Timeline of a Championship Season: 2010 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer

Randy Waldrum

December 5, 2009 – Irish Fall To North Carolina In The College Cup Semifinals, 1-0
On cold night more reminiscent of South Bend, Indiana than College Station, Texas, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s soccer season came to an end with a 1-0 loss to North Carolina in the 2009 NCAA College Cup semifinal game in front of 8,026 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University.

February 10, 2010 – Irish To Add Standout Six-Player Freshman Class for 2010
University of Notre Dame head women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum announced Wednesday that six student-athletes have chosen to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Fighting Irish, signing National Letters of Intent to enroll at Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2010.

April 2, 2010 – Notre Dame Lines Up Demanding 2010 Women’s Soccer Schedule
The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team will play seven regular-season matches against NCAA Championship qualifiers, including a first-ever trip to perennial powerhouse UCLA, as part of a rugged 2010 schedule that was released Friday following approval by the University’s Faculty Board on Athletics.

June 10, 2010 – Notre Dame Women’s Soccer Earns Perfect Score in NCAA’s APR
All 26 athletics programs at the University of Notre Dame again exceeded the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate standards as eight Irish athletic teams – including women’s soccer – earned perfect 1,000 scores in the sixth annual set of APR statistics issued by the NCAA.

August 10, 2010 – Irish Near Unanimous Pick To Win 2010 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Divisional Title
The Notre Dame women’s soccer team was a near-unanimous selection as the favorite to win the 2010 BIG EAST Conference National Division title, according to a vote of the league’s 16 head coaches.

Melissa Henderson

August 13, 2010 – #4 Irish Drop Exhibition Game To #17 Virginia, 4-1
Freshman midfielder Mandy Laddish scored a second-half goal off an assist from junior forward Melissa Henderson, but it was not enough to beat back a determined opponent as fourth-ranked Notre Dame fell to No. 17 Virginia, 4-1 in an exhibition match.

August 20, 2010 – Henderson’s Goal Lifts #4 Irish Past Minnesota, 1-0 On Opening Night
Notre Dame junior forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Melissa Henderson scored an unassisted goal with 11:18 remaining, lifting the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish to a hard-fought 1-0 win over rising Big Ten Conference power Minnesota on a hot Friday night at Alumni Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

August 20, 2010 – Henderson’s Goal Lifts #4 Irish Past Minnesota, 1-0 On Opening Night
Notre Dame junior forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Melissa Henderson scored an unassisted goal with 11:18 remaining, lifting the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish to a hard-fought 1-0 win over rising Big Ten Conference power Minnesota on a hot Friday night at Alumni Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

September 3, 2010 – One Is Enough As #3 Irish Edge #8 Santa Clara, 1-0
Notre Dame senior forward Rose Augustin scored just 3:05 into the match and the No. 3/4 Fighting Irish made it stand up, blanking No. 8/9 Santa Clara, 1-0 on the opening night of the 18th annual Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic before a raucous crowd of 2,229 fans, including a large student contingent, on a cool and damp Friday at Alumni Stadium.

Elizabeth Tucker

September 5, 2010 – #3 Irish Blank Texas Tech, 2-0 To Win Inn At Saint Mary’s Classic
Notre Dame junior forward Melissa Henderson and senior forward Rose Augustin scored goals 47 seconds apart midway through the first half on Sunday, propelling the No. 3/4 Fighting Irish to a 2-0 victory over Texas Tech at Alumni Stadium on the second day of the 18th annual Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic. With the win, Notre Dame claims the tournament title for the 13th time, and the second in three seasons.

September 10, 2010 – #3 Irish Fall At #13 UCLA In OT Heartbreaker, 2-1
Senior midfielder Erica Iantorno scored in the final minute of the first half, and No. 3/4 Notre Dame had 13th-ranked UCLA on the ropes for a good portion of the second half, but the host Bruins managed to find the back of the net in overtime and pull out a 2-1 victory in the UCLA Women’s Cup opener for both teams on Friday night at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles.

