Oct. 21, 2000
DOWN THE STRETCH: The top-ranked Notre Dame women's soccer
team (16-0-0) closes its regular season with two more road games:
Sat., Oct. 21 at 25th-ranked Connecticut (7:00 p.m.) and Tues., Oct. 24,
at Michigan (3:00 p.m.) ... the UConn game previously was listed as
1:00 p.m. but shifted to a night start due to the recent addition of lights
to Marrone Stadium ... the Irish return home for a BIG EAST quarterfinal
matchup vs. Miami on Sun., Oct. 29 (1:00 p.m.) ... the Irish are in the
midst of a six-day trip during fall break that include a 4-0 win at Yale on
Oct. 18 ... the Miami game will complete a 27-day stretch in which the
Irish will have played just one home game (and six on the road) ... due
to the mid-afternoon start of the Michigan game, the Irish will head to
Ann Arbor on Monday night ... the Michigan game will complete an Oct.
14-24 stretch in which the Irish were on the road for nine of 11 days (all
but Oct. 16 and 23).
REAL-AUDIO FEED AVAILABLE FOR UCONN GAME: A radio broadcast of
the Notre Dame-Connecticut game will be carried live on the internet
and can be accessed at www.whus.org or
www.whusfm.saup.uconn.edu.
Notre Dame Women's Soccer Schedule (listings indicate local
starting times)
Sat., Oct. 21 at Connecticut (7:00 p.m.)
Tues., Oct. 24 at Michigan (3:00 p.m.)
IRISH POST BEST START: Notre Dame's 16-0-0 record has bested the
ND record for top won-loss record to open a season (the '96 team
opened 13-0-0) ... that '96 team posted a 66-6 scoring edge through the
first 13 games before dropping a 3-1 game at ninth-ranked Santa Clara
(just days after the Irish had risen to No. 1 in the polls) ... the '96 team
owned five wins over ranked teams during that 13-0 start, including
victories over No. 14 Wisconsin (3-1), No. 13 Washington (4-0), No. 4
UConn (2-1), No. 1 UNC (2-1, OT) and No. 18 Stanford (4-0) ... by
comparison, the current Irish squad owns a 56-5 scoring edge and has
posted three wins over teams that were ranked in the NSCAA poll at
game time: No. 2 Santa Clara (6-1), No. 10 Stanford (2-1, OT) and No.
15 Washington (5-0).
PLAYOFF PICTURE: ND has clinched home field for the BIG EAST
quarterfinals and will face Miami (Fla.) for the second straight season
(Oct. 29, 1:00 p.m.) ... Seton Hall (3-3-0) and Rutgers (3-2-1) also have
clinched from the Mid-Atlantic Division, with Georgetown (2-1-1) and
West Virginia (2-3-0) battling for the last spot ... the four playoff teams
>from the Northeast Division (in order) will be UConn, BC, Syracuse and
Miami ... BC's quarterfinal opponent will be the third-place finisher from
the Mid-Atlantic (GU, RU or SHU)-with the winner of that game facing
the ND-Miami winner in the semifinals (Nov. 3, at ND) ... RU and GU
could claim the Mid-Atlantic No. 2 spot while three teams could be
fourth seed (WVU, SHU and GU) ... the only divisional game left is GU
at WVU (Oct. 25).
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Game 1: #4 MA Georgetown, Seton Hall or West Virginia at #1 NE Connecticut
Game 2: #3 MA Seton Hall, Rutgers or Georgetown at #2 NE Boston College
Game 3: #4 NE Miami at #1 MA Notre Dame
Game 4: #3 NE Syracuse at #2 MA Rutgers or Georgetown
Game 5: Games 1 and 4 winners (semifinal) - Nov. 3 at Notre Dame (5:00 p.m.)
Game 6: Games 2 and 3 winners (semifinal) - Nov. 3 at Notre Dame (7:00 p.m
Game 7: Games 5 and 6 winners (final) - Nov. 5 at Notre Dame (noon
PERFECT MARK: The Irish concluded Mid-Atlantic Division play with an
undefeated record (6-0-0) for the second consecutive season and now
own a 54-2-1 (.956) all-time record in BIG EAST regular-season play
(including cross-divisional games) ... ND has won its last 25 games
versus BIG EAST Conference teams, including 19 regular-season
games plus six BIG EAST Tournament wins in that span ... ND's only
blemishes in BIG EAST regular-season play include a 5-4 overtime
loss to Connecticut during the 1995 NCAA Championship season, a 1-
1 tie at UConn in '98 and a 3-2 loss two days later at Seton Hall ... since
joining the BIG EAST in 1995, the Irish own a 67-3-1 record (.951) in all
games versus BIG EAST opponents (including a 2-0 win over UConn in
the 1995 NCAA quarterfinals and a 2-1 loss to UConn in the '97 NCAA
semifinals).
SCORING AND STOPPING: Notre Dame entered the week as the
nation's only team currently ranked in the top seven for scoring offense
and team goals-against average ... ND's 3.50 goals per game ranks
6th while the Irish are tied with Hartford for 2nd in the nation with a
0.308 team goals-against average (narrowly trailing UCLA's 0.300) ...
ND last week became the nation's only remaining unbeaten team
(among 274 Division I women's soccer programs) and just three
teams currently in the NSCAA top-25 have one loss and no ties: No. 3
Washington, No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Clemson (unranked Furman
and Jacksonville also have just one loss).
STAT LEADERS: Senior M Anne Makinen entered the week ranked 12th
in the nation for assists/gm (0.79, now 0.80) ND junior Liz Wagner now
ranks 3rd in the nation for GAA (0.354), behind Brown's Mary Jo Markle
(0.150) and UCLA's Cici Peterson (0.334) ... Wagner (1,271) has
played 200 more minutes than Peterson while Markle stats are skewed
by the fact that she splits time in the goal for Brown (Wagner has played
nearly 700 more minutes than Markle) ... four ND players are ranked
among the BIG EAST's top-12 overall scorers: Makinen (2nd, 11G-12A-
34P), senior F Meotis Erikson (4th, 10G-6A-26P) and freshman Fs Amy
Warner (9th, 8G-4A-20P) and Amanda Guertin (9th, 9G-2A-20P) ... ND
leads the BIG EAST in goals (56), GAA (0.31) and shutouts (11).
