Women's Soccer defeated Tulsa 7 to 1 in the game against Tulsa at Alumni Stadium in the Notre Dame Adidas Invitational.
Three-year monogram winner ... 2011 team tri-captain ... exceptionally-gifted attacker who is the country's top returning offensive threat and the leading candidate for the Hermann Trophy in 2011 (after finishing as its first runner-up a year ago) ...twice has been nominated for ESPY Award, once in high school and again last season ... among the premier goal scorers in the land due to her great speed, athleticism and creativity ... her speed makes it risky for any defense to try to employ an offsides trap against the Irish ... great at reading the game and being able to switch the point of attack on the dribble ... a great first touch that allows her to see the field and beat defenders before they have time to get settled ... skilled technical player whose finishing skills are virtually unmatched ... scoring abilities have drawn added attention from defenses, and she has worked hard to sharpen her playmaking skills, opening up numerous opportunities for her teammates ... also works hard to track back defensively ... has a fierce competitiveness and great focus ... not satisfied with success, having shown improvement and greater diversity to her game each season.
IN THE ND RECORD BOOK: Currently ranks among the top 15 in school history in six career categories -- goals (11th - 52), goals per match (6th - 0.68), points (15th - 122), match-winning goals (2nd - 20), match-winning points (4th - 48), first goals (2nd - 15) and hat tricks (6th - 3) ... also set to become 27th player in school history with at least 20 goals and 20 assists in her career ... set single-season school records in 2009 for match-winning goals (9) and first goals (10) ... tied school record with four goals in 2009 win over Central Michigan ... her eight points in that match are tied for third-most in program annals ... only player in school history to score three goals in the first half of a match (2009 vs. South Florida and CMU) ... only Irish player ever to log multiple hat tricks in the same postseason (2009) ... in 2009, she set ND single-postseason records for goals (10), match-winning goals (4), match-winning points (10) and first goals (4) ... also in '09, she set school NCAA Championship records for goals (4) and points (8) in a single match, goals (7) and match-winning goals (4) in a single tournament (7). ... ranks among top five in all of program's meaningful career postseason records (combined BIG EAST/NCAA championship performances).
AS A JUNIOR: Honda Sports Award recipient (second in school history, first since Cindy Daws in 1996) ... first runner-up for Hermann Trophy ... ESPY Award nominee for "Best College Female Athlete", the only women's soccer player (college, pro, domestic or international) nominated among the award's 18 individual athlete categories ... consensus first-team All-American ... BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year ... earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors at the NCAA College Cup after leading Notre Dame to its third national championship ... started all 25 matches for the Irish, chalking up 17 goals (six match-winners) and a career-high 11 assists for career-best 45 points ... one of 10 players in country to log double-digit goals and assists ... ranked among top 20 in the nation in five categories -- points (4th), goals (6th), points per match (6th - 1.80), goals per match (12th - 0.68) and assists (20th) ... led BIG EAST (overall) in goals, goals per match, match-winning goals and points, and was second in assists and total shots (career-high 81) ... opened her account with the only score in season opener against Minnesota (1-0) ... set up Rose Augustin's decider in fourth minute against #8 Santa Clara (1-0) ... ignited ND's two-goal flurry in 47 seconds vs. Texas Tech, scoring in 24th minute ... potted match-winner just 1:11 into the contest at Loyola Marymount (1-0) ... first multi-point match of season came at Northwestern (2-1), assisting on Elizabeth Tucker's fifth-minute score, then converting penalty kick in 21st minute after being pulled down in box by NU keeper ... blitzed #24 Louisville with five points (2G-1A) in 5-0 victory ... had second two-goal match in as many outings with pair of braces against Syracuse (3-0) ... made it three consecutive two-goal matches with a double against St. John's (4-1), adding an assist for good measure ... posted fourth consecutive multi-point contest with goal and assist vs. Seton Hall (2-1) ... put Irish up for good with 65th-minute goal against Rutgers (3-2) ... broke ice in 78th minute at Connecticut, and 74th minute at Georgetown, both matches ending in 1-1 draws ... had team-high 10 points (3G-4A) in six NCAA Championship matches ... scored first goal against New Mexico (3-0) on penalty kick at 20:24 ... had goal and assist in second half against #22 USC (4-0) ... repeated that feat in third round at #3 North Carolina (4-1), including huge insurance goal for Irish just 3:27 into second half ... set up Tucker's clincher with 20 seconds left in quarterfinal at #6 Oklahoma State ... carved up defense of #1 Stanford in NCAA final, eventually assisting on Adriana Leon's championship-winning goal in 63rd minute (left-side run to the byline and cut back a pass to penalty spot that Leon finished).
