Oct. 24, 2000
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 included 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
will have been on the road for 10 of 11 days (all but Monday, Oct. 16).
Notre Dame Women's Soccer Schedule (listings indicate local starting times
Tues., Oct. 24 at Michigan (3:00 p.m.)
Sun., Oct.. 29 Miami, Fla. (1:00 p.m., BIG EAST quarterfinal)
UNDEFEATED SEASON ON THE LINE:
A win Tuesday at Michigan would yield just
the third undefeated regular season in the 13-year history of ND women's
soccer (the '94 team went 17-0-1 while the '97 team went 18-0-1 in the
regular season).
THE MICHIGAN SERIES:
Notre Dame has won all five previous games vs.
Michigan: 4-3 in '89 (@ND), 5-0 in '97 (@ND), 1-0 in '98 (double OT, @UM),
3-0 in '98 (@ND, NCAA 2nd rd) and 4-1 in '99 (@ND) ... the Irish hold a
17-4 series scoring edge and have three-plus goals in four of the five
games ... in last year's game (Oct. 5, 1999), ND was ranked 6th and UM
16th, with the Irish goals coming from Jenny Heft, Anne Makinen (2) and
Meotis Erikson (Lindsey Jones, Monica Gonzales and Nancy Mikacenic each had
assists) ... UM's Marie Spaccarotella tied the game in the 35th minute ...
ND held a 16-11 shot edge and 8-5 corner kick edge ... Jones also had an
assists in the 1998 NCAA win over Michigan while Makinen scored on a PK and
Erikson had an assist in the '97 meeting ... ND has won its last 39 games
vs. Big 10 Conference teams, including '99 games vs. UM (4-1), Wisconsin
(9-2) and Indiana (4-1).
SLOW STARTS:
The Irish will look to rediscover their first-half scoring
form, as ND has totaled just two first-half goals in the last five games
(vs. BC and at Syracuse), compared to 20 first-half goals in the first 12
games ... the Irish have totaled eight second-half goals during the last
five games ... over the course of the entire season, ND has scored 10 more
goals in the second half (32) than in the first 45 minutes (22).
IRISH POST BEST START:
Notre Dame's 16-0-0 start 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 and one tie vs.
teams that were ranked in the NSCAA poll at game time: No. 2 Santa Clara
(6-1), No. 10 Stanford (2-1, OT), No. 15 Washington (5-0) and No. 25 UConn
(0-0).
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 or SHU)-with the winner of that game facing the ND-Miami
winner in the semifinals (Nov. 3, at ND) ... RU has clinched 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 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
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
54-2-2 (.948) all-time record in BIG EAST regular-season play (including
cross-divisional games and last week's tie at UConn, which was not part of
the official BIG EAST schedule) ... prior to the tie at UConn, ND had won
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, a 3-2 loss two days later at Seton Hall and last week's 0-0 tie at
UConn ... since joining the BIG EAST in '95, the Irish own a 67-3-2 record
(.932) 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).
UCONN RECAP
(0-0, Oct. 21) - The ever-growing ND-UConn rivalry added
another chapter at Marrone Stadium, as the top-ranked Irish and
25th-ranked Huskies played to a scoreless tie in front of 2,494 spirited
fans ... road-weary Notre Dame-which had spent seven of the eight days away
from home-failed to tie the Irish record for consecutive wins in a season
while seeing its string of consecutive wins over BIG EAST teams end at 25
... UConn held a 16-7 shot edge but repeatedly was thwarted by Liz Wagner,
who again turned in a strong performance vs. a ranked opponent by making
eight saves while smothering several other potential scoring chances ...
several Irish players joined Wagner with solid all-around performances, led
by five field players who logged the entire 120 minutes: Mia Sarkesian,
Ashley Dryer, Nancy Mikacenic , Vanessa Pruzinsky and Monica Gonzalez-who
played all over the field while ranking as one of the games most impactful
players ... ND continued to play without two of its top players-both out
due to injury-as Amy Warner missed her seventh straight game while Kelly
Lindsey missed her fourth ... the Irish again elected to rest leading
scorer Anne Makinen at the start of the game, with Gonzalez-who also
played at defense and forward on Friday-filling Makinens central
midfielder role before the three-time All-American entered late in the
first half (she played the rest of the way) ... UConn's Jen Carlson nearly
scored in the closing moments of regulation, on a 20-yard shot that
clanged off the near right post in the 87th minute ... Carlson later
launched a 30-yarder from the left flank that Wagner boxed away from the
upper right corner with 0:02 left in the first )T ... ND managed just
three shots on goal, including strong chances from close range in each OT
session by Meotis Erikson and Monica Gonzales.
ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM ON THE UCONN GAME:
"I'm sure that this was a
fun game to watch and both teams certainly had their chances. I think you
saw tonight why Liz Wagner has to be considered for BIG EAST goalkeeper of
the year. In a lot of our games this season, she hardly has touched the
ball and it's hard to appreciate her skill and leadership in that type of
game. But every time she has been tested in a big game she has answered
the bell for us. The way she has played for us-along with the play of an
inexperienced defense that has battled through some injuries-have been
invaluable to us this season. ... This was the first game where we could
not find the right combinations or formation, but much of that was due to
UConn's play. They were very strong tonight and their won-loss record is
deceiving. This was a pretty wide-open game tonight and was enjoyable to
watch for the fans."
WALDRUM ON THE RECENT STRETCH:
"This has been a tough stretch for us-with
the travel and the injuries to key players-but we've had a number of
players step in and do a great job. UConn has some injury problems as well
and it's certainly possible that we could see them again in a couple
weeks, although there are teams in that BIG EAST Tournament that are
capable of knocking off either one of us."
WALDRUM ON THE REST OF THE SEASON:
"This game could prove to be a good
lesson for us and we are looking forward to having some more spacing
between games that comes with the postseason. Right now, the team needs
some time-physically and mentally-to get refocused and rested. But it's
been a tremendous season. To have predicted that we would be 16-0-1
heading into the final regular-season game-with two starters missing a
stretch of games-would have been a pretty bold statement heading into this
season, but this team has shown great leadership and chemistry while
playing with a lot of resiliency. It's a special group and we are looking
forward to the next few weeks."
UCON POSTGAME NOTES:
The Irish still hold a commanding 9-2-2 edge in the
UConn series but only one of the games has been decided by more than two
goals (NDs 6-1 win in the 1997 BIG EAST title game), with Friday ranking
as the lowest-scoring game of a low-scoring series that also has included
three 1-0 games, a 1-1 tie, one 2-0 game and three 2-1 games ... UConn
became the first team this season to best ND in shots and shots on goals
and is the second to attempt more corner kicks than the Irish (5-3, with
Portland owning a 7-3 edge) ... ND's seven shots, three shots on goal and
three CKs were well below the Irish season averages (25, 15, 7) ... ND had
allowed just 22 shots over the previous eight games before UConn's 16-shot
outburst ... UConn's 16 shots are easily the most allowed by ND this
season (Portland had 11, with the season average in the first 16 games
being 4 opponent shots per game) ... UConn's eight shots on goal also are
an ND opponent season high (SCU had 7, the avg. was 2) ... UConn (5)
joined Portland (7) and Yale (4) as the third ND opponent with more than 3
CKs ... the game marked just the third scoreless tie in ND history and the
first in six seasons (also at Dayton in 1991 and vs. North Carolina in a
94 game played in St. Louis).
SCORING AND STOPPING:
Notre Dame entered last week as the nation's only
team ranked in the top seven for scoring offense and team goals-against
average ... ND's 3.50 goals per game (now 3.29) ranked 6th while the Irish
were tied with Hartford for 2nd in the nation with a 0.308 team
goals-against average (now a nation-leading 0.28) ... ND is 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. 2 Washington and No. 3 Nebraska (unranked Furman and Jacksonville
also have just one loss).
STAT LEADERS:
Senior M Anne Makinen entered last week ranked 12th in the
nation for assists/gm (0.79, now 0.75) ... ND junior Liz Wagner now ranks
2nd in the nation for GAA (0.323), behind Brown's Mary Jo Markle (0.150)
... Wagner (1,391) has played 95% of ND's minutes and has logged more than
twice as many minutes as Markle, whose stats are skewed by the fact that
she splits time in the goal for Brown ... three ND players are ranked among
the BIG EAST's top-12 overall scorers: Makinen (2nd, 11G-12A-34P), senior F
Meotis Erikson (5th, 10G-6A-26P) and freshman F Amanda Guertin (10th,
9G-2A-20P) ... ND leads the BIG EAST in goals (56), GAA (0.28) and shutouts
(12).
