Oct. 4, 2008

Full Notes Package in PDF Format

DATE: Oct. 5, 2008
TIME: 1:00 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. - Alumni Field (2,500)
SERIES: Tied 3-3-1
1ST MTG: MU 2-1 (10/2/88)
LAST MTG: ND 2-0 (11/3/06)
WEBCAST: UND.com (live) (Michael Scholl, p-b-p / Tom Staudt, color)
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Storylines

#1 Irish Face Marquette Sunday In Battle Of BIG EAST Divisional Leaders
Against the backdrop of a celebratory weekend surrounding the program's 20th anniversary, No. 1 Notre Dame has a difficult test on its hands Sunday at 1 p.m. (ET) when it takes on Marquette at Alumni Field in a battle of BIG EAST divisional leaders.

Notre Dame (11-0) continued its latest offensive surge on Friday, patiently disposing of defensive-minded South Florida, 3-0 at Alumni Field. The Irish outshot the Bulls, 27-0, including a 13-0 edge in shots on goal, and didn't allow the visitors a single corner kick. In its last four games, Notre Dame now has piled up 16 goals, tallying at least three goals for the fourth consecutive game and sixth time in seven games.

Freshman forward Melissa Henderson started the scoring in the 20th minute, converting a thru-ball from senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Brittany Bock for her ninth goal of the year. Sophomore midfielder Rose Augustin and senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks added scores of their own, with Hanks extending her current goalscoring streak to five games.

Rankings

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Notre Dame rolls 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 are two of the country's premier front-line players (and '07 NSCAA first-team All-Americans) in senior forward Kerri Hanks and senior forward/midfielder Brittany Bock.

A three-time All-American and the '06 Hermann Trophy recipient, Hanks (11G-2A) continues to blaze new trails through the NCAA and Irish 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 (75G-60A entering Sunday's game). She has earned national honors from Top Drawer Soccer (Player/Team of the Week) three times and twice from Soccer America (Team of the Week), as well as taking home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors and her second consecutive Offensive MVP award at the Inn at Saint Mary's Classic with a school record-tying sixth career hat trick vs. Loyola Marymount.

Bock (1G-3A), 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 (16G-4A). The reigining BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Bock earned the league's Offensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 8, as well as a spot on the Soccer America National Team of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory at No. 3/2 North Carolina on Sept. 5.

Another key player for the Irish this season is senior center back and co-captain Carrie Dew (0G-1A), 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 is the two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week honoree, and a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection after leading Notre Dame to eight shutouts and a 0.27 GAA, including four consecutive clean sheets to open this season (the first time the Irish have done that since '95).

A Quick Look At Marquette
Riding a sturdy defense and a timely offense, Marquette (7-3-2, 3-0-1) has quietly worked its way to the top of the BIG EAST's American Division and comes into Sunday's matinee at Notre Dame on a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2).

The Golden Eagles last played on Friday afternoon, rallying late for a 4-2 win at DePaul. MU actually trailed 2-1 near the hour mark before tying the game moments later and winning it with a pair of goals 41 seconds apart inside the final nine minutes. MU outshot the Blue Demons, 21-8 (15-4 in shots on goal) en route to its highest goal output of the year.

Sophomore forward Julia Victor (3G-1A) has a team-high seven points this season and posted her second gamewinning goal of the year with her score at 81:38 vs. DePaul. Classmate Kristi Laurenzi (2G) added the insurance goal against the Blue Demons, becoming the third Marquette player with multiple scores this year (also junior midfielder Kelly Wepking).

The Golden Eagles have split time in goal between redshirt freshman Natalie Kulla (5-1-2, 0.50 GAA, 4 ShO) and junior Chelsey Turner (2-2-0, 0.64 GAA, 1 ShO), with the pair each taking a half in the DePaul win.

Head coach Markus Roeders is in his 13th season at Marquette and has a career record of 183-70-27 (.702). He is 1-3 all-time against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Marquette Series
Notre Dame and Marquette have split seven career matchups (3-3-1), although the Irish are 2-1 since the Golden Eagles joined the BIG EAST in 2005. Strangely, both wins came in the conference tournament semifinals, with Notre Dame winning 3-0 in 2005 (in Milwaukee) and 2-0 in 2006 (in Storrs, Conn.) after MU won the first-ever BIG EAST match, 4-1 in Milwaukee on Sept. 30, 2005 (the last time the Irish lost to a conference opponent). Marquette has not visited Alumni Field since Sept. 27, 1996, when Notre Dame notched a 5-0 win.