AS A SOPHOMORE: Named a first team MVP (equivalent to All-America status) by Soccer America ... also a first team all-region and second team all-BIG EAST selection ... got off to a slow start while recovering from off-season leg surgery which saw her at less than 100 percent for the first six weeks of the season ... still appeared in 24 games (starting 22 times) ... posted career highs with 18 goals, five assists, 41 points, 66 shots (41 on goal) and school records with nine gamewinning goals and 10 first goals ... led BIG EAST (for all games) in goals, points and gamewinning goals ... ranked 14th in the nation in goals per game (0.75) and 21st in points per game (1.71) ... paired with All-American Lauren Fowlkes to form one of the top five goalscoring combinations in the nation with 28 goals (Henderson 18, Fowlkes 10) ... opening the scoring ledger in season opener against Wisconsin (3-0) and added first goal in second game against Loyola-Chicago (2-0), setting up Molly Campbell's 48th-minute clincher in the latter contest ... scored for the third time in four games to open the season with a two-goal outburst in the first 14 minutes against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-0) ... iced BIG EAST opener against DePaul (4-0) on goal with two minutes to play ... ended rare three-game scoring drought with early strike at West Virginia (3-2, ot) ... had a hand in both goals at Seton Hall (2-0), finding the back of the net in the 23rd minute and creating Taylor Knaack's insurance tally with less than five minutes left ... after two-game injury absence, returned to the pitch in a reserve role against Villanova (2-0), breaking a scoreless deadlock with a 54th-minute goal ... announced her return to full health in emphatic fashion against South Florida in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals, scoring a natural hat trick (on all three of her shots on goal) in the opening 28:03 of a 5-0 Irish win; it was the first postseason three-goal game for a Notre Dame player since Michele Weissenhofer's hat trick in the 2006 NCAA quarterfinals against #8 Penn State, and the first by an Irish player in the BIG EAST tournament since 2004 when Katie Thorlakson scored four times in a quarterfinal win over St. John's ... assisted on both Irish goals in the BIG EAST final against #rv/10 Marquette (2-1), setting up Fowlkes' opening score and passing to Erica Iantorno who crossed to Amanda Clark for the gamewinner at 70:13 as Notre Dame claimed its 11th BIG EAST tourney crown (second in a row) ... scored twice in NCAA Championship first-round win over IUPUI (5-0) ... turned in finest individual NCAA tourney performance in Notre Dame history, singlehandedly dispatching Central Michigan (6-1) with a school record-tying four goals (on five shots on goal) including another natural hat trick in the first 33:04 of the game; the four goals also were an Irish record in NCAA Championship play ... scintillating 1-v-1 effort set up Rose Augustin for game's only score at 61:35 of third-round victory over Oregon State ... scored off a loose ball in the area at #6 Florida State in NCAA quarterfinal, sparking a two-goal flurry in 51 seconds that carried Notre Dame to a 2-0 win and its fourth consecutive College Cup appearance.
AS A FRESHMAN: Combined with Hermann Trophy winner Kerri Hanks to form the nation's second-best goalscoring tandem, as the duo combined for 37 goals (Hanks 20, Henderson 17) ... earned BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and first team Freshman All-America honors ... first team all-BIG EAST selection ... also named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team and took home Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors at the BIG EAST Championship (only second freshman to earn that award after ND's future Hermann Trophy recipient Anne Makinen in 1997) ... played in all 27 games for the Irish ... started 20 games ... scored 17 goals and added two assists for 36 points ... was the team's second-leading scorer behind Hanks ... five of her goals proved to be game winners ... made her collegiate debut in Notre Dame's 7-0 season-opening win versus Michigan ... came off the bench to net her first goal in that game, putting the Irish up 3-0 ... also gave the Irish a 3-0 lead in their next game, a 4-0 win over Loyola Marymount ... had her first two-goal game versus SMU, propelling ND to a 5-0 win ... opened the scoring in Notre Dame's 3-1 win at #17/16 Penn State ... scored her first career hat trick to lead Notre Dame to a 6-0 win at Cincinnati, becoming the 17th Irish freshman to register a hat trick ... followed with a goal in Notre Dame's next game, a 3-0 defeat of South Florida ... scored the gamewinning goal as the Irish downed #17/16 Georgetown (3-1) ... scored two goals, including the gamewinner at Providence (5-0) in just over 60 minutes of action ... added a goal versus Rutgers (3-1) ... recorded her fourth and final multi-goal game with two strikes versus Seton Hall (6-0), helping to finish off an undefeated regular season for the Irish ... notched her first career assist in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals when she made a run down the left flank and crossed the ball to the top of the six-yard box for Weissenhofer's gamewinner ... clinched the BIG EAST Tournament title in a dramatic 1-0 overtime win versus Connecticut when she knocked home Weissenhofer's rebound at 6:58 of the first extra session ... gave Notre Dame a 4-1 lead versus Toledo in NCAA Championship first-round action (5-1) ... went on to start all six NCAA Championship games ... added her second career assist in 1-0 national semifinal win over #5 Stanford to advance to the College Cup final; controlled a tricky throw-in just outside the box, dribbled around a defender and sent the ball back across the top of the box to classmate Courtney Barg, who netted what proved to be the game-winning strike in the 15th minute ... for the year, she was one of 10 players to net a gamewinner and one of a record-setting 19 players to score.