September 26, 2010 – #5/9 Irish Post Record-Setting 5-0 Win At #24/18 Louisville
Junior forward Melissa Henderson turned in a five-point day with two goals and an assist, leading No. 5/9 Notre Dame to an impressive 5-0 victory at No. 24/18 Louisville on Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Park. It was the largest margin of victory ever recorded by a Fighting Irish team against a ranked opponent on its home field, while the win also extended Notre Dame’s NCAA Division I record unbeaten streak against BIG EAST foes to 69 matches (66-0-3).

October 6, 2010 – Lauren Fowlkes Named Finalist For Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
Notre Dame women’s soccer senior defender/co-captain Lauren Fowlkes has been chosen as one of the 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The Senior CLASS Award is presented annually to the nation’s top senior player based on their dedication and achievement in four areas: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.

Lauren Fowlkes

October 10, 2010 – Seniors Lead The Way As #5/7 Irish Battle Past Rutgers, 3-2, on Senior Day
Senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin chalked up a goal and two assists, and senior forward/midfielder Erica Iantorno added her first career game-winning score in the 67th minute as the No. 5/7 Notre Dame women’s soccer team celebrated Senior Day with a hard-fought 3-2 BIG EAST Conference victory over Rutgers on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 1,166 fans at Alumni Stadium and a national cable television audience on ESPNU.

October 15, 2010 – #4/5 Irish Settle For 1-1 Draw At Connecticut
Junior forward Melissa Henderson scored her team-high 13th goal of the season in the 78th minute to put No. 4/5 Notre Dame in front, but Connecticut got a late equalizer in regulation and the teams wound up finishing with a 1-1 draw in BIG EAST Conference action on a cold and rainy Friday night at Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn.

October 17, 2010 – #4/5 Irish Clinch BIG EAST National Division Title With 3-1 Win At Providence
Seniors Lauren Fowlkes and Rose Augustin scored 8:09 apart early in the second half as the No. 4/5 Notre Dame women’s soccer team knocked off Providence, 3-1 in BIG EAST Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Glay Field in Providence, R.I.

October 24, 2010 – #4/5 Irish Close Out Regular Season With 1-1 Draw At Georgetown
Junior forward Melissa Henderson (Garland, Texas/Berkner) scored her team- and BIG EAST-leading 14th goal of the season to put the No. 4/5 Notre Dame women’s soccer team on top of Georgetown in the 74th minute, but the Hoyas got a late equalizer and two of the conference’s top squads wound up playing to a 1-1 double-overtime draw in a wildly-entertaining regular season finale on a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon at North Kehoe Field in Washington, D.C.

Nikki Weiss

October 31, 2010 – Historic Streaks End As #3/5 Irish Upset By UConn, 2-0 In BIG EAST Quarterfinals
As the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end,” and for the No. 3/5 Notre Dame women’s soccer team, it was two historic streaks that finally were stopped at the hands of Connecticut, which shocked the Fighting Irish, 2-0, in a BIG EAST Conference quarterfinal match on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. The loss snapped Notre Dame’s NCAA Division I-record 77-match unbeaten streak (72-0-5) against conference opponents, as the Huskies handed the Fighting Irish their first setback to a league foe since Sept. 30, 2005, when Marquette earned a 4-1 win over Notre Dame in Milwaukee. In addition, Sunday’s loss to Connecticut was the first by the Fighting Irish against a BIG EAST opponent at home in 100 consecutive matches, dating back to the Huskies’ 5-4 overtime win over Notre Dame on Oct. 6, 1995, at old Alumni Field.

November 2, 2010 – Irish Women’s Soccer Trio Earns Academic All-District Honors
Three Notre Dame women’s soccer players — senior defender/co-captain Lauren Fowlkes, senior forward/midfielder Erica Iantorno and junior midfielder Molly Campbell — have been named ESPN Academic All-District V selections, it was announced Tuesday afternoon by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

November 4, 2010 – Henderson Named BIG EAST Offensive Player Of The Year
For the seventh consecutive season, the Notre Dame women’s soccer team has fielded the BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Year, with junior forward Melissa Henderson earning this year’s award as part of the BIG EAST’s annual awards banquet that was held Thursday evening at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Somerset, N.J.

