Oct. 25, 2008

Full Notes Package in PDF Format

DATE: Oct. 26, 2008
TIME: 1:00 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. - Alumni Field (2,500)
SERIES: ND leads 13-1-0
1ST MTG: ND 5-0 (9/24/95)
LAST MTG: ND 3-1 (10/26/07)
WEBCAST: UND.com (live) (Michael Scholl, p-b-p / Amara Parseghian, color)
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Storylines

Senior Day Activities, Seton Hall Await For Notre Dame On Sunday
Even with the BIG EAST National Division title and the program's best-ever start already set in stone, there's still much to play for as No. 1 Notre Dame closes out the 2008 regular season on Sunday with a 1 p.m. (ET) matinee against Seton Hall at Alumni Field.

The Irish (17-0, 10-0) extended their regular-season winning streak to 27 games and their BIG EAST unbeaten string to 48 games with a 3-1 victory over No. 24/18 Rutgers on Friday night at Alumni Field. Notre Dame battled through wet conditions and a tough Scarlet Knights' defense to chalk up its ninth three-goal game in the past 10 contests and set a new school record for the best debut in the program's 21 seasons.

Senior All-America forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks scored a goal for a school-record 11th consecutive game and stretched her point-scoring string to 13 games with a goal and an assist. Freshman forward Melissa Henderson added her 13th goal of the year, and senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Brittany Bock chipped in with her sixth goal (and fifth in seven games).

Rankings

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

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

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

A three-time All-American and the '06 Hermann Trophy recipient, Hanks (18G-6A) continues to blaze new trails through the NCAA and Irish record books, tying for the national lead in goals this year after setting the NCAA pace in assists the past two seasons, and aiming to become the third Division I player to log 70 goals and 70 assists in her career (82G-64A entering Sunday's game). She has earned national honors from Soccer America (Team of the Week) and Top Drawer Soccer (Player/Team of the Week) three times each, as well as garnering three BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors (all in the past four weeks) and her second consecutive Offensive MVP award at the Inn at Saint Mary's Classic with a school record-tying sixth career hat trick vs. Loyola Marymount.

Bock (6G-7A), one of the Irish co-captains in 2008, emerged as a genuine offensive threat last season, leading the team in goals and finishing second with 36 points (16G-4A). The reigining BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Bock earned the league's Offensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 8, as well as a spot on the Soccer America National Team of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory at No. 3/2 North Carolina on Sept. 5. Most recently, she was tapped for the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on Oct. 21 after registering a goal and four assists in shutout wins at Providence and Connecticut.

Another key player for the Irish this season is senior center back and co-captain Carrie Dew (0G-1A), the 2006 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year who made a successful recovery from an ACL injury late in the '06 regular season with a solid '07 campaign. She is the two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week honoree, and a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection after leading Notre Dame to 10 shutouts and a 0.47 GAA, including four consecutive clean sheets to open this season (the first time the Irish have done that since '95).

A Quick Look At Seton Hall
Sunday will be the season finale for Seton Hall, as the Pirates close out a tough campaign that started well, but has ended on a sour note. SHU (5-10-2, 1-8-1 BIG EAST) won four of its first six games, but enters Sunday's game having won just one of its last 11 contests (two ties, eight losses).

The Pirates' latest setback came Friday afternoon at DePaul, where the Blue Demons took a 1-0 overtime win on an own-goal with two minutes left in the first extra period.

Junior midfielder Katie Andreski leads SHU in goals (6) and points (13), while sophomore midfielder Nicki Gross is second in both categories (four goals, 10 points). Freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Bond has started all but two games this year, posting a 5-7-1 record with a 1.33 GAA and two solo shutouts.

Head coach Kazbek Tambi is in his second season at Seton Hall with a 13-18-4 (.429) record. He is 0-1 all-time against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Seton Hall Series
Notre Dame has a 13-1 series record against Seton Hall, including a 6-0 mark against the Pirates at Alumni Field. The teams had not met prior to the Irish joining the BIG EAST in 1995, but have played annually since then, including a second meeting in the 1999 BIG EAST Championship semifinals.

An individual game listing for this series can be found on page 101 of the 2008 Irish women's soccer media guide.

The Last Time ND And Seton Hall Met
Notre Dame put the depth of its offensive firepower on display, with three members of its supporting cast finding the back of the net in a 3-1 win at Seton Hall on Oct. 26, 2007.

