Aug. 28, 2008

Game Notes Package in PDF Format

DATE: August 29, 2008
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. - Alumni Field (2,500)
SERIES: First meeting
WEBCAST: UND.com (live) (Tom Staudt, p-b-p / Drew Spada, color)
LIVE STATS: UND.com
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Storylines

#4 Irish Set To Face Loyola Marymount In Inn At Saint Mary's Classic
For the 16th time in the past 17 seasons, Notre Dame will welcome some of college soccer's best programs to town for the Inn at Saint Mary's Soccer Classic. The tournament gets underway Friday, with the No. 4 Irish meeting Loyola Marymount at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in the nightcap, following the 5 p.m. opener between ranked foes West Virginia and Santa Clara.

Notre Dame (1-0) kicked off its 2008 season in impressive fashion last Friday night, rolling past Michigan, 7-0 at Alumni Field. Seven different Irish players found the back of the net, including three in a nine-minute stretch late in the first half. Notre Dame's defense did the rest, minting the team's first shutout of the year, as well as its fifth consecutive whitewash in the series with Michigan (extending the Wolverines' scoreless string against the Irish to 518:22).

Notre Dame posted a 34-4 shot advantage against UM, including an 18-1 margin in shots on goal and 8-2 on corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander was not tested in the opening half, while sophomore netminder Nikki Weiss made one save in the second half.

Rankings

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Notre Dame should roll out one of its deepest teams in years, with 19 monogram winners (including nine starters) back from last season's squad that went 19-5-2 (11-0-0 in the BIG EAST) and advanced to the NCAA College Cup semifinals for the ninth time in the past 14 years. The Irish also bring back a powerful offensive punch, with 83.3 percent of their goalscoring (55 of 66) returning.

As if that weren't enough, Notre Dame welcomes a highly-regarded nine-player freshman class to campus, with three of those incoming players having earned multiple national All-America honors during their prep or club careers.

Leading the way for Notre Dame this season will be two of the country's premier front-line players (and '07 NSCAA first-team All-Americans) in senior forward Kerri Hanks and senior midfielder/forward Brittany Bock.

Hanks (14G-21A in 2007) continues to blaze new trails through the NCAA and Notre Dame record books, having led the nation in assists the past two seasons, and aiming to become the third Division I player ever to log 70 goals and 70 assists in her career (65G-59A entering this weekend's action). Among the nation's most gifted players, she also can become the 23rd Division I player ever to collect four All-America citations, and she remains a prime candidate for the Hermann Trophy, an award she claimed as a sophomore in 2006.

Bock (16G-4A), one of the Irish co-captains in 2008, emerged as a genuine offensive threat last season, leading the team in goals and finishing second with 36 points. The reigining BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Bock could see time at either forward (where she has spent much of the past two seasons) or midfield (her natural position) depending on other personnel moves.

Another key player for the Irish this season will be senior center back and co-captain Carrie Dew (2G-3A), the 2006 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year who made a successful recovery from an ACL injury late in the '06 regular season with a solid '07 campaign. She also anchored a Notre Dame back line that allowed only 10 goals and less than three shots per game during a 17-game unbeaten string in the final two months of the season.

A Quick Look At Loyola Marymount
Loyola Marymount welcomes back 23 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year's squad that posted a 12-6-1 record and tied for third in the rugged West Coast Conference (4-3 record).

The Lions are paced by sophomore forwards Gabrielle Parisella (3G-4A in 2007) and Lily Sorentino (2G-6A in '07), as well as senior forward Lauren Shanklin (3G-2A in '07). Shanklin scored LMU's lone goal (off an assist from freshman midfielder Brittney Sanford) five minutes into the second half to help the Lions forge a 1-1 tie with UNLV in their season opener last Friday in Los Angeles. UNLV held a 13-11 shot advantage on Loyola Marymount (the Lions led 7-6 in SOG), but LMU's junior goalkeeper Allyssa Clark (making her second career start) was up to the task with five saves.

Loyola Marymount head coach Joe Mallia is in his second season with the Lions, after spending two years as an assistant at UCLA (2005-06) and seven years as the head coach at Loyola (Md.) (1998-2004). He has a career record of 99-55-11 (.633), and will be facing Notre Dame for the first time Friday night.

The Notre Dame-Loyola Marymount Series
Notre Dame and Loyola Marymount have never met on the soccer pitch. However, the two Catholic institutions have met in several other sports through the years, including: baseball (ND leads 1-0), men's basketball (ND leads 3-1), women's basketball (ND leads 1-0), men's soccer (ND leads 1-0), softball (ND leads 6-2) and volleyball (ND leads 2-1).

Rolling Out The Welcome Mat
Since 1993, 51 different teams have made their first visit to Alumni Field, with the Irish coming out on top 46 times (46-4-1, .912). Notre Dame's record in all series openers (regardless of site) is 82-26-2 (.750), including 49-6 (.891) since 1993 and 29-3 (.906) in the Randy Waldrum era (since '99). The Irish also are 55-9-1 (.854) in all series openers played at home (30-4-1, .871, since '93), including wins in 12 of their last 13 (most recently defeating Illinois, 2-0, in the second round of last year's NCAA Championship).

