ND WOMEN'S SOCCER 2003 AWARDS (see PDF)

QUICK PLAYER NOTES

NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUICK-FACT SHEET (see PDF)

WALDRUM NEARING 200th WOMEN'S SOCCER WIN - Fifth-year ND head coach Randy Waldrum is on the verge of his 200th career win as a Division I women's head coach, carrying a 199-67-16 mark (.734) in 14 combined seasons at Tulsa, Baylor and Notre Dame...the Irish are 91-17-4 (.830) in the five-year Waldrum era, including 76-13-3 in the last 92 games (since losing 4-2 at SCU on Oct. 17, 1999) Šhis ND record spans the career of 5th-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky...Waldrum - who repeated as BIG EAST coach of the year in 2000 - 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's, beating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Santa Clara in San Jose...Waldrum's 22-plus-year record as a college head coach (men's and women's) is 275-122-23 (.682) ... his women's soccer record includes 61-36-9 in six years at Tulsa and 46-14-3 in three seasons at Baylor ... Waldrum entered '03 ranked 7th among active women's coaches for career winning percentage (min. 10 Div. I seasons).

PRIMETIME PLAYERS - ND is 27-8-2 in the last four seasons ('00-'03) when facing an NSCAA ranked and/or postseason opponent ( 75-34 scoring edge in those 36 "big games") ... Amanda Guertin has 50 points in those big games (20G-10A) while Amy Warner owns 8G-5A vs. ranked/postseason opponents (missed half of '00 due to injury).

FRONTRUNNERS - Prior to the 12th-minute goal by Michigan, ND had not faced a deficit for nearly two months and 16-plus games, the longest streak in the program's history...the only previous time the Irish had trailed came early in the third game, for 7:18 vs. ASU (ND quickly claimed the lead and went on to a 3-1 win)...the Irish have led for 69% of the 1,828 minutes in '03 while trailing for less than 1% (0.4%; 66 minutes), with Santa Clara being the only team to come back and tie the Irish (ND retook the lead for good 12 minutes later)...the previous team record for longest streak without facing a deficit was a 14-game stretch in 1997, starting with a 5-0 win over Duke (9/21, after trailing two days earlier in a 2-2 tie vs. UNC)...the '97 streak continued through a 6-1 win over UConn in the BIG EAST title game (11/9) and ended one week later, when Cincinnati opened the scoring in a first-round NCAA Tournament game (ND dominated for a 7-1 win)...the '97 team spent all season ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA poll...ND's 2000 squad earned the top ranking after seven games and did not face a deficit for the first 13 games (BC scored first and led for 28 minutes, in a 3-1 ND win)...that team added six more games without trailing before falling behind UNC in the 82nd minute of the NCAA semifinals (2-1 loss).

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA NOMINEES - Four Notre Dame players recently were nominated for Verizon Academic All-America honors, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (the awards are TBA): fifth-year defender Vanessa Pruzinsky (4.00 cumulative GPA; chemical engineering major), senior midfielder Kimberly Carpenter (3.41; pre-professional science), junior forward Mary Boland (3.87; psychology) and sophomore goalkeeper Erika Bohn (3.67; business)...Pruzinsky was a first team Academic All-American in 2000 and '01 (she was injured in '02), becoming just the second ND student-athlete ever to be a first team Academic All-American as a sophomore and junior (freshmen are not eligible).

KEEP ON CRANKING - Prior to the Michigan loss, ND had avoided pitfalls that have hit other top teams, as the Irish and UNC had been the only unbeaten teams for several weeks while the other 295 Div. I programs include just five others with one loss: UCLA, Princeton, Cal Poly, SE Louisiana and Hofstra.

CLUTCH CANADIAN - Sophomore F Katie Thorlakson (Langley, B.C.) has picked key times for all four of her game-winning goals in 2003...two of her GWGs have come vs. top-15 teams (#10 Santa Clara and #15 Connecticut), plus the overtime goal vs. Villanova and the early strike at Rutgers (3-0)...she also is the only current ND player with multiple career goals vs. UConn (her goal tied the '02 game, 1-1, in a 3-1 win)...the '02 ND-UConn game proved to be a key turning point for the program, with current senior Melissa Tancredi making the full-time move from F to central D while Thorlakson shifted permanently from M to F...since those key shifts, the Irish are 24-3-1 in their last 28 games.

