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Second-Ranked Irish Head To St. John's For BIG EAST Cross-Divisional Game

Sept. 10, 2003

Complete Release in PDF Format
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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER

Game Notes – at St. John’s (Sept. 11; 4:00 p.m. EDT)

(Note: see PD for complete release, with information in chart form)

The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (4-0-0; 20-3 scoring edge) – ranked 2nd by Soccer America (behind North Carolina) and 3rd in the NSCAA coaches poll (behind UNC and Santa Clara) – will face its first BIG EAST Conference opponent of the 2003 season, with a cross-divisional game on Sept. 11 at St. John’s (4:00 p.m. EDT) … ND opened with impressive wins at the UConn Classic over Hartford (9-1) and Wake Forest (3-0) before wins at the Notre Dame Classic vs. #13 Arizona State (3-1) and Oklahoma (5-1) … freshman M Jen Buczkowski and fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky received the respective offensive and defensive MVP awards at the ND Classic, with Buczkowski named BIG EAST rookie of the week (Soccer America and Soccer Buzz also named her to their 11-member national player-of-the-week teams) … ND has been ranked in the top three of the NSCAA poll 10 of the last 11 years (all but ’02), rising to 1st or 2nd in ’93-’00 and ’03 while earning the No. 1 ranking in ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’00 … ND returns 12 of its top 13 players (two recently were lost for the season and a third is injured) from the ’02 squad that closed with a 6-2-0 record and gave top-ranked Stanford all it could handle in a 1-0 NCAA round-of-16 loss … junior All-America D Candace Chapman (ACL) and senior M Randi Scheller (hip surgery; 2nd team all-BIG EAST in ’02) are out for the year following preseason injuries while junior starting central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir remains out this week with a broken arm suffered vs. Wake Forest on Aug. 31 (her long-term status TBA).

INFORMATION HIGHWAY – Live stats for all Notre Dame home games will be available via the main page at www.und.com … see www.redstormsports.com for St. John’s info. … the Notre Dame sports hotline (574-631-3000) again will provide short game recaps after every game this season … for schedule and result information on all 26 Notre Dame varsity sports, call the ND Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 (press “4” for soccer information and then ‘2″ for women’s soccer results).

INTERNET AUDIO BROADCASTS – Four Notre Dame women’s soccer regular-season games (plus possible postseason) will be available via internet audio broadcasts at www.und.com … the audio is available to SportsPass subscribers, who also are able to listen to audio from other ND sports and from other schools that are part of SportsPass … for more information on Sports Pass, see the audio/video link at und.com … the broadcast schedule includes games vs. West Virginia (Oct. 3), Villanova (Oct. 5), Connecticut (Oct. 17) and Michigan (Oct. 29).

SCU CLASSIC TO BE AIRED LIVE ON CSTV – All four games at next week’s Santa Clara Classic will be telecast live by College Sports Channel (DirectTV, channel 610; see cstv.com for more info.) … longtime soccer commentator Jack Edwards will handle the play-by-play while U.S. National Team midfielder Tisha Venturini-Hoch will serve as the color commentator … ND will face Stanford on Friday, Sept. 19 at 5:00 p.m. PDT before taking on the hosts SCU on Sunday, Sept. 21 (1:30 PDT).

PRUZSINKY DRAWS NATONAL MEDIA ATTENTION – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky will be spotlighted in an upcoming feature on CSTV while the new Sports Illustrated On Campus is slated to highlight the high achiever in an upcoming issue … Pruzinsky – the national high school player of the year and a 2002 invitee to U.S. Under-21 National Team tryouts – wrapped up her undergrad studies last May with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, becoming just the third chemical; engineering major (and first since ’74) to graduate from Notre Dame with a 4.0.

RED STORM NOTES – St. John’s (1-3-0) opened with a pair of 1-0 losses to Northeastern (OT) and James Madison, followed by a 2-0 loss to Binghamton and 3-2 win over Siena … SJU returned eight starters from its ’02 team that went 11-6-4 and finished 4th in the BIG EAST Northeast Division (3-3-0) … top returners include junior F Dominica Reina (12G-4A in ’02) and sophomore F Kaitlin Schmidt (10G-6A).

