Oct. 28, 2000

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BRING ON THE POSTSEASON: The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (17-0-1)-ranked No. 1 for the sixth straight week-heads into the postseason with a BIG EAST quarterfinal rematch vs. Miami (Sunday, Oct. 29, 1:00 p.m. at Alumni Field) … the Irish just completed a tough road swing that saw ND on the road for 10 of 11 days (from Oct. 14-24), including three road games in a seven-game stretch (at Yale, UConn and Michigan) … the 5-1 at Michigan produced the third undefeated regular season in ND women’s soccer history … the Miami game ends a 27-day stretch in which the Irish will have played just one home game (and six on the road).

Notre Dame Women’s Soccer Schedule
Sun., Oct.. 29 Miami, Fla. (1:00 p.m., BIG EAST quarterfinal)

MIAMI SERIES NOTES: The Hurricanes are in the midst of their third season as a Division I program, with the Irish posting a pair of home wins over Miami last season (7-1 on Oct. 24 and 5-0 one week later in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament) … the first meetings between the teams included a 28-2 shot edge for ND (7-1 on corner kicks) and goals from Jenny Streiffer (3), Jenny Heft, Monica Gonzalez and Meotis Erikson (2) … Nancy Mikacenic assisted on three of the first four ND goals in that game … ND held big margins in the second game with the ‘Canes (43-4 on shots, 10-1 on CKs), with goals from Anne Makinen, Jenny Streiffer, Jenny Heft and Ali Lovelace (2) … Makinen and Erikson each totaled 2G-2A vs. Miami last season.

NOTRE DAME CAREER STATS VS. MIAMI

HURRICANES NOTES: Miami (9-9-1) is completing its third season on the Division I level and second as a member of the BIG EAST … the Hurricanes own a 23-1-1 record during the past three seasons when owning the lead at halftime … Miami has yet to beat a ranked opponent in its brief history (0-9-0, 0-4-0 this season) … four of Miami’s 11 starters are freshmen … sophomore Lisa Gomez’ 10 assists this season include four in the 5-1 win over Georgetown … Miami’s roster includes just one senior, plus eight juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen … 13 Miami players hail from Florida, including eight starters … Miami is averaging 17.2 shots per game and owns a 327-229 shot edge … UM sophomores Laura and Ashley West are identical twins…the team’s lone senior, M Kazmeen Moolchan, also has an identical twin (Jazmeen) and a younger set of identical twin sisters … Miami has coped without the services of its leading scorer from 1999 (injured Allison McWhinney) … three Miami starters are playing through injuries: junior M Jordan Sims (heel), freshman M Nikki Safran (both feet) and sophomore D Samantha Hernandez (three broken toes).

IRISH COMPLETE UNDEFEATED REGULAR SEASON: The 5-1 win at Michigan yielded just the third undefeated regular season in the 13-year history of ND women’s soccer (17-0-1) … the 1994 team headed into the postseason with a similar 17-0-1 mark while the ’97 Irish squad went 18-0-1 in the regular season.

SCORE 10, LET IN 1: Notre Dame concluded the 2000 regular season with a 61-6 scoring edge, yielding a 10-to-1 scoring ratio that trails only the high-scoring ’97 squad (135-9 scoring edge, 15-to-1 ratio) in the program’s 13-year history.

READY, SET, GO!: Set plays have produced five ND goals in the last six games: Anne Makinen’s corner kick that led to own goal at Villanova, Mia Sarkesian’s volley that was set up by a CK at Syracuse, Meotis Erikson’s free kick at SU, Makinen’s free kick at Yale, and Sarkesian’s header off a CK at Michigan.

ROOKIE TRIO: Freshmen have combined to score nearly 40% of the ND goals this season (24 of 61) …Fs Amanda Guertin (9) and Amy Warner (8) and M Randi Scheller (6) suddenly have a chance to become just the second trio of ND freshmen ever to each reach 10 goals in their rookie season (in ’97, Anne Makinen had 23, Meotis Erikson 22 and Monica Gonzalez 10) … 13 previous ND freshmen have reached 10 goals in their debut season … Guertin and Scheller have provided boosts to the offense in recent weeks while helping fill the void left by the injury to their classmate Warner (who came off the bench to score last week at Michigan) … Guertin has points in six of the last eight games (5G-2A) while Scheller has 4G-2A in that eight-game span (she had 2G-2A in the first 10).

NO. 1 SIGN BURNS ON: October 12th brought a new look to the night sky on the northeast corner of the Notre Dame campus, as the traditional, lighted numeral one was placed atop Grace Hall, in honor of the Irish women’s soccer team’s ascension to the number-one ranking … the eight-foot sign, for years under the auspices of Grace Hall (a men’s residence hall from 1969-96), had not appeared since it last was lit in honor of the ’95 NCAA championship won by the Notre Dame women’s soccer team … the number-one sign, built by Father Bob Malone and a group of seminarians, originally went up at Moreau Seminary (located at the north end of St. Joseph’s Lake) in January of 1974, following Notre Dame’s 1973 national championship football season … designed to be lit anytime a Notre Dame team was ranked number one, it later moved to Howard Hall (at the center of campus, near the old Notre Dame Bookstore) before finally shifting to the roof of Grace Hall … the sign was proudly displayed during the end of the 1988 football season (when the Irish captured the national title) and returned during parts of the 1989, ’90 and ’93 football campaigns.

FOR STARTERS: The Irish rediscovered their first-half scoring form in the regular-season finale at Michigan, with scores from senior F Monica Gonzalez and junior M Mia Sarkesian … ND had totaled just two first-half goals in the previous five games (vs. BC and at Syracuse), compared to 20 first-half goals in the first 12 games … the Irish have totaled 11 second-half goals during the last six games … over the course of the entire season, ND has scored 11 more goals in the second half (35) than in the first 45 minutes (24) … ND’s regular season included a 24-3 scoring edge in the 1st half, 35-3 in the 2nd half (2-0 in OT) … the Irish own a 29-2 scoring edge away from home this season (32-4 at home).

IRISH POST BEST START: ND’s 16-0-0 start bested the ND record for top won-loss record to open a season (the `96 team opened 13-0-0) … that ’96 team posted a 66-6 scoring edge through the first 13 games before dropping a 3-1 game at ninth-ranked Santa Clara (just days after the Irish had risen to No. 1 in the polls) … the ’96 team owned five wins over ranked teams during that 13-0 start, including victories over No. 14 Wisconsin (3-1), No. 13 Washington (4-0), No. 4 UConn (2-1), No. 1 UNC (2-1, OT) and No. 18 Stanford (4-0) … by comparison, the current Irish squad owns a 61-5 scoring edge and has posted three wins and one tie vs. teams that were ranked in the NSCAA poll at game time: No. 2 Santa Clara (6-1), No. 10 Stanford (2-1, OT), No. 15 Washington (5-0) and No. 25 UConn (0-0).