16-GAME CHECKUP: With 16 games in the books (the Irish could play
as many as 26 games this season), Notre Dame is on pace to
challenge several team records ... ND has allowed just five goals (the
team record is nine, in '97) while the 0.31 team GAA is below the record
of 0.36 (also set in '97) ... ND's other projected 26-game totals include
670 shots (record 766 in 1997) and 114 shots allowed (record 101 in
'97) ... the Irish have posted 11 shutouts and could make a run at the
record (18, in '95) while ND is looking to score in every game for the
third time in the last four seasons (also in '97 and '98) ... ND has
bested the team record for best start (13-0-0, also in '96) and has tied
the record for longest single-season winning streak in Irish history (the
'97 team won 17 straight midseason games) ... ND also has won 20
straight regular-season games (the previous team record was 18, from
'95-'96) ... on the individual side, Anne Makinen's record for shots in a
season (106, in '98) could be bested this season by either Makinen (on
pace for 113 over 26 games) of Meotis Erikson (on pace for 109) ...
Makinen already owns five game-winning goals this season (Rosella
Guerrero's eight in '94 are the ND record) while Erikson (12) has an
outside shot at Jenny Heft's Irish record for career GWGs (19, '96-'99).
IRISH LOOK TO MAINTAIN SHARPSHOOTING: Notre Dame will be
looking to continue its improved shooting accuracy, as the Irish were
averaging one goal ever 7.8 shots before scoring three times on 12
shots at Syracuse and four times on 19 shots at Yale (an average of
one goal every 4.4 shots over the course of those two games) ... the
current overall average of 7.4 shots/goal is highest in ND history, up
slightly from the '98 (6.8) and '99 (6.1) campaigns ... the best shot-to-
goal ratio in ND history was 4.40 (in '96) ... the 2000 Irish are averaging
25.8 shots per game, which ranks ahead of every previous ND season
except 1997 (30.9) and '98 (26.8) ... seniors Anne Makinen (68 shots)
and Meotis Erikson (67) have taken the bulk of ND's shot this season
(they have combined to average 8.4 shots per game) ... the top
shooting percentages among ND regulars include junior F Kelly
Tulisiak (4G on 12 shots, 3.0 shots/goal) and freshman Fs Amy Warner
(7 on 37, 5.3) and Amanda Guertin (9 on 48, 5.3).
SHUTOUT CITY: ND's current team goals-against average (0.31) is on
pace to best the team record (0.36) set in '97, when the Irish allowed
just five goals in the regular season and nine overall ... junior G Liz
Wagner (Spring, Texas) and the Irish defenders have allowed just two
goals (on a PK at West Virginia and one on a counterattack by BC) in
the last 1,038 minutes of action, stretching back to Stanford's goal in
the 80th minute on Sept. 10 ... the Irish have posted seven shutouts in
the last eight games, allowing just 22 shots (nine on goal) and 10
corner kicks during that eight-game stretch ... ND is two shutouts shy of
tying the team record for fewest goals allowed in the regular season (5,
also in 1997) ... Wagner and the Irish allowed just one goal in each
game of the KeyBank Classic, vs. two of the nation's top teams (Santa
Clara, Stanford), before posting a pair of shutouts in the Portland
adidas Invitational (vs. current #3 Washington and current #14
Portland), the 2-1 win at WVU and the five straight shutouts vs.
Pittsburgh (1-0), Seton Hall (6-0), Rutgers (2-0), Georgetown (8-0) and
Villanova (1-0), followed by shutouts at Syracuse (3-0) and Yale (4-0).
TWO MORE BIG EAST AWARDS: ND continues to rack up the BIG EAST
weekly awards, as the Irish produced two award winners following the
wins over Boston College and Syracuse: junior M Mia Sarkesian
(offensive player of the week) and sophomore Vanessa Pruzinsky
(defensive player of the week) ... Sarkesian (Canton, Mich.) entered the
week with just one point in the 2000 season before posting five points
and having a hand in three of five Irish goals vs. BC and SU ... her first
goal of the season-and 5th of her career-came on a looping shot from
20 yards out and forged a 1-1 tie with the Eagles, after the Irish had
faced their first deficit of the season ... Sarkesian put the Irish on the
board in the second minute at SU-after a skillful trap and volley >from
close range, set up by a rightside corner kick ... she later helped put the
game out or reach in the 70th minute, after working a give-and-go
outside the top of the box to set up Scheller's goal for the 3-0 lead ...
Pruzinsky earned her third straight defensive award after again playing
a leading role in the sturdy Irish defense that allowed just five shots
(three on goal) during last week's two games, despite the absence of
injured senior captain Kelly Lindsey ... she helped limit BC to three
shots and one corner kick while helping hold SU to a pair of shots and
two CKs.
SILVER STREAKS: Notre Dame is on the verge of tying the team record
for consecutive wins in a season (the '97 squad won 17 straight before
losing 2-1 to UConn in the NCAA semifinals ... ND's last regular-
season loss came one year ago this week (Oct. 17, 1999), in a 4-2
game at then-No. 1 Santa Clara ... since that time, the Irish have set a
team record by winning 20 straight regular-season games (the '94-'95
teams combined to win 17 straight regular-season games) ... ND is 26-
1-1 in its last 28 games overall ... a win over UConn also would yield
the second-longest overall winning streak in the 13-year history of the
Notre Dame women's soccer program (the 1995 and '96 teams
combined to win 24 straight).