SERIES NOTES – ND is 7-0 all-time vs. SJU (38-0 scoring edge), including a pair of 2001 games at Alumni Field (7-0 late-season, 2-0 in the BIG EAST quarterfinals) … in the first ’01 meeting, Melissa Tancredi scored at the 0:27 mark and was followed by six different goalscorers (ND totaled a 25-3 shot edge) … ND outshot SJU 22-7 in the ’01 rematch, with Amanda Guertin and Mia Sarkesian scoring in the first 12 minutes.

NOTES FROM 3-1 WIN OVER #13 ARIZONA STATE (SEPT. 5)

QUICK REGROUPING – Notre Dame endured an early onslaught from ASU at the ND Classic, yielding an early 1-0 lead before turning its game up a notch for the victory.

HOME OPENER SUCCESS – ND improved to 13-1 in its last 14 home openers, thanks once again to the stellar play of junior F Mary Boland, who scored the first two Irish goals.

BOLAND BUSTS OUT – Mary Boland’s fast start placed her in rarified air on a number of fronts, most recently by setting the Irish record for most goals in the first three games of a season (6) … her early goals included a hat trick vs. Hartford, a fourth goal vs. Wake Forest and the two scores vs. ASU.

GOALSCORING NOTES – Freshman M Jen Buczkowski continued to play well beyond her years with another strong display of ball control and playmaking, setting up a pair of goal (by Mary Boland and Amy Warner) with well-placed long balls … Warner’s goal was 30th of her Notre Dame career, becoming the 15th all-time ND player with 30-plus.

BOHN HOLDS THE FORT – Sophomore G Erika Bohn totaled four saves, with the biggest coming on a penalty-kick stop with the score still 2-1 in the second half … Melissa Tancredi’s breakaway tackle set up the PK but Patrice Fuelner struck the ball low and within reach of the ‘keeper … Bohn hesitated for a split-second and was able to extend for the diving stop to her left, preserving the lead in the 61st minute.

THREE-GAME FLURRY – Notre Dame’s total of 15 goals in the first three games of the 2003 season marked the best early-season production by the Irish since the 1998 squad opened with 20 goals after wins over Michigan State (4-0), West Virginia (7-0) and Pittsburgh (9-1) – with the Irish facing a much stiffer slate in ’03 (Hartford, Wake Forest and ASU all were NCAA Tournament teams in ’02).

THE FULL 90 – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky, who had not played a complete game since the final game of 2001 (due to a nagging ankle injury), logged the full 90 minutes vs. ASU and saved the Irish several times from the early onslaught, while playing right back (she later played on the left side).

STAT UPDATES – ND now owns a 20-3 scoring edge in 2003, after scoring just eight goals in the first four games of ’01 and again in ’02 … the Irish own an 82-30 shot edge (45-17 in shots on target), plus a 21-9 corner-kick edge … ND is averaging 5.0 goals per game (compared to 2.2 in ’02) and has cashed in 24% of its total shots this season (compared to just 14 pct. in ’02).

(see PDF for ND-ASU linescore and stats)

NOTES FROM 5-1 WIN OVER OKLAHOMA (SEPT. 7)

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES – With the wins over ASU and OU, the Irish improved to 17-3-2 in all-time home tournaments, with 2002 losses to defending NCAA champ Santa Clara and eventual ’02 NCAA champ Portland.

SERIES OPENER SUCCESS – Following the wins over ASU and OU, ND now has won nearly 75% of its all-time series openers (65-25-2, .717), including 32-5-0 in series openers since 1993 and 45-8-0 in all series openers played at home. (18-3-0 since ’93) … the Irish had won 15 consecutive series openers before 2002 losses to Purdue (3-1) and BYU (3-2).