PLAYING THE BEST - ND has played some of its best soccer vs. ranked opponents, going 24-10-3 vs. NSCAA ranked teams in the Waldrum era (since '99) ... that trend held true in 2001 (5-1-0): 2-1 vs. Penn St., 2-0 vs. Hartford, 2-1 vs. WVU, 3-0 vs. Miami, 0-3 at UConn, 2-1 vs. Michigan ... the Irish posted 2002 wins over #25 Maryland (5-2), #8 UConn (3-1), #13 Michigan (1-0) and #14 Purdue (3-1) ... over the course of the '01-'03 seasons, ND owns an 11-6-1 record vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (29-5-1 vs. unranked teams), including 2003 wins over #16 Santa Clara (2-1), #8 West Virginia (2-0) and #15 UConn (2-0) and a scoreless tie vs. #24 Stanford.

NCAA STAT LEADERS - ND entered the weekend ranked second in the nation for both goals-against avg. (0.39) and is scoring (3.25 goals per game), with top-ranked UNC atop both lists (0.33 and 3.67)...senior F Amy Warner enters the weekend with 11 assists, trailing just Oklahoma State's Nikki Wojtowicz (16), UNC's Alyssa Ramsey (16) and Portland's Lindsey Huie (14)...Warner also ranks 21st in the nation in points (30) and 35th in goals (10) while junior F Mary Boland is 29th in the nation with 12 goals and 27th in points (29)...ND's Erika Bohn now ranks second nationally in GAA (0.37), behind UNC's Aly Wingert (0.35).

GLORY DAYS - Notre Dame's current 65-8 scoring edge is comparable to the program's five-year dominance in the mid-1990s, with 20-game scoring margins of: 92-14 in '93, 93-8 in '94, 79-15 in '95, 118-10 in '96 and 107-5 in '97 (average of 98-11) ... ND's 0.39 team GAA is tied with the 2000 team for second in Irish history (trailing only the 0.36 in '97).

QUICK-STRIKE ARTISTS - Notre Dame has scored in the first 7:00 of eight games this season (total of nine quick-strike goals), with junior F Mary Boland responsible for three of those early scores while six other players each have scored one quick goal this season...the team's quickest goals have come vs. West Virginia (1:24; Boland volley on long serve from Melissa Tancredi), at Seton Hall (1:30; Amy Warner near-post shot after taking pass from Jill Krivacek) and twice at Rutgers (2:44 by Katie Thorlakson from close range, after leftside pass from Warner; and at 3:53 on Tancredi header, via Thorlakson corner kick)...other quick-strike goals by ND in 2003 have come vs. Hartford (6:32; Boland puts back own rebound, after classic 5-player combination sequence that includes right endline cross from Warner), vs. Oklahoma (5:58; Jen Buczkowski knocks in rebound after flurry in box), at Santa Clara (5:03; Boland on lunging poke after leftside service from Katie Thorlakson), vs. North Texas (4:28; Amanda Guertin shot from top of the box via short pass from Warner) and vs. Georgetown (5:39; Kimberly Carpenter redirects Vanessa Pruzinsky shot).

GOING THE DISTANCE - ND is unbeaten in its last 15 overtime games (11-0-4), since the 3-2, double-OT loss to UNC in the '99 opener ... that team went on to post a 2-1, double-OT win at UConn and played to a 1-1 tie at Nebraska in the NCAA quarter's (adv. on PKs) ... the 2000 team had OT wins over Stanford, at West Virginia and vs. Santa Clara in the NCAA quarter's (all 2-1), also playing to 0-0 at UConn ... '01 featured an unprecedented five OT games (2-1 vs. Indiana, Villanova, WVU and Michigan; 2-2 vs. Wisconsin) while the '02 team added 1-0 OT wins over Rutgers and BC...the '03 team has played to a scoreless tie with Stanford (at SCU) and beat Villanova in OT (1-0).

