Oct. 29, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame’s freshman class continued to make its presence felt while the Irish defense turned in its 13th shutout of the season, as the top-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team downed the visiting University of Miami, 3-0, in BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal action Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Notre Dame (18-0-1) continues to add to its impressive run as the nation’s only undefeated team, with the 19-game unbeaten streak now tied for third-longest in the 13-year history of the program-trailing only the 23-0-1 start in 1997 and a 24-0-0 two-year stretch from 1995-96 (the 1990-91 teams combined for a 19-game unbeaten stretch, at 17-0-2).
Miami (9-10-1) managed a shot in the game’s 16th minute but then was held without a shot for the next 45 minutes of game time. The Irish finished with a 30-5 overall shot edge, including 17-2 in shots on goal.
Freshman forward Amy Warner again provided instant offense off the bench by scoring in the 35th minute, just moments after checking into the game. Senior midfielder Anne Makinen added to the lead early in the second half while two more freshmen-midfielder Randi Scheller and forward Amanda Guertin-combined on the game’s final goal.
Notre Dame-which has outscored its opponents 64-6-will face Boston College (14-6-0) in the second BIG EAST semifinal, at approximately 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3 (at Notre Dame’s Alumni Field). BC braved bitter cold and snow flurries to defeat Seton Hall, 2-0, in other quarterfinal action while Connecticut (14-5-2) survived an upset bid from West Virginia in similar adverse conditions, winning 1-0 in the fifth minute of overtime.
UConn will face Syracuse in the first BIG EAST semifinal (5:00 p.m.), with the Orangewomen (14-6-0) advancing by virtue of a 3-1 win at Rutgers on Saturday.
Scheller set up the day’s first goal, just 84 seconds after checking into the game along with Warner. Scheller worked the ball up the middle and sent a lead pass to the right side, with Warner running onto the ball and sliding past a defender to her left before quickly drilling a low shot inside the far left post (34:59). The goal-Warner’s second in as many games and her ninth of the season-marked the fourth time that the speedster has opened the scoring for the Irish.
Early in the second half, sophomore forward Ali Lovelace used her speed to get some quick spacing near the right endline before flicking a partially-deflected cross that found senior forward Meotis Erikson near the right post. Erikson volleyed the ball with her back to the goal before dropping a pass back for Makinen, who drilled a 10-yard shot past junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Swinson for her team-leading 12th goal of the season and the 63rd of her career.
Scheller later displayed some crafty dribbling down the left side to hand Guertin an easy tap-in goal, with Scheller’s endline pass finding her classmate at the center of the goalmouth for her 10th score of the season (75:40).
Irish junior goaltender Liz Wagner-who logged 77 minutes before giving way to freshman Lauren Kent-lowered her season goals-against average to 0.293, which ranks first among the nation’s regular goaltenders and second overall (Brown’s Mary Jo Markle has a 0.261 GAA but has played just half of her team’s minutes).
Notre Dame opened the game with sophomore Vanessa Pruzinsky alongside senior Kerri Bakker at the central defender spots while versatile senior Monica Gonzalez started at left back-her third different starting position in the last three games (she started in the midfield at UConn and at forward in the Michigan game).
ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM: “We had a lot of players that played quite well today. Ashley Dryer had a strong game in the midfield and Amy Warner came off the bench and scored a goal for the second game in a row. Vanessa Pruzinsky did an outstanding job centrally for us in the back. … We gave the team a little extra time off this week and they seemed refreshed out there today. We had good playing rhythm for most of the game and every player on the field was actively involved. This was a good way to open the postseason and we look forward to keep progressing as we prepare for hosting the BIG EAST Championship.”
MIAMI HEAD COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP: “After 25 minutes, the game was still 0-0. But after they got that first goal, they really got on a rhythm and started to feed our net. … Notre Dame is a lot more dynamic team-and much younger-than last year. At times they looked unbeatable out there today. So often with young players, the important things are emotion and confidence. … Amy Warner makes a world of difference for them and their young players in general bring a lot of excitement to their team. … It’s important to teach our kids the proper way to play because there will be a day when we go out playing every game expecting to win. But we came out to play today. You don’t teach your kids anything by bunkering down and putting most of your team in the box.”