Elise Weber opened the scoring in the 37th minute, connecting directly off a free kick from 25 yards out that skipped off the wet artificial turf at SHU's Carroll Field and carried into the far right sidenetting.

Susan Pinnick added to the Irish lead less than four minutes into the second half, crashing at the right post to knock home a cross from Kerri Hanks.

Katie Andreski got the hosts on the board in the 70th minute, but Lauren Fowlkes rebuilt the two-goal advantage at 82:26, settling a flick header from Brittany Bock (off a Hanks' free kick) and scoring inside the left post.

Other ND-Seton Hall Series Tidbits

Senior Moments
Prior to Sunday's game with Seton Hall, Notre Dame will honor its seven seniors (six players plus manager Troy Sustich) in a pregame ceremony.

The Irish senior class ranks among the most successful in the country, with a four-year record to date of 83-9-3 (.889) that includes three NCAA quarterfinal berths, two trips to the NCAA College Cup and a run to the 2006 national title game.

Notre Dame's Class of 2009 also has a 49-1-2 record against BIG EAST opponents and has been ranked either first or second in the nation in each of their four years (including No. 1 rankings in 2005, 2006 and 2008).

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

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

Notre Dame remains the only team in the country to own the No. 1 ranking in the NSCAA poll in four of five years from 2004-08. All-time, the Irish are 85-6-3 (.920) as the nation's top-ranked squad.

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

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

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

Notre Dame has six wins over ranked opponents (No. 21/12 Santa Clara, at No. 3/2 North Carolina, vs. No. 12/11 Duke, at No. 17/16 Penn State, at No. 17/16 Georgetown and vs. No. 24/18 Rutgers), with the first three in that series coming in succession and the middle four all coming away from home.

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

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

Beasts Of The BIG EAST
Following Friday's win over No. 24/18 Rutgers, Notre Dame now owns a school-record 48-game unbeaten streak (46-0-2) against BIG EAST opposition since a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Marquette on Sept. 30, 2005. In that time, the only ties were a 0-0 draw at Connecticut (Oct. 13, 2006) and a 1-1 deadlock at No. 12 West Virginia in last year's BIG EAST final on Nov. 11 (WVU won 5-3 on PKs, but the game is recorded as a tie).

Since joining the BIG EAST, the Irish are 122-8-4 (.925) all-time in regular-season conference games, 29-2-1 (.922) in the BIG EAST Tournament, and hold a 668-81 scoring edge dating back to that first league season in '95.

What's more Notre Dame maintains a 13-year, 83-game home unbeaten streak (82-0-1) versus BIG EAST teams, with Connecticut the lone conference team ever to defeat the Irish at Alumni Field (5-4 in OT on Oct. 6, 1995).

Numbers Don't Lie
To get a clearer picture of just how dominating Notre Dame has been through 17 games this season, one need look no further than some of numbers the Irish have put up.

Notre Dame is outscoring its opponents by a staggering 58-8 margin with 10 shutouts this year. The Irish also rank fourth in the nation in scoring offense (currently 3.41 goals/game), as well as eighth in goals-against average (0.47) and ninth in shutout percentage (0.588).

The Irish also allowed just 44 opponent shots on goal all year (14 fewer shots on goal than Notre Dame's goals). By comparison, senior All-America forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks has 46 shots on goal all by herself.

Together, the Irish have registered 192 shots on goal, while their opponents have managed 124 total shots this year. And, Notre Dame has a sizeable 109-37 edge in corner kicks to boot.

Lead, Follow Or Just Get Out Of The Way
With the potency of the Notre Dame offensive attack, most opponents opt for the third option. In fact, the Irish have trailed for a grand total of 1:59 this season (59:06-61:05 vs. Marquette on Oct. 5) and have led for 1,085:09 of 1,536:58 minutes this season (70.6% of the elapsed game time). In addition, Notre Dame has been tied in the second half or OT six times (0-0 at No. 3/2 North Carolina, 0-0 and 1-1 against No. 12/11 Duke, 0-0 at DePaul, 1-1 vs. Marquette, 2-2 at Villanova) for a combined total of 51:41, taking no more than 22:17 (at DePaul) to break any of the ties and move in front.

The One And Only
At 17-0-0, Notre Dame remains the lone unbeaten and untied team left in Division I women's soccer and one of only two across all three NCAA divisions (through Oct. 25). At Division II, Grand Valley State (17-0-0) is the only other NCAA school still perfect thus far.