Tournament-Tested
The Inn at Saint Mary's Classic (and its previous incarnations) date back to the 1992 season, with Notre Dame playing its home tournament almost annually since then (every year but 1994). The Irish are 24-4-2 (.833) all-time in these home tournaments with an 85-30 scoring edge. Notre Dame also has won its home tournament in 11 of the previous 15 seasons it has been played, including four of the past five years (Washington State edged the Irish for last year's title when Notre Dame lost to 16th-ranked Oklahoma State, 2-1 in overtime).

Spreading The Wealth
In an early example of the incredible depth of this year's Notre Dame squad, the Irish had seven different players score goals in the season-opening 7-0 whitewash of Michigan (including three who tallied their first career goals). That matched the largest number of goalscorers in one game during the 10-year Randy Waldrum era (since '99), and the most since the 2005 season opener (an 11-1 rout of New Hampshire on Aug. 26 in the TD Banknorth Classic at Burlington, Vt.).

Game #1 Recap: Michigan
The fifth-ranked Notre Dame women's soccer team got its 2008 season off to a flying start with a 7-0 win over Michigan on Aug. 22 before a crowd of 1,201 fans at Alumni Field. Seven different Irish players scored goals in the victory, as Notre Dame improved to 18-2-1 all-time in season openers and posted their fifth consecutive shutout over the Wolverines, dating back to the 2004 national championship season.

Senior All-America forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks and sophomore forward Erica Iantorno each picked up a goal and an assist, while junior midfielder Courtney Rosen dished out two assists for Notre Dame. Three other players -- sophomore forward Taylor Knaack, freshman forward Melissa Henderson and freshman midfielder Ellen Jantsch -- scored their first career goals on Friday night, while freshman defender Jessica Schuveiller notched her first career assist.

Notre Dame (1-0) dominated the Wolverines statistically, outshooting UM by a 34-4 margin, including an 18-1 edge in shots on goal. The Irish also owned an 8-2 edge in corner kicks, with all eight coming in the second half.

Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander started a season opener for the third consecutive year and was not tested in the first half. Sophomore netminder Nikki Weiss came on at the break and finished off the shutout for the Irish, making one save.

It didn't take very long for the Irish to get on the board, scoring on their first shot with 6:19 gone (the sixth-fastest season-opening goal in school history). Hanks switched the point of attack with a cross-field pass to the top right corner of the box, where junior forward Michele Weissenhofer gathered in the ball, cut back across the area and blasted a left-footed shot from 15 yards out low into the right-side netting.

The Irish put the game on ice with a three-goal flurry in a span of less than nine minutes midway through the first half. Sophomore midfielder/forward Rose Augustin started the spree at 29:30, as Schuveiller looped a ball over the Michigan backline, where Augustin went solo with Wolverine goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer and won the battle with a gorgeous chip from the top of the box over a charging Kopmeyer. At 33 minutes, Notre Dame struck again, as Rosen rifled a shot off the crossbar, with the ball richocheting directly onto Henderson's foot and the Irish rookie volleyed in the rebound. Iantorno capped the outburst at 37:18, taking Rosen's cross-field pass on the right side, cutting to the center of the box and tagging a left-footed shot that grazed a UM defender before finding the back of the net.

Gone In 60 Seconds
Senior forward Kerri Hanks is on the verge of adding another feather in the cap of an already-brilliant career. The Allen, Texas, native is just one assist shy of becoming the sixth NCAA Division I player ever to amass 60 goals and 60 assists in her career (Hanks has 65G-59A entering this weekend's tournament). The five current members of this elite sorority (two of which are Notre Dame alums) are listed in the accompanying chart (see PDF version of notes).

The national leader in assists the past two seasons (22 in '06; 21 in '07), Hanks could blow right by the 60-60 milestone and head straight for 70-70, a landmark achievement that only two players in the history of Division I women's soccer have managed to attain.

Dew Named BIG EAST Defensive Player Of The Week
Senior defender and co-captain Carrie Dewwas named as the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced Monday afternoon by the league office.

This marks the third time in her career that Dew has earned the award, following selections on Sept. 25, 2006, and Oct. 1, 2007. Dew also went on to be named the '06 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to collecting first-team all-conference and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) first-team all-Great Lakes Region honors.

Last Friday, Dew played an important role in Notre Dame's 7-0 season-opening win over Michigan at Alumni Field. The Irish center back helped anchor a defensive unit that allowed the Wolverines just four total shots, including only one shot on goal. Notre Dame also posted its fifth consecutive shutout over UM and extended its string of consecutive scoreless minutes against Michigan to 518:22. Dew has been a part of the past four Irish shutouts against the Wolverines, starting three times.

Bock, Hanks On Hermann Trophy Watch List
Senior All-America forwards Kerri Hanks and Brittany Bock have been named to the 47-player watch list for the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation's top Division I women's soccer player. Notre Dame is one of 13 teams to place more than one player on this year's Hermann Trophy watch list, with Hanks being the lone previous winner on the `08 preseason Hermann Trophy chart.