GREAT HOSPITALITY: The current six-day roadtrip has included a
dinner hosted by Vanessa Pruzinsky's family (in their native Trumbull,
Conn.) and a full day of sightseeing in New York City, including a visit to
the New York Stock Exchange and a ride on the Staten Island Ferry (the
Notre Dame Alumni Club of Staten Island served as excellent hosts to
the team's visit).
UCONN CONNECTIONS: Notre Dame sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky
is a native of Trumbull, Conn., where she was an NSCAA prep All-
American at Trumbull HS while twice earning the Gatorade New
England regional player-of-the-year award ... Pruzinsky led Trumbull to
three state titles and a 65-8-3 record during her four-year career ... she
earned three team MVP awards, finished as the school's all-time
leading scorer with 79G-59A and was part of a 20-0-0 team during her
senior year that did not allow a goal ... Pruzinsky also helped her
Weston Wild Things club team capture the 1998 national title ... first-
year ND assistant coach Barb Chura was a student assistant coach at
UConn during the 1993 season, after starring for the Huskies 1989-92
squads ... Chura helped UConn reach the 1990 NCAA title game and
finish each of her seasons in the NSCAA top 10 ... she was a 1992
team captain and finished her playing days ranked fourth at UConn in
career assists.
RACKING UP THE HONORS: During the past seven weeks, Notre Dame
has amassed 15 of 25 weekly BIG EAST awards for offensive player,
defensive player and rookie (UConn is next with three, followed by BC
and Georgetown with two each) ... due to the strong play in front of her,
Irish junior Liz Wagner has been nominated just twice for BIG EAST
goalkeeper of the week-when she totaled seven saves in the wins over
Santa Clara and Stanford and when she totaled six saves in wins over
Washington and Portland (Wagner has faced just 17 shots on goal
over the course of ND's other 12 games) ... the Irish have produced
three straight BIG EAST offensive players of the week (senior M Anne
Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson preceded junior M Mia Sarkesian)
while ND players have collected seven straight BIG EAST defensive
player-of-the-week awards (including three by Kelly Lindsey and one by
fellow senior Kerri Bakker, plus three by sophomore Vanessa
Pruzinsky) ... Amanda Guertin was the third Irish freshman to be
honored by the BIG EAST in as many weeks, following in the footsteps
of fellow F Amy Warner (a three-time honoree) and M Randi Scheller.
SCOUTING THE IRISH: Notre Dame returns 16 of 22 letterwinners but
lost five starters from its '99 team that went 21-4-1 and advanced to the
NCAA title game ... senior M and leading national player-of-the-year
candidate Anne Makinen (11G-12A) has scored or assisted on nearly
half of ND's goals this season (23 of 56) while other top scorers
include freshman forwards Amy Warner (7G-4A) and Amanda Guertin
(9G-1A) and senior F Meotis Erikson (10G-6A) ... junior Elizabeth
Wagner has played most of the minutes in the nets, with 27 saves and
five goals allowed (one on a PK).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Information on Connecticut can be found
at www.uconnhuskies.com while Michigan information is located at
www.goblue.com
MOTORING: Senior F Meotis Erikson scored three goals on Oct. 6 at
Georgetown, becoming the 11th ND player to post three-plus hat tricks
in her career (senior M Anne Makinen also owns three career HTs) ...
Erikson previously had registered three goals twice in a five-game
span during late October of the 1997 season ... just four previous ND
players have turned in four-plus hat tricks: Jenny Heft (6, '96-'99),
Rosella Guerrero (5, '92-'95), Michelle McCarthy (4, '92-'95) and Monica
Gerardo (4, '95-'98) ... Erikson's hat trick is the 49th in ND history and
the 25th in the last five seasons (freshman Amy Warner had 3G vs. PC
on Sept. 3) ... Erikson has points in four of last five games (5G-2A) and
five of last seven (6G-3A) ... Erikson's recent surge gives her 151 points
(56G-39A) for her career, just five behind '96 graduate Michelle
McCarthy for 7th on the ND all-time scoring list ... her 56 goals have
pushed Erikson past '96 grad. Rosella Guerrero into 7th in ND history,
three behind McCarthy, with Erikson edging past McCarthy (37) into
10th on the assists list.
INJURY REPORT: ND freshman F Amy Warner (Albuquerque, N.M.)
remains out indefinitely with a leg injury suffered in the Sept. 29 game
vs. Seton Hall (she has missed the last six games) ... senior central
defender and second-year team captain Kelly Lindsey was injured late
in the first half at Villanova on Oct. 8 and has missed the last three
games ... Warner's spot in the starting lineup is being filled by
sophomore Ali Lovelace, who had 1G-1A in the 8-0 win at Georgetown
... the Irish have developed significant depth on the back line in recent
weeks, with four players-Lindsey and fellow senior Kerri Bakker, plus
sophomores Vanessa Pruzinsky and Nancy Mikacenic-capable of
playing in the central positions while Pruzinsky, junior Lindsey Jones
and senior Monica Gonzalez have seen significant time on the flanks ...
Mikacenic has started the last three games at Lindsey's spot.
PLAYING WITH THE LEAD: ND has yet to trail this season while holding
the lead for nearly 60% of the minutes ... just three teams have
managed to forge a tie (1-1) versus the Irish this season-Providence,
Stanford and West Virginia-while Boston College is the only team to
hold a lead on ND in 2000, doing so for 28 minutes-meaning the Irish
have trailed for just 1.9% of the minutes this season.
QUICK STRIKES: Notre Dame jumped out to 1-0 leads in the first 12
minutes of six games this season, including three of the last six (Seton
Hall, Georgetown and Syracuse) ... the Irish also opened the season by
scoring in the 12th minute vs. Detroit and scored in the eight minute the
next week versus Providence ... the most important quick-strike goal of
the season came in the Sept. 17 game at Portland, as Meotis Erikson's
score in the 8th minute quieted the raucous 3,500-plus crowd and held
up as the game's only goal (the Irish ascended to the top of the
national rankings one day later).