An individual game listing for this series can be found on page 99 of the 2008 Irish women's soccer media guide.

The Last Time ND And Marquette Met
Michele Weissenhofer and Brittany Bock scored second-half goals and Notre Dame's defense allowed just four total shots as the top-ranked Irish advanced to the BIG EAST title game with a 2-0 win at Marquette on Nov. 3, 2006.

Weissenhofer got Notre Dame on the board at 63:32, sending Kerri Hanks loose on a run down the left side before Hanks lifted a cross back into the box, where Weissenhofer's flick header found the far-right sidenetting.

Hanks and Weissenhofer then set up Bock's clincher with 2:20 left, as their passes left Bock unmarked in the area for a shot that glanced off charging MU 'keeper Laura Boyer.

Other ND-Marquette Series Tidbits

Poll Position
Notre Dame took over the No. 1 ranking in all of the major national polls on Sept. 16 (unanimous in this week's NSCAA and Soccer Times balloting), with the Irish now having earned the top spot in the nation in four of the past five seasons (and five of the 10-year Randy Waldrum era, with Waldrum joining North Carolina's Anson Dorrance as the only coaches with five top-ranked seasons in this decade).

Notre Dame last was ranked No. 1 in 2006, assuming that post in all the polls by the end of the season's first month and carrying it through to the NCAA College Cup final, where the Irish fell to North Carolina, 2-1 (one of only two blemishes in a 25-1-1 season).

Notre Dame remains the only team in the country to own the No. 1 ranking in the NSCAA poll in four of five years from 2004-08. All-time, the Irish are 79-6-3 (.915) as the nation's top-ranked squad.

As has become the custom on the Notre Dame campus, the traditional lighted #1 sign has reappeared atop Grace Hall, and a #1 flag now flies outside the Irish athletic department offices at the Joyce Center (see note on pp. 26 of this year's media guide).

This year's women's soccer ranking marks the ninth consecutive academic year (starting in 2000-01) that Notre Dame has fielded at least one top-ranked team, with women's basketball, fencing, baseball and ice hockey also reaching the top of their respective polls during that span.

One Tough Slate
Lest anyone think Notre Dame hasn't earned its place atop the polls, just take a look at the Irish schedule this season.

Notre Dame has four wins over ranked opponents (No. 21/12 Santa Clara, at No. 3/2 North Carolina, vs. No. 12/11 Duke and at No. 17/16 Penn State), with the first three in that series coming in succession and the last three all coming away from home.

And it's not like the Irish have experience playing SCU, UNC and Duke in a row, having last seen those three powerhouses in succession in 1995 (and not at any point in the same regular season, let alone in a row, since 1999).

The 1-0 win at North Carolina on Sept. 5 was even more noteworthy, as it marked just the seventh time the Tar Heels had ever been shut out at home, and only the fifth time by a Division I team. One of those five was a 0-0 tie (Duke), while the other four were 1-0 losses, two at the hands of Notre Dame (the other came in the '95 NCAA semifinals at Fetzer Field, leading to the first of two Irish national championships).

Beasts Of The BIG EAST
Following Friday's win over USF, Notre Dame now owns a school-record 42-game unbeaten streak (40-0-2) against BIG EAST opposition since a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Marquette on Sept. 30, 2005. In that time, the only ties were a 0-0 draw at Connecticut (Oct. 13, 2006) and a 1-1 deadlock at No. 12 West Virginia in last year's BIG EAST final on Nov. 11 (WVU won 5-3 on PKs, but the game is recorded as a tie).

Since joining the BIG EAST, the Irish are 116-8-4 (.922) all-time in regular-season conference games, 29-2-1 (.922) in the BIG EAST Tournament, and hold a 649-76 scoring edge dating back to that first league season in '95.

What's more Notre Dame maintains a 13-year, 81-game home unbeaten streak (80-0-1) versus BIG EAST teams, with Connecticut the lone conference team ever to defeat the Irish at Alumni Field (5-4 in OT on Oct. 6, 1995).

Numbers Don't Lie
To get a clearer picture of just how dominating Notre Dame has been through the first 11 games of the season, one need look no further than some of numbers the Irish have been putting up.

Notre Dame is outscoring its opponents by a staggering 39-3 margin with eight shutouts this year, while three Irish players (Kerri Hanks, Melissa Henderson and Erica Iantorno) have at least three goals themselves. Notre Dame ranks third in the nation in scoring offense (3.55 goals/game), as well as fifth in goals-against average (0.27) and sixth in shutout percentage (0.73).