17-GAME CHECKUP:
With 17 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 0.28 team GAA is below the record of 0.36 (also set in '97)
... ND's other projected 26-game totals include 640 shots (record 766 in
1997) and 132 shots allowed (record 101 in '97) ... the Irish have posted
12 shutouts and could make a run at the record (18, in '95) ... ND set the
team record for best start (the '96 team opened 13-0-0) and-prior to the
tie at UConn-was one win shy of tying the record for longest single-season
winning streak in Irish history (the `97 team won 17 straight midseason
games) ... ND also 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 106 over 26 games) or Meotis Erikson (on pace
for 107) ... 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 before failing to score on seven shots at
UCpnn (an average of one goal every 5.4 shots over the course of those
three games) ... the current overall average of 7.5 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 24.6 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 (70) have taken the bulk of ND's
shots this season (they have combined to average 8.1 shots per game) ...
the top shooting percentages among ND regulars include junior F Kelly
Tulisiak (4G on 13 shots, 3.3 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 (0.28) 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 on a counterattack by BC) in the last 1,158 minutes
of action, stretching back to Stanford's goal in the 80th minute on Sept.
10 ... the Irish have posted eight shutouts in the last nine games 912
total, three straight), allowing just 38 shots (17on goal) and 15 corner
kicks during that nine-game stretch ... ND is one more shutout shy of tying
the team record for fewest goals allowed in the regular season (5, also in
'97) ... 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), Yale (4-0) and 25th-ranked UConn (0-0).
SILVER STREAKS:
Prior to the tie at UConn, Notre Dame nearly tied 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 last week (Oct. 17, 1999), in a 4-2
game at then-No. 1 Santa Clara ... since that time, the Irish set a team
record by winning 20 straight regular-season games and now are 20-0-1 in
the last 21 regular-season games (the `94-'95 teams combined to win 17
straight regular-season games) ... ND is 26-1-2 in its last 29 games
overall ... a win over UConn also would equaled 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:
Last week's six-day roadtrip during fall break included
a dinner hosted by sophomore 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).
RACKING UP THE HONORS:
During the past eight weeks, Notre Dame has amassed
15 of 28 weekly BIG EAST awards for offensive player, defensive player and
rookie (UConn is next with four) ... due to the strong play in front of
her, Irish junior Liz Wagner has been nominated just three times for BIG
EAST goalkeeper of the week-when she totaled seven saves in the wins over
Santa Clara and Stanford, when she totaled six saves in wins over
Washington and Portland and after her eight-save effort in last week's 0-0
game at UConn (Wagner has faced just 19 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 a three-week stretch, 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 35 saves and five goals allowed (one on a PK).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Information on Michigan is located at www.mgoblue.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 six games (5G-2A) and five of last eight(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 seven games) ... senior central D and second-year
team captain Kelly Lindsey was injured late in the first half at Villanova
on Oct. 8 and has missed the last four 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 four games at Lindsey's spot.
PLAYING WITH THE LEAD:
ND has trailed just once this season while holding
the lead for 55% 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 1.8%
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 at Syracuse (Mia Sarkesian)
7:20 at Portland (Meotis Erikson)
8:38 Providence (Amy Warner)
9:24 Seton Hall (Anne Makinen)
9:49 at Georgetown (Amanda Guertin)
11:36 Detroit (Makinen)
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER:
The Irish have scored first-half goals in 12 of 17
games this season while going past the 55-minute mark without any ND
scoring in just three 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 converted a free
kick in the 83rd minute to spark a late flurry in the 4-0 win) ... Mia
Sarkesian's first goal of the season-in the 37th minute vs. BC-helped erase
ND's only deficit of 2000 (Erikson assisted on that looping shot from 20
yards out).
ND's Latest First Goals in 2000 (did not score at UConn)
79:11 at Villanova (own goal set up by Anne Makinen corner kick)
68:17 Tulsa (Makinen)
53:58 at Yale (Makinen)
52:56 Rutgers (Makinen)
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 17 games (compared to 17 GA in the first 17
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 (419-86),
shots on goal (243-43) and corner kicks (109-36) ... 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 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 ... and Wagner had no
previous career starts) ... Mikacenic-who has 21 GS as a M last season-has
started the last four games in place of the injured Lindsey.
ROAD WARRIORS:
Since dropping a 4-2 game at Santa Clara on Oct. 17, 1999,
ND has posted a 12-1-2 record in its last 15 games away from Alumni Field
... the Irish have put up solid numbers on the road in the 2000 season (8
games), including a 24-1 scoring edge (the other 4 GA have come at home), a
139-56 shot edge (18-7 avg.) and a 82-24 edge in shots on goal (10-3 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 93 of ND's games during the past
four seasons (starting 80 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 (101, `95-'98), D Kate Fisher (98, `93-'96) and G Jen Renola
(98, `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 Michigan game 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 93
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 (17) and
sophomore D Vanessa Pruzinsky (26) ... 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 more than 26 career starts.