ND's Quickest First Goals in 2000
| 1:32 | Syracuse (Mia Sarkesian) |
| 7:20 | Portland (Meotis Erikson) |
| 8:38 | Providence (Amy Warner) |
| 9:24 | Seton Hall (Anne Makinen) |
| 9:49 | Georgetown (Amanda Guertin) |
| 11:36 | Detroit (Makinen) |
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: The Irish have scored first-half goals in 11
of 16 games this season while going past the 55-minute mark without
any ND scoring in just two games ... senior M Anne Makinen has come
to the rescue several times this season with ND needing a second-half
goal ... on Sept. 1 vs. Tulsa, the ND offense was struggling before
Makinen fired home a shot in the 69th minute and scored again for the
2-0 victory ... one month later, the ever-reliable Makinen converted a
penalty kick in the 53rd minute vs. Rutgers and ND went on to another
2-0 win ... one week later at Villanova, Makinen's leftside corner kick
bent toward the goal and led to the decisive own goal in the 80th
minute ... most recently, Makinen came off the bench in the 54th minute
at Yale and set up the first ND goal less than two minutes later, after
slicing through the Bulldogs defense and sliding a pass to Meotis
Erikson for the 1-0 lead (Makinen added a PK in the 83rd minute to
spark a late flurry in the 4-0 win) ... Mia Sarkesian's first goal of the
season-in the 53rd minute vs. BC-helped erase ND's only deficit of the
2000 (Erikson assisted on that looping shot from 20 yards out).
ND's Latest First Goals in 2000
| 79:49 | Villanova (own goal set up by Anne Makinen corner kick) |
| 68:17 | Tulsa (Makinen) |
| 53:58 | Yale (Makinen) | |
| 52:56 | Rutgers (Makinen) |
| 52:40 | Boston College (Mia Sarkesian) | |
YOU NEVER KNOW: Conventional thinking predicted that the 2000
Notre Dame women's soccer team would experience a dropoff after
losing five starters from the 1999 NCAA runner-up team to graduation,
including three All-Americans (F/M Jen Streiffer, D Jen Grubb and G
LaKeysia Beene) and ND all-time leading goalscorer Jenny Heft (80
career goals, with Streiffer ranking 2nd at 70), plus hard-nosed D Kara
Brown (who ranks 5th in ND history with 99 games played) ... those five
seniors combined to log 485 games from 1996-99, including 440
starts ...while struggling at times this season with consistently finishing
its scoring chances, ND has risen to the top of the national soccer polls
thanks to a skilled midfield that excels in possession and distribution
and steady play in the defensive third that has yielded just five goals in
16 games (compared to 15 GA in the first 16 games of '99) ... ND's trio
of central-based midfielders-senior Anne Makinen, junior Mia
Sarkesian and sophomore Ashley Dryer-has provided consistent ball
control that has yielded huge edges in shots (412-70), shots on goal
(240-35) and corner kicks (106-31) ... the Irish defense has thrived
thanks to a seven-player group that has found strong chemistry despite
limited experience ... that group has included junior G Liz Wagner,
senior central defenders Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Bakker, junior right
back Lindsey Jones and sophomore left back Vanessa Pruzinsky ...
senior Monica Gonzalez also has seen significant time on the flank
while sophomore Nancy Mikacenic has done a solid job when called
on to play in the middle-giving the Irish defense an effective six-player
rotation ... Lindsey is the only player among the six D (plus Wagner)
who had made more than 26 career starts in the Irish defense prior to
this season (Jones made 17 starts as a freshman M while Gonzalez
was used strictly as a F prior to 2000).
ROAD WARRIORS: Since dropping a 4-2 game at Santa Clara on Oct.
17, 1999, ND has posted a 12-1-1 record in its last 14 games away
>from Alumni Field ... the Irish have put up solid numbers on the road in
the 2000 season (7 games), including a 24-1 scoring edge (the other 4
GA have come at home), a 132-40 shot edge (19-6 avg.) and a 79-16
edge in shots on goal (11-2 avg.).
KEEP THAT MOTOR RUNNING: Notre Dame senior F Meotis Erikson
(Kennewick, Wash.) has been a durable and reliable member of the
Irish lineup throughout her career, appearing in all 92 of ND's games
during the past four seasons (starting 79 of them) ... Erikson could
become the 8th Irish player to appear in every game of her career (see
list below) and only three players currently on that list logged more
games than Erikson: M Shannon Boxx ('95-'98), D Kate Fisher ('93-'96)
and G Jen Renola ('93-'96) ... Erikson also ranks 12th on the ND list for
career games played, recently passing current Irish G coach LaKeysia
Beene (90, '96-'99) and F Rosella Guerrero (91, '92-'95) ... Erikson
could catch M Cindy Daws ('93-'96) on that list by playing in the
upcoming UConn and Michigan games and would match F Jenny Heft
('96-'99) by adding two postseason games ... others on that list include
D Kate Sobrero (97, '94-'97) and three with 98 GP: Fisher, Renola and
F Monica Gerardo ('95-'98) ... M/D Kara Brown ('96-'99) ranks 5th on
that list with 99 GP while the top four include Boxx and three with an
even 100 GP: M Holly Manthei ('94-'97), M/F Jenny Streiffer ('96-'99) and
D Jen Grubb ('96-'99).
