Kerri Hanks (left) and Katie Thorlakson (right) already rank as one of the top scoring tandems in Division I women's soccer history (photos by Matt Cashore).

Thorlakson And Hanks Earn More Honors, After Becoming Nation's First Pair Of 50-Point Teammates Since 2000

Oct. 27, 2005

The fifth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team embarks on its 2005 postseason en quest of a second consecutive NCAA title, led by one of the top scoring tandems in the history of Division I women’s soccer. Freshman sensation Kerri Hanks currently ranks third nationally with 52 points (20 goals, 12 assists) while senior Katie Thorlakson is right behind in fourth place with 51 points (14G-23A). Preliminary research indicates that Notre Dame’s current dynamic duo is on pace to become just the fourth set of teammates ever to reach the 60-point plateau, joining the likes of former UNC stars Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly (’92), Notre Dame 1996 standouts Cindy Daws and Jenny Streiffer and the 1995 SMU duo of Danielle Garrett (now Fotopoulos) and Courtney Linex.

Thorlakson and Hanks also rank as the nation’s top all-around offensive threats, entering the week as the only players (out of 307 teams in Division I) with 12-plus goals and 12-plus assists. One might assume that the bulk of their assists have come on each other’s goals but – in fact – just 14 of their 34 combined goals have featured an assist from the other. They also have combined on the primary and secondary assists for just one goal this season, meaning that nearly 70% (54) of Notre Dame’s nation-leading 81 goals this season have featured Thorlakson and/or Hanks involved in the scoring.

Both of the Notre Dame forwards recently picked up more honors, recognizing their roles in the dominating wins over Villanova (4-0) and Georgetown (6-1) on Oct. 21 and 23. Hanks had a goal and three assists during the weekend en route to earning BIG EAST rookie of the week while Thorlakson (1G-2A) earned national player-of-the-week honors from the Top Drawer Soccer website.

Thorlakson has scored or assisted on 37 goals this season and 84 of Notre Dame’s 115 (56%) during the past two seasons. No player in the country has scored/assisted on more goals in the ’05 season than Thorlakson while Hanks has been involved in 32 goals, good for fourth-best in the nation (no other players nationwide have factored into more than 26 goals).

Hanks and Thorlakson have helped Notre Dame total 81 goals while limiting the opponents to just 74 total shots and 34 shots on goal (a microscopic 1.9 opponent shots on goal per game) – meaning that the Irish amassed seven more goals than their opponents’ combined shot total in the 18 games during the 2005 regular season.

Notre Dame players combined for nine BIG EAST weekly awards during the 2005 regular season, with Marquette (6) and Rutgers (5) being the only teams with more than three honorees. Hanks twice was named BIG EAST offensive player of the week (Aug. 29 and Sept. 26) while adding two rookie-of-the-week honors (Sept. 15, Oct. 22).

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Katie Thorlakson’s all-around ability on the ball is unmatched today in the college game, as she has totaled 37 goals and 47 assists (121 points) during the past two seasons (in 45 games played).

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Thorlakson – who has totaled 37G-47A (121 pts) in the past two seasons (45 GP) and needs six more goals to become the first player ever with two 20G-20A seasons (23G-24A in ’04) – earlier was named the Soccer America national player of the week (Oct. 17), as was Hanks following the first week of the ’05 season. Thorlakson totaled eight national team-of-the-week honors during the 2005 regular season while six Irish players now have combined for 16 national team-of-the-week awards in ’05.

See more notes below about Thorlakson, Hanks, the ’05 Irish and a wrapup of the ’05 regular-season awards.