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS SET: The quarterfinal pairings have been set for the 2000 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship, with West Virginia claiming the final spot tonight by virtue of a 3-1 victory over visiting Georgetown on Oct. 25 … Notre Dame has known its quarterfinal opponent for several weeks, as the Irish will play host to Miami on Sunday, Oct. 29 (1:00 p.m.) in a rematch of their 1999 BIG EAST quarterfinal matchup (a 5-0 Notre Dame win) … the quarterfinal action gets underway on Saturday, Oct. 28, with Syracuse playing at Rutgers in a 4:00 p.m. game … the Orangewomen (13-7-0 overall) finished third in the Northeast Division with a 3-2-0 divisional record while Rutgers (9-8-2) claimed second place in the Mid-Atlantic Division (3-2-1) … Sunday will feature three quarterfinal games, beginning with Seton Hall’s noon matchup at Boston College … the Pirates (7-10-1) finished third in the Mid-Atlantic (3-3-0) while the Eagles (12-6-0) are the No. 2 seed from the Northeast (4-1-0) … unbeaten Notre Dame (17-0-1) will open the postseason at home with a 1:00 p.m. game versus the University of Miami (2-3-0), which finished fourth in the Northeast (2-3-0) … the Irish posted a 6-0-0 mark in Mid-Atlantic play and are 25-0-1 in their last 26 games versus BIG EAST Conference teams (67-3-2 vs. BIG EAST teams since joining the conference in 1995) … Sunday’s final quarterfinal matchup will feature West Virginia (15-4-0, 3-3-0 Mid-Atlantic) at Connecticut (13-5-2, 5-0-0 Northeast), with a 1:00 p.m. start.

BIG EAST Quarterfinals
Saturday, Oct. 28
Syracuse (Northeast #3) at Rutgers (Mid-Atlantic #2) 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 29
Seton Hall (MA #3) at Boston College (NE #2) Noon
Miami (NE #4) at Notre Dame (MA #1) 1:00 p.m.
West Virginia (MA #4) at Connecticut (NE #1) 1:00 p.m.

Note: The SU-RU winner will face the WVU-UConn winner in the 5:00 p.m. BIG EAST semifinal on Nov. 3, followed by a game featuring the SHU-BC winner and the Miami-ND winner.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: There will be plenty of women’s soccer action at Notre Dame’s Alumni Field during the eight-day stretch of Oct. 29-Nov. 5, as the facility will serve as the site for the BIG EAST semifinals (Nov. 3) and championship game (Nov. 5) … the final game will be telecast live by the following regional sports cable stations: Fox Sports Net Chicago, Fox Sports New England, Fox Sports Net Florida, Madison Square Garden Network, Empire Sports and Comcast Sports Philadelphia (Fox Sports Pittsburgh will lair a delayed broadcast on the 5th at 2:00 p.m. while Home Team Sports will show a 2:00 p.m. delayed broadcast on the 6th).

PERFECT MARK: The Irish concluded Mid-Atlantic Division play with an undefeated record (6-0-0) for the second consecutive season and own a 54-2-2 (.948) all-time record in BIG EAST regular-season play (including cross-divisional games and last week’s tie at UConn, which was not part of the official BIG EAST schedule) … prior to the tie at UConn, ND had won 25 straight games vs. BIG EAST teams (19 regular season, six BIG EAST Tournament) … ND’s only blemishes in BIG EAST regular-season play include a 5-4 OT loss to UConn in the ’95 NCAA Championship season, a 1-1 tie at UConn in ’98, a 3-2 loss two days later at Seton Hall and last week’s 0-0 tie at UConn … since joining the BIG EAST in ’95, the Irish own a 67-3-2 record (.932) in all games vs. BIG EAST opponents (including a 2-0 win over UConn in the ’95 NCAA quarterfinals and a 2-1 loss to UConn in the ’97 NCAA semi’s).

ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM ON THE POSTSEASON: “This game (at UConn) could prove to be a good lesson for us and we are looking forward to having some more spacing between games that comes with the postseason. Right now, the team needs some time-physically and mentally-to get refocused and rested. But it’s been a tremendous season. To have predicted that we would be 17-0-1 heading into the final regular-season game-with two starters missing a stretch of games-would have been a pretty bold statement heading into this season, but this team has shown great leadership and chemistry while playing with a lot of resiliency. It’s a special group and we are looking forward to the next few weeks.”

BIG-GAME PERFORMER: Despite facing just 44 shots on goal all season, junior Liz Wagner-who leads the nation with an 0.31 season goals-against average-has made several big plays vs. ranked opponents … in five games vs. NSCAA top-25 teams, Wagner has totaled 21 saves while allowing just two goals (she has 18 saves and 3 GA in ND’s other 13 games) … in the 6-1 win over then-No. 2 Santa Clara, Wagner made five big saves, including an early breakaway and a diving stop in the second half … she finished the KeyBank Classic (which included a 2-1 OT win over Stanford) with seven saves, as the backstop to a defense that allowed just 16 shots … Wagner then made six saves at the Portland Invitational but turned in several other big plays in both games (she thwarted two early scoring chances by current No. 4 Washington before holding off current 17th-ranked Portland’s late charge) … she arguably was the best player on the field in the 0-0 tie at UConn, making eight saves while smothering several other Huskies chances at a charged-up Marrone Stadium … Wagner is in the midst of her first season as a starter while facing the challenge of replacing All-American LaKeysia Beene and losing two starting defenders from the ’99 team (including four-time All-American Jen Grubb).

WALDRUM ON WAGNER: “I think you saw tonight (Oct. 21 at UConn) why Liz Wagner has to be considered for BIG EAST goalkeeper of the year. In a lot of our games she hardly has touched the ball and it’s hard to appreciate her skill and leadership in that type of game. But every time she has been tested in a big game, she has answered the bell. The way she has played for us-along with the play of an inexperienced defense that has battled through some injuries-have been invaluable.”

BIG-GOAL SCORER: Sophomore F Ali Lovelace saved her goalscoring for when it mattered most in the 1999 season, as all four of her goals came in the postseason … Lovelace scored twice to cap the scoring in the 5-0 BIG EAST quarterfinal win over Miami before giving ND a 4-1 lead in the 4-2 win over UConn in the BIG EAST title game … Lovelace then scored one of the biggest goals in ND women’s soccer history, showing her speed to break free down the left side and place a crossing shot into the net in the 75th minute to knock off No. 1 Santa Clara in the NCAA semifinals.

PRIMED FOR POSTSEASON: Senior M Anne Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson have done their share of scoring during the postseason, with Makinen amassing 35 points (12G-11A, 3 GWG) in 20 career postseason games while Erikson has 24 (8G-8A) … that dynamic duo has combined to average nearly three points per game in the postseason (2.95), including a combined 4.0 points per game in BIG EAST Tournament play (Makinen has 7G-4A and Erikson 5G-4A in eight career BIG EAST Tournament games) … senior D Kelly Lindsey started all of ND’s 20 postseason games during the past three seasons … junior G Liz Wagner has limited postseason experience (3 GP, 33:17, 3 SV, 2 GA), including short stints in the 199 BIG EAST Tournament vs. Seton Hall and UConn and 12 minutes of action in the second round of the NCAAs vs. Dayton … Wagner actually saw some late-game action as a field player in 1998 BIG EAST Tournament routs of West Virginia and Syracuse.