FIRST-TIME VISITORS – Since the start of ’93, opponents making their first visits to Alumni Field have totaled just three wins over the Irish while losing to ND 33 times (33-3-1, .905), with ASU and OU joining that list after the ND Classic losses … three others – Western Kentucky, North Texas and Indiana State – face the same challenge later this season.

BUCZKOWSKI GETS BIG HONORS – Freshman M Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove, Ill.) took home four awards after the second-week action, earning ND Classic Offensive MVP and BIG EAST rookie of the week while being one of 11 players named to national player-of-the-week teams selected by both Soccer America magazine and the Soccer Buzz women’s soccer website … Buczkowski totaled 2G-3A in the ND Classic while running the offense with the poise of a veteran.

PRUZSINKY DELIVERS IN FULL-TIME RETURN – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky (Trumbull, Conn.) returned full-time to the lineup after a lengthy ankle injury and was the most consistent performer for the injury-riddled defense, earning defensive MVP honors at the ND Classic for the second time in her career (also ’01) … she led the way for an Irish defense that held ASU and OU to a combined 15 shots (only six on target) and four corner kicks.

MAGIC NUMBERS – The 2003 squad became the fifth ND team ever to register three-plus goals in each of its first four games (also in ’93, ’96 and ’98) while the 20-3 scoring edge compares with the fast starts by previous Irish teams in ’93 (24-2), ’95 (24-0), ’96 (23-1) and ’98 (23-1; previous ND team with 20-plus goals in first four) … the last time an ND team posted three-plus goals in four straight games came in the ’99 postseason, vs. Miami (5-0), Seton Hall (5-0), UConn (4-2) and Dayton (5-1) … the three-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win in the program’s history, with the Irish now owning a 191-3-1 all-time record (.982) when scoring three-plus, with losses to N.C. State in the ’92 opener (4-3), to UConn in ’95 (5-4, OT) and at Georgetown in ’02 (4-3), plus a 3-3 tie vs. Vanderbilt in ’91… the Irish had won 88 straight when scoring 3-plus, before the GU loss … ND also is 260-8-10 (.953) in all-time games when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals, including tough 1-0 losses last season to eventual NCAA champ Portland and top-ranked Stanford … prior to the Portland loss, the Irish had been 56-0-3 in the previous 59 games when allowing 0-1 GA (dating back to 1-0 loss to SMU in ’99, with ND playing minus Finnish national teamer Anne Makinen in that game).

GUERTIN NOTCHES 40th GOAL, 16th GAMEWINNER – Crisp passing from Jen Buczkowski and Amy Warner led to a 10-yard tap-in for senior F Amanda Guertin, yielding a 2-0 lead on OU … Guertin became the 11th ND player ever to reach the 40-goal milestone and the score ended up as the game-winning goal, tying her with three previous players for third in the ND record book with 16 career GWGs (three shy of Jenny Heft’s record).

SCHEFTER PICKS UP MORE POINTS – Sophomore M Annie Schefter – who started at central D in the ASU game – returned to the midfield vs. OU and had a hand in the final two goals … she scored her first official goal with the Irish on a 20-yard free kick from the top of the box, drilling a low, rising shot inside the left post … Schefter later picked up her second corner-kick assist of the season, with freshman Molly Iarocci nudging home the cross from the leftside flag.

BOHN ON A ROLL – Sophomore G Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) held both ASU and OU to a single goal, with a huge penalty-kick save in the second half of the ASU game (with ND leading 2-1) … Bohn improved to 15-2 in her last 17 starts with the Irish, allowing just 13 goals in that stretch (with six shutouts and 10 games with 1 GA) … her only losses in that stretch include: a 3-2 game vs. BYU that included a fluke goal (after a clearance deflected off the referee) and a rare late-game PK to break the 2-2 tie; and the season-ending loss at top-ranked Stanford, with the game’s only goal coming in the 81st minute as Bohn logged possibly her top all-around game of the ’02 season.