ND Players Who Have Appeared In Every Game Of Their Career
| Shannon Boxx | 1995-98 | 101 |
| Kate Fisher | 1993-96 | 98 |
| Jen Renola | 1993-96 | 98 |
| Meotis Erikson | 1997-2000 | 92 |
| Rosella Guerrero | 1992-95 | 91 |
| Tiffany Thompson | 1991-94 | 86 |
| Suzie Zilvitis | 1988-91 | 82 |
| Alison Lester | 1990-93 | 81 |
GAINING EXPERIENCE · AND WINS: Notre Dame's regular starting
lineup during the 2000 season includes three players who had no
previous starts on the Division I level-freshman Fs Amy Warner and
Amanda Guertin and junior G Liz Wagner-plus several others with
limited starting experience prior to 2000: senior D Kerri Bakker (3 GS
prior to 2000), freshman M Ashley Dryer (15), junior M Mia Sarkesian
(17), junior D Lindsey Jones and sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky ...
the only members of the everyday starting 11 with more than 26 starts
prior to 2000 were senior D Kelly Lindsey (68), senior M Anne Makinen
(66) and senior F Meotis Erikson (63) ... by comparison, the Irish
headed into the 1999 season with eight players who had 26-plus
career starts
BIG-GAME PERFORMER: Despite facing just 28 shots on goal all
season, junior Liz Wagner has made several big plays vs. ranked
opponents ... in the 6-1 win over then-No. 2 Santa Clara, Wagner made
seven big saves, including an early breakaway and a diving stop in the
second half ... she finished the KeyBank Classic (which included a 2-1
OT win over Stanford) with 10 saves, as the backstop to a defense that
allowed just 16 shots ... Wagner then made six saves at the Portland
Invitational but turned in several other big plays in both games (she
thwarted two early scoring chances by current No. 4 Washington before
holding off current 17th-ranked Portland's late charge) ... Wagner is in
the midst of her first season as a starter while facing the challenge of
replacing All-American LaKeysia Beene and losing two starting
defenders from the '99 team (including four-time All-American Jen
Grubb).
50-50 PROPOSITION: Senior M Anne Makinen (Helsinki, Finland)
scored on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 vs. Seton Hall and Rutgers, giving her 60
career goals to move past '96 graduate Michelle McCarthy (59) into 5th
on the ND all-time list (she then scored vs. Georgetown to move into a
tie on the ND goalscoring list with 97 grad. Cindy Daws before adding
her 62nd career goal at Yale) ... Makinen was stuck on 49 career
assists since Sept. 17 before assisting on all three Meotis Erikson
goals in the 8-0 win at GU (Oct. 6)-becoming the 13th player in Division
I history, and the third ND player, to eclipse the 50-goals-50-assists
plateau (she entered 2000 as the nation's only active 40-40 player) ...
Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A, '96-'99) and Daws (61G-67A) are the only
previous ND players to reach 50-50 ... Makinen still has shot at
reaching 60-60, needing 7A to become the sixth Division I player to
earn that distinction ... members of the 60-60 club include Streiffer,
Daws, Carin Jennings (102G-60A, UC Santa Barbara, '83-'86), Mia
Hamm (103G-72A, North Carolina, '89-'93) and Mandy Clemens (67G-
65A, Santa Clara, '96-'99) ... nine more goals and 17 more assists
would place Makinen alongside Streiffer and Hamm in the very
exclusive 70-70 club.
ANNE'S ARSENAL: Anne Makinen reached 10 points in three games
this season and 20 (6G-8A) through seven games, despite being
marked heavily as ND's top returning offensive weapon (she now has
34 points, 11G-12A) ... Makinen's start factors out to 55 points over the
course of 26 games, with just three previous ND players topping 60
points in a season ('96 saw Cindy Daws record 72 and Jenny Streiffer
66, while Jenny Heft had 61 in '98) ... Makinen heads into the UConn
game with a career average of 2.21 points/gm (177 points in 80
games) ... her 53 career assists are tied with Jen Grubb ('00) for 6th on
the ND career list ... Makinen's 177 career points push into 5th on the
ND all-time list, moving past Holly Manthei's career total from '94-'97
(176) to trail only Streiffer (211), Monica Gerardo (190, '95-'98), Daws
(189) and Heft (189) ... Makinen needs to total 48 points this season-
she needs 14 more-to pass Gerardo into 2nd on the ND all-time
scoring list (Makinen would need a 69-point season-or 35 more points-
to surpass ND's all-time leading scorer, Streiffer).
MAKIN' WAVES: Anne Makinen-who has points in 10 of 13 games this
season-has been the focal point of the Irish offense this season, as the
three-year All-American has scored or assisted on nearly half of ND's
goals (21 of 47), including five game-winning goals and three primary
game-winning assists (her outlet pass also sprung Amy Warner for the
cross that led to the game-ending own goal versus Stanford while her
bending corner kick led to the own goal in the 1-0 game at Villanova) ...
with her team struggling to cash in its chances vs. Tulsa on Sept. 1,
Makinen took over in the lategoing by scoring a pair of goals for a 2-0
win ... two days later, in the 5-1 win over Providence, her play from her
central midfield spot helped the Irish eclipse 30 shots for the third
straight game ... her pass into the middle set up Amy Warner's second
goal of the PC game and Makinen added a long cross late in that game
that Warner half-volleyed to complete her hat trick ... Makinen had 1G-2A
in the 6-1 win over No. 2 Santa Clara before setting up the game-
ending sequence versus Stanford ... at the Portland Invitational,
Makinen's long cross set up Ali Lovelace's goal for a 2-0 lead on
Washington and Makinen added a rebound goal and PK goal in that 5-
0 game ... the next day, her cross from the right set up Meotis Erikson's
goal in the 1-0 win over Portland ... most recently, Makinen's rocket shot
>from the top of the box held up as the only score in a 1-0 game with
Pittsburgh before she opened the scoring to ignite the 6-0 win over
Seton Hall and converted a second-half PK to give ND the lead in the 2-
0 game with Rutgers ... she then came off the bench in the 53rd minute
to spark the 4-0 win at Yale, setting up Meotis Erikson for the first goal
before sending a free kick over the wall and into the left corner for a late
2-0 cushion.