FANTASTIC FIVE – Soccer standouts Katie Thorlakson and Kerri Hanks are two of five ND student-athletes who have earned national player-of-the-week honors this fall, with the others including junior football quarterback Brady Quinn, senior volleyball middle blocker Lauren Brewster and sophomore volleyball outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk … Hanks earned the honor from Soccer America after a 15-point weekend at the Vermont Classic vs. New Hampshire (3G-1A) and UVm (4G), setting the ND record for goals (7) in back-to-back games … Thorlakson then earned that honor after totaling nine points (2G-3A) in wins over 10th-ranked Connecticut (4-0) and Providence (6-0) during mid-October before receiving the Top Drawer Soccer national honor for Oct. 24 (1G-2A vs. VU and GU) … Brewster collected national player-of-the-week honors from CVU.com (College Volleyball Update) after leading the Irish to five-game wins over #11 Texas and Arizona State on Sept. 3-4 (she totaled 46 kills, 15 blocks, 10 digs and 56.5 points while hitting a combined .310 in the 10 games) … Quinn earned national player-of-the-week honors from both The Sporting News and ABC Sports/Cingular after leading the Irish win over Purdue on Oct. 1 (29-for-36 passing for 440 yards and a TD) … Stasiuk picked up the cvu.com national player-of-the-week honor after pacing the Irish to wins over Illinois State (3-1), South Florida (3-0) and Georgetown (3-0) from Oct. 17-21 (she totaled 43 kills, 39 digs, 15 blocks, 57.5 points and hit a combined .396 in those 10 games) … Quinn also is one of four candidates for last weekend’s ABC Sports/Cingular award (TBA), after his record-setting performance in the win over BYU (31-for-42, 467 yds, 6 TDs).

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Kerri Hanks (20G-12A) joins teammate Katie Thorlakson (14G-23A) as the only current Division I players with 12-plus goals and 12-plus assists.

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50-50 PRETTY NIFTY – Current Notre Dame forwards Katie Thorlakson and Kerri Hanks are the first Div. I women’s soccer teammates with 50-plus points since Florida’s Abby Wambach (43; 23G-8A) and Andrea Sellers (50; 20G-10A) both reached 50 points in the 2000 season … the previous tandem to each post more than 50 points was Wambach (62; 23G-16A) and UF’s Sarah Yohe (58; 24G-10A) in ’99 … in the past eight seasons (’98-’05), just two pairs of Division I women’s soccer teammates – Thorlakson and Hanks in ’05 and Wambach and Yohe in ’99 – have each posted more than 50 points in a season.

DUO DESTINED FOR 60-POINT ELITE STATUS – Thorlakson and Hanks both are on the verge of reaching 60 points in the ’05 season, which would place them on a short list of the top-scoring tandems in the history of Division I women’s soccer … based on preliminary research conducted by the ND sports information office and the NCAA statistics department, it appears that just three previous sets of teammates have reached 60 points in the same season: North Carolina’s Mia Hamm (97; 32G-33A) and Kristine Lilly (65; 23G-19A) in ’92, SMU’s Danielle Garrett (later Fotopoulos) with 83 and Courtney Linex (77) in ’95, and ND’s Cindy Daws (72; 26G-20A) and Jenny Streiffer (66; 22G-22A) in ’96 … Hamm (103G-72A), Daws (61G-67A) and Streiffer (70G-71A) also represent three of the five players ever to reach 60G-60A in their careers (Hamm and Streiffer are the only 70-70 players), with Thorlakson (51G-61A) needing 9G in the ’05 postseason to join that other elite 60-60 list.

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Hanks and Thorlakson are on the verge of becoming the fourth set of teammates known to reach 60 points in the same season.