ALL-TOURNAMENT PICKS – The six Irish players named to the ND Classic all-tournament team included freshman M Jen Buczkowski (2G-3A; offensive MVP), senior D Vanessa Pruzinsky (def. MVP) and senior F Amy Warner (1G-1A), plus freshman D Kim Lorenzen (with strong play both outside and centrally), junior F Mary Boland (scored first two goals vs. ASU) and sophomore G Erika Bohn (2 GA, saved PK vs. ASU) … ASU’s all-tournament players included sophomore M Brittany Cooper, sophomore D Stephanie Ebner and senior D Amy LePeilbet … Rutgers freshman Robyn Jones received the top goalerkeeper award and was joined on the all-tournament team by junior M Carli Lloyd … OU sophomore M Lauren MacIver rounded out the all-tournament team.

OTHER ND CLASSIC SCORES: Rutgers 2, Oklahoma 1 … Arizona State 1, Rutgers 0.

(see PDF for ND-OU linescore and stats)

NOTES FROM 9-1 OPENING WIN OVER HARTFORD (Aug. 29)

HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING – Notre Dame, despite not playing preseason exhibitions (instead opting for 20 regular-season dates) headed into ’03 minus three injured starters and two other regulars sidelined with injuries … the result? – one of the most dominating games in the program’s history, a 9-1 dismantling of an historically-strong Hartford squad at the UConn Classic.

NEARLY DOUBLE DIGITS – The nine goals equal the second-most scored by the Irish in the five-year Randy Waldrum era and most since a 9-2 win at Wisconsin in ’99 (with a 10-0 win over Georgetown earlier that season) … just two of the previous 15 ND women’s soccer teams have turned in a more dominating opener, in ’93 (12-0 at LaSalle) and ’96 (14-0 at Providence) … the 9-goal outburst trails just 15 double-digit scoring games in the program’s history.

NEW-LOOK LINEUP – The Irish started three freshmen and a sophomore, M Annie Schefter, who missed all of the ’02 season due to injury (other starters included three seniors, two juniors and two other sophomores) … the lineup included just six who started the final game of ’02, with two – junior F Mary Boland and senior M Kim Carpenter – occupying different positions than in that ’02 NCAA third-round game at Stanford (others who started that game were senior F Amy Warner, sophomore F Katie Thorlakson, senior central D Melissa Tancredi and sophomore G Erika Bohn) … Schefter was one of several “newcomers” who had an impressive debut, energizing the midfield along with the addition of freshman Jen Buczkowski … Schefter looped a shot on goal that was nudged in by Carpenter before assisting on Boland’s third goal with a well-placed rightside corner kick.

OPENER SUCCESS – Notre Dame improved to 10-1-0 in its last 11 season openers (14-2-0 overall), including four straight opening wins since dropping a heartbreaker in 1999 to top-ranked North Carolina (3-2 in double -OT).

SKILLS SHOWCASE – The bulk of the Irish goals were the result of skilled play from several players, showcasing the tremendous technical ability of a potent team that now is slated to return 24 of its 28 players in ’04 … the ND forwards set the tone with stifling pressure that kept Hartford on its heels throughout the game while the midfield dominated their counterparts with crisp distribution … in the back, senior Melissa Tancredi and junior Gudrun Gunnarsdottir showed composure on the ball and top-level ball skills that are rarely seen with a pair of central backs on the college level – while freshmen Kim Lorenzen (rightside starter), Christie Shaner (leftside starter) and Lizzie Reed (reserve) each logged solid debuts at outside back.

FIRST-HALF FLURRY – ND totaled just 12 first-half goals in all of the 2002 season but erupted for five in the first 45:00 vs. Hartford (on just seven shots) … the Irish wasted little time displaying their impressive interplay and pinpoint passing, with a five-player combination sequence yielding the first goal in the 7th minute … junior Mary Boland started at forward and made an immediate impact, scoring the first two Irish goals and adding a third in the second half (for her first career hat trick), in addition to threading a perfect thru-pass that sprung senior F Amanda Guertin for the 5-1 halftime cushion … the Irish nearly reached a double-digit goal total … ND’s constant pressure also was evidenced in the 10 offside calls that went against the Irish.

