Sept. 26, 2003
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NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER
Game Notes – vs. North Texas (Sunday, Sept. 28; 11:30 a.m.)
(Note: see PDF link for complete release, including chart info.)
The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (7-0-1; 29-4 scoring edge) – ranked 2nd in most of the national polls, behind UNC – returns to Alumni Field this weekend for a non-conference game versus North Texas (7-2-0) … after playing five of its first eight games away from home – stretching from coast to coast (Connecticut to California), the Irish will be starting an eight-game homestand, the program’s longest regular-season homestand since the 1992 squad also played eight straight at home … North Texas is coming off a 9-0 win over Grambling State and has outscored its opponents 32-9 this season … the Irish solidified their spot among the nation’s top teams in last week’s action with a dominating defensive effort vs. #16 Stanford (0-0) and #10 Santa Clara (2-1) at the SCU Classic … ND has been ranked in the top two of the NSCAA coaches poll nine of the last 11 years (all but ’01 and ’02), earning No. 1 in ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’00.
IRISH AMONG TOP ALL-AROUND TEAMS IN 2003 – Notre Dame (3.63 goals per game, 0.49 goals-against avg.) joins North Carolina (3.78, 0.33), Oklahoma State (5.00, 0.38) and Ohio State (3.14, 0.42) as the only teams who entered the week 16th or better in the national rankings for team scoring and defense …the Irish are 9th in scoring and 16th in GAA while UNC is 7th/5th, the Cowgirls are 2nd/7th and the Buckeyes 13th-9th … three of the above teams – ND, UNC and Oklahoma State – are among eight who enter the weekend without a loss (the others are Boston College, Cal Poly, Florida, Princeton and Pennsylvania).
FRONTRUNNERS – Notre Dame has trailed just once all season – for a span of 7:18 early in the Sept. 5 game vs. Arizona State – with the Irish leading for 63% of the 740 minutes this season while trailing for just 1% of the 2003 minutes … ND’s 2000 team held the No. 1 ranking for most of the season while trailing just once in the first 24 games (for 28 minutes, in a 2-1 win over Boston College) before falling behind UNC with eight minutes left to play in the NCAA College Cup semifinals (a 2-1 loss).
NORTH TEXAS NOTES – The Mean Green are off to a 7-2-0 start after wins over Hawaii (2-0), Rice (1-0), Texas State (2-0), Texas Tech (1-0), Drury (5-1), Nicholls State (7-0) and Grambling State (9-0), plus a 4-3 OT loss at Baylor and a 4-2 loss at Stephen F. Austin … the Mean Green returned 15 of 20 letterwinners and nine starters from the 2002 squad that went 14-5-1 win, finished 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference (6-2) and lost to Denver in the Sun Belt semifinals (3-0) … senior F Marilyn Marin had 26G-15A in 2002 and has added 10G-6A this season (including 4G in her 10th career hat trick, vs. Grambling State) … junior F Melinda Pina (126-3A) and Marin have combined to score 22 of UNT’s 32 goals this season.
SERIES OPENER CHALLEGE – North Texas will be attempting to post a rare series-opening win over Notre Dame, as the Irish and Mean Green will be meeting for the first time … since ’93, ND is 34-3-1 vs. teams making their first visit to Alumni Field (including ’03 wins over Arizona State, Oklahoma and Western Kentucky, with Indiana State set to be a first-time visitor on Tuesday) … the Irish are 66-25-2 in all-time series openers (33-5 since ’93) and 46-8-0 in series openers played at home (19-3 since ’93) … ND has lost just eight times in its last 120 games at Alumni Field, going 118-8-2 (.930) in the home confines during that stretch.
SCHEDULE & RESULT NOTES – The upcoming eight-game homestand includes key BIG EAST battles vs. West Virginia, Villanova and UConn … ND opened with impressive wins at the UConn Classic over Hartford (9-1) and Wake Forest (3-0), with junior F Mary Boland earning BIG EAST offensive player of the week (3G-1A) … the Irish added ND Classic wins over #13 Arizona State (3-1) and Oklahoma (5-1), followed by last week’s BIG EAST cross-divisional victory at St. John’s (2-0) and a 5-0 win over Western Kentucky … freshman M Jen Buczkowski and 5th-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
ND WOMEN’S SOCCERBY THE NUMBERS(see PDF)
PRUZSINKY DRAWS NATONAL MEDIA ATTENTION – Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky is being spotlighted in a current feature on College Sports Television while the new Sports Illustrated On Campus is highlighting the high achiever in its current 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.
