Oct. 7, 2003
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Kimberly Carpenter continued her recent scoring binge by notching the game’s first goal (her fifth consecutive game with a point) while fellow senior Amy Warner added a goal and had the point-blank shot that led to an own-goal, as the second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team wrapped up a rare stretch of three games in five days with a 3-0 win over visiting Butler in Tuesday-night action at Alumni Field.
Notre Dame (12-0-1) is unbeaten after 13 games for the fifth time in the program’s history, due in large part to a dominating defense that has posted four straight shutouts (eight overall) while helping the Irish rack up a 46-5 season scoring edge. Notre Dame has allowed just 29 shots on goal all season, holding each of the last 10 opponents to 0-1 shots on goal.
The Irish showed the effects of playing their third game in five days, including a pair of grueling BIG EAST battles versus West Virginia and Villanova. Such a schedule has taken its toll on recent Notre Dame teams, with the Irish now 3-2 in the third games of those five-day stretches during the Randy Waldrum era (’99-’03). Notre Dame’s scoring in such 3-games-in-5-days challenges has included a 23-1 scoring edge in the first games but just 8-4 in the second games and now 8-5 in the third games.
Since yielding a 25th-minute goal to Oklahoma in the fourth game of the season, 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.
The Irish entered the week ranked fourth in the nation for scoring (3.58 goals per game) and team goals-against-average (0.40), with that number dropping to 0.38 (just shy of the 0.37 team record set in 1997). Sophomore Erika Bohn also entered the week ranked fourth in the nation for GAA (0.36) and has dropped her personal mark to 0.33, which would best LaKeysia Beene’s team record of 0.36 set in ’97.
Butler (5-6-2) had two of the first three overall shots in the game, including a 20-yard shot on goal that was saved easily by Bohn – but the Irish then registered the final 23 shots of the game en route to a final 24-2 shot edge (13-1 in shots on goal).
The Irish improved to 102-3-1 all-time at Alumni Field when facing an unranked opponent and are 99-1-0 in their last 100 games overall when scoring three-plus goals.
Carpenter – who totaled just two goals and one assist in her first three seasons with the Irish – already has doubled her career point total with four goals and three assists this season. The senior midfielder opened the scoring versus Butler midway through the first half, knocking in a rebound after ‘keeper Katie Sanders had dropped a leftside cross (32:25).
Freshman midfielder Jen Buczkowski picked up her first point in the last nine games, with a long service down the middle of the field early in the second half. Warner raced free for the breakaway and sent a leftside shot between Sanders’ legs for her seventh goal of the season and 34th of her Notre Dame career, tying Amy Van Laecke (’97) for 13th on the Irish all-time goalscoring list. Warner also pushed her career point total to 88, passing Jody Hartwig (’94) into 16th on that Irish list (two points behind Van Laecke).
Warner – who entered the day ranked fourth in the nation with eight assists – has helped set up several goals this season without receiving an official point and another such goal capped the scoring versus the Bulldogs. Warner shook free for a late shot near the left post, with the ball pinballing off a pair of Butler players and carrying on into the net for an own goal (78:16).
NOTES: A win on Friday vs. Georgetown would mark ND’s fourth all-time unbeaten start after 14 games, with the 1994, ’97 and 2000 squads all starting 23-0-1 … the Irish now own a 24-3 first-half scoring edge (just 12-10 in ’02) … ND has not allowed multiple goals in its last 23 games … the Irish still have trailed just once all season, for 7:18 vs. ASU in the third game (that equates to just 0.6% of the 1,197 minutes) … Warner made her 54th consecutive start while fifth-year defender Vanessa Pruzinsky logged her 85th career game and 83rd start … ND is 123-8-2 in its last 133 games at Alumni Field … the Irish entered the week as one of three unbeaten teams left among 245 Division I women’s soccer programs (as are UNC and Oklahoma State) … Bohn is 21-1-1 in her last 23 starts with the Irish, allowing just 10 goals in that stretch.
BUTLER (5-6-2) 0 0 – 0
#2 NOTRE DAME (12-0-1) 1 2 – 3
ND 1. Kimberly Carpenter 4 (-) 32:25; ND 2. Amy Warner 7 (Jen Buczkowski) 53:52; ND 3. own goal 78:16.
Shots: Butler 2-0 – 2, ND 6-18 – 24.
Corner Kicks: Butler 2-1 – 3, ND 2-3 – 5
Saves: Butler 10 (Katie Sanders 8, team 2), ND 1 (Erika Bohn).
Fouls: Butler 7, ND 7.
Offsides: Butler 0, ND 3.
Yellow Card: Kate Lord (Butler) 29:04.