ROAD STRETCH: Notre Dame is in the midst of playing six of its final
seven regular-season games away from home, with the lone home
game in that stretch being the Oct. 13 matchup with Boston College ...
despite the six road games in October, the Irish potentially could spend
most of the postseason playing at Alumni Field (the BIG EAST
semifinals and final will be played at Notre Dame, on Nov. 3 and 5)-with
as many as six straight postseason games in the home confines.
IRISH REMAIN NO. 1: Notre Dame has returned to the top of the national
polls for the first time since 1996, following a pair of quality wins on
Sept. 16-17 over current No. 3 Washington (5-0) and current No. 10
Portland (1-0), coupled with North Carolina's 2-1 loss earlier that week
at upstart Clemson ... North Carolina (now 12-2-0) dropped out of the
top spot and was ranked second in this week's National Soccer
Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) poll (before losing to
Florida State) ... the Irish are ranked first in the NSCAA poll and various
other polls conducted by soccer-specific publications and websites,
including the long-running poll compiled by the editors of Soccer
America magazine, the SoccerTimes.com national coaches poll and
the American Soccer Writers media poll (coordinated by
collegesoccerdaily.com).
BIG GAPS: Notre Dame continues to add to its dominating statistical
edges, including: 56-5 in scoring, 412-70 in shots ( avg. 25-4), 240-35
in shots on goal (avg. 15-2) and 106-31 in corner kicks (avg. 7-2) ...the
Irish have held seven teams to 0-2 shots and have allowed more than
eight shots just twice (10 by Santa Clara, 11 by Portland) ... ND has
allowed 0-2 shots on goal in 11 games (none in three) while SCU (7) is
the only team to uncork more than four shots on goal vs. the Irish this
season ... 14 of the 16 ND opponents have been limited to 0-3 corner
kicks (Portland had 7, Yale 4).
WALDRUM WORKING WONDERS: Second-year Notre Dame head
coach Randy Waldrum has seen his Irish teams post an impressive
37-4-1 combined record (.893), including a solid 9-3-1 mark versus
NSCAA top-25 teams and a 1999 season that ended in the NCAA
Championship title game ... Waldrum in '99 became the only coach in
the 18-year history of the NCAA women's soccer championship to lead
a team to the title game in his first season as that team's head coach ...
he was the fourth first-year coach to take his team to the NCAA semi-
finals, with the Irish beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa
Clara in their backyard of San Jose, Calif. ... Waldrum's 19-year record
as a college head coach (with both men's and women's teams) is 220-
109-20 (.659) ... he owns a 144-54-13 (.713) record in 10-plus seasons
as a Division I women's coach, including 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa
(.580) and 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor ... Waldrum entered the
2000 season ranked 15th among active women's coaches for career
winning percentage (he ranks 26th on the total wins list).
BREAKING THE SEAL: Three different Notre Dame players-senior M
Anne Makinen, senior F Meotis Erikson and freshman F Amy Warner-
each scored the first goal of the game three-plus times in the first 11
games before freshman F Amanda Guertin joined that group with the
first goal in the 8-0 win at Georgetown ... junior M Mia Sarkesian then
did the honors vs. BC and Syracuse, followed by Erikson netting the
first goal at Yale ... Makinen recently opened the scoring in three
consecutive games (vs. Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Rutgers), after
earlier scoring the first goal versus Detroit and Tulsa ... Erikson scored
first vs. Santa Clara, Washington, Portland and Yale while Warner
broke the ice vs. Providence, Stanford and West Virginia.
ANOTHER TYPE OF SHUTOUT: In the season-opening win over Detroit
(6-1), the Titans nearly scored the game's first goal during an early
flurry but ND responded by holding the Titans without a shot for the final
83 minutes ... the final shot margin (49-2) ranks as one of the largest in
ND history (the team record for shots in a game is 59) ... the Irish gave
up an early shot (not on goal) by Pittsburgh on Sept. 24 before holding
the Panthers without a shot in the final 76 minutes ... one week later,
ND allowed Seton Hall just one shot (off goal) in the final 86 minutes of
that game before holding Rutgers without a shot of any kind ... the RU
game marked the 13th time in ND history-and sixth time in the last six
seasons-that the Irish have held the opponent without a shot.
HOMESTANDERS: Notre Dame's home record in 10-plus seasons at
Alumni Field is 112-7-1 (.938), including an 88-3-1 mark in the last 92
games-highlighted by a 27-game winning streak from 1992-95 (the fifth-
longest home winning streak in NCAA women's soccer history) ... ND's
last three home losses have been at the hands of fifth-ranked
Connecticut in '95 (5-4, OT), sixth-ranked Portland in the '98 NCAA
quarterfinals (2-1) and top-rated North Carolina in the '99 opener (3-2,
OT) ...the Irish currently carry a 20-game home winning streak ... ND's
all-time record at Alumni Field vs. teams not ranked in the NSCAA poll
is 77-1-0 (35-6-1 vs. ranked teams), with 70 straight home wins over
unranked teams dating back to a 1990 loss to Creighton (2-0) ... ND
played at Moose Krause Field in the program's first two seasons ('88
and '89) , with a home record of 19-5-1 during that span (all vs.
unranked teams).
NO. 1 HISTORY: The previous year in which Notre Dame sat atop the
NSCAA poll during the regular season was 1996, when the Irish owned
the top spot for the final two months of the season (a 2-1 win over UNC
on Oct. 4 of that year, followed by a 2-0 win over Duke, bumped the Irish
up from the No. 2 spot) ... ND also spent the final month of the '94
season as the No. 1-ranked team, thanks to an earlier 0-0 tie with UNC
and the Tar Heels' loss to Duke in early October.
RISING TO THE TOP: Notre Dame is the only undefeated teams left in
all of Division I women's soccer (spanning 274 teams) ... ND's
strength of schedule has improved since the start of the 2000 season,
as Portland (10th), Washington (3rd), Boston College and Michigan
(both not currently ranked) each have entered the NSCAA poll in recent
weeks ... other 2000 Irish opponents currently ranked in the NSCAA poll
include No. 20 Stanford, 11th-ranked Santa Clara ad No. 25
Connecticut.