Dude, We're Going Streaking
With its 3-0 win at home over South Florida on Oct. 3, Notre Dame set a new school record for consecutive regular-season victories, with the active winning streak now at 27 games. The last time the Irish dropped a regular-season contest was more than a year ago (Sept. 23, 2007) when they gave up two second-half goals in a 2-1 loss to 14th-ranked Penn State at Alumni Field.

Notre Dame's current 27-game regular-season unbeaten streak also is tied for the fourth-longest in school history. In fact, it should be noted that, except for a 16-day stretch last September when the Irish lost four times in six games (twice in OT), Notre Dame has not dropped a regular-season game dating back the middle of the 2005 season.

What's more, since beginning last season with that tough 3-4-1 start, the Irish are 33-1-1 in their last 35 games overall, with the only loss coming to No. 14 Florida State (3-2) in last year's NCAA College Cup semifinals, and the lone tie occurring at No. 12 West Virginia (1-1) in the '07 BIG EAST tournament final (WVU won the title on penalty kicks, 5-3).

We're Kind Of Used To This, Too
Notre Dame's current 17-game winning streak matches the second-longest run in school history (longest in the Randy Waldrum era) and longest since a 17-game streak from Sept. 21-Nov. 29, 1997.

The current streak also marks the sixth consecutive season in which the Irish have reeled off at least 12 victories in a row. Prior to this year's success string, the longest run in that span (dating back to 2003) had been a 15-game winning streak to kick off the 2004 national championship season.

Golden Domers Golden In OT
Overtime has usually been the right time for Notre Dame, as the Irish are 16-3-8 (.741) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since '99) when going to an extra period or two. Notre Dame went to OT for the first time this season on Oct. 12, taking a 3-2 win at Villanova on a "golden goal" by sophomore midfielder Rose Augustin at 96:58.

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

In 11 of their 17 games, the Irish have scored a goal in the first 20 minutes of play (including four in the opening 10 minutes), with senior forward Kerri Hanks owning the fastest strike of the season (penalty kick at 2:39 vs. Loyola Marymount on Aug. 29). That marked the 11th-fastest goal of the Randy Waldrum era, and the quickest since Nov. 5, 2006, when Hanks struck 57 seconds into the BIG EAST final against Rutgers (a game the Irish ultimately won, 4-2).

Strong Out Of The Blocks
Notre Dame is off to the best start in program history, with this year's 17-0-0 debut eclipsing the 16-0-0 start by the 2000 Irish squad, the second for head coach Randy Waldrum at Notre Dame.

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

For the season, 15 different Irish players, representing all four classes, have scored at least one goal. In addition, Notre Dame already has tied the school record with 20 different point scorers this season. Junior defender Haley Ford was the latest to join both clubs with her first collegiate goal and an assist at Cincinnati on Sept. 28.

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

No Soup For You
For the second time in program history, the first time since 1995 and the first time in the Randy Waldrum era, Notre Dame opened its season with four consecutive shutouts, blanking Michigan (7-0), Loyola Marymount (4-0), No. 21/12 Santa Clara (2-0) and No. 3/2 North Carolina (1-0). The Irish actually put together a string of 419:44 scoreless minutes to begin this season (437:44 dating back to the end of last year), before the run was snapped on Sept. 7 when No. 12/11 Duke scored at 59:19 off a corner kick that deflected in off an Irish defender.

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

No Shots For You, Either
Notre Dame held South Florida without a single shot in a 3-0 win on Oct. 3. It marked the first time since Oct. 1, 2000 (vs. Rutgers) that the Irish defense didn't yield a shot.

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

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

On Friday against No. 24/18 Rutgers, Hanks scored for the 11th consecutive game and added an assist, passing former U.S. National Team player and coach (and North Carolina standout) April Heinrichs (1983-86) for eighth place on the Division I career points list (now with 228 points (82G-64A)). Hanks also pulled even with former Penn State and U.S. National Team player Christie Welsh for 14th on the Division I career goals chart.

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

One After The Other After The Other
Senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks is in the midst of one of the most productive runs of her brilliant career and arguably one of best in NCAA Division I annals.

The Allen, Texas, native has scored goals in 11 consecutive games (13 total in that span), breaking Amanda Guertin's old school record set from Oct. 12-Nov. 18, 2001 (the final 10 games of Guertin's sophomore season). Hanks' current 11-game goalscoring streak also ties for the fifth-longest in NCAA Division I history, a spot she shares with former Hartford player Maria Kun (1997) and one goal longer than the 10-game streaks by notables such as current U.S. National Team standouts Abby Wambach (2001 at Florida) and Christie (Pearce) Rampone (1996 at Monmouth).