NOTRE DAME CAREER BIG EAST TOURNAMENT STATS

Name … GP/GS … Shots … G … A … Pts

Anne Makinen … 8/8 … 30 … *7 … 4 … 18

Meotis Erikson … 8/8 … 30 … *5 … 4 … 14

Ali Lovelace … 3/0 … 5 … 3 … 0 … 6

Kelly Lindsey … 8/8 … 4 … 1 … 1 … 3

Monica Gonzalez … 5/0 … 6 … 1 … 1 … 3

Mia Sarkesian … 5/2 … 5 … 1 … 0 … 2

Kerri Bakker … 5/0 … 2 … 1 … 0 … 2

Vanessa Pruzinsky … 3/3 … 0 … 0 … 1 … 1

Lindsey Jones … 7/0 … 7 … 0 … 1 … 1

Kelly Tulisiak … 2/0 … 2 … 0 … 0 … 0

Ashley Dryer … 3/2 … 6 … 0 … 0 … 0

Nancy Mikacenic … 3/2 … 6 … 0 … 0 … 0

* Makinen’s totals include three game-winning goals while Erikson has one GWG.

Liz Wagner: 2 SV, 1 GA in 2 GP (21:27), plus 2 GP off the bench in field.

NOTRE DAME CAREER POSTSEASON STATS (BIG EAST Tournament & NCAAs)

Name … GP/GS … Shots … G … A … GWG … Pts

Anne Makinen … 20/20 … 67 … *12 … 11 … 3 … 35

Meotis Erikson … 20/20 … 58 … *8 … 8 … 2 … 24

Kelly Lindsey … 20/20 … 6 … 2 … 4 … 0 … 8

Monice Gonzalez … 13/0 … 21 … 3 … 2 … 0 … 8

Ali Lovelace … 7/0 … 7 … 3 … 0 … 1 6

Mia Sarkesian … 11/5 … 9 … 2 … 2 … 1 … 6

Kerri Bakker … 8/0 … 2 … 1 … 0 … 0 … 2

Lindsey Jones … 14/0 … 12 … 0 … 2 … 0 … 2

Vanessa Pruzinsky … 8/8 … 2 … 0 … 1 … 0 … 1

Nancy Mikacenic … 7/5 … 8 … 0 … 1 … 0 … 1

Kelly Tulisiak … 2/0 … 2 … 0 … 0 … 0 … 0

Ashley Dryer … 8/7 … 12 … 0 … 0 … 0 … 0

Liz Wagner: 3 SV, 2 GA in 3 GP (33:17), plus 2 GP off the bench in field.

REGULARS IN THE LINEUP: Due to the use of various lineups and a handful of injuries, just three ND players have started all 18 games this season: senior F Meotis Erikson, sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky and junior G Liz Wagner … six others have appeared in every game: freshman F Amanda Guertin (15 GS), freshman M Randi Scheller (5 GS), junior M Mia Sarkesian (17 GS), sophomore M Ashley Dryer (14 GS), junior D Lindsey Jones (16 GS) and senior D Kerry Bakker (13 GS) … Erikson has started every game of her ND career (94), as has Pruzinsky (44).

DEFENSIVE-MINDED: ND’s group of hard-nosed defenders have held the opposition to six goals while having a hand in just 10 Irish goals on the other side of the field (2G-8A) … sophomore Nancy Mikacenic (1G-3A) is the “leading scorer” among the Irish defenders but her header goal came on a corner kick while she was playing in the midfield (in the opener vs. Detroit) while two of her three assists also came as a midfielder … senior Monica Gonzalez (1G-1A) scored last week-while playing as a forward at Michigan-while junior Lindsey Jones (2A), sophomore Vanessa Pruzinksy (1A) and freshman Megan Rogers (1A) round out the scoring by the Irish D … seniors Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker have yet to register a point in the 2000 season … not counting points recorded at other positions, the Irish defense has accounted for just seven (7A) of the team’s 171 points (4.1 percent) … by comparison, 2000 graduates Jen Grubb (9G-8A) and Kara Brown (2G-16A) combined to total 46 points from the back during the 1999 season (those two D alone accounted for 15.0 pct. of the points in ’99).

SCORING ‘EM AND STOPPING ‘EM: Notre Dame and No. 3 Nebraska entered the week as the nation’s only teams ranked in the top six for scoring offense and team goals-against average … ND’s 3.29 goals per game ranked 6th (now up to 5th, at 3.39) while the Irish lead the nation with an 0.32 goals-against average … Nebraska entered the week ranked 2nd in scoring (4.28 goals/gm) and 5th in GAA (0.444).

NO GOALS A RARITY: The 0-0 game at UConn on Oct. 21 marked just the third scoreless tie in ND history and the first in six seasons (also at Dayton in 1991 and vs. North Carolina in a 94 game played in St. Louis).

A WILD YEAR: Following Nebraska’s 2-1 loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 15, Notre Dame became the nation’s only remaining unbeaten team (among 274 Division I women’s soccer programs) while just two teams currently in the NSCAA top-25 have one loss and no ties: No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Nebraska (unranked Furman and Jacksonville also have just one loss and no ties).

STAT LEADERS: Senior M Anne Makinen entered last week ranked 12th in the nation for assists/gm (0.75, now 0.77) … ND junior Liz Wagner technically ranks 2nd in the nation for GAA (0.31) behind Brown’s Mary Jo Markle (0.28) … Wagner (1,459) has played 87% of ND’s minutes and has logged more than twice as many minutes as Markle (645), whose stats are skewed by the fact that she splits time in the goal for Brown … three ND players are ranked among the BIG EAST’s top-12 overall scorers: Makinen (2nd, 11G-13A-35P), senior F Meotis Erikson (4th, 10G-7A-27P) and freshman F Amanda Guertin (10th, 9G-3A-21P) … ND leads the BIG EAST in goals (61), GAA (0.32) and shutouts (12).

18-GAME CHECKUP: With 18 games in the books (the Irish could play as many as 26 games this season), ND is on pace to challenge several team records … ND has allowed just six goals (the team record is nine, in ’97) while the 0.32 team GAA is below the record of 0.36 (also set in ’97) … the Irish have posted 12 shutouts and could make a run at the record (18, in ’95) … ND set the team record for best start (the ’96 team opened 13-0-0) and-prior to the tie at UConn-was one win shy of tying the record for longest single-season winning streak (the `97 team won 17 straight midseason games) … ND also won 20 straight regular-season games (the previous team record was 18, from ’95-’96) … Anne Makinen’s record for shots in a season (106, in ’98) could be bested this season by either Makinen (on pace for 104 over 26 games) or Meotis Erikson (on pace for 108) … Makinen owns five game-winning goals this season (Rosella Guerrero’s eight in ’94 are the ND record).