SANTA CLARA CLASSIC RECAP NOTES
* Freshman D Christie Shaner was named the SCU Classic defensive MVP, BIG EAST rookie of the week and was one of 11 named to the Soccer Buzz national players-of-the-week team after playing a lead role alongside senior Melissa Tancredi as the central defenders for an Irish squad that held #16 Stanford (0-0) and #10 Santa Clara (2-1) to 12 combined shots (just three on goal) and three combined corner kicks.
* Sophomore F Katie Thorlakson was the SCU Classic’s offensive MVP after providing the leftside cross that led to Mary Boland’s early goal before knocking home Boland’s deflected shot for the gamewinner vs. Santa Clara … ND’s all-tournament picks included Shaner, Thorlakson, Boland and senior F Amy Warner (Boland and Warner also were all-tournament picks at the UConn and ND Classics).
* Notre Dame dominated the play while handing the Broncos their first-ever loss in the SCU Classic … ND finished with a 14-5 edge in overall shots (8-1 in the first half) while SCU converted its only shot on net.
* Boland’s goal was her 1st since scoring 6 in the first 3 games (an ND record), with her 7 goals matching her combined total from ’01 and ’02.
* Marian Dalmy’s goal ended ND’s shutout streak at 418 minutes and marked just the 4th goal allowed by ND in ’03 … just two previous ND teams have allowed fewer goals in the first 8 games (0 in ’95, 3 in ’97).
* Sophomore G Erika Bohn is 16-1-1 in her last 17 overall games with the Irish (including 5-0 last spring), allowing just 10 goals in those games with seven shutouts and 10 games with 1 GA.
* ND improved to 5-3-0 in the SCU series (4-3-1 all-time vs. Stanford).
* The Stanford tie pushed ND’s unbeaten streak in overtime to 14 games (10-0-4), dating back to the 1999 opener … All-American G Nicole Barnhart made 5 saves for Stanford, including a lunging tip that sent an Amanda Guertin chip off the crossbar … ND has played three previous scoreless ties: vs. Dayton in 1991, vs. UNC in ’94 (in St. Louis, ending UNC’s NCAA-record 92-game winning streak) and at UConn in 2000.
#2 NOTRE DAME 0 0 0 0 – 0
#16 STANFORD 0 0 0 0 – 0
Shots: ND 8-4-0-1 – 13, STAN 5-1-0-1 – 7.
Corner Kicks: ND 1-1-0-2 – 4, STAN 0-1-1-0 – 2.
Saves: ND 2 (Erika Bohn), STAN 5 (Nicole Barnhart).
Fouls: ND 16, STAN 15.
Offside: ND 2, STAN 1.
#2 NOTRE DAME 1 1 – 2
#10 SANTA CLARA 0 1 – 1
ND 1. Mary Boland 7 (Katie Thorlakson) 5:03; SCU 1. Marian Dalmy 4 (Veronica Zepeda) 62:47; ND 2. Thorlakson 3 (Boland) 75:14.
Shots: ND 8-6 – 14, SCU 2-3 – 5.
Corner Kicks: ND 6-0 – 6, SCU 1-0 – 1.
Saves: ND 0 (Erika Bohn), SCU 5 (Julie Ryder).
Fouls: ND 11, SCU 10.
Offside: ND 7, SCU 0.
LINEUP NOTES
FURIOUS FORWARDS – Notre Dame’s system includes a pressuring “forecheck” from the team’s frontrunners … four of those players – Mary Boland (2), Amanda Guertin, Maggie Manning and Katie Thorlakson – already have posted multiple-goal games this season while Amy Warner scored in five of the first six games.
FIRE & ICE – Veterans Amanda Guertin (41 career goals; 4 in ’03) and Amy Warner (32; 5 in ’03) rank as one the nation’s premier pairs of senior forwards, with 26 game-winning goals (16 by Guertin) and five OT goals (3 by Guertin).
BOLAND STEPS FORWARD – Junior Mary Boland spent most of her prep soccer days playing as a forward but her ND career also has included time at outside back and in the midfield … Boland’s quick start to the 2003 season (3G-1A in opener vs. Hartford; 7G in first 8 games) ignited the surging ND offense and solidified her return to forward.
MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE – Despite the graduation of 4-year starter/defensive ace Ashley Dryer and the season-ending hip surgery to senior Randi Scheller (2nd team all-BIG EAST in ’02), the Irish midfield has been energized by the emergence of two “newcomers” in sophomore Annie Schefter (3G-4A; missed all of ’02 with ACL knee injury) and freshman Jen Buczkowski (2G-4A) – with the pair ranking 4th and 6th on the ND scoring charts.
LORENZEN SETTLES INTO BACK – Versatile freshman Kim Lorenzen (Naperville, Ill.) was impressive in preseason training at forward but has found a home in the defense, with strong play as a starter both centrally and at outside back.
OTHER QUICK NOTES ON THE IRISH
* Notre Dame entered the week as the No. 8-scoring team in the nation (min. 5 GP), averaging 3.63 goals/gm while the 29 total goals are nearly double ND’s total at the six-game mark in 2002 (17) … the Irish also rank 16th in the nation (and 1st in the BIG EAST) with a 0.49 season goals-against avg.
* Senior F Amy Warner ranks 8th nationally in assists (6) while junior F Mary Boland is 15th in total goals (7) and 18th in total points (17).
* Sophomore G Erika Bohn has allowed just 7 goals – including no games with multiple goals allowed – in her last 13 fall games with ND (6 shutouts, 7 games with 1 GA) … Bohn entered the week ranked 14th in the nation with a 0.52 goals-against avg. (min. 600 minutes).
* ND players have combined to miss 109 games due to injury spanning the ’02 and ’03 seasons (29 games; 20-8-1 record), with seven players already combining to miss 45 games due to injury in ’03.
* The Irish are unbeaten in their last 14 overtime games (10-0-4).
* Senior F Amanda Guertin is tied for 3rd in ND history with 16 career GWGs (with an ND record 3 in OT) … Guertin’s 10-game goalscoring streak in ’01 ranks 3rd in NCAA history (former SCU great Brandi Chastain holds the record of 15).
* ND’s all-time playing roster includes 20 California natives (most from any state), led by All-Americans LaKeysia Beene, Cindy Daws, Jen Renola and Rosella Guerrero (plus current World Cup team member Shannon Boxx).
* 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky graduated last May with a 4.0 cumulative GPA as a chemical engineering major, becoming just the third Notre Dame student (first since ’74) ever to complete that feat.
* ND’s freshman class was ranked #5 by Soccer America, with M Jen Buczkowski (6th) and D Christi Shaner (22nd) rated in the top 25.
* Three ND freshmen – Buczkowski, fellow M Jill Krivacek and D Kim Lorenzen – helped lead Team Illinois to the 2003 ODP national title, defeating New Jersey and future ND teammate Lizzie Reed in the title game.
* ND has been ranked 1st or 2nd in the NSCAA poll during nine of the last 11 seasons (ranked 1st in four seasons).
* Irish players already have combined for seven multiple-goal games this season: Mary Boland vs. Hartford (3) and ASU (2), Maggie Manning and Amanda Guertin vs. Hartford (both with 2), Jen Buczkowski vs. Oklahoma (2), and most recently Katie Thorlakson and Annie Schefter vs. Western Kentucky (both with 2).
* ND’s ’03 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces and Iceland … the program’s all-time roster canvasses 30 states and three foreign countries … ND’s student-athlete population during the ’02-’03 academic year included nearly 800 individuals from 47 states (all but Idaho, Mississippi and Nevada) and 20 foreign countries.
* The current senior class carries a 25-8-2 career record when playing in the postseason and/or facing an opponent ranked in the NSCAA top-25.
PERFECT RECORDS BEGIN TO DWINDLE – The first few weeks of the ’03 season have taken their toll on many top teams, as only eight Division I teams enter the weekend with unbeaten records … four teams – North Carolina, Florida, Cal Poly and Oklahoma State – have no losses or ties while Notre Dame, Boston College and Princeton each are unbeaten with one tie (Pennsylvania sports two ties on its unbeaten record).