NATIONAL TEAM HIGHLIGHTS: One of the rising stars in U.S. Soccer's national development program ... member of the U.S. Under-23 National Team player pool ... six-year member of various youth national teams ... has played soccer on four different continents: with the U-16 National Team in Asia (Japan); with the U-17s in South America (Argentina) and North America (Canada); with the U-20s in Europe (England), North America (Mexico) and South America (Chile); and with the U-23s in Europe (England and Germany) ... most recently joined Fowlkes in being selected for USA U-23 squads that competed in friendlies in Germany (May 2010) and the Four Nations Tournament in England (July 2010); fellow Irish junior Jessica Schuveiller also was chosen to join Henderson and Fowlkes for the Americans' trip to England ... started five of six games during those two trips ... scored twice on German tour, finding the net just before halftime whistle to start the USA rally against the German U-23s (2-2) ... came back three days later and scoring opening goal in 2-2 friendly with South Korean U-20 side ... started two of three games at the Four Nations Tournament ... credited with assist on gamewinning goal in tournament final against Sweden (1-0), giving U.S. the crown ... competed in Chile with the U-20s at 2008 Four Nations Tournament, starting vs. England (1-0) and coming on in second half vs. Norway (2-1) ... one of two prep players named to the U.S. U-20 roster for the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil (DNP due to injury) ... earlier had scored twice in U-20's win over the Leeds Ladies (in England; May '07).
ODP/CLUB HIGHLIGHTS: Helped Dallas Texans reach 2007 USYS club nationals final, held in nearby Frisco, Texas ... scored three goals in 4-0 win over the Michigan Hawks, during round-robin stage at '07 nationals (she also scored both Texans goals in the 3-2 title-game loss to California power Eagles SC) ... also advanced with the Texans to nationals in 2005, after winning Region III title ... scored all the goals in 2007 state-cup win over the Sting (3-0) ... helped Texans win the Disney Showcase in '05-'06 and '06-'07 seasons (she had four goals in five games at the Showcase as a sophomore) ... switched to Sting Dallas '90 (along with former Texans teammates/current Notre Dame classmates Barg and Jessica Schuveiller, and former Texans coach Kenny Medina) for 2007-08 season ('90s; U-18) ... helped Sting Dallas '90 squad to 2008 Region III and state cup titles, and finished as USYS national runner-up (at North Little Rock, Ark.) ... team also won 2007 Premier League and LHGCL titles.
PREP & PERSONAL: First junior women's soccer player ever named Gatorade National High School Player of the Year (2006-07 season); only six other juniors (from any sport) had ever received the Gatorade national honor at the time ... 2007 NSCAA/adidas Youth Player of the Year ... two-time NSCAA youth All- American (2006 and 2007) ... named a Parade All-American following her sophomore and junior seasons at Berkner High School (in Richardson, Texas) ... her dominant three seasons at Berkner HS included 66 goals and 45 assists (177 points) in 47 career games (DNP her senior season due to national-team commitments) ... her three-year prep scoring barrage included 4G-15A as a freshman, 38G-18A as a sophomore and 24G-12A as a junior (despite helping fill in as a defensive sweeper and missing six games due to national-team duty) ... set school record for career goals (66) and ranks second in assists (45) in only three seasons ... a two-time all-district performer at BHS (also district MVP and all-area) ... attended the ESPN "ESPYs" event in 2007, after earning the Gatorade player-of-the-year award (Hanks also was at the '07 ESPYs, as one of five finalists for 2006-07 college female athlete of the year) ... began playing soccer as a four-year old ... developed a love for soccer from her brother Jason, who is five years older ... part-time member of the basketball and track teams at Berkner HS ... carried a 3.6 GPA in high school ... three-year member of the National Honor Society ... also involved in student council and served as student council senior class secretary ... helped coach younger soccer players and was a member of Young Life ... daughter of Kelly and Kathy Henderson ... full name is Melissa Henderson ... born Aug. 23, 1989, in Dallas, Texas ... currently enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters where she is majoring in psychology.