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THEY CAN DRIVE 55 – Notre Dame’s current dynamic duo each could reach 55 points this weekend in Sunday’s BIG EAST quarterfinal … preliminary research indicates that just 10 previous teams have featured multiple players with 55-plus points:

* 1995 SMU – Danielle Garrett (later Fotopoulos) with 83 (32G-19A) and Courtney Linex (31G-15A)
* 1996 Notre Dame – Cindy Daws (72; 26G-20A), Jenny Streiffer (66, 22-22) and Monica Gerardo (59, 23-13)
* 1992 North Carolina – Mia Hamm (97; 32-33) and Kristine Lilly (65; 23-19)
* 1997 Connecticut – Sara Whalen (64; 21-22) and Jen Carlson (59; 24-11)
* 1999 Florida – Abby Wambach (62; 23-16) and Sarah Yohe (58; 24-10)
* 1997 Notre Dame – Anne Makinen (58; 23-12), Jenny Streiffer (58; 20-18) and Meotis Erikson (56; 22-12)
*1996 Connecticut – Kerry Connors (58; 20-18) and Ginny Woodward (55; 21-13)
*1997 UNC Greensboro – Kati Kantanen (68; 24-20) and Ali Lord (56; 24-8)
* 1995 North Carolina – Debbie Keller (61; 23-15) and Robin Confer (56; 19-18)
* 1996 Florida – Danielle Fotopoulos (71; 34-13) and Melissa Pini (55; 22G-11A)

PLENTY-O-POINTS TO SPREAD AROUND – Preliminary research indicates that 22 all-time D-1 women’s soccer teams have featured multiple players with 50-plus points, with only four of those teams (two from ND) featuring three or more 50-point scorers:

* 1996 Notre Dame – Cindy Daws (72; 26G-20A), Jenny Streiffer (66, 22-22), Monica Gerardo (59, 23-13) and Holly Manthei (54; 5-44)
* 1997 Notre Dame – Anne Makinen (58; 23-12), Jenny Streiffer (58; 20-18) and Meotis Erikson (56; 22-12)
* 1995 North Carolina – Debbie Keller (61; 23-15), Robin Confer (56; 19-18) and Cindy Parlow (51; 19G-13A)
* 1997 Florida – Andrea Sellers (61; 23-15), Sarah Yohe (51; 20-11) and Melissa Pini (50; 18-14)
Note that the ’96 ND team is believed to be the only one in NCAA Div. I women’s soccer history to produce four 50-point scorers (that team racked up 140 goals in 26 games, or 5.38 gpg) while the ’96 and ’97 teams appear to be the only ones with three 55-point scorers.

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Kerri Hanks (right) has combined with 10 different teammates on goalscoring sequences this season, including three goals involving Candace Chapman (left).

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DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE – Thorlakson and Hanks can cause opposing teams multiple headaches, as each is capable of delivering a world-class goal or high-end pass that leads to a teammate’s score (thus causing the opposition to worry about multiple threats from multiple players) … they entered the week as the nation’s only players with 12-plus goals and 12-plus assists, with Jacksonville’s Keri Zwikker (13G-10A) representing the only other player in the nation (from 307 D-1 teams) with double-digit goals and assists … ND’s dynamic duo has kept plenty of their teammates involved in the high-powered attack, as Thorlakson has combined with 11 different ND players on ’05 goals while Hanks and 10 different teammates have combined on goals this season … Thorlakson’s most-common goal partners this season include: Hanks (15), sophomore F/M Amanda Cinalli (7), senior M Annie Schefter (6), junior M Jen Buczkowski (5), freshman M Brittany Bock (4) and senior D/F Candace Chapman (3), plus two each with junior D Christie Shaner and sophomore F/M Susan Pinnick and one each with freshman D Carrie Dew and senior F Maggie Manning … Hanks has combined on goals the most often with Thorlakson (15), Cinalli (7), Buczkowski (4), Bock (3), Chapman (3) and Manning (3), plus two each with Schefter and Pinnick and one with junior M Jill Krivacek.

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Ashley Jones and her Irish teammates have rolled up an 81-10 season scoring edge while allowing just 74 total shots and 32 shots on goal.