SHARING THE WEALTH IN OT - ND's 11 overtime wins in the five-year Randy Waldrum era include goals from seven players (plus an own goal vs. Stanford in '00): Anne Makinen (vs. UConn in '99), Amanda Guertin (ND record 3; vs. WVU in '00, Michigan in '01, BC in '02), Meotis Erikson (vs. SCU in '00 NCAA quarter's), Kelly Tulisiak (vs. IU in '01), Amy Warner (2; vs. VU in '01, Rutgers in '02), Mia Sarkesian (vs. WVU in '01) and Katie Thorlakson (vs. Vill. in '03).

OT MASTERS - Senior Amanda Guertin holds the ND record for career OT goals (3), with her classmate Amy Warner and '96 national player of the year Cindy Daws ranking second with two (including Daws' goal vs. Portland in the '95 NCAA title game) ... Guertin (3G-2A) owns eight career points in OT, followed by Warner (6; 2G-2A) ... Guertin's other OT goals came at WVU in 2000 and at home vs. WVU in '01 (both 2-1)...in addition to her double-OT goal on Sept. 20, 2002, vs. Rutgers (1-0), Warner scored in OT vs. Villanova ('01) and had the primary assist on Kelly Tulisiak's OT goal in '01 vs. Indiana (both 2-1) ... she also had the cross that produced an OT own-goal to beat Stanford in '00 and assisted on Guertin's OT goal in '02 at BC (1-0), playing a key role in five of ND's last nine OT goals (Guertin on five of the last eight).

STILL NO LOSSES - Notre Dame went unbeaten after 19 games for the fourth time in the program's history...here's a look at the other longest season-opening unbeaten streaks in the ND record book (see PDF):

MOVING ON UP - ND's impressive career record book can be seen in the fact that Amanda Guertin did not crack the Irish top-10 career scoring list until notching her 43rd goal, roughly half of the record total racked up by 1999 graduate Jenny Heft (80)...here's a look at where Guertin and classmate Amy Warner stand on the career points and goals list (see PDF):

STREAKY PLAYER - Amanda Guertin scored a goal in the final 10 games of 2001 - third-longest in Div. I women's soccer history (SCU's Brandi Chastain had a 15-game goal streak in '90, Hartford's Maria Kun an 11-game streak in '97)...Guertin also scored goals in an ND-record seven straight postseason games, spanning '01 and '02 (she has 9G in 15 career postseason games) and had points in eight straight games (7G-6A) before the 1-0 loss at Stanford in '02.

GETTING THE GWGs - Amanda Guertin continues to add clutch goals and assists to her career totals (46G-24A, in 84 GP) - with her 17 gamewinning goals ranking third on the ND all-time list (two shy of Jenny Heft's record) ... seven of Guertin's GWGs have come in one-goal games, including three in OT (ND record)...nearly half of Guertin's career goals (17 of 46, or 39%) have been gamewinners - well ahead of the others on the GWG list (see PDF):

PRUZSINKY DRAWS NATONAL MEDIA ATTENTION - Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky was spotlighted in a recent feature on College Sports Television while a recent Sports Illustrated On Campus highlighted the high achiever...Pruzinsky - the national high school player of the year and a 2002 invitee to U.S. Under-21 National Team tryouts - wrapped up her undergrad studies last May with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, becoming just the third chemical engineering major (and first since '74) to graduate from Notre Dame with a 4.0.

INJURY WOES CONTINUE - ND's '02 season was hampered by injuries to several top players (totaling 64 games missed, plus 93 thus far in '03 for a total of 157)...the Irish are playing in the '03 season minus two top players - as junior All-America D Candace Chapman suffered a torn ACL knee injury while training with the Canadian National Team (in preparation for the World Cup) while senior M Randi Scheller underwent preseason hip surgery...sophomore M Jenny Walz (ACL) has returned to practice after being injured in the spring...junior starting central D Gudrun Gunnarsdottir has returned in a reserve role (after missing four games with a broken arm) while freshman D Kari Kennedy (foot) and junior D Kate Tulisiak (back) made their 2003 debuts on Oct. 10 vs. Georgetown...veteran D Vanessa Pruzinsky (ankle) made a full-time return at the ND Classic...Scheller will have the option to apply for a 5th year of eligibility in '04, as will central D Melissa Tancredi (she missed '