IRISH LOOK TO MAINTAIN SHARPSHOOTING: ND will be looking to continue its improved shooting accuracy, as the Irish were averaging one goal ever 7.8 shots before scoring three goals on 12 shots at Syracuse, 4G on 19 shots at Yale, no goals on seven shots at UConn and 5G on 27 shots at Michigan (one goal every 5.4 shots over the course of those four games) … the current overall average of 7.3 shots/goal is highest in ND history, up slightly from the ’98 (6.8) and ’99 (6.1) campaigns … the best shot-to-goal ratio in ND history was 4.40 (in ’96) … the 2000 Irish are averaging 24.8 shots/gm, which ranks ahead of every previous ND season except 1997 (30.9) and `98 (26.8) … seniors Anne Makinen (68 shots) and Meotis Erikson (75) have taken the bulk of ND’s shots this season (they have combined to average 8.2 shots/gm) … the top shooting percentages among ND regulars include junior F Kelly Tulisiak (4G on 13 shots, 3.3 shots/goal), freshman F Amy Warner (8 on 40, 5.0) and freshman M Randi Scheller (6 on 31, 5.2).

SHUTOUT CITY: ND’s current team GAA (0.32) is on pace to best the team record (0.36) set in ’97, when the Irish allowed just five goals in the regular season and nine overall … the Irish defenders have allowed just three goals (a PK at West Virginia, a counterattack by BC and a tough crossing shot at Michigan) in the last 1,248 minutes of action, stretching back to Stanford’s goal in the 80th minute on Sept. 10 … the Irish have posted eight shutouts in the last 10 games (12 total), allowing just 54 shots (25 on goal) and 17 corner kicks during that 10-game stretch … Michigan’s goal prevented ND from tying the team record for fewest goals allowed in the regular season (5, in ’97) … junior G Liz Wagner and the Irish allowed just one goal in each game of the KeyBank Classic, vs. two of the nation’s top teams (Santa Clara, Stanford), before posting a pair of shutouts in the Portland adidas Invitational (vs. current #2 Washington and current #14 Portland), the 2-1 win at WVU and the five straight shutouts vs. Pittsburgh (1-0), Seton Hall (6-0), Rutgers (2-0), Georgetown (8-0) and Villanova (1-0), followed by shutouts at Syracuse (3-0), Yale (4-0) and 25th-ranked UConn (0-0).

SILVER STREAKS: Prior to the tie at UConn, ND nearly tied the team record for consecutive wins in a season (the `97 squad won 17 straight before losing 2-1 to UConn in the NCAA semi’s) … ND’s last regular-season loss came Oct. 17, 1999 (4-2 game at then-No. 1 Santa Clara) … since that time, the Irish set a team record by winning 20 straight regular-season games (the `94-’95 teams combined to win 17 straight regular-season games) and now are 21-0-1 in the last 22 regular-season games … ND is 27-1-2 in its last 30 games overall … a win over UConn also would have equaled the 2nd-longest overall winning streak in the program’s 13-year history (the ’95 and `96 teams combined to win 24 straight).

RACKING UP THE HONORS: During the past eight weeks, ND has amassed 15 of 28 weekly BIG EAST awards for offensive player, defensive player and rookie (UConn is next with four) … due to the strong play in front of her, Irish junior Liz Wagner has been nominated just three times for BIG EAST goalkeeper of the week-when she totaled seven saves vs. Santa Clara and Stanford, six vs. Washington and Portland and eight in the 0-0 game at UConn (Wagner has faced just 23 shots on goal over the course of ND’s other 13 games) … the Irish produced three straight BIG EAST offensive players of the week (senior M Anne Makinen, senior F Meotis Erikson, junior M Mia Sarkesian) while ND players collected seven straight BIG EAST defensive player-of-the-week awards (three by Kelly Lindsey, one by fellow senior Kerri Bakker, three by sophomore Vanessa Pruzinsky) … Amanda Guertin was the third Irish freshman to be honored by the BIG EAST in a three-week stretch, following fellow F Amy Warner (a three-time honoree) and M Randi Scheller.

SCOUTING THE IRISH: Notre Dame returned 16 of 22 letterwinners but lost five starters from its ’99 team that went 21-4-1 and advanced to the NCAA title game … senior M and leading national player-of-the-year candidate Anne Makinen (11G-13A) has scored or assisted on nearly half of ND’s goals this season (24 of 61) while other top scorers include freshman Fs Amy Warner (8G-4A) and Amanda Guertin (9G-3A) and senior F Meotis Erikson (10G-7A) … junior Elizabeth Wagner has played most of the minutes in the nets, with 39 saves, five goals allowed (one on a PK) and the nation’s top GAA (0.31).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Information on Miami is located at www.hurricanesports.com

MOTORING: Senior F Meotis Erikson scored three goals on Oct. 6 at Georgetown, becoming the 11th ND player to post three-plus hat tricks in her career (senior M Anne Makinen also has three career HTs) … Erikson registered three goals twice in a five-game span in late October of ’97 … just four previous ND players have turned in four-plus hat tricks: Jenny Heft (6, ’96-’99), Rosella Guerrero (5, ’92-’95), Michelle McCarthy (4, ’92-’95) and Monica Gerardo (4, ’95-’98) … Erikson’s hat trick is the 49th in ND history and the 25th in the last five seasons (freshman Amy Warner had 3G vs. PC on Sept. 3) … Erikson has points in five of last seven games (5G-3A) and six of last nine (6G-4A) … Erikson’s recent surge gives her 152 points (56G-40A) for her career, just four behind `96 graduate Michelle McCarthy for 7th on the ND all-time scoring list … her 56 goals have pushed Erikson past `96 grad. Rosella Guerrero into 7th in ND history, three behind McCarthy, with Erikson ranking 10th on the assists list (just one behind ’97 grad. Kate Fisher).

INJURY REPORT: ND freshman F Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.) missed seven games with a leg injury before playing the final 20 minutes in the regular-season finale (she capped the scoring in that 5-1 win) … senior central D and second-year team captain Kelly Lindsey was injured late in the first half at Villanova on Oct. 8 and has missed the last five games … the Irish have developed significant depth on the back line in recent weeks, with four players-Lindsey and fellow senior Kerri Bakker, plus sophomores Vanessa Pruzinsky and Nancy Mikacenic-capable of playing in the central positions while Pruzinsky, junior Lindsey Jones and senior Monica Gonzalez have seen significant time on the flanks … Mikacenic has started the last five games at Lindsey’s spot.

