November 17, 1998

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The fourth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team used goals from seniors Shannon Boxx (Torrance, Calif.) and Monica Gerardo (Simi Valley, Calif.) for a 3-0 win over 18th-ranked Michigan in the NCAA second round. With the win, the Irish will play host to 13th-ranked Nebraska on Fri., Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m., in the NCAA third round.

NCAA Second Round Review: Seniors Shannon Boxx and Monica Gerardo accounted for all of Notre Dame’s goals, and the Irish defense held 18th-ranked and unseeded Michigan without a shot in the final 55 minutes of the game as fourth-ranked and fourth-seeded Notre Dame blanked the Wolverines 3-0 in the NCAA second round at Alumni Field. Junior goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene (Gold River, Calif.) made two saves to record her 11th solo shutout of the season and her second over Michigan in less than a month. The Irish improve to 20-2-1 and advance to the NCAA third round when they will face Nebraska on Fri., Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Field.

Gerardo started off the scoring at 21:11 when she scored from two yards out. Junior Jen Grubb (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) served a corner kick to the far post to Boxx, who headed the ball back across the goal to Gerardo. She then booted the ball into the right corner of the net for what would be the game-winning goal. Boxx then put the Irish up 2-0 just before halftime at 40:38. Freshman Lindsey Jones (South Bend, Ind.) found Boxx open from two yards behind the top of the box. Boxx finished the sequence with a lofted shot over Michigan goalkeeper Carissa Stewart and into the upper center of the net.

Boxx set up Notre Dame’s final goal when she slipped the ball through the Michigan backline and found Gerardo unmarked on the right wing. Stewart came off her line, but Gerardo dribbled to the left side and scored into the left corner of the net at 77:04 for her school-record 71st career goal.

In their first meeting in 1998, Notre Dame needed a Jenny Heft (Germantown, Wis.) goal in the 113th minute for a 1-0 win in double overtime. The Irish outshot the Wolverines 23-5 in that 1-0 win and 22-6 in Sunday’s 3-0 win, including 13-6 in the first half and 9-0 in the second half. Michigan committed 21 fouls to Notre Dame’s seven on Sunday, while the Irish had seven corner kicks to the Wolverines’ four.

Nebraska Preview: Nebraska enters the NCAA third round ranked 13th with a 17-3-1 record after beating Texas A&M 7-0 on Sunday in the NCAA second round. The Cornhuskers posted wins over eighth-ranked Clemson and 20th-ranked Stanford and tied seventh-ranked Portland during the ’98 season. After finishing second to Baylor during the Big 12 regular season, Nebraska rallied to win the Big 12 tournament with a 3-2 triple-overtime win over Texas A&M and a 4-0 win over Missouri in the championship game. Notre Dame and Nebraska played a year ago in the NCAA second round at Alumni Field with the Irish recording a 6-0 win, the only time the two teams have played.

The Cornhuskers are led by one of the nation’s most prolific scorers, senior Kim Engesser. Engesser has scored 27 goals and is fourth in the country in goals per game with 1.29 and fourth in points per game with 2.86. Junior Lindsay Eddleman is second on the team with 11 goals, while junior Sharolta Nonen leads the team with 10 assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc has compiled a 0.63 goals against average, 11th best in the country, with 11 shutouts on the season. As a team, the Cornhuskers boast the seventh-best scoring offense in the country with 3.57 goals per game, while the defense is 14th, allowing just 0.73 goals per game.

BIG EAST Championship Review: Anne Makinen’s (Helsinki, Finland) goal at 80:39 was the only score as the fifth-ranked Irish blanked third-ranked host Connecticut to win its fourth consecutive BIG EAST championship in front of 2,333 fans at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn. Makinen was named the championship’s most outstanding player for the second consecutive year after scoring a hat trick in the Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Connecticut in the 1997 final.

Makinen’s goal came off a corner kick from Irish junior defender Jen Grubb which sailed over the goal and was deflected by Connecticut to another Husky player, defender Laura Molinaro. Molinaro attempted to clear the ball but it went off the side of her foot to Makinen from five yards out at the left post. Makinen then blasted a shot into the right corner for her 15th goal of ’98.

Five different players scored to lead Notre Dame to a 5-1 win over Syracuse in the BIG EAST championship semifinals. Notre Dame outshot Syracuse 18-5 in the contest as it beat the Orangewomen for the second time in the six days after a 7-0 win at Notre Dame on Sun., Nov. 6. The Irish took a 3-0 lead into halftime and scored twice in two minutes to build a 5-0 lead in the 57th minute. Syracuse scored its first goal against Notre Dame in 266 minutes over the three games the teams have played at 86:14 to close out the scoring.