Rose Augustin

November 8, 2010 – Notre Dame Earns No. 4 Seed For 2010 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship
For the 18th consecutive season, the Notre Dame women’s soccer team (15-2-2) has earned a berth in the NCAA Championship. The BIG EAST Conference National Division champion Fighting Irish — ranked eighth in last week’s National Soccer Coaches of America (NSCAA) poll and 10th in Monday’s final Soccer America poll of the season — earned an at-large bid to the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the North Carolina Region

November 12, 2010 – #7/10 Irish Blank New Mexico, 3-0 In NCAA Tourney Opener
Senior co-captain Lauren Fowlkes scored twice and junior forward Melissa Henderson added her milestone 50th career goal as the No. 7/10 Notre Dame women’s soccer team rolled to a 3-0 win over New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA Championship on a clear and crisp Friday night before 1,394 fans at Alumni Stadium.

November 14, 2010 – #7/10 Irish Back In NCAA Round-Of-16 After 4-0 Win Over #22 USC
Senior co-captain Lauren Fowlkes tallied a goal and two assists to lead a balanced Notre Dame attack, and the No. 7/10 Fighting Irish women’s soccer team rocked 22nd-ranked USC with a pair of goals inside the opening 10 minutes, charging to a 4-0 victory in the second round of the NCAA Championship on a bright and brisk Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

November 19, 2010 – Women’s Soccer Standout Lauren Fowlkes Named First Team Academic All-American
For the second consecutive year, Notre Dame women’s soccer senior co-captain Lauren Fowlkes has been named to the 2010 ESPN Academic All-America Women’s Soccer Team, it was announced Friday. Fowlkes earned first-team accolades this year (after garnering second-team status in 2009), becoming the ninth different Fighting Irish women’s soccer player to be voted a first-team Academic All-American, with those nine combining for a total of 13 selections, including eight in the past eight seasons.

Mandy Laddish

November 21, 2010 – #7/10 Irish Crunch #3/4 North Carolina, 4-1 To Reach NCAA Quarterfinals
Senior forward/midfielder Rose Augustin collected a goal and two assists, and junior forward Melissa Henderson added a goal and an assist, as the No. 7/10 Notre Dame women’s soccer team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship for the seventh consecutive season with a clinical 4-1 victory over No. 3/4 (and top-seeded) North Carolina in an NCAA third-round match on Saturday night at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.

November 27, 2010 – #7/10 Irish Punch Ticket For Fifth Consecutive College Cup With 2-0 Win At #6 Oklahoma State
Freshman midfielder Elizabeth Tucker scored a pair of second-half goals and the No. 7/10 Notre Dame women’s soccer team put together a stellar defensive performance to blank sixth-ranked Oklahoma State, 2-0 in an NCAA Championship quarterfinal match on a chilly Friday evening before a record crowd of 2,660 fans at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex in Stillwater, Okla.

December 3, 2010 – Man-Oh-Mandy! Laddish’s Late Strike Sends #7/10 Irish To National Title Match
Freshman Mandy Laddish broke away from the pack at midfield and streaked through the Ohio State defense in the 83rd minute to net Notre Dame’s only goal at WakeMed Stadium in the NCAA College Cup semifinal. Laddish scored her second goal of the season for the Fighting Irish (20-2-2), who advanced to the championship game for the fourth time in the last seven years.

December 4, 2010 – #7/10 Irish Face #1 Stanford Sunday In NCAA College Cup Final
For the fourth time in the past seven years, and the eighth time in school history, No. 7/10 Notre Dame will take the pitch with a national championship on the line, as the Fighting Irish square off with No. 1 Stanford at noon (ET) Sunday in the 2010 NCAA Women’s College Cup final at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. — the match will be televised live to a national cable audience on ESPN2, with live internet coverage on ESPN3.com.

December 5, 2010 – Leon Lifts #7/10 Notre Dame to NCAA Title in 1-0 Win Over #1/1 Stanford
Randy Waldrum thought his team would win the national title. He even had a guess as to how it would happen. Notre Dame’s coach was correct on both accounts. Freshman Adriana Leon scored in the 63rd minute to help the Fighting Irish defeat Stanford 1-0 on Sunday for their third NCAA Women’s College Cup championship. Melissa Henderson assisted on the goal for Notre Dame (21-2-2), which joined North Carolina as the only schools with at least three Women’s College Cup titles.