PLAYING THE BEST: ND has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, with a 22-10-3 record vs. NSCAA ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since ’99) … that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn St., 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. WVU, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan … the Irish then posted 2002 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1), #13 Michigan (1-0) and #14 Purdue (3-1) and added a tie vs. #24 Stanford (0-0) and a 2-1 win over #16 Santa Clara in the ’03 SCU Classic … over the course of the 2001-03 seasons, ND owns a 10-6-1 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (27-5-1 vs. unranked teams).
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame has posted some noteworthy wins on the road during the past two seasons (8-3-0), with the high points including a pair of wins at the 2000 Portland Classic (5-0 vs. Washington, 1-0 vs. the Pilots), 2002 wins at Maryland, Michigan and Boston College (plus vs. Hartford, at Maryland), the 2003 season-opening wins over Hartford and Wake Forest (at the UConn Classic) and the pair of solid results at the ’03 Santa Clara Classic (0-0 vs. Stanford, 2-1 vs. SCU).
NCAA STAT LEADERS
Notre Dame – 8th in goals per game (3.63), 16th in goals-against avg. (0.49), one of 8 unbeaten teams
Sr. F Amy Warner – 8th in total assists (6)
Jr. F Mary Boland – 15th in total goals (7) and 18th in total points (17)
So. G Erika Bohn – 14th in GAA (0.52), minimum 600 minutes
INJURY WOES CONTINUE: ND’s ’02 season was hampered by injuries to several top players (totaling 64 games missed, plus 45 thus far in ’03 for a total of 99) … the Irish now must play the ’03 season minus two top 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 underwent preseason hip surgery … junior starting central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir returned in a reserve role at the SCU Classic (after missing four games with a broken arm) with three others – sophomore M Jenny Walz (ACL), freshman D Kari Kennedy (foot) and junior D Kate Tulisiak (back) – are nearing their respective returns after being sidelined for several weeks … veteran D Vanessa Pruzinsky (ankle) made a full-time return at the ND Classic … Scheller will have the option to apply for a 5th year of eligibility in ’04, as will central D Melissa Tancredi (she missed ’00 with an ACL injury) … Pruzinsky is a current 5th-year player (out most of ’02 with ankle injury) while Chapman will be a senior in ’04 and then have her own option at a 5th 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 August (out for year)
Jenny Walz (So., M) … rehabbing from ACL knee surgery (nearing return)
Kari Kennedy (Fr., D) … preseason foot injury (nearing return)
Kate Tulisiak (Jr., D) … nagging back injury (nearing return)
Gudrun Gunnarsdottir (Jr., D) … broken arm at UConn Classic (missed four games, played as reserve last week)
BOHN ON A ROLL – Sophomore G Erika Bohn (Brookfield, Conn.) is 18-2-1 in her last 21 starts with the Irish (16-1-1 in last 18), allowing just 14 goals in that 21-game stretch (with 9 shutouts and 11 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 … Bohn now has logged 18 consecutive games with the Irish (13 fall, 5 spring) without allowing multiple goals (last done by BYU on Oct. 19, 2002).
MAGIC NUMBERS – The three-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win in the program’s history, with the Irish now owning a 192-3-1 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 (now 96-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995) … ND also is 263-8-11 (.952) 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) … the ND women’s soccer program’s 16-year history includes just 280 goals allowed in 350 games (0.80 GA per game) … the Irish have allowed more than one goal in only 68 all-time games (19%) and have yielded 3-plus goals in just 32 all-time games (9%; including two 6-goal games by the opponent, four 5-goal and six 4-goal) … 91% of ND’s all-time games have seen the Irish hold the opponent to 0-2 goals (ND is just 4-27-1 all-time when allowing 3-plus).
NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK FACTS (see PDF for player info. in chart form)
HEAD COACH Randy Waldrum – The Irish are 81-16-4 (.806) in the tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum (since ’99), including 69-13-3 in the last 85 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999) … Waldrum’s ND record spans the career of 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky … Waldrum – who repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 – 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 1st-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi’s, beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in their backyard of San Jose … Waldrum’s 21-plus-year record as a college head coach (men’s and women’s teams) is 264-121-23 (.675) … he is 188-66-16 (.726) in 12-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 ’03 ranked 7th among active women’s coaches for career winning percentage (min. 10 Div. I seasons).