Irish in the NCAA championship: Notre Dame is making its sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA championship since its first appearance 1993, one of just six teams to appear in the last six championships. The Irish are 15-4-0 all-time in their six appearances with a .789 winning percentage, the second best among the 75 teams that have ever played in the championship.

The Irish lost their first-ever game they played in the NCAAs in 1993, a 2-1 loss to eventual finalist George Mason. In 1994, Notre Dame went from a first-round loser in ’93, to the championship game before losing to North Carolina. The Irish claimed their first NCAA title in 1995 and made it to the finals for the third consecutive year in 1996. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the fourth consecutive year in 1997 before losing to Connecticut.

20-Win Seasons: The win over Michigan on Sunday upped Notre Dame’s record to 20-2-1, marking the fifth consecutive year the Irish have won at least 20 games. Notre Dame won 23 games in 1994, 21 in 1995, 24 in 1996 and 23 in 1997.

Irish in Conference Championships: Notre Dame remains perfect in conference postseason events, winning each conference championship in which it has played. The Irish won Midwestern Collegiate Conference titles in 1993 and 1994 before beginning their string of four BIG EAST titles in 1995 with an all-time conference championship record of 14-0-0.

Home Sweet Home: Notre Dame takes a 44-game unbeaten streak at Alumni Field into the NCAA third round against Nebraska. Since a 5-4 overtime loss to Connecticut in 1995, the Irish have gone 43-0-1 at Alumni Field with 33 wins by shutout and 15 wins over ranked teams. Notre Dame has been unbeatable at home during the NCAA championship, building an 11-0-0 record at home and 10-0-0 record at Alumni Field (Notre Dame played Maryland in the 1996 third at nearby Saint Mary’s). The Irish have outscored the opposition 53-4 in those 11 games.

Irish Against NCAA Field: Notre Dame played seven teams in the 48-team field and posted a 7-1-1 record against the NCAA teams. The Irish have two wins over Syracuse and have beaten sixth-seeded Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, Wake Forest and Wisconsin. Notre Dame tied Connecticut and lost to top-seeded North Carolina.

Grubb, Beene, Irish Earn BIG EAST Awards: Junior All-Americans LaKeysia Beene and Jen Grubb were voted BIG EAST players of the year by a vote of the league coaches and were presented their awards at the BIG EAST championship banquet. Beene was voted BIG EAST goalkeeper of the year, the first time the award has been presented, while Grubb was named BIG EAST defensive player of the year. Grubb is the second straight Notre Dame player to win defensive player of the year, after former Irish All-American and current U.S. national team member and Kate Sobrero, now a volunteer assistant coach at Notre Dame, won the award as a senior in 1997.

Beene and Grubb also were named to the All-BIG EAST first team, along with teammates Jenny Heft and Anne Makinen. Notre Dame led the All-BIG EAST first-team with four selections, while Connecticut, Seton Hall and Syracuse each place two on the first team.

Senior forward Monica Gerardo, Notre Dame’s all-time leading goal scorer, was joined on the second team by junior All-American Jenny Streiffer (Baton Rouge, La.). Irish freshman midfielder Lindsey Jones was a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST all-rookie team.

Makinen “Outstanding” In BIG EAST Championship: Sophomore All-American midfielder Anne Makinen scored two goals and two assists in Notre Dame’s three BIG EAST championship wins to earn the BIG EAST championship most outstanding player award for the second consecutive year. Makinen, who scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 Irish win over Connecticut in the final, became the only player to win the award more than once in the six-year history of the championship. She had a hat trick in Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Connecticut in the 1997 BIG EAST championship game.

Beene, Makinen Earn Weekly Honors: LaKeysia Beene and Anne Makinen were named to the Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week for their performances in the BIG EAST championship game. Makinen also was named College Soccer Weekly’s player of the week. She scored the game-winning goal, and Beene blanked the Huskies on 16 shots with seven saves in the 1-0 Irish win.