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NCAA TEAM STATS – ND has led the nation in scoring all season (now 4.50 gpg), also currently owning the top goal margin (+71, +3.94/gm; 81-10) while ranking 3rd in shutouts (12) and 15th in goals-against avg. (0.55) … North Carolina (2nd/3.65 gpg; 14th/0.53 GAA) and Portland (5th/3.18 gpg; 4th/0.35 GAA) are the only other teams in the top-15 for scoring and GAA … ND and UNC are the only teams averaging more than 3.2 gpg … ND’s +71 goal margin leads the nation, followed by UNC (+53; 62-9) and Portland (+48; 54-6) … Florida Atlantic (14) and Vanderbilt (13) are the only teams with more shutouts than ND … ND’s .889 win pct. (16-2-0) trails just five teams: Penn State (17-0-0), Portland (16-0-1), UNC (16-1-0), UCLA (14-1-1) and Lehigh (13-1-1) … the Irish are one of seven teams to score 11-plus goals in ’05 (11, vs. UNH/at Vermont) … ND’s dominating possession has been led by a skilled midfielder group (senior Annie Schefter, juniors Jen Buczkowski and Jill Krivacek, and freshman Brittany Bock) and another stout back line, featuring 5th-year veteran Candace Chapman, juniors Christie Shaner and Kim Lorenzen, sophomore Ashley Jones and freshman Carrie Dew (all five have logged key starts in ’05).

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Amanda Cinalli (24 pts; 6G-12A) has thrved as both a forward and midfielder this season and would rank as the leading scorer on many teams in the nation this season (she curerntly ranks as ND’s 3rd-leading scorer and is 4th among all BIG EAST players).

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NCAA INDIVIDUAL STATSKerri Hanks (51; 20G-12A) and Katie Thorlakson (51; 14G-23A) rank behind only Portland’s Christine Sinclair (66; 29G-8A) and Alabama A&M’s Belinda Kanda (57; 24G-9A) on the NCAA scoring charts (Penn State’s Tiffany Weimer, with 50, is the only other player in the nation with more than 38 pts) … the ND duo are the only players in the nation with at least 12G-12A … Jacksonville’s Keri Zwikker (13G-10A) is the only other player with double-digit goals and assists … no other scoring duo in the nation has more than 40 points each … Hanks ranks 4th in goals behind Sinclair (29), Kanda (24) and Weimer (24) … Thorlakson is the nation’s only player with more than 17A (23), also ranking 14th in goals (14) … Cinalli (12) and Hanks rank 7th nationally in assists … Thorlakson, Hanks and Cinalli are the only teammates in the nation with 12-plus assists … no other team has three players with 10-plus assists (Jacksonville is the only team with two players who have 10A or more) … ND and Alabama are the only schools with two players who have posted 8-plus points in games this season (Thorlakson had 2G-4A vs. UNH, Hanks 4G vs. Vermont) … just 14 players in the nation have posted 8-plus points in a game this season (Hanks is one of 10 with 4-plus goals in a game, Thorlakson one of six with 4-plus assists in one game) … ND and Jacksonville are the only teams with one player who has posted 4-plus goals and another who has posted 4-plus assists … Thorlakson (3A vs. PC) and Southeast Missouri’s Alaina Lacopo are the only players in the nation with 3-plus assists in two games this season … ND senior goalkeeper Erika Bohn owns a 0.58 season goals-against avg. that would rank 18th in the nation (she has not played enough minutes to qualify, after missing a month due to an ankle injury).

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Maggie Manning – who currently ranks 8th on the BIG EAST goalscoring charts (7) – has combined with Lizzie Reed and Susan Pinnick to give the Irish a hockey-like second forward line that has helped keep steady pressure on the opponents all season.