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD: ND has trailed just once this season while holding the lead for 55% of the minutes … just three teams have managed to forge a tie (1-1) vs. the Irish this season-Providence, Stanford and West Virginia-while Boston College is the only team to hold a lead on ND in 2000 (for 28 minutes), meaning that the Irish have trailed for just 1.7% of the minutes this season.

QUICK STRIKES: Notre Dame jumped out to 1-0 leads in the first 12:00 of six games this season, including three of the last seven (Seton Hall, Georgetown and Syracuse) … the Irish opened the season by scoring in the 12th minute vs. Detroit and scored in the 8th minute the next week vs. Providence … the most important quick-strike goal of the season came Sept. 17 at Portland, as Meotis Erikson’s score in the 8th minute quieted the raucous 3,500-plus crowd and held up as the game’s only goal (the Irish ascended to the top of the national rankings one day later).

ND’s Quickest First Goals in 2000

1:32 … at Syracuse (Mia Sarkesian)

7:20 … at Portland (Meotis Erikson)

8:38 … Providence (Amy Warner)

9:24 … Seton Hall (Anne Makinen)

9:49 … at Georgetown (Amanda Guertin)

11:36 … Detroit (Makinen)

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: The Irish have scored 1st-half goals in 13 of 18 games this season while going past the 55:00 mark without any ND scoring in just three games … senior M Anne Makinen has come to the rescue several times with ND needing a 2nd-half goal … on Sept. 1 vs. Tulsa, the offense was struggling before Makinen fired home a shot in the 69th minute and scored again for the 2-0 win … one month later, the ever-reliable Makinen converted a penalty kick in the 53rd minute vs. Rutgers and ND went on to another 2-0 win … one week later at Villanova, Makinen’s leftside corner kick bent toward the goal and led to the decisive own goal in the 80th minute … most recently, Makinen came off the bench in the 54th minute at Yale and set up the first ND goal less than two minutes later, after slicing through the Bulldogs defense and sliding a pass to Meotis Erikson for the 1-0 lead (Makinen converted a free kick in the 83rd minute to spark a late flurry in the 4-0 win) … Mia Sarkesian’s first goal of the season-in the 38th minute vs. BC-helped erase ND’s only deficit of 2000 (Erikson assisted on that looping shot from 20 yards out).

ND’s Latest First Goals in 2000 (did not score at UConn)

79:11 … at Villanova (own goal set up by Anne Makinen corner kick)

68:17 … Tulsa (Makinen)

53:58 … at Yale (Makinen)

52:56 … Rutgers (Makinen)

37:57 … Boston College (Sarkesian)

YOU NEVER KNOW: Conventional thinking predicted that ND would experience a dropoff after losing five starters from the 1999 NCAA runner-up team to graduation, including three All-Americans (F/M Jen Streiffer, D Jen Grubb and G LaKeysia Beene) and ND all-time leading goalscorer Jenny Heft (80 career goals, with Streiffer ranking 2nd at 70), plus hard-nosed D Kara Brown (5th in ND history with 99 GP) … those five seniors combined to log 485 games from ’96-’99, including 440 starts …while struggling at times this season with consistent finishing, ND has risen to the top of the polls thanks to a skilled midfield that excels in possession and distribution and steady play in the defensive third that has yielded just six goals in 18 games (compared to 18 GA in the first 18 games of `99) … ND’s trio of central-based midfielders-senior Anne Makinen, junior Mia Sarkesian and sophomore Ashley Dryer-has provided consistent ball control that has yielded huge edges in shots (446-102), shots on goal (257-51) and corner kicks (119-38) … the Irish defense has thrived thanks to a seven-player group that has found strong chemistry despite limited experience … that group has included junior G Liz Wagner, senior central Ds Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker, junior right back Lindsey Jones and sophomore left back Vanessa Pruzinsky … senior Monica Gonzalez also has seen significant time on the D flank while sophomore Nancy Mikacenic has done a solid job when called on to play in the middle-giving the Irish D an effective six-player rotation … Lindsey is the only player among the six D who had made more than 26 career starts in the Irish defense prior to this season (Jones made 17 starts as a freshman M, Gonzalez was used strictly as a F prior to 2000 … and Wagner had no previous career starts) … Mikacenic (21 GS as a M in ’99)-has started the last five games in place of the injured Lindsey.

ROAD WARRIORS: Since dropping a 4-2 game at Santa Clara on Oct. 17, 1999, ND has posted a 13-1-2 record in its last 16 games away from Alumni Field … the Irish have put up solid numbers on the road in the 2000 season (9 games), including a 29-2 scoring edge (the other 4 GA have come at home), a 166-72 shot edge (21-9 avg.) and a 96-32 edge in shots on goal (12-4 avg.).

KEEP THAT MOTOR RUNNING: Notre Dame senior F Meotis Erikson (Kennewick, Wash.) has been a durable and reliable member of the Irish lineup throughout her career, appearing in all 94 of ND’s games during the past four seasons (starting 81 of them) … Erikson could become the 8th Irish player to appear in every game of her career (see list below) and only three players currently on that list logged more games than Erikson: M Shannon Boxx (101, `95-’98), D Kate Fisher (98, `93-’96) and G Jen Renola (98, `93-’96) … Erikson is tied with M Cindy Daws (`93-’96) for 11th on the ND list for career games played, recently passing current Irish G coach LaKeysia Beene (90, `96-’99) and F Rosella Guerrero (91, `92-’95) … Erikson would move into a tie with F Jenny Heft (`96-’99) for 10th on the list by adding two postseason games and could surpass Boxx’s record 102 total by playing in the maximum eight postseason games … others on that list include D Kate Sobrero (97, ’94-’97) and three with 98 GP: Fisher, Renola and F Monica Gerardo (`95-’98) … M/D Kara Brown (`96-’99) ranks 5th on that list with 99 GP while the top four include Boxx and three with an even 100 GP: M Holly Manthei (`94-’97), M/F Jenny Streiffer (`96-’99) and D Jen Grubb (`96-’99).

ND Players Who Have Appeared In Every Game Of Their Career

Shannon Boxx … 1995-98 … 101

Kate Fisher … 1993-96 … 98

Jen Renola … 1993-96 … 98

Meotis Erikson … 1997-2000 … 94

Rosella Guerrero … 1992-95 … 91

Tiffany Thompson … 1991-94 … 86

Suzie Zilvitis … 1988-91 … 82

Alison Lester … 1990-93 … 81

GAINING EXPERIENCE … AND WINS: Notre Dame’s regular starting lineup during the 2000 season includes three players who had no previous starts on the Division I level-freshman Fs Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin and junior G Liz Wagner-plus several others with limited starting experience prior to 2000: senior D Kerri Bakker (3 GS prior to 2000), freshman M Ashley Dryer (15), junior M Mia Sarkesian (17), junior D Lindsey Jones (17) and sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky (26) … the only members of the everyday starting 11 with more than 26 starts prior to 2000 were senior D Kelly Lindsey (68), senior M Anne Makinen (66) and senior F Meotis Erikson (63) … by comparison, the Irish headed into the 1999 season with eight players who had more than 26 career starts.