Streiffer Joins Elite Group: Junior midfielder Jenny Streiffer became just the eighth player in NCAA women’s soccer history to score at least 50 goals and record at least 50 assists in a career. Streiffer entered the Wisconsin game on Oct. 30, with 49 goals and 51 assists in her career. With the Irish clinging to a 2-1 lead midway through the second half against the Badgers, Streiffer blasted a shot from the top of the box into the net for the 50th goal of her career. Former Irish All-American and national player of the year Cindy Daws not only is one of the eight members of the 50-50 club, but she scored 61 goals and 67 assists in her career and is one of just three players in the 60-60 club. Streiffer enters the NCAA championship third round with 51 goals and 55 assists.

Gerardo Moving On Up: Senior forward Monica Gerardo recently moved past former Irish four-time All-American Holly Manthei’s 176 points for second place in the Notre Dame recordbook. Gerardo’s 188 career points (72 goals and 44 assists) place her 18th all-time in NCAA women’s soccer history. The next player ahead of Gerardo among the all-time NCAA scorers is Cindy Daws, who also leads the Notre Dame list with 189 points from 1993-96. Gerardo already has broken Daws’ record for career goals with her 72 goals, 11 better than Daws’ 61.

Heft Ties Record: Another of Cindy Daws’ Notre Dame records appears ready to fall as junior forward Jenny Heft tied the record for goals in a season. Daws scored 26 goals in 26 games as a senior in 1996 on her way to winning the Hermann Trophy and the Missouri Athletic Club national player of the year award. Heft also has scored 26 goals this season in 23 games.

November Reign: Notre Dame has won 21 consecutive games in the month of November, including 15 shutouts among those 21 games. The Irish have won 27 of their last 28 games in November, with the last defeat coming against North Carolina in the 1994 NCAA championship game.

Head Coach Chris Petrucelli: Chris Petrucelli is in his ninth season as head coach of Notre Dame’s women’s soccer team after leading the Irish to their fourth straight NCAA championship weekend appearance in 1997. Petrucelli was named NSCAA coach of the year for the second consecutive year after guiding Notre Dame to its first NCAA women’s soccer title in 1995, becoming the first coach to win the honor two straight years. The Orange, N.J., native owns a 174-21-10 record with an .873 winning percentage that is second best among all NCAA Division I women’s soccer coaches, active and nonactive. During his eight seasons as head coach, Petrucelli has coached his players to 21 NSCAA All-America selections, including 18 since 1994, the most in the country during that span.

Irish Draw Record-Setting Crowds: Notre Dame recently drew another record-setting crowd to one of its women’s soccer games in its 1-0 win at Michigan on Oct. 23. The Irish drew 1,092 fans to their overtime win at the Michigan Soccer Field. Earlier in the season, Notre Dame and North Carolina played in front 6,024 fans at Fetzer Field, the largest regular-season crowd in Tar Heel history. Notre Dame has played in front of more than 1,000 fans six times in 1998, including a crowd of 2,333 at Morrone Stadium in the BIG EAST championship game.

The Irish also have drawn record crowds at Connecticut and Santa Clara in 1996 and at Portland and Syracuse in 1997. The Irish beat the Huskies 2-1 in front of then a record 3,711 fans at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium on Sept. 22, 1996. The Broncos beat the Irish 3-1 in front of a regular-season record 3,714 fans at Buck Shaw Stadium on Oct. 13, 1996. Notre Dame beat Portland 1-0 in front of 5,041 fans at Merlo Field on Sept. 7, 1997 and beat Syracuse 8-0 in front of 1,500 fans on Oct. 19, 1997.

Irish Named Finalists: Three Notre Dame juniors have been named finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Sports Foundation Collegiate Player of the Year award, which will be presented Jan. 8, 1999. All-American goalkeeper, LaKeysia Beene, All-American defender Jen Grubb and All-American midfielder Jenny Streiffer are three of the 15 candidates for the award and were chosen by balloting of coaches of the top 20 teams in the preseason rankings. The winner of the award, which recognizes the top American born or naturalized college soccer player, will be selected in balloting by approximately 800 coaches from across the country.

Irish In Front: Notre Dame has trailed just 65:45 of 2124:07 in its 23 games this season, about only three percent of its total minutes played. Only North Carolina (45:08), Seton Hall (15:51) and Pittsburgh (4:46) have held leads over the Irish. Notre Dame has led for 65 percent of the minutes played and been tied during 32 percent of the action.

Petrucelli Coaches 200th: In his ninth year as head coach, Chris Petrucelli reached a coaching milestone on Fri., Oct. 30. Petrucelli led the Irish to a 6-1 win over Wisconsin in his 200th career game as a collegiate coach .