(see PDF for ND-Hartford linescore and box)

NOTES FROM THE 3-0 WIN OVER WAKE FOREST (Aug. 31)

FIRST FOR THE ROOKIES – Midfielder Jill Krivacek opened the scoring 0:26 before halftime, becoming the first member of the freshman class to find the net … senior F Amy Warner set the sequence in motion on a pass to freshman M Jen Buczkowski … the rookie playmaker then quickly moved the ball down the left endline and slid a pass to her former club and ODP teammate, with Krivacek roofing a close-range shot that ripped into the upper-left topnetting.

NINE-POINT WEEKEND – Junior F Mary Boland scored in the 65th minute vs. WFU, knocking home a deflected Amanda Guertin shot, to round out her nine-point showing at the UConn Classic (4G-1A).

BACK-TO-BACK – The 12 goals scored at the UConn Classic are the most by an ND team in back-to-back games since the first year of the Randy Waldrum era, when his ’99 team scored 16 in wins over Miami (7-1) and Wisconsin (9-2) … the 2002 team totaled just 10 goals in its first five games and averaged just 2.2 goals for all of ’02 (46G in 21 games).

VS. THE ACC – The Irish are 11-0-1 in their last 12 games vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams other than perennial power North Carolina, with two wins and two ties vs. UNC in that 12-year stretch (dating back to ’92) … that run vs. the ACC includes a 6-0-1 mark vs. Duke, 2-0-0 vs. both WFU and Maryland and a win over N.C. State.

BOUNCE BACK – The win over WFU could signal a new trend for an ND program that recently has met with mixed results when playing the second day of a weekend, going just 4-4 in the 2002 regular season when playing two days after a previous game (outscored 14-12 in those games).

ALL-TOURNAMENT PICKS – Four Notre Dame players were named to the UConn Classic all-tournament team: sophomore G Erika Bohn, junior F Mary Boland, junior D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and senior F Amy Warner.

(see PDF for ND-WFU linescore and stats)

NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK FACTS (see PDF for complete chart of updated player info.)

NOTRE DAME TEAM QUICK NOTES

DEPTH CHARGES – ND returned 12 of its top 13 players from the 2002 roster (including Candace Chapman and Randi Scheller, now both out for the year), with the biggest loss being ace defensive M Ashley Dryer … the addition of nation’s 5th-rated freshman class gives the Irish the greatest depth of the five-year Randy Waldrum era.

FIRE & ICE – Seniors Amy Warner (30 career goals) and Amanda Guertin (40) could emerge as one of the nation’s premier forward tandems, with both among 12 total players named to the preseason all-BIG EAST team.

MIDFIELD SHIFT – ND has altered the alignment of its three central-based midfielders, with one of those players in a defensive role and two in more attacking roles (the Irish used that shape in ’99, then two back and one forward in ’00-’02).

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky in May 2003 became the third chemical engineering major (and first since ’74) to graduate from ND with a 4.0 cumulative GPA … Pruzinsky is a two-time Academic All-American, with ND’s other top candidates for that award in ’03 including junior F/M Mary Boland (3.87, psychology), sophomore M/D Annie Schefter (3.67, College of Science) and sophomore G Erika Bohn (3.67, College of Business).