Not to be overlooked, Hanks is on a 13-game point-scoring streak, tying her career long that she set in each of the past two seasons. It's also one shy of the school record set by Hanks' former teammate and current Canadian National Team member Katie Thorlakson from Oct. 14-Nov. 25, 2005 (the final 14 games of Thorlakson's career).

Hanks Sets The Table, Too
Set plays and dead-ball situations now have accounted for 71 (25G-21A) of Kerri Hanks' 228 career points (82G-64A), representing 31.1% of her points with the Irish. Her 25 goals have come on penalty kicks (14-for-15, including 7-for-8 this year), free kicks (10), or directly on a corner kick (1), while her 21 assists have been via corner-kick (13) or free-kick (8) services.

Bock Stays A-Head Of The Game
Nearly half (22) of the 46 career goals scored by senior forward/midfielder Brittany Bock have come on headers. That includes nine of her last 14 scores, most recently the opening goal in the Oct. 12 win at Villanova. Bock also has four rare header assists in her career.

Melissa Can't Miss
Freshman forward Melissa Henderson is making the most of her time on the field, ranking second in the BIG EAST and 22nd in the nation (as of Oct. 20) in goals (13) despite averaging less than 45 minutes per game. In fact, were she to be averaging a full 90 minutes and scoring at her current pace, Henderson would have 26 goals this season, eight more than the national leaders (which include Henderson's Notre Dame All-America teammate Kerri Hanks) entering Sunday's action.

Iantorno Is One Super Sub
Despite starting just once this season, sophomore forward Erica Iantorno is second on the Irish with six assists and fourth on the team with 14 points (4G-6A). All this for a player who came to Notre Dame last year as a walk-on (after reversing her original decision to attend Missouri) and had four points during her entire freshman season (on four assists).

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

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

Our Fearless Leader
Tenth-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum reached a career milestone on Sept. 21 at No. 17/16 Penn State. With the 3-1 Irish victory, Waldrum became the eighth active Division I head coach to record 300 career wins -- he now has a record of 309-79-20 (.782) in 19 seasons (including six at Tulsa and three at Baylor).

Two Milestones For the Price Of One
Notre Dame reached a pair of milestones with its 5-0 win at Providence on Oct. 17. Not only was it the 400th victory in the program's 21-year history (now 402-67-19), but it also was the 200th win for head coach Randy Waldrum (202-29-8) since he arrived in South Bend in 1999.

Game #17 Recap: Rutgers
Senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Kerri Hanks turned in her third consecutive multi-point game and fifth in the past six games, registering a goal and an assist as top-ranked Notre Dame stretched its season-opening win streak to 17 games with a 3-1 victory over No. 24/18 Rutgers on a rainy and cold Friday night at Alumni Field. The 17-0-0 start is the best in the program's 21 seasons of existence, topping the 16-0-0 debut by the 2000 Irish squad, head coach Randy Waldrum's second at Notre Dame.

The Irish notched their sixth win in as many tries over a ranked opponent this season, outscoring those six Top 25 teams by a combined 15-4 margin, with the past four victories all coming by the same 3-1 score.

Senior All-America forward/Hermann Trophy candidate Brittany Bock got Notre Dame going with her sixth goal of the season off a Hanks' assist in the 24th minute. Freshman forward Melissa Henderson then doubled the Irish lead less than four minutes into the second half, firing home a point-blank shot for her 13th goal of the year after a pinpoint cross-field pass from sophomore defender Julie Scheidler. Hanks iced the win in the 82nd minute with an unassisted goal after sophomore midfielder Rose Augustin had her initial shot saved and the rebound caromed to Hanks in the goal mouth.

Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander went all the way for Notre Dame, making three saves to record the victory. As a team, the Irish outshot the Scarlet Knights, 24-13, including a 9-4 margin in shots on goal. The teams also took three corner kicks apiece, with Notre Dame committing 11 fouls to six for RU.

Kristen Edmonds scored the lone goal in the 65th minute for Rutgers, which allowed three goals and lost by more than one goal for the first time all season.

The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women's soccer history, with a 275-3-1 (.987) record in those games, including a 177-1-0 (.994) mark since Oct. 6, 1995. The Irish also are 371-9-15 (.958) when holding the opposition to 0-1 goals.