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BIG EAST STAT LEADERS – ND leads all BIG EAST teams in overall scoring (4.50 goals/gm), shots (23.6/gm), GAA (0.55), shutouts (12) and corner kicks (7.3/gm) … Hanks and Thorlakson sit atop the league scoring charts while Cinalli (24; 6G-12A) is 4th and freshman M Brittany Bock 6th (21; 8G-5A) while senior F Maggie Manning is 10th (17; 7G-3A) despite playing primarily off the bench this season … Hanks and Thorlakson are the top goalscorers from BIG EAST teams, with Bock (8) tied for 5th and Manning tied for 8th (7) … ND players hold down the top-4 assist totals among BIG EAST players: Thorlakson (23), Cinalli (12), Hanks (12) and Chapman (8), with senior M Annie Schefter in 9th (6) … Hanks paces all BIG EAST players with 109 shots (Thorlakson is 4th with 55) … Hanks is 2nd with 4 GWGs, Thorlakson 5th (3) … Bohn’s 0.58 GAA would lead the league if she had enough minutes played.

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Junior defender Christie Shaner is one of six Irish players to be named to a national team of the week this season.

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NATIONAL WEEKLY AWARDS – Thorlakson has totaled eight national team-of-the-week honors in ’05 while six Irish players have combined for 16 national team-of-the-week awards this season … Thorlakson first was named to the Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer teams for week-2 (Aug. 29 -Sept. 4), after totaling 3G-3A in wins over #11 Florida and #25 Maryland … she then appeared on three of the next four TDS teams of the week, after totaling 1G-2A vs. Gonzaga (Sept. 11), registering another 3G-3A weekend (vs. DePaul and Michigan, on Sept. 16-18) and posting 2G-AA in the 4-1 win at South Florida on Oct. 2 … Thorlakson was named the SA national player of the week (also TDS national team of the week) after totaling 2G-3A in wins over #10 UConn and Providence on Oct. 14-16 and added the TDS national POW after last week’s 1G-2A vs. VU and GU … Hanks was named the SA national player of the week after an impressive debut to her college career, erupting for 3G-1A vs. UNH and then scoring four times at UVm (Aug. 26-28), also earning a spot on the SB and TDS national teams of the week (Soccer Buzz does not name a top player of the week) … junior M Jen Buczkowski picked up defensive MVP honors at the ND Classic (Sept. 2-4) and earned a spot on the SB national team of the week (she assisted on the gamewinning goal vs. Maryland and helped the Irish compile a 46-18 shot edge in the tournament) … junior D Christie Shaner’s midseason shift to central defense helped the Irish overcome the absence of three injured defensive standouts and earned her a spot on the SA and TDS national teams of the week following wins over DePaul and Michigan on Sept. 16-18 (she helped ND amass a 48-5 shot edge and 14-1 corner-kick margin in those games) … freshman M/F Brittany Bock twice has been named to the TDS national team of the week: after the opening week in Vermont (2G vs. UNH, G vs. UVm) and following the Oct. 7-9 road wins over Rutgers (assist on overtime goal) and Seton Hall (1G-1A).

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Junior midfielder Jen Buczkowski continues to run the show for the nation’s top-scoring team.

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BIG EAST AWARD HISTORY – ND players combined for five BIG EAST offensive player-of-the-week awards in the ’05 regular season (in nine weeks): Thorlakson on Sept. 5, Sept. 19 and Oct. 17; Hanks on Aug. 29 and Sept. 26 … Shaner (Oct. 10) and 5th-year D/F Candace Chapman (Oct. 17) have received the weekly defensive honors while sophomore Lauren Karas was named the league’s top weekly goalkeeper on Sept. 26 (8 saves in wins over Cincinnati and Louisville) and Hanks the top rookie on Sept. 5 and Oct. 24 … Chapman earned her award after totaling 1G-2A and helping the Irish total a 37-1 margin in shots on goal during wins over UConn and PC (Oct. 14-16) … Hanks earned her first BIG EAST rookie-of-the-week honor after totaling 3G in the wins over #11 Florida and #25 Maryland.

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Senior midfielder Annie Schefter missed her first season due to injury but has appeared in every game from ’03-’05, with the irish going 61-6-2 in that 69-game stretch.

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