A three-time All-American (twice on the first team) and the 2006 Hermann Trophy recipient (the first sophomore to garner the honor), Hanks is poised to become only the fourth multiple winner of the award, and the first to do so in non-consecutive years.

Bock emerged as one of the nation's top offensive threats last season, earning first-team All-America honors and joining Hanks and recently-graduated forward (and current volunteer assistant coach) Amanda Cinalli on the Hermann Trophy final-15 (semifinalists) list.

Notre Dame is one of only two programs to field three or more different recipients of the prestigious Hermann Trophy, with Cindy Daws (1996) and Anne Makinen (2000) joining Hanks in this elite sorority. The 2008 Hermann Trophy winner will be announced during a news conference on Jan. 9, 2009, at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

ND Picked To Win BIG EAST National Division
Notre Dame was the unanimous favorite to win the 2008 BIG EAST Conference National Division title, according to a vote of the league's 16 head coaches released Wednesday afternoon. The Irish picked up the maximum 120 points, including all 15 possible first-place tallies (coaches may not vote for their own teams), in the balloting, as they seek their 12th BIG EAST regular-season crown and sixth in a row -- seven of the previous 11 ('99-'01, '03, '05-'07) have been divisional championships (including the past three), while the other four were overall regular-season titles ('95-'97, '04).

Notre Dame went 11-0-0 in the BIG EAST a year ago, and will head into the 2008 season with a 38-game unbeaten streak against conference opponents (36-0-2 since October 2005), the longest run in school history and tied for the fourth-longest in NCAA Division I history.

Bock Voted BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player Of The Year
Along with their preseason poll, the conference coaches chose Irish senior All-America midfielder/forward (and co-captain) Brittany Bock as the 2008 BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Bock, who also was a unanimous selection to the '08 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team, led the league in goals (16) last year and became Notre Dame's fourth consecutive winner of the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year award.

Fellow senior forward Kerri Hanks also was a unanimous choice on the preseason all-conference team following a 2007 campaign that saw her lead the nation in assists (21) for the second consecutive year and set the BIG EAST pace in points (49) while earning NSCAA first-team All-America honors for the second time. Hanks had been the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year the past two seasons and earned the league's postseason Offensive Player of the Year honor in 2006.

The Golden Girls
Former Notre Dame standouts Kate (Sobrero) Markgraf ('98) and Shannon Boxx ('99) helped the United States successfully defend its Olympic gold medal with a 1-0 overtime win over Brazil in the 2008 title game on Aug. 21 in Beijing, China. Both players started and played all 120 minutes in the final on the way to earning their second consecutive gold medal.

The duo join fencer Mariel Zagunis ('10) as Notre Dame Olympians with multiple gold medals. Markgraf also matches Zagunis' career total of three medals (Markgraf won silver with the USA at the '00 Sydney Games), a standard also equalled by former track & field great Alex Wilson ('32).

A Little Added Face Time
Notre Dame is slated to play on television twice during the 2008 regular season. The Irish will visit Penn State on Sept. 21 with that game airing live on the Big Ten Network. Then, on Oct. 19, Notre Dame travels to Storrs, Conn., for a BIG EAST Conference matchup with Connecticut which will be shown live on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV).

In addition to its commercial TV coverage, Notre Dame enjoys an extensive broadcast footprint on the Internet. All of the Irish regular-season home games are slated to be broadcast live on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com), with supplemental live stats information provided by CBS College Sports Online's GameTracker service.

Fans also can follow the Irish on their cell phones by signing up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system. This free service is available by logging on the women's soccer page at www.UND.com and scrolling down the right-hand sidebar.

Finally, the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) remains a reliable resource for all the latest Irish athletics information. Regular updates on the Notre Dame women's soccer program can be found by calling the Hotline, then selecting option 4 and pressing "2".

Captains Courageous
Senior midfielder/forward Brittany Bock and senior defender Carrie Dew have been selected as team captains for the 2008 season.

Parking Changes
Due to ongoing construction within the Notre Dame Athletics Quad (including the new Irish soccer stadium scheduled to open in 2009), parking for Irish soccer games this year is limited to the Eck Baseball Stadium and Joyce Center lots. Fans may ride the complimentary shuttle bus from the Eck Stadium lot, or walk around the south end of Eck Stadium, then proceed north between the stadium's right-field wall and the soccer practice field before entering at the south end of Alumni Field.

Next Game: Santa Clara
Notre Dame wraps up play in the 16th annual Inn at Saint Mary's Classic on Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. (ET) game against No. 21/12 Santa Clara at Alumni Field. The teams will be meeting in the regular season for the seventh consecutive season, having split the six prior games.

SCU opened its '08 season with a 3-0 win at San Jose State on Aug. 22. The Broncos, who reached the first round of last year's NCAA Championship, will face No. 11/10 West Virginia in Friday's opening game of the Inn at Saint Mary's Classic.

-- ND --