Most impressively, Notre Dame is 297-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and is unbeaten in its past 274 contests when going ahead 2-0 (dating back to a 3-3 tie with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati). In fact, just two of the past 187 Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have failed to even force a tie, something achieved by four opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (Irish won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at Alumni Field (ND led 2-0, later tied 2-2 and 3-3, ND won 4-3), Duke on Nov. 30, 2007, in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alumni Field (Irish won 3-2), and most recently, Villanova on Oct. 12, 2007 in Villanova, Pa. (Irish won 3-2 in OT).

You Can Put It On The Board
Notre Dame has scored a goal in 42 consecutive games, dating back to a scoreless draw with Michigan to open last season. The current 42-game goal streak is the third-longest in school history, and it's the longest since a 49-game run from Oct. 24, 2004-Oct. 8, 2006.

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

A Little Added Face Time
Notre Dame played on television twice during the 2008 regular season. The Irish made their Big Ten Network debut on Sept. 21, posting a 3-1 win at No. 17/16 Penn State. On Oct. 19, Notre Dame traveled to Storrs, Conn., and defeated BIG EAST rival Connecticut, 2-0, on CBS College Sports.

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

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

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

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

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

Fowlkes Tapped For U.S. U-20 Camp
Sophomore defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes is one of 21 players who were called into training camp this week by United States U-20 Women's National Team head coach Tony DiCicco. The camp, which included a pair of friendlies against Canada on Thursday and Saturday in Portland, Ore., is one of the final steps prior to the announcement of the team that will compete in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Nov. 19-Dec. 7 in Chile. Fowlkes was part of the U.S. U-20 squad this past June when it qualified for the World Cup by finishing second at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Mexico.

Should she be selected for the final roster, Fowlkes would miss the remainder of the 2008 season. She has appeared in 15 games for the Irish this year, starting four times, with her lone goal being the gamewinner in a 3-1 victory over No. 12/11 Duke on Sept. 7 at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. Two nights earlier, Fowlkes got the starting nod against the homestanding Tar Heels and played a pivotal role for the Irish defense, which handed UNC a 1-0 shutout loss at Fetzer Field.

Fowlkes is bidding to continue a strong tradition of Notre Dame players on the U.S. U-20 World Cup Team (and its predecessors at the U-19 level). Current Irish senior co-captains Brittany Bock and Carrie Dew donned the Stars & Stripes for the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship in Russia, where the United States finished fourth after scoreless ties in both the semifinal vs. China and the third-place game vs. Brazil (both went against the U.S. on PKs by identical 6-5 scores).

Another Notre Dame senior, Kerri Hanks, played for the USA at the 2002 and 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championships, helping the Americans to the title in 2002 (defeating host Canada 1-0 in overtime in the final) and a third-place finish in 2004 in Thailand. In the '04 third-place game (a 3-0 win over Brazil), Hanks scored the opening goal for the U.S. on a free kick in the 21st minute.

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

Next Game: BIG EAST Quarterfinals
The Irish will open the postseason on Sunday, Nov. 2 (time TBA), when they play host to a BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal at Alumni Field. As the National Division champion, Notre Dame receives a first-round tournament bye and will face the winner of Thursday's opening-round matchup between the No. 5 seed in the National Division (currently Louisville) and the No. 4 seed (currently St. John's) in the American Division.

Although the 10 teams qualifying for this year's conference tournament have been determined, only the division champions have been ascertained (West Virginia has locked up the American Division). Georgetown holds a two-point edge for second place in the National Division, while Marquette has a similar margin in the American. Both teams can lock up the other first-round byes with a tie in Sunday's regular-season finales (Georgetown at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh at Marquette).

The complete BIG EAST Championship bracket is expected to be released by the conference office on Sunday evening.

Notre Dame has earned its 13th BIG EAST tourney berth in 14 years of league membership (all but 2002), having advanced to the semifinals in each of its 12 prior appearances and making the title game 11 times (all but 2002 and 2003). The Irish have gone on to win nine BIG EAST Championships -- seven in a row from 1995-2001 and then back-to-back crowns in 2005 and 2006. West Virginia is the defending champion, having ousted Notre Dame on penalty kicks (5-3) after the teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie in Morgantown, W.Va.

The semifinals and finals of this year's tournament will be played at Alumni Field on Nov. 7 and 9. The semifinals will take place at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. (ET), with the title game set for noon (ET) -- all three games will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports. Notre Dame won both prior tournaments played at Alumni Field (1996 and 2000).

-- ND --