50-50 PROPOSITION: Senior M Anne Makinen (Helsinki, Finland) scored on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 vs. Seton Hall and Rutgers, giving her 60 career goals to move past ’96 graduate Michelle McCarthy (59) into 5th on the ND all-time list (she then scored vs. Georgetown to move into a tie on the ND goalscoring list with 97 grad. Cindy Daws before adding her 62nd career goal at Yale) … Makinen was stuck on 49 career assists since Sept. 17 before assisting on all three Meotis Erikson goals in the 8-0 win at GU (Oct. 6)-becoming the 13th player in Division I history, and the third ND player, to eclipse the 50-goals, 50-assists plateau (she entered 2000 as the nation’s only active 40-40 player) … Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A, ’96-’99) and Daws (61G-67A) are the only previous ND players to reach 50-50 … Makinen still has shot at reaching 60-60, needing 6A to become the 6th Division I player to earn that distinction … members of the 60-60 club include Streiffer, Daws, Carin Jennings (102G-60A, UC Santa Barbara, ’83-’86), Mia Hamm (103G-72A, North Carolina, ’89-’93) and Mandy Clemens (67G-65A, Santa Clara, ’96-’99) … nine more goals and 16 more assists would place Makinen alongside Streiffer and Hamm in the very exclusive 70-70 club.

ANNE’S ARSENAL: Anne Makinen has totaled 35 points (11G-13A) in 17 games played (15 starts), despite being marked heavily as ND’s top offensive weapon (she now .. Makinen heads into the Miami game with a career average of 2.17 points/gm (178 points in 82 games) … her 54 career assists rank 5th all-time an ND (she just edged past 2000 Jen Grubb, who had 53) … Makinen’s 178 career points push her into 5th on the ND all-time list, moving past Holly Manthei’s career total from ’94-’97 (176) to trail only Jenny Streiffer (211, ’96-’99), Monica Gerardo (190, `95-’98), Cindy Daws (189, ’93-’96) and Jenny Heft (189, ’96-’99) … Makinen needs to total 48 points this season-she needs 13 more-to pass Gerardo into 2nd on the ND all-time scoring list.

MAKIN’ WAVES: Anne Makinen-who has points in 12 of 18 games this season (16 starts)-has been the focal point of the Irish offense this season, as the three-year All-American has scored or assisted on more than 40% of ND’s goals (23 of 56), including five game-winning goals and four primary game-winning assists … her outlet pass also sprung Amy Warner for the cross that led to the game-ending own goal versus Stanford while her bending corner kick led to the own goal in the 1-0 game at Villanova … with her team struggling to cash in its chances vs. Tulsa on Sept. 1, Makinen took over in the lategoing by scoring a pair of goals for a 2-0 win … two days later, in the 5-1 win over Providence, her play from her central midfield spot helped the Irish eclipse 30 shots for the third straight game … her pass into the middle set up Amy Warner’s second goal of the PC game and Makinen added a long cross late in that game that Warner half-volleyed to complete her hat trick … Makinen had 1G-2A in the 6-1 win over No. 2 Santa Clara before setting up the game-ending sequence versus Stanford … at the Portland Invitational, Makinen’s long cross set up Ali Lovelace’s goal for a 2-0 lead on Washington and Makinen added a rebound goal and PK goal in that 5-0 game … the next day, her cross from the right set up Meotis Erikson’s goal in the 1-0 win over Portland … most recently, Makinen’s rocket shot from the top of the box held up as the only score in a 1-0 game with Pittsburgh before she opened the scoring to ignite the 6-0 win over Seton Hall and converted a second-half PK to give ND the lead in the 2-0 game with Rutgers … she then came off the bench in the 53rd minute to spark the 4-0 win at Yale, setting up Meotis Erikson for the first goal before sending a free kick over the wall and into the left corner for a late 2-0 cushion … Makinen’s rebounded shot was knocked in by Monica Gonzalez for an early lead in the 5-1 win at Michigan.

IRISH REMAIN NO. 1: ND has returned to the top of the national polls for the first time since ’96, following a pair of quality wins on Sept. 16-17 over current No. 2 Washington (5-0) and current No. 10 Portland (1-0), coupled with UNC’s 2-1 loss earlier that week at Clemson … North Carolina (now 12-2-0) dropped out of the top spot and is ranked 5th in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) poll, after losing last week at Florida State … the Irish are ranked first in the NSCAA poll and various other polls conducted by soccer-specific publications and websites, including the long-running poll compiled by the editors of Soccer America, the SoccerTimes.com national coaches poll and the American Soccer Writers media poll (coordinated by collegesoccerdaily.com).

BIG GAPS: Despite being outshot at UConn (16-7), Notre Dame has posted dominating statistical edges during the 2000 season, including: 61-5 in scoring, 446-102 in shots ( avg. 25-6), 257-50 in shots on goal (avg. 14-3) and 119-38 in corner kicks (avg. 7-2) …the Irish have held seven teams to 0-2 shots and have allowed more than eight shots just four times (10 by Santa Clara, 11 by Portland, 16 by UConn, 16 by Michigan) … ND has allowed 0-2 shots on goal in 11 games (none in three) while SCU (7), UConn (8) and Michigan (8) are the only teams to uncork more than four shots on goal vs. the Irish … 15 of 18 ND opponents have been limited to 0-3 corner kicks (Portland had 7, Yale 4, UConn 5).

WALDRUM WORKING WONDERS: Second-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum has seen his Irish teams post an impressive 38-4-2 combined record (.886), including a solid 9-3-2 mark versus NSCAA top-25 teams and a ’99 season that ended in the NCAA title game … Waldrum 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 first-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi-finals, with the Irish beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in their backyard of San Jose, Calif. … Waldrum’s 19-year record as a college head coach (with both men’s and women’s teams) is 221-109-21 (.660) … he owns a 145-54-14 (.714) record in 10-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 the 2000 season ranked 15th among active women’s coaches for career winning percentage (he ranks 26th on the total wins list).

BREAKING THE SEAL: Three different ND players-senior M Anne Makinen, senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman F Amy Warner-each scored the first goal of the game three-plus times in the first 11 games before freshman F Amanda Guertin joined that group with the first goal in the 8-0 win at Georgetown … junior M Mia Sarkesian then did the honors vs. BC and Syracuse, followed by Erikson netting the first goal at Yale and senior Monica Gonzalez doing the honors at Michigan … Makinen opened the scoring in three consecutive games (vs. Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Rutgers), after earlier scoring the first goal versus Detroit and Tulsa … Erikson scored first vs. Santa Clara, Washington, Portland and Yale while Warner broke the ice vs. Providence, Stanford and West Virginia.