GOING THE DISTANCE – ND is unbeaten in its last 14 overtime games (10-0-4), since the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the ’99 opener … that team went on to post a 2-1, double-OT win at UConn and played to a 1-1 tie at Nebraska in the NCAA quarter’s (adv. on PKs) … the 2000 team had OT wins over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarter’s (all 2-1), also playing to 0-0 at UConn … ’01 featured an unprecedented five OT games (2-1 vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan; 2-2 vs. Wisconsin) while the ’02 team added 1-0 OT wins over Rutgers and BC and the ’03 team played to a scoreless tie with Stanford (at SCU).
OT MASTERS – Senior Amanda Guertin holds the ND record for career OT goals (3), with her classmate Amy Warner and ’96 national player of the year Cindy Daws ranking second with two (including Daws’ goal vs. Portland in the ’95 NCAA title game) … Guertin (3G-2A) owns eight career points in OT, followed by Warner (6; 2G-2A) … Guertin’s other OT goals came at WVU in 2000 and at home vs. WVU in ’01 (both 2-1) … in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20, 2002, vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT vs. Villanova (’01) and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak’s OT goal in ’01 vs. Indiana (both 2-1) … she also had the cross that produced an OT own-goal to beat Stanford in ’00 and assisted on Guertin’s OT goal in ’02 at BC (1-0), playing a key role in five of ND’s last nine OT goals (Guertin on five of the last eight).
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).
HAT TRICK OPENERS – Mary Boland is the 5th 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 in ’01 and ’03), with a diving header to open the scoring in the ’01 vs. Penn State (2-1) and the final goal in the ’02 win at Providence (3-0) … previous Irish players with hat tricks in openers: Rosella Guerrero as a freshman vs. N.C. State in ’92 (4-3 loss), Guerrero and sophomore Michelle McCarthy in ’93 at LaSalle (12-0 win), and senior Amy Van Laecke and sophomore Monica Gerardo in ’96 at PC (14-0).
SEVEN-POINT START – Mary Boland’s seven points in the opener vs. Hartford (3G-1A) are most by an ND player since Jenny Streiffer had 3G-1A vs. Miami on Oct. 1, 1999, in the first year of the Randy Waldrum era … Streiffer holds the ND record for points in a game, with 9 (3G-3A) in the ’96 win over Providence (14-0).
HEADS OF THE CLASS – Notre Dame has plenty of quality options in the air, led by senior central D Melissa Tancredi (5 of 8 career goals on CK headers, including all four in ’02) … junior Mary Boland also has converted several header goals in her career while 5-10 freshman defensive M Jill Krivacek could emerge as a devastating presence in the air (her classmate, central D Christie Shaner, also is noted for her play in the air) … senior F Amanda Guertin’s pinpoint corner kicks (8) and free kicks (1) led to nine of her 11 assists in ’02.
FRESHMAN CLASS RANKED AMONG BEST IN NATION – Soccer America rated Notre Dame’s current 10-player freshman class as the fifth-best group of incoming recruits, behind Santa Clara, UCLA, Texas and Portland … Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove, Ill.) is No. 6 on the list of top individual recruits (second among midfielders, behind Nebraska’s Brittany Timko, who is No. 2 overall) … Notre Dame D Christie Shaner (Ambler, Pa.) is No. 22 on that list, making the Irish one of seven schools with multiple players on that top-25 list … M/D Lizzie Reed (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) joins the above two players as ND freshmen who were prep All-Americans.
PRIMETIME PLAYERS – Notre Dame is 25-8-2 in the last four seasons (’00-’03) when facing an NSCAA ranked team and/or when playing in the postseason, with a 71-34 scoring edge in those 35 “big games” … senior F Amanda Guertin has racked up 50 points in those big games (20G-10A) … her classmate Amy Warner owns 8G-5A vs. ranked or postseason opponents (she missed half of the 2000 season due to injury).
FAR AND WIDE – Notre Dame’s 2003 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario) and Iceland … the states on the ’03 roster touch all corners of the nation: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
ALUMNI UPDATE – Several former Notre Dame women’s soccer players have been in the news during recent weeks:
* D Kate Sobrero (’98) and M Shannon Boxx (’99) were named to the 18-player U.S. National Team roster that is competing in the World Cup (Sept. 23-Oct. 12) … Sobrero also played for the U.S. team that won the 1999 World Cup and was on the 2000 Olympic team … Boxx was the surprise of the roster, with no previous National Team experience but an impressive 2003 season in the WUSA (she became the first player ever to score in her first three games with the National Team, in two tuneup games and the 3-1 World Cup opening win over Sweden).