INJURY WOES CONTINUE: Notre Dame’s 2002 season was hampered by injuries to several top players (totaling 64 games missed) and the Irish now must play the 2003 season minus two other crucial players – as junior All-America D Candace Chapman suffered a torn ACL knee injury while training with the Canadian National Team (in preparation for the World Cup) while senior M Randi Scheller is undergoing hip surgery this weekend … three others – junior starting central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (broken arm during all-tournament effort at UConn Classic), sophomore M Jenny Walz (ACL), freshman D Kari Kennedy (foot) and junior D Kate Tulisiak (back) – are sidelined for several weeks while veteran defenders Vanessa Pruzinsky (ankle) made a full-time return to action at the ND Classic … Scheller will have the option to apply for a fifth year of eligibility in ’04, as will central defender Melissa Tancredi (she missed the 2000 season with an ACL injury) … Pruzinsky is a current fifth-year player (out most of ’02 with the ankle injury) while Chapman will be a senior in ’04 and then have her own option at a fifth year in ’05 … here is the updated injury report:

Candace Chapman (Jr., D) torn ACL while training with Canada for World Cup (out for year)

Randi Scheller (Sr., M) hip capsule surgery in late Aug. (out for year)

Jenny Walz (So., M) rehabbing from ACL knee surgery (could return mid-season)

Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Jr., D) broken arm at UConn Classic (out this week; longterm status TBA)

Kate Tulisiak (Jr., D) nagging back injury (out indefinitely)

Kari Kennedy (Fr., D) preseason foot injury (out 2-3 weeks)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK DELUXE – Junior F Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) was named the BIG EAST women’s soccer offensive player of the week, after totaling 4G-1A in wins over Hartford and Wake Forest at the UConn Classic … Boland became the first women’s soccer player ever to be named BIG EAST offensive and defensive player of the week during her career, earning the defensive honor in 2002 after playing a key role in shutout wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall … Boland scored twice to open the scoring in the 9-1 win over Hartford and later one-timed a corner-kick deflection to complete her first hat trick with the Irish … she also sent a perfect thru-ball that split two defenders and led to an Amanda Guertin goal in the win over the Hawks, completing her seven-point game … two days later, Boland scored the key second goal midway through the second half of the 3-0 win over Wake Forest (she also had an unofficial assist on a lead pass that sprung Amy Warner for the final goal vs. WFU) … as a sophomore, Boland played a key defensive midfielder role in a 1-0 overtime win over Rutgers and scored on a diving header two days later to beat Seton Hall (1-0), en route to BIG EAST defensive player-of-the-week honors.

HAT TRICK OPENERS – Mary Boland is the fifth ND player ever to register a hat trick in a season opener and now has scored in all three openers of her Irish career (including ND’s first goal of the season in ’01 and ’03), with a diving header to open the scoring in the ’01 win over Penn State (2-1) and the final goal in the ’02 win at Providence (3-0) … previous Irish players with hat tricks in openers include Rosella Guerrero as a freshman vs. N.C. State in ’92 (4-3 loss), Guerrero and then-sophomore Michelle McCarthy in ’93 at LaSalle (12-0 win) and then-senior Amy Van Laecke and then-sophomore Monica Gerardo in ’96 at Providence (14-0).

SEVEN-POINT START – Mary Boland’s seven points in the opener vs. Hartford (3G-1A) are the most points by a Notre Dame player since Jenny Streiffer also had 3G-1A vs. Miami on Oct. 1, 1999, in the first year of the Randy Waldrum era … Streiffer also holds the ND record for points in a game, with nine (3G-3A) in the 1996 win over Providence (14-0).

TOURNAMENT-TESTED: Notre Dame owns an 80-23-6 all-time record (.762) in tournament action, including 34-13-5 in regular-season tournaments, 22-0-0 in conference tournaments and 24-10-1 in the NCAAs … beginning in 1994 (which ended with an NCAA runner-up finish), ND owns a 25-6-3 record in regular-season tournaments – with 17 of those wins vs. ranked teams … since ’94, the Irish have lost just six regular-season tournament games: vs. UNC twice (2-0 in ’95, in Houston; 3-2 at the ’99 KBC), vs. SCU in ’96 (3-1, at Duke), vs. SMU in ’99 (1-0; in Klein, Texas, minus star player Anne Makinen and ’02 games vs. the potent duo of SCU and Portland … ND’s impressive showing on the road in regular-season tournaments recently has included a pair of wins at the 2000 Portland Invitational (5-0 vs. Washington and 1-0 vs. Portland, elevating ND to No. 1), 2002 wins at the Fila Classic vs. Hartford (2-1) and host Maryland (5-2) and the 2003 opening wins over Hartford (9-1) and Wake Forest (3-0) at the UConn Classic … ND was slated to play at SCU’s ’01 tournament (vs. the Broncos and Stanford) but the event was canceled due to the 9/11 tragedy.

