No. 1 Santa Clara in the NCAA semifinals … she had an assist on Anne Makinen’s goal that gave ND a 2-0 lead in the 3-0 BIG EAST quarterfinal win over Miami and helped set up Makinen’s goal for a 2-0 lead in the 3-0 BIG EAST semi-final win over BC before assisting on Amanda Guertin’s game-winner in the NCAAs vs. Michigan (3-1).

STAT LEADERS
Senior M Anne Makinen ranks 7th in the nation for assists/gm (0.71) … ND junior Liz Wagner stands alone atop the nation’s GAA list at 0.30, ahead of UCLA’s Cici Peterson (0.37) S three ND players are rank among the BIG EAST’s top-12 scorers: Makinen (2nd, 13G-15A-41P), senior F Meotis Erikson (6th, 12G-9A-33P) and freshman F Amanda Guertin (9th, 11G-3A-25P) … ND leads the BIG EAST in goals (71), GAA (0.31), shutouts (15).

INJURY REPORT
ND freshman F Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) missed seven games with a leg injury before playing the final 20 minutes in the regular-season finale (she capped the scoring in that 5-1 win) and playing a key role off the bench vs. Miami (she opened the scoring in that 3-0 game), BC and UConn … senior central D and captain Kelly Lindsey was injured late in the first half at Villanova on Oct. 8 and missed six games before retuning to play the 2nd half vs. BC in the BIG EAST semi’s and the majority of the title game vs. UConn (as an early sub) … the Irish have developed significant D depth in recent weeks, with four players-Lindsey and fellow senior Kerri Bakker, plus sophomores Vanessa Pruzinsky and Nancy Mikacenic-capable of playing centrally while Pruzinsky, junior Lindsey Jones and senior Monica Gonzalez have seen significant time on the flanks … Mikacenic started five games at Lindsey’s spot while Gonzalez started at left back in the three BET games, with Pruzinsky playing centrally.