* Sobrero and Boxx were two of five former ND players who played in the Women’s United Soccer Association 2003 all-star game, with others including Washington Freedom D Jen Grubb (’00), Boston D Monica Gonzalez (’02) and San Jose CyberRays G LaKeysia Beene (’00) … Sobrero and Gonzalez helped Boston win the WUSA regular-season title while Grubb – who has not missed a single minute of action in the first three WUSA season – captained the Freedom to the 2003 WUSA Founders Cup title after a 2-1 overtime win over the Atlanta Beat … four other ND alums played in the WUSA during the 2003 season: M Anne Makinen (’01; Philadelphia Charge), D Lindsey Jones (’02; N.Y. Power), D Kelly Lindsey (’01; San Jose) and M Monica Gerardo (’99; Washington).
* Three of the above players recently became college assistants: Gerardo at University of Pittsburgh (where former ND assistant Sue-Moy Chin is the first-year head coach), Lindsey at the University of Colorado and Boxx at Cal State Dominguez Hills … Boxx also is enrolled in graduate school at Pepperdine and is one of several former ND players who are set to be married in coming months (as are Sobrero and former midfield great Holly Manthei).
SCORING BOOST – The Irish headed into ’03 looking for increased goal production, with several “newcomers” among top candidates to provide that boost: sophomore M/D Annie Schefter (dnp in ’02; 47G as prep senior at West Valley, Wash., HS), freshman midfielders Jen Buczkowski (69G in three seasons at Elk Grove, Ill., HS) and Jill Krivacek (set Rosary HS record with 78G in career), and freshman D/M Lizzie Reed (2nd in Ramapo, N.J., Regional HS history with 126 career goals) … junior F Mary Boland (Hudson, Ohio) also has emerged as a goalscoring boost (7G in first eight games), matching her combined total from ’01 and ’02 (7G, after totaling 27 as a senior at Hudson HS).
1ST-HALF FORTRESS – ND did not allow a 1st-half goal in its first nine games of ’02, with the next five producing eight 1st-half goals by the opposition – followed by two in the final seven games … ND (12) and its opponents (10) combined for just 22 first-half goals in ’02, compared to more than twice as many (49) in the 2nd half (32 by ND, 19 by opp.) … the Irish allowed opponents an average of just 3.9 shots and 1.6 CKs in the 1st half of ’02 games… the Irish also were stingy in the first half in ’01 (seven 1st-half GA in 20 games) and own a 15-3 first-half scoring edge in ’03 (14-1 in 2nd half) … spanning the ’01-’03 seasons, ND has allowed just 20 first-half goals in 50 games (0.40/gm; with 29 GA in the second half).
CONFERENCE CALL – ND’s all-time record in regular-season conference games is 87-7-2 (.917), including 68-7-2 (.896) in BIG EAST games (since ’95) … the Irish are 48-1 in all-time home games vs. BIG EAST teams, with 44 straight home BIG EAST wins since a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in ’95 (225-16 scoring edge, 30 shutouts, 13 games with 1 GA) … since joining the BIG EAST, ND’s overall record vs. BIG EAST teams is 87-8-2 (.907; also 1-1-0 vs. UConn in NCAAs).
OVER THE CENTURY MARK, FAR FROM TOP 10 – Senior Amanda Guertin’s career point total (107; 41G-25A) would rank near the top of the record book at many schools but she stands just 13th in Notre Dame history – 29 points shy of the top 10 (her 41G are two 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).
STREAKY PLAYER – Amanda Guertin scored a goal in the final 10 games of 2001 – third-longest in Div. I women’s soccer history (SCU’s Brandi Chastain had a 15-game goal streak in ’90, Hartford’s Maria Kun an 11-game streak in ’97) … Guertin scored goals in an ND-record seven straight postseason games, spanning ’01 and ’02 (she has 9G in 15 career postseason games) and had points in eight straight games (7G-6A) before the 1-0 loss at Stanford in ’02.
GETTING THE GWGs – Amanda Guertin continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (41G-23A, in 75 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 41, or 39%) have been gamewinners – well ahead of the others on the GWG list (see PDF):
Note: see PDF for game-by-game linescores and postgame notes.