BULLSEYE ON THEIR BACKS: The Irish own a 29-3-0 all-time record
(18-1-0 in the regular season) when playing as the top-ranked team in
the NSCAA poll ... ND's losses as the No. 1 team have come at Santa
Clara in the 1996 regular season (3-1) and in a pair of NCAA title
games vs. UNC (5-0 in '94, 1-0 in '96).
RUGGED STRETCH: The Sept. 17 game at Portland completed a
challenging stretch in which the Irish posted three consecutive wins
over ranked opponents (then-#2 Santa Clara, then-#10 Stanford and
#15 Washington), followed by the win over a Portland team that entered
the NSCAA poll the next week at #14 ... the last time ND played three
straight NSCAA ranked opponents was during the 1995 NCAA
championship run ... early in that `95 season, ND posted successive
wins over #13 Wisconsin, #19 Michigan State and #3 Stanford ... later in
`95, a rugged four-game stretch in the regular season yielded a 5-4
loss to #5 UConn, a 1-0 win over #6 SCU, a 2-2 tie with #11 Duke and a
2-0 loss to top-ranked North Carolina.
BRONCO BUSTERS: Notre Dame's 6-1 win over Santa Clara marked:
SCU's first consecutive losses since Sept. of 1994 (vs. LMU, Stanford
and UNC), the first time SCU was outshot (23-10) in 19 games, and
the most goals by an SCU opponent in 20 seasons-dating back to an 8-
0 loss to UC Davis in '80 (the last team to reach five goals vs. SCU was
UNC, in '91) ... ND also became the first team to post more than 20
shots vs. Santa Clara since Washington did it in '94 (23-18, in a 2-2
game).
SANTA CLARA'S JERRY SMITH ON ANNE MAKINEN: "Anne Makinen is
the best player in college soccer. She is a great international player, let
alone a great college player. The international game is a much tougher
game to be good than the college level. ... I have such a high opinion of
(Anne) that she would have to play just awesome for me to be kind of
surprised. We talked about it in our team meeting. We just don't have
enough players that can kind of corral her."
CORNER KICKERS: Despite being one of ND's most dangerous players
in the penalty box area, senior M Anne Makinen has taken many of ND's
corner kicks this season and is considered the team's top option for
that role due to her strong leg and pinpoint accuracy ... senior F Meotis
Erikson and freshman F Amanda Guertin also have been used recently
on CKs ... Erikson set up an Irish goal versus PC with one of those set
plays, as did Makinen in the Detroit game ... Makinen's late corner in
last week's game at Villanova was bending into the goal before being
kicked into the net by a VU player, for the game's only goal.
NEW FACES IN THE NETS: Three-year starter and Notre Dame career
goals-against average leader (0.63) LaKeysia Beene has moved on to
the coaching ranks as a current Irish graduate assistant, leaving the
goalkeeping position open to three capable players ... junior Liz
Wagner made her first career start in the Detroit game (she has started
all 16 games this season) while sophomore Sani Post has played in
the second half vs. Providence, Santa Clara, Seton Hall and Syracuse
... freshman Lauren Kent (Laguna Nigel, Calif.) showed surprising
development during the Brazil trip and has appeared in the lategoing
vs. Detroit, Rutgers and Georgetown ... due to the strong play in front of
them, Post (132:03 played) and Kent (57:07) have yet to face a shot on
goal.
YALE RECAP :(4-0, Oct. 18) Senior M Anne Makinen showed once
again why she is widely considered the top player in women's college
soccer, as the three-time All-American came off the bench in a rain-
soaked game to spark the top-ranked Irish past a feisty Yale squad,
with the last three goals coming in the final minutes ... Makinen-who
was being held out of her second straight game, in preparation for the
showdown at BIG EAST rival UConn-was sorely missed during the
scoreless first half, with ND holding just a 5-4 shot edge at the
intermission while the Bulldogs had nearly scored twice on shots off
the posts ... less than two minutes after checking into the game,
Makinen made an immediate impact by slicing through the Yale
defense and setting up the 10th goal of the season from senior F
Meotis Erikson, on a turn-and-shoot move near the center of the box
(53:58) ... Makinen's presence helped the Irish dominate the midfield
battle while igniting an offense that generated 14 shots in the second
half and limited Yale's counterattack (the Bulldogs had no shots in the
final 45:00) ... ND put the game away in the closing moments, with
Makinen sending a free kick over a five-player wall into the upper left
corner (83:04) before freshman M Randi Scheller set up a rebound
goal by classmate Amanda Guertin (her 9th, at 86:48) and scored her
own goal to cap the scoring ... Erikson set up the final goal with a cross
from the right side of the box and Scheller quickly redirected a shot from
the left side for her fourth goal of the season (88:51).
SERIES NOTES: Notre Dame leads the series 7-2-1, including a pair of
wins in 1999: 2-1 in double overtime (at ND) and 1-0 in the BIG EAST
title game (at Rutgers) ... ND owns a 29-16 scoring edge over the
course of the previous 12 meetings with UConn, including 15-7 in the
last six games ... UConn has scored more than two goals vs. ND just
twice (5-4 Huskies win in '95, 4-3 ND win in '96) and the Irish have held
UConn to 0-2 goals in each of the last seven meetings ... ND owns a
142-68 shot edge (avg. 24-11) during the last six games of the series ...
the series generally has produced low-scoring games (avg. 3.8
combined goals per game), including three 1-0 games, one 1-1 game,
one 2-0 game and three 2-1 games (the others were 5-4, 4-3, 6-1, 4-2)
... each team has been ranked in the NSCAA poll during all 13 games
of the series, including five games in which each team was ranked
among the top-four (10 in which each team was in the top-five) ... those
rankings dropped off a bit in '99, as ND was ranked sixth prior to both
games (UConn was No. 8 and No. 13, its lowest rankings in the series
prior to this week's game) ... ND is 67-3-1 vs. BIG EAST teams since
joining the conference in 1995, with UConn owning two of those wins
and tie ... the Irish also are 88-3-1 in their last 92 home games, with
UConn handing ND one of those losses (5-4 in OT in '95).