Amanda Guertin NOTES

OVER THE CENTURY MARK, FAR FROM TOP 10: Senior Amanda Guertin’s career point total (104; 40G-24A) would rank near the top of the record book at many schools but she stands just 13th in Notre Dame history – 31 points shy of the top 10 (her 40G are three out of that top-10 list) … players ahead of Guertin include Suzie Zilvitis (112, 43G-26A, ’88-’91) and another early frontrunner, All-American Alison Lester (126, 45G-36A; ’90-’93) … the 10th spot is held down by Shannon Boxx (135, 39G-57A; ’95-’98), now a hard-nosed defensive midfielder with the WUSA’s New York Power who was a surprise addition to the 2003 U.S. World Cup roster … Guertin’s nine points in the ’02 NCAAs moved her past M Jody Hartwig (87; ’91-’94), F Amy VanLaecke (90; ’94-’96) and All-America M Tiffany Thompson (91; ’91-’94).

STREAK #1: Amanda Guertin scored a goal in the final 10 games of 2001 – third-longest in Div. I women’s soccer history (Brandi Chastain had a 15-game goal streak for Santa Clara in ’90, Hartford’s Maria Kun an 11-game streak in ’97).

STREAK #2: Guertin scored goals in an ND-record seven straight postseason games, spanning the 2001 and ’02 seasons (she has totaled nine goals in 15 career postseason games) … her postseason goal streak (10G-1A) included 2001 BIG EAST Tournament goals vs. St. John’s, Boston College and West Virginia, followed by NCAA Tournament games vs. Eastern Illinois (2) and Cincinnati in ’01 and then Ohio State (2) and Purdue (2) in ’02.

STREAK #3: Guertin had points in eight straight games (7G-6A) before the 1-0 loss at Stanford in the third round of the 2002 NCAAs, after just 6G-5A in the first 12 games of ’02… her ’02 point streak broke down as follows: Purdue (G), UConn (2A), Michigan (G), BYU (A), Syracuse (2A), BC (G), Ohio State in NCAAs (2G) and Purdue in NCAAs (2G-1A).

‘TIS BETTER TO GIVE?: Despite an early-season dropoff in her 2002 goal production, Amanda Guertin emerged as one of the nation’s most dangerous playmakers in ’02 due to pinpoint corner kicks and effectiveness on other set plays … she had one-third of ND’s assists in ’02 (11 of 34), besting her combined total in ’00 and ’01 (10) … eight of Guertin’s assists in ’02 came via the CK – two each in comeback wins over #25 Maryland (5-2, to classmate Melissa Tancredi on 2nd and 4th goals) and #8 UConn (3-1, to Randi Scheller and Tancredi after 1-1 tie), two more in the 6-0 win over Syracuse (to Scheller and Mary Boland) and Tancredi’s header that capped the 3-1 NCAA win over #14 Purdue, plus the kick that produced Cat Sigler’s goal for 3-0 lead vs. Pittsburgh (4-0) … another Guertin set play (a free kick off the left post) set up Candace Chapman’s goal that opened the scoring vs. BYU (3-2 loss).

GETTING THE GWGs: Amanda Guertin continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (40G-23A, in 71 GP) – with her 16 gamewinning goals already ranking third on the ND all-time list (three shy of Jenny Heft’s record) … seven of Guertin’s GWGs have come in one-goal games, including three in OT (an ND record) … nearly half of Guertin’s career goals (16 of 40, or 40%) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the others on the GWG list (see PDF):

QUALITY & QUANTITY: Amanda Guertin has delivered in countless clutch situations during her ND career (see PDF):