SHUT DOWN: In the season-opening win over Detroit (6-1), the Titans nearly scored the game’s first goal during an early flurry but ND responded by not allowing a shot for the final 83 minutes … the final shot margin (49-2) ranks as one of the largest in ND history (the team record for shots is 59) … the Irish gave up an early shot (not on goal) by Pittsburgh on Sept. 24 before holding the Panthers without a shot in the final 76 minutes … one week later, ND allowed Seton Hall just one shot (off goal) in the final 86 minutes before holding Rutgers without a shot of any kind for the entire 90:00 … the RU game marked the 13th time in ND history-and sixth in the last six seasons-that the Irish have held the opponent without a shot.

HOMESTANDERS: ND’s home record in 10-plus seasons at Alumni Field is 112-7-1 (.938), including 88-3-1 in the last 92 games-highlighted by a 27-game win streak from ’92-’95 (5th-longest in NCAA history) … ND’s last three home losses have been at the hands of #5 UConn in ’95 (5-4, OT), #6 Portland in the ’98 NCAA quarterfinals (2-1) and top-rated UNC in the ’99 opener (3-2, OT) …the Irish currently carry a 20-game home winning streak, with a 54-9 scoring edge in those games … ND’s all-time record at Alumni Field vs. teams not ranked in the NSCAA poll is 77-1-0 (35-6-1 vs. ranked teams), with 70 straight home wins over unranked teams dating back to a 2-0 loss to Creighton in ’90 … ND played at Moose Krause Field in the program’s first two seasons (’88 and ’89) , with a home record of 19-5-1 during that span (all vs. unranked teams).

NO. 1 HISTORY: The previous year in which Notre Dame sat atop the NSCAA poll in the regular season was 1996, when the Irish owned the top spot for the final two months (a 2-1 win over UNC on Oct. 4 of that year, followed by a 2-0 win over Duke, bumped the Irish up from the No. 2 spot) … ND spent the final month of ’94 as the No. 1-ranked team, thanks to an earlier 0-0 tie with UNC and the Tar Heels’ loss to Duke in early October.

RISING TO THE TOP: Following Nebraska’s 2-1 loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 15, Notre Dame became the only undefeated team left in all of Division I women’s soccer (spanning 274 teams) … ND’s strength of schedule has improved since the start of the 2000 season, as Portland (10th), Washington (2nd), Boston College and Michigan (both not currently ranked) each have entered the NSCAA poll in recent weeks … other 2000 Irish opponents currently ranked in the NSCAA poll include No. 18 Stanford, 22nd-ranked Santa Clara and Connecticut (26th-most votes).

BULLSEYE ON THEIR BACKS: ND owns a 30-3-1 all-time record (19-1-1 in the regular season) when playing as the top-ranked team in the NSCAA poll … ND’s losses as the No. 1 team have come at Santa Clara in ’96 (3-1) and in a pair of NCAA title games vs. UNC (5-0 in ’94, 1-0 in ’96), with the tie coming last week at UConn (0-0).

RUGGED STRETCH: The Sept. 17 game at Portland completed a challenging stretch in which the Irish posted three consecutive wins over ranked opponents (#2 Santa Clara, #10 Stanford and #15 Washington), followed by the win over a Portland team that entered the NSCAA poll the next week at #14 … the last time ND played three straight NSCAA ranked opponents was in the 195 NCAA championship run … early in that season, ND posted successive wins over #13 Wisconsin, #19 Michigan State and #3 Stanford … later in `95, a rugged four-game stretch in the regular season yielded a 5-4 loss to #5 UConn, a 1-0 win over #6 SCU, a 2-2 tie with #11 Duke and a 2-0 loss to #1 North Carolina.

BRONCO BUSTERS: Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Santa Clara marked: SCU’s first consecutive losses since Sept. of 1994 (vs. LMU, Stanford and UNC), the first time SCU was outshot (23-10) in 19 games, and the most goals by an SCU opponent in 20 seasons-dating back to an 8-0 loss to UC Davis in ’80 (the last team to reach five goals vs. SCU was UNC, in ’91) … ND also became the first team to post more than 20 shots vs. Santa Clara since Washington did it in ’94 (23-18, in a 2-2 game).

SANTA CLARA’S JERRY SMITH ON ANNE MAKINEN: “Anne Makinen is the best player in college soccer. She is a great international player, let alone a great college player. The international game is a much tougher game to be good than the college level. … I have such a high opinion of (Anne) that she would have to play just awesome for me to be kind of surprised. We talked about it in our team meeting. We just don’t have enough players that can kind of corral her.”

CORNER KICKERS: Despite being one of ND’s most dangerous players in the penalty box area, senior M Anne Makinen has taken many of ND’s corner kicks this season and is considered the team’s top option for that role due to her strong leg and pinpoint accuracy … senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman F Amanda Guertin also have been used recently on CKs … Erikson set up an Irish goal versus PC with one of those set plays, as did Makinen in the Detroit game … Makinen’s late corner at Villanova was bending into the goal before being kicked into the net by a VU player, for the game’s only goal … Guertin’s CK at Syracuse led to a header-volley combination by Ashley Dryer and Mia Sarkesian in the first two minutes of that 3-0 win while Erikson’s CK set up Sarkesian’s header goal at Michigan,

WALDRUM ON MAKINEN: “Tonight (Oct. 18 at Yale) was a classic example of why Anne Makinen is the best player in college soccer. She takes the game to another level for our team and presents a whole different set of challenges for teams trying to defend us. It was amazing how the game changed so quickly after she checked in.”

YALE HEAD COACH RUDY MEREDITH ON ANNE MAKINEN: “I’d always known Anne was a great player from watching her on TV but this was the first time I’d seen her in person and she completely changed the game from the moment she stepped on the field. She was creating great offensive chances but also made her teammates better. That’s the sign of great player and she’s the best I’ve seen this year.”

DYNAMIC DUO: Notre Dame senior M Anne Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson have joined 2000 graduates Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A, 211 pts) and Jenny Heft (80G-29A, 189 pts) as the second pair of ND classmates to each reach 150 career points … Makinen ranks 5th in ND history with 178 points (62G-54A) while Erikson ranks 8th with 152 (56G-40A).

FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: Junior midfielder Mia Sarkesian has totaled just six goals in her ND career but many have come in clutch situations … most recently, she scored on a looping 20-yard shot late in the first half to tie the BC game and halt ND’s only deficit of the season (that was her first goal of the season, to go along with one assist) … two days later, Sarkesian’s volley of a corner kick-header combination gave ND a 1-0 lead in the first two minutes at Syracuse and she worked a give-and-go to set up Randi Scheller’s clinching goal late in the game (3-0) … her early header then ended up being the game-winner in the 5-1 game at Michigan (all three of her scores have been GWGs) … all three of Sarkesian’s 1999 goals came in big games: versus top-ranked North Carolina in the ’99 opener (UNC won 3-2 in OT), vs. Seton Hall in the BIG EAST semifinals (5-0) and vs. Stanford in a 1-0 NCAA third-round game.