BIG-GAME PERFORMER:
Despite facing just 40 shots on goal all season, junior
Liz Wagner has made several big plays vs. ranked opponents ... in five
games vs. teams ranked in last week's NSCAA top 25, Wagner has totaled 21
saves while allowing just two goals (she has 14 saves and 3 GA in ND's
other 12 games) ... in the 6-1 win over then-No. 2 Santa Clara, Wagner made
five 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 seven 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) ... she arguably
was the best player on the field in last week's 0-0 tie at UConn, making
eight saves while smothering several other Huskies chances at a charged-up
Marrone Stadium ... 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 heads into the Michigan game with a career average of 2.19
points/gm (177 points in 81 games) ... her 53 career assists are tied with
Jen Grubb (`00) for 6th on the ND career list ... Makinen's 177 career
points push her into 5th on the ND all-time list, moving past Holly
Manthei's career total from '94-'97 (176) to trail only Jenny Streiffer
(211, '96-'99), Monica Gerardo (190, `95-'98), Cindy Daws (189, '93-'96)
and Jenny Heft (189, '96-'99) ... 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 11 of 17 games this season (15
starts)-has been the focal point of the Irish offense this season, as the
three-year All-American has scored or assisted on more than 40% of ND's
goals (23 of 56), including five game-winning goals and four 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. 2 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 is
ranked 5th in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of American
(NSCAA) poll (after losing last week 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:
Despite being outshot at UConn (16-7), Notre Dame has posted
dominating statistical edges during the 2000 season, including: 56-5 in
scoring, 419-86 in shots ( avg. 25-5), 243-43 in shots on goal (avg. 14-3)
and 109-36 incorner kicks (avg. 6-2) ...the Irish have held seven teams to
0-2 shots and have allowed more than eight shots just three times (10 by
Santa Clara, 11 by Portland, 16 by UConn) ... ND has allowed 0-2 shots on
goal in 11 games (none in three) while SCU (7) and UConn (8) are the only
teams to uncork more thanfour shots on goal vs. the Irish this season ...
14 of the 17 ND opponents have been limited to 0-3 corner kicks (Portland
had 7, Yale 4 and UConn 5).
WALDRUM WORKING WONDERS:
Second-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum
has seen his Irish teams post an impressive 37-4-2 combined record (.884),
including a solid 9-3-2 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 220-109-21 (.661) ... he owns a 144-54-14 (.712) 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 (2nd), 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. 18 Stanford,
22nd-ranked Santa Clara and Connecticut (26th-most votes).
BULLSEYE ON THEIR BACKS:
The Irish own a 29-3-1 all-time record (18-1-1 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), with the tie coming last week at UConn (0-0).
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 ... Guertin's CK at Syracuse led to a
header-volley combination by Ashley Dryer and Mia Sarkesian in the first
two minutes of that 3-0 win.
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 17
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.
ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM ON THE YALE GAME:
"Tonight was a classic
example of why Anne Makinen is the best player in college soccer. She takes
the game to another level for our team and presents a whole different set
of challenges for teams trying to defend us. It was amazing how the game
changed so quickly after she checked in."
YALE HEAD COACH RUDY MEREDITH ON ANNE MAKINEN:
"I'd always known Anne was a
great player from watching her on TV but this was the first time I'd seen
her in person and she completely changed the game from the moment she
stepped on the field. She was creating great offensive chances but also
made her teammates better. That's the sign of great player and she's the
best I've seen this year."
DYNAMIC DUO:
Notre Dame senior M Anne Makinen and senior F Meotis Erikson
have joined 2000 graduates Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A, 211 pts) and Jenny
Heft (80G-29A, 189 pts) as the second pair of ND classmates to each reach
150 career points ... Makinen ranks 5th in ND history with 177 points
(62G-53A) while Erikson ranks 8th with 151 (56G-39A).
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC:
Junior midfielder Mia Sarkesian has totaled just
five goals in her ND career but many of them have come in clutch situations
... most recently, she scored on a looping 20-yard shot late in the first
half to tie the BC game and halt ND's only deficit of the season (that was
her first goal of the season, to go along with one assist) ... two days
later, Sarkesian's volley of a corner kick-header combination gave ND a 1-0
lead in the first two minutes at Syracuse and she worked a give-and-go to
set up Randi Scheller's clinching goal late in the game (3-0) ... all three
of Sarkesian's 1999 goals came in big games: versus top-ranked North
Carolina in the '99 opener (UNC won 3-2 in OT), vs. Seton Hall in the BIG
EAST semifinals (a 5-0 win) and vs. Stanford in a 1-0 NCAA third-round
game.
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
"A-M frequency" (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 sevengames (5G-1A) while Scheller has 2G-2A in
that seven-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 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 25 games in 2000 (the equivalent of playing the
regular season, three BIG EAST Tournament games and four games in the
NCAAs).