FAR & WIDE: ND's typical starting 11 is representative of the
University's national student body, as that starting unit includes players
>from nine states and Finland (senior M Anne Makinen), with the lone
duplicate state being Texas (junior G Liz Wagner and freshman F
Amanda Guertin) ... the other regular starters hail from Connecticut
(sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky), Indiana (junior D Lindsey Jones),
Michigan (junior M Mia Sarkesian), Nebraska (senior D Kelly Lindsey),
New Jersey (senior D Kerri Bakker), New Mexico (freshman F Amy
Warner), Utah (sophomore M Ashley Dryer) and Washington (senior F
Meotis Erikson) ... the team's top five reserves represent three more
states: Ohio (junior F Kelly Tulisiak), Pennsylvania (freshman M Randi
Scheller) and Georgia (sophomore F Ali Lovelace), plus repeats for
Washington (sophomore D Nancy Mikacenic) and Texas (senior D/F
Monica Gonzalez) ... ND's entire 27-player roster for 2000 includes
players from 19 states and countries (the above 13, plus California,
Canada, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and New York) ... ND's all-time
women's soccer roster includes players from 29 states and two
countries, the above 19 plus: Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Virginia, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.
A-M FREQUENCY DIALED IN FOR SCORING: ND's 27-player roster
includes five players whose first names begin with A and five who
begin with M (plus five that start with K and four with L) ... five of the 10
players whose names start with A or M have combined to score ND's
first goal in every game, including five by senior M Anne Makinen, four
by senior F Meotis Erikson, three by freshman F Amy Warner, two by
junior M Mia Sarkesian and one by freshman F Amanda Guertin
(Makinen also had the corner kick that led to an own goal in the 1-0
game at Villanova) ... all told, seven players from the ãA-M frequencyä
(also sophomore F Ali Lovelace and sophomore M Ashley Dryer) have
combined to score 80 percent of the team's goals (43 of 54), with that
54-goal total not including a pair of own goals that the A-M players
helped set up (Makinen's pass sprung Warner for a cross that was
deflected in for a 2-1 overtime win over Stanford) ... the names of ND's
top four forwards and entire starting midfield (all listed above) each
start with an A or M.
FIRST-YEAR CONTRIBUTORS: Notre Dame F Amanda Guertin and M
Randi Scheller have provided boosts to the ND offense in recent weeks
while helping fill the void left by the injury to their classmate Amy Warner
... Guertin has points in five of the last six games (5G-1A) while Scheller
has 2G-2A in that six-game span (equaling her total from the first 10
games).
BACK-TO-BACK GOALS: Despite a dropoff in its overall scoring and
shooting efficiency, the 2000 Notre Dame offense has shown the ability
to score back-to-back goals in short periods of time during many of its
games this season ... in fact, the Irish have scored twice in a span of
5:21 or shorter 12 times this season, highlighted by five times when
ND scored twice in 2:36 or less and three games in which the Irish
erupted for a pair of two scores in a span of less than two minutes ...
eight different players have combined to score the second goals in
those flurries, including two each by sophomore F Ali Lovelace, senior
F Meotis Erikson and freshman Fs Amy Warner and Amanda Guertin
(plus one each by freshman M Randi Scheller, junior F Kelly Tulisiak,
sophomore M Ashley Dryer and senior M Caroline Marino) ... ND has
scored a pair of bunched twice in the same game vs. Santa Clara,
Seton Hall and Georgetown ... in addition to the bunched pairs listed
below, the Irish also have posted two noteworthy three-goal flurries in
the 2000 season, scoring five times in a span of 5:01 to stunningly take
a 3-0 lead on Washington while putting the Yale game away with three
goals in a late 6:54 stretch (each of those flurries are included below):
| 1:01 | Erikson-Lovelace | | 26:10-27:11 | 2-0 | Washington (@Portland) |
| 1:53 | Anne Makinen-Warner | | 9:24-10:17 | 2-0 | Seton Hall | |
| 1:56 | Guertin-Erikson | | 9:49-11:45 | 2-0 | at Georgetown |
| 2:09 | Guertin-Scheller | | 86:48-88:57 | 4-0 | at Yale |
| 2:36 | Tulisiak-Tulisiak | | 86:30-89:06 | 6-1 | Santa Clara |
| 3:09 | Warner-Dryer | | 75:16-78:25 | 6-1 | Providence |
| 3:43 | Makinen-Guertin | | 52:56-56:39 | 2-0 | Rutgers |
| 4:00 | Lovelace-Lovelace | | 27:11-31:11 | 3-0 | Washington (@Portland) |
| 4:36 | Erikson-Warner | | 17:21-21:57 | *2-1 | Santa Clara |
| 4:45 | Makinen-Guertin | | 82:03-86:48 | 3-0 | Yale |
| 5:03 | Erikson-Erikson | | 64:01-69:04 | 5-0 | Georgetown |
| 5:21 | Tulisiak-Marino | | 63:36-68:57 | 6-0 | Seton Hall |
* Note: Erikson and Warner's goals were sandwiched around a score by SCU's
Kathleen Celio (20:26)
ARE WE THERE YET?: There have been times during recent weeks in
which the Irish women's soccer team has felt like it was several weeks
farther along in the season, due in large part to the preseason trip to
Brazil that included seven games versus Brazilian club teams ...
including the games in Brazil, ND has played 23 games in 2000 (the
equivalent of playing the regular season, three BIG EAST Tournament
games and twice in the NCAAs).
