Dawn Greathouse Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Baylor '01

Former Baylor All-American and WUSA goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse enters her fifth season on the Notre Dame women's soccer staff as an assistant coach, reuniting with her former college coach Randy Waldrum (who departed for Notre Dame after the 1998 season).

Greathouse - who currently holds a national diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America - made an immediate impact in her first two seasons at Notre Dame, providing valuable instruction and insight for 2006 graduate Erika Bohn (who went on to be one of two goalkeepers on the U.S. Under-21 National Team at the 2005 Nordic Cup) and current senior Lauren Karas. The Irish finished fifth in the nation with a 0.49 season goals-against average in 2003 and were fourth with 15 shutouts - also compiling a 956-minute shutout streak that ranks fifth in NCAA history (longest since 1999). Notre Dame faced just one deficit in the first 19 games of the 2003 season, en route to a 20-3-1 record.

The 2004 national championship season then saw the Irish lead the nation with 18 shutouts while nearly reclaiming the GAA title (4th, at 0.51). The 25-1-1 season featured just 108 minutes with the Irish playing from behind, limiting 25 of the 27 opponents to 0-1 goals while two others managed to score twice (both in the first four games, with only 10 goals allowed in the final 25).

Bohn - a rare three-time Academic All-American - earned NSCAA all-region honors in 2003 and then was an all-BIG EAST Conference selection in 2005. She ranks third in the Notre Dame record book with a 0.69 career GAA (good for 16th-nest in NCAA history) and is third in Irish women's soccer history with 6,788 career minutes played.

Following the 2004 NCAA title-game win over UCLA, Bohn quickly credited Greathouse when asked about her clutch performances in that pressure-packed game. Bohn's six saves that day included three in penalty-kick situations, one coming late in regulation to preserve the 1-1 tie while her final save (in the shootout) clinched the title.

Most recently, Greathouse tutored Karas and current sophomore Kelsey Lysander during a 2006 season that saw Notre Dame lead the nation in shutouts (19, tops in the program's history) while finishing third nationally with a 0.40 season GAA that once again was just shy of the team record (0.37).

"Dawn has done a great job with our 'keepers and we expect that to continue on an even higher level this season," says Waldrum.

"Dawn is one of the best goalkeepers I've ever coached and her skills and knowledge are further legitimized by the fact that she played in the WUSA. She brings a great level of experience but also knows what the expectations are on the pro level. Dawn is able to expose our players to what the inner workings of elite-level soccer are all about and that supports what our staff as a whole is trying to teach the players."

Greathouse - who trained with the U.S. Under- 20 National Team in 1998 - played with the Washington Freedom in the first two seasons of the Women's United Soccer Association (2001 and 2002), also playing for the San Jose Cyber Rays in 2002 and '03. She made eight career starts in the WUSA while backing up National Team players Siri Mullinix (Washington) and former Notre Dame star LaKeysia Beene (San Jose).

Greathouse logged 7,121 minutes (sixth in NCAA history at the time) in her four-year Baylor career while posting a 1.20 goals-against average, an .802 save percentage and 28 shutouts. The three-time all-Big 12 Conference and three-time Big 12 all-academic team honoree posted her top season as a sophomore in 1998, earning NSCAA second team All-America honors after ranking 12th in the nation with a 0.69 GAA. She helped the 1998 team win Baylor's first Big- 12 title in any sport - before an ACL knee injury sidelined her from Baylor's second straight trip to the NCAAs.

An NSCAA and Parade All-American at Allen (Texas) High School, Greathouse helped the Texas Longhorns place second nationally and trained with the U.S. Under-16 and U-17 national teams, the Region III Olympic Development Program and North Texas ODP. She was named the Dallas Morning News player of the year as a senior and was district MVP as a junior.

During her youth-soccer days, Greathouse played goalkeeper for her club team but also was a high-scoring forward with the Allen High School squad. She set the Allen High School record for career goals and also held the singleseason record that was broken by current Notre Dame junior Kerri Hanks.

Born Feb. 10, 1979, in Rochester, N.Y., Greathouse graduated from Baylor in 2001 with a degree in health fitness.