FAR & WIDE: ND’s typical starting 11 is representative of the University’s national student body, as that starting unit includes players from nine states and Finland (senior M Anne Makinen), with the lone duplicate state being Texas (junior G Liz Wagner and freshman F Amanda Guertin) … the others hail from Connecticut (sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky), Indiana (junior D Lindsey Jones), Michigan (junior M Mia Sarkesian), Nebraska (senior D Kelly Lindsey), New Jersey (senior D Kerri Bakker), New Mexico (freshman F Amy Warner), Utah (sophomore M Ashley Dryer) and Washington (senior F Meotis Erikson) … the top five reserves represent three more states: Ohio (junior F Kelly Tulisiak), Pennsylvania (freshman M Randi Scheller) and Georgia (sophomore F Ali Lovelace), plus repeats for Washington (sophomore D Nancy Mikacenic) and Texas (senior D/F Monica Gonzalez) … ND’s 27-player roster includes players from 19 states and countries (the above 13, plus California, Canada, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and New York) … ND’s all-time roster includes players from 29 states and two countries, the above 19 plus: Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

A-M FREQUENCY DIALED IN FOR SCORING: ND’s 27-player roster includes five players whose first names begin with A and five who begin with M (plus five that start with K and four with L) … five of the 10 players whose names start with A or M have combined to score ND’s first goal in every game, including five by senior M Anne Makinen, four by senior F Meotis Erikson, three by freshman F Amy Warner, two by junior M Mia Sarkesian and one each by freshman F Amanda Guertin and senior Monica Gonzalez (Makinen also had the corner kick that led to an own goal in the 1-0 game at Villanova) … all told, eight players from the “A-M frequency” (also sophomore F Ali Lovelace and sophomore M Ashley Dryer) have combined to score nearly 80 percent of the team’s goals (48 of 61), with that 61-goal total not including a pair of own goals that the A-M players helped set up (Makinen’s pass sprung Warner for a cross that was deflected in for a 2-1 overtime win over Stanford) … the names of ND’s top four forwards and entire starting midfield (all listed above) each start with an A or M.

BACK-TO-BACK GOALS: Despite a dropoff in overall scoring and shooting efficiency, ND has shown the ability to score back-to-back goals in short periods of time … the Irish have scored twice in a span of 5:21 or shorter 12 times this season, highlighted by five times when ND scored twice in 2:36 or less … eight different players have combined to score the second goals in those flurries, including two each by sophomore F Ali Lovelace, senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman Fs Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin … ND has scored a pair of bunched goals twice in the same game vs. Santa Clara, Seton Hall and Georgetown … in addition to the bunched pairs listed below, the Irish have posted two noteworthy three-goal flurries, scoring three times in 5:01 to stunningly take a 3-0 lead on Washington while putting the Yale game away with three goals in a late 6:54 stretch.

1:01 … Erikson-Lovelace … 26:10-27:11 … 2-0 … Washington (@Portland)

1:53 … Makinen-Warner … 9:24-10:17 … 2-0 … Seton Hall

1:56 … Guertin-Erikson … 9:49-11:45 … 2-0 … at Georgetown

2:09 … Guertin-Scheller … 86:48-88:57 … 4-0 … at Yale

2:36 … Tulisiak-Tulisiak … 86:30-89:06 … 6-1 … Santa Clara

3:09 … Warner-Dryer … 75:16-78:25 … 6-1 … Providence

3:43 … Makinen-Guertin … 52:56-56:39 … 2-0 … Rutgers

4:00 … Lovelace-Lovelace … 27:11-31:11 … 3-0 … Washington (@Portland)

4:36 … Erikson-Warner … 17:21-21:57 … *2-1 Santa Clara

4:45 … Makinen-Guertin … 82:03-86:48 … 3-0 … Yale

5:03 … Erikson-Erikson … 64:01-69:04 … 5-0 … Georgetown

5:21 … Tulisiak-Marino … 63:36-68:57 … 6-0 … Seton Hall

* Note: Erikson and Warner’s goals were sandwiched around a score by SCU’s Kathleen Celio (20:26).

ARE WE THERE YET?: There have been times during recent weeks in which the Irish women’s soccer team has felt like it was several weeks farther along in the season, due in large part to the preseason trip to Brazil that included seven games versus Brazilian club teams … including the games in Brazil, ND has played 26 games in 2000 (the equivalent of playing the regular season and a full allotment of eight postseason games).

MICHIGAN RECAP (5-1, 10/24/00) – Four different Irish players registered a goal as ND completed the third undefeated regular season in the program’s history … ND now leads the Michigan series 6-0-0 (22-5 scoring edge, three-plus ND goals in five games) … the Irish have won their last 40 games vs. Big Ten Conference teams … ND-which completed a stretch of three road games in seven days-received a pair of first-half scores from unlikely goalscorers while the surging freshman class accounted for three goals in the second half, including one by F Amy Warner in an encouraging return to action … Marie Spaccarotella averted the shutout in the 75th minute, knocking a tough crossing shot past backup G Sani Post … ND held a 27-16 shot edge and 10-2 corner kick edge … versatile senior Monica Gonzalez-making her first start at F this season-scored her first goal of 2000 in the 17th minute, on a play set up by Ali Lovelace’s slicing moves into the right side of the box … Lovelace set up Anne Makinen’s shot from the right side and Suzie Grech batted the ball away but Gonzalez knocked in the rebound … Meotis Erikson’s leftside corner kick set up the next goal, with Mia Sarkesian sending a short-range header inside the near left post … Randi Scheller later struck or a pair of crafty goals in a 20-minute stretch … Scheller worked a leftside give-and-go, with Amanda Guertin nudging a pass forward into an open spot while Scheller ran onto the ball, dribbled to her right past Grech and tapped the easy goal into the vacant net … Scheller then took a feed from Ashley Dryer near the top left corner of the box, faked out a Michigan defender with a move to her right before placing a rising shot into the upper right corner … Caroline Marino picked up her first career assist with an upfield pass to Warner, who beat the defense down the right side before sending a low shot into the net.

#1 NOTRE DAME (17-0-1) … 2 … 3 … 5

MICHIGAN (9-7-1) … 0 … 1 … 1

ND 1. Monica Gonzalez 1 (Anne Makinen) 17:27, ND 2. Mia Sarkesian 3 (Meotis Erikson) 39:56, ND 3. Randi Scheller 5 (Amanda Guertin) 47:45, ND 4. Scheller 6 (Ashley Dryer), MICH 1. Marie Spaccarotella (Kacy Beitel) 74:54, ND 5. Amy Warner 8 (Caroline Marino) 88:16.

Shots: ND 27, MICH 16.

Saves: ND 7 (Liz Wagner 4, Sani Post 3), MICH 9 (Suzie Grech 8, team 1).

Corner Kicks: ND 10, MICH 2.

Fouls: ND 12, MICH 13.

Offsides: ND 1, MICH 1.