NOTES: ND pushed its home winning streak to 21 games … Sunday marked the 12th time this season that ND has allowed 0-2 shots on goal (2) … Makinen has amassed 20 points (8G-4A) in nine career BIG EAST Tournament games and 37 (13G-11A) in 21 career postseason games (including NCAAs) … ND’s 3-0-0 series lead on Miami includes a 15-1 scoring edge and a 101-11 shot advantage … Sunday ended a 27-day stretch in which ND played one home game (six on the road) … Warner (9), Guertin (10) and Scheller (6) are close to joining the ’97 trio of Makinen (23) , Erikson (22) and Gonzalez (10) as the second threesome of ND freshmen to reach 10G in a season … Guertin has 14 pts in the last 9 games (6G-2A), Scheller has 12 (4G-4A) … ND is 26-0-1 in its last 27 games vs. BIG EAST teams (68-3-2/.945 since joining the BIG EAST in ’95) … Erikson has 25 pts (8G-9A) in 21 career postseason games (5G-5A in nine BET games) … Erikson, Pruzinsky and Wagner are the only ND players to start all 19 games this season … a wild season filled with upsets throughout the nation has yielded just seven teams (out of 274) with two losses or better (only four are ranked): ND (one tie), three teams with one loss and no ties (Washington, Nebraska, unranked Furman), one with one tie and one loss (Clemson) and two with two losses (Jacksonville, Hartford, both unranked) … ND has allowed just 3G in the last 14-plus games (1,338 minutes) and has 9 shutouts in the last 11 games (59 shots allowed-27 on goal-and 21 CKs allowed in that 11-game stretch) … Erikson’s 153 pts (56G-41A) rank 8th in ND history, three behind ’96 grad Michelle McCarthy … Erikson’s 41 assists tie her with Kate Fisher (’97) for 9th in the ND record book … ND has led for 55% of the minutes while trailing just 1.6% of the time (28 minutes, vs. BC) … ND has scored in the first half 14 times while going past the 55-minute mark without a goal in just three of the 19 games … Erikson has appeared in all 95 games of her career, one shy of tying Jenny Heft (’00) for 10th on the Irish career GP list … updated season stat edges: 476-107 in shots (avg. 25-6), 274-52 in shots on goal (avg. 14-3) and 125-42 in CKs (avg. 7-2) … ND has reached 30 shots six times this season and has owned a shot margin of 25-plus in seven games … ND improved to 39-4-2 (.889) in the two-year tenure of head coach Randy Waldrum … ND is 113-7-1 (.938) in 11 seasons at Alumni Field, including 89-3-1 in the last 93 and 78-1-0 vs. unranked teams (71 straight wins) … ND owns a 31-3-1 all-time record when playing as the top-ranked team … totally random stat of the week: Warner’s goal vs. Miami extended a 2000 streak in which every 1st goal of the game scored by ND has been by a player whose first name begins with A or M (five by Anne Makinen, four each by Meotis Erikson and Amy Warner, two by Mia Sarkesian and one each by Amanda Guertin and Monica Gonzalez … plus Makinen’s corner kick that led to the own goal in the 1-0 game at Villanova).
MIAMI (9-10-1) … 0 … 0 … 0
#1 NOTRE DAME (18-0-1) … 1 … 2 … 3
ND 1. Amy Warner 9 (Randi Scheller) 34:59, ND 2. Anne Makinen 12 (Meotis Erikson, Ali Lovelace), ND 3. Amanda Guertin 10 (Scheller) 75:40.
Shots: MIA 5, ND 30.
Saves: MIA 14 (Elizabeth Swinson 13), ND 2 (Liz Wagner 2, Lauren Kent 0).
Corner Kicks: MIA 4, ND 6.
Fouls: MIA 10, ND 17.
Offsides: MIA 2, ND 1.