Quick Strikes: Notre Dame has scored first in 22 of 23 games this season, with two goals in the first minute of the game, against North Carolina (0:55) and Rutgers (0:56). The Irish have scored four times in the first three minutes and in the first 10 minutes in nine of their 20 games. The longest the Irish have gone with a goal in a regulation game came in the 1-0 win at Connecticut, scoring at 80:39. Notre Dame won 1-0 in double overtime at Michigan with a goal at 112:58. Pittsburgh, the only team to score first against Notre Dame, also scored the quickest against the Irish with its goal at 7:36.

Irish Among NCAA Leaders: Notre Dame is first in the latest NCAA national statistics in scoring offense with 4.17 goals per game, fourth in shutouts per game with 16 in 23 games and seventh in team defense with 0.55 goals per game. Individually, Jenny Heft is fifth in goals per game with 26 goals in 23 games for a 1.13 average and ninth in points per game with 2.48. Monica Gerardo is 12th in goals per game with 19 in 20 games for a 0.95 goals-per-game average and 17th in points per game with 2.3. Anne Makinen is 12th in points per game with 2.42 and fifth in assists per game with 0.84, while Jen Grubb is fourth in assists with 0.87. LaKeysia Beene is ninth in goals against average with 0.60.

Irish Among BIG EAST Leaders: Notre Dame finished with three of the top five scorers in the BIG EAST in conference games. Jenny Heft led the conference in goals with 15 goals and three assists for 33 points, tied with Seton Hall’s Kelly Smith, who finished the regular season with 14 goals and five assists. Anne Makinen was third with 10 goals and 10 assists for 30 points, while Monica Gerardo was fifth with nine goals and six assists for 24 points.

’98 Irish Women’s Soccer
(20-2-1, 9-1-1)

September    Tues.   1   at Michigan State   W, 4-0    Fri.    4   West Virginia * W, 7-0    Sun.    6   Pittsburgh *    W, 9-1    Fri.    11  vs. #14 Duke (Chapel Hill, N.C.)    W, 3-0    Sun.    13  at #1 North Carolina    L, 1-5    Fri.    18  Rutgers *   W, 3-0    Sun.    20  Villanova * W, 5-0    Fri.    25  INDIANA W, 3-0    Sun.    27  #25 Wake Forest W, 3-0
October    Fri.    2   Butler  W, 5-0    Sun.    4   Georgetown *    W, 8-0    Fri.    9   at Boston College * W, 3-1    Sun.    11  at Providence * W, 8-0    Fri.    16  at #4 Connecticut * T, 1-1 (2OT)    Sun.    18  at Seton Hall * L, 2-3 (OT)    Fri.    23  at #21 Michigan W, 1-0 (2OT)    Sun.    25  at St. John's * W, 3-0    Fri.    30  WISCONSIN   W, 6-1
November    Sun.    1   syracuse *  W, 7-0    Tues.   3   BIG EAST quarterfinal                vs. West Virginia   w, 5-0    Fri.    6   BIG EAST semifinal, Storrs, Conn.                vs. Syracuse    W, 5-1    Sun.    8   BIG EAST final, Storrs, Conn.                at #3 Connecticut   W, 1-0    Sun.    15  NCAA Second Round            #18 Michigan    W, 3-0

* BIG EAST Conference match All times are local
Bold CAPS denotes home match
All home matches played at Alumni Field

Irish Career Record Book

Points    1.  Cindy Daws, 1993-96         189 (61 G, 67 A)    2.  Monica Gerardo, 1995-98     188 (72 G, 44 A)    3.  Holly Manthei, 1994-97      176 (24 G, 128 A)    4.  Jenny Streiffer, 1996-98    157 (51 G, 55 A)    5.  Michelle McCarthy, 1992-95  156 (59 G, 38 A)    6.  Rosella Guerrero, 1992-95   142 (55 G, 32 A)    7.  Jenny Heft, 1996-98         137 (58 G, 21 A)    8.  Shannon Boxx, 1995-98       135 (39 G, 57 A)
Goals    1.  Monica Gerardo, 1995-98     72    2.  Cindy Daws, 1993-96         61    3.  Michelle McCarthy, 1992-95  59    4.  Jenny Heft, 1996-98         58    5.  Jenny Streiffer, 1996-98    51    6.  Alison Lester, 1990-93      45    7.  Susie Zilvitis, 1988-91     43    8.  Shannon Boxx, 1995-98       39    9.  Anne Makinen, 1997-98       38