In fact, of the three goals Notre Dame has allowed this season, one was an apparent own-goal according to video review (Duke), while another was the result of a goalkeeper muff (Penn State) and the third (Louisville) came about due to a miscommunication on the Irish back line that let a corner kick land unattended in the six-yard area.

The Irish also allowed just 23 opponent shots on goal all year (16 fewer shots on goal than Notre Dame's goals). By comparison, Hanks has 29 shots on goal all by herself.

Together, the Irish have registered 123 shots on goal, while their opponents have managed 71 total shots this year. And, Notre Dame has a sizeable 74-27 edge in corner kicks to boot.

Lead, Follow Or Just Get Out Of The Way
With the potency of the Notre Dame offensive attack, most opponents opt for the third option. In fact, the Irish have not trailed at any point this season and have led for 689:11 of 990 minutes this season (69.6% of the elapsed game time). In addition, Notre Dame has been tied in the second half just four times (0-0 at No. 3/2 North Carolina, 0-0 and 1-1 against No. 12/11 Duke, 0-0 at DePaul) for a combined total of 35:06, taking no more than 22:17 (at DePaul) to break any of the four ties and move in front.

The One And Only
At 11-0-0, Notre Dame remains the lone unbeaten and untied team left in Division I women's soccer and one of only seven across all three NCAA divisions.

At Division II, there are three schools that are still perfect entering Sunday's action: Grand Valley State (11-0-0), West Virginia Wesleyan (9-0-0) and Wisconsin-Parkside (8-0-0).

At Division III, three teams still have unblemished records: Principia (13-0-0), Penn State-Altoona (11-0-0) and Williams (7-0-0).

Getting The Jump On The Competition
Notre Dame's quick start this season has been fueled by its lightning-fast beginning to either the first or second half.

In seven games (including all six home games), the Irish have scored a goal in the first 20 minutes of play, with senior forward Kerri Hanks owning the fastest strike of the season (penalty kick at 2:39 vs. Loyola Marymount on Aug. 29). That marked the 11th-fastest goal of the Randy Waldrum era, and the quickest since Nov. 5, 2006, when Hanks struck 57 seconds into the BIG EAST final against Rutgers (a game the Irish ultimately won, 4-2).

In two of its road games, Notre Dame has been scoreless at halftime, but taken the lead less than five minutes into the second half. Against No. 3/2 UNC, senior forward Brittany Bock scored at 50:21, then against No. 12/11 Duke, Bock fed Hanks for a score only 69 seconds after emerging from the locker room.

Strong Out Of The Blocks
Notre Dame is off to an 11-0-0 start for the fifth time in program history, all in the past 13 seasons. It's also the fourth time a Randy Waldrum-coached Irish team has started the year with at least 11 consecutive wins.

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.).

For the season, 15 different Notre Dame players, representing all four classes, have scored at least one goal, with only three individual multi-goal games thus far (Kerri Hanks' hat trick against Loyola Marymount on Aug. 29; Melissa Henderson's two-goal game against SMU on Sept. 12; and Henderson's hat trick on Sept. 28 at Cincinnati).

In addition, Notre Dame already has tied the school record with 20 different point scorers this season. Junior defender Haley Ford was the latest to join both clubs with her first collegiate goal and an assist at Cincinnati.

The Notre Dame single-season records for goalscorers (17) and point scorers (20) both were set in 1996 (in a 26-game season).

No Soup For You
For the second time in program history, the first time since 1995 and the first time in the Randy Waldrum era, Notre Dame opened its season with four consecutive shutouts, blanking Michigan (7-0), Loyola Marymount (4-0), No. 21/12 Santa Clara (2-0) and No. 3/2 North Carolina (1-0). The Irish actually put together a string of 419:44 scoreless minutes to begin this season (437:44 dating back to the end of last year), before the run was snapped on Sept. 7 when Duke scored at 59:19 off a corner kick that deflected in off an Irish defender.

The 1995 squad reeled off eight consecutive shutouts to begin what would be a 21-2-2 season, culminating with the program's first national championship.

Hanks = History
With each passing game, senior All-America forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks reaches more career milestones in the NCAA and Notre Dame record books, continuing to stamp herself as one of the greats in women's college soccer history.

On Sept. 19 at DePaul, Hanks' second-half goal was the 70th of her career, making her the fourth D-I player to amass 70 goals and 60 assists (others are North Carolina's Mia Hamm, Notre Dame's Jenny Streiffer and UC Santa Barbara's Carin Jennings).

On Friday against South Florida, Hanks converted a penalty kick to move into 16th place on the D-I career points list (now with 210 points (75G-60A)), passing North Carolina's Robin Confer (209 from 1994-97), with Hanks standing just one point shy of the Notre Dame all-time record held by Streiffer (211 from 1996-99). Hanks also has tied William & Mary's Missy Wycinsky (1996-99) for 24th place on the NCAA career goals list (75).

The national leader in assists the past two seasons (22 in '06; 21 in '07), Hanks also looks ahead to the historic 70G-70A club, a landmark achievement that only two players (Hamm and Streiffer) in the history of Division I women's soccer have managed to attain (and neither got beyond 72G-72A).

Hanks Sets The Table, Too
Set plays and dead-ball situations now have accounted for 63 (21G-21A) of Kerri Hanks' 210 career points (75G-60A), representing 30 percent of her points with the Irish. Her 21 goals have come on free kicks (10), penalty kicks (10-for-11, including 3-for-4 this year), or directly on a corner kick (1), while her 21 assists have been via corner-kick (13) or free-kick (8) services.

Bock Stays A-Head Of The Game
Nearly half (20) of the 41 career goals scored by senior forward/midfielder Brittany Bock have come on headers, including eight last season (seven of her final eight scores in '07 came via headers). Bock also has four rare header assists in her career.

Iantorno Is One Super Sub
Despite starting just once this season, sophomore forward Erica Iantorno leads the Irish with six assists and is third on the team with 12 points (3G-6A). All this for a player who came to Notre Dame last year as a walk-on (after reversing her original decision to attend Missouri) and had four points during her entire freshman season (on four assists).

This year, Iantorno has emerged as Notre Dame "microwave" off the bench, heating up the minute she gets into the game. In fact, less than a minute after subbing into the Penn State game on Sept. 21, the Hinsdale, Ill., native already had chalked up an assist, taking a throw-in, driving to the left endline and whipping a cross into the box that junior forward Michele Weissenhofer buried in the back of the net.

Five days later against Louisville, Iantorno posted a three-point night (1G-1A) less than 10 minutes after coming into the game at the 31-minute mark. First, she delivered a sharp cross at the top of the box that Weissenhofer dummied for freshman midfielder Courtney Barg, who scored her first career goal (33:35). Then, senior defender Elise Weber sent a cross into the box that was misplayed by the Louisville goalkeeper and Iantorno was on the doorstep for the easy finish (40:32).

Our Fearless Leader
Tenth-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum reached a career milestone on Sept. 21 at No. 17/16 Penn State. With the 3-1 Irish victory, Waldrum became the eighth active Division I head coach to record 300 career wins -- he now has a record of 303-79-20 (.779) in 19 seasons (including six at Tulsa and three at Baylor).

Game #11 Recap: South Florida
Freshman forward Melissa Henderson scored her ninth goal of the season in the 20th minute and Notre Dame's defense did the rest, holding its opponent without a shot on goal for the second consecutive game, as the top-ranked Irish remained the nation's lone unbeaten and untied team with a solid 3-0 win over South Florida on Friday night in BIG EAST cross-divisional action before a season-high crowd of 2,316 at Alumni Field.

Sophomore midfielder Rose Augustin added her second goal of the year in the 34th minute on a splendid blast from long distance, and senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks punctuated the victory with a penalty kick goal (her 11th tally of the season) in the 52nd minute. Hanks now has scored in five consecutive games, potting six goals in that span.

By contrast, it was a slow night for Notre Dame's goalkeepers, who rarely touched the ball, let alone were tested in any way. Junior Kelsey Lysander went the first 85 minutes between the pipes before giving way to sophomore Nikki Weiss, who preserved the eighth Irish shutout in 11 games this season.

As a team, Notre Dame outshot USF, 27-0, including a 13-0 edge in shots on goal. The Irish have not allowed a shot on goal in 182 minutes, dating back to the final two minutes of the Louisville game on Sept. 26.

Notre Dame also held a decisive 7-0 advantage in corner kicks against USF, and the Irish were able to substitute liberally in the second half, with 26 of the 28 healthy players on the roster seeing action on Friday night.

Awards A-Plenty For Irish
Three Notre Dame players were honored for their play last week. Senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks was tapped as the BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Week, in addition to copping a place on the Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer national teams of the week. Hanks scored three times in two conference games last week, including a two-goal effort on Sept. 26 vs. Louisville.

It was Hanks' third selection to the TDS squad and second SA citation, and she also has been a three-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll choice this season.

Freshman forward Melissa Henderson earned BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors on Monday, as well as a place on the TDS and Soccer Buzz national teams of the week. Henderson potted a hat trick in Sunday's win at Cincinnati, coming off the bench to score her three goals in just 46 minutes of action.

Henderson is a two-time selection for the TDS squad, while it was her first Soccer Buzz honor and her first BIG EAST award (she did make the league's weekly honor roll back on Sept. 15).

Senior defender/co-captain Carrie Dew was recognized on the current BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, following two prior selections as the conference's Defensive Player of the Week. Dew anchored an Irish defense that allowed only one goal and five shots on goal (none at Cincinnati) last week.

You Stay CLASS-y, Notre Dame
Senior All-America forwards (and Hermann Trophy candidates) Kerri Hanks and Brittany Bock are two of the 30 nominees for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top senior player based on their dedication and achievement in four areas: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition. Notre Dame is one of five schools with multiple nominees for this year's award, joining BYU, Clemson, Duke and USC.

Both Hanks and Bock have exemplified the term "student-athlete" in their career. After enrolling at Notre Dame in the spring of 2005 (due to playing in the FIFA Under-19 World Championships the previous fall, Hanks worked hard to graduate one semester early (with her Class of '08 teammates), earning her bachelor's degree in sociology this past May.

Bock earned ESPN The Magazine Third-Team Academic All-America status last year while compiling a 3.365 cumulative GPA as a marketing major. She also garnered dean's list honors in the spring 2008 term with a 3.70 GPA, and had a sharp 3.834 GPA this past summer.

A national media committee will select the 10 finalists in October, with the official ballot opened for nationwide fan voting on Oct. 9. That fan balloting, coupled with votes from coaches and media, will determine this year's recipient, who will be announced at the NCAA Women's College Cup Dec. 5-7 in Cary, N.C.

The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women's soccer history, with a 270-3-1 (.987) record in those games, including a 172-1-0 (.994) mark since Oct. 6, 1995. The Irish also are 367-9-15 (.958) when holding the opposition to 0-1 goals.

Most impressively, Notre Dame is 293-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and is unbeaten in its past 270 contests when going ahead 2-0 (dating back to a 3-3 tie with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati). In fact, just one of the past 183 Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have failed to even force a tie, something achieved by three opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (Irish won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at Alumni Field (ND led 2-0, later tied 2-2 and 3-3, ND won 4-3), and Duke on Nov. 30, 2007, in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alumni Field (Irish won 3-2).

You Can Put It On The Board
Notre Dame has scored a goal in 36 consecutive games, dating back to a scoreless draw with Michigan to open last season. The current 36-game goal streak matches the third-longest in school history (Oct. 19, 1995-Dec. 6, 1996), and it's the longest since a 49-game run from Oct. 24, 2004-Oct. 8, 2006.

The school record is 55 straight games with a goal from Aug. 29, 1997-Sept. 17, 1999.

A Little Added Face Time
Notre Dame is slated to play on television twice during the 2008 regular season. The Irish made their Big Ten Network debut on Sept. 21, posting a 3-1 win at No. 17/16 Penn State. On Oct. 19, Notre Dame travels to Storrs, Conn., for a BIG EAST matchup with Connecticut which will be shown live on CBS College Sports.

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".

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).

Markgraf and her fellow Olympians were honored this weekend by the University at several events, including Friday night's soccer game vs. South Florida, as well as Saturday afternoon's football game against Stanford and Saturday night's 20th anniversary celebration of the Irish women's soccer program. Boxx was unable to attend this weekend's festivities due to a prior obligation.

Parking Changes
Due to ongoing construction within the Notre Dame Athletics Quad (including the new Irish soccer stadium tentatively set for completion in June 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 north end of Eck Stadium (behind the left-field wall) before entering at the south end of Alumni Field.

Next Game: Georgetown
Notre Dame opens a key four-game BIG EAST road swing next Friday, Oct. 10, when it travels to No. 18/19 Georgetown for a 3 p.m. (ET) match in our nation's capital. The Irish are 14-1 all-time against the Hoyas, but have traditionally struggled on the GU campus, winning the past two games by a single goal after their only series loss to Georgetown (4-3 in 2002).

The Hoyas (8-0-2, 3-0-0) had an unexpected break in their schedule this weekend, when both of their home contests (Syracuse and St. John's) were postponed due to an outbreak of norovirus on the Georgetown campus. It is unclear how this development may affect next week's game between the Hoyas and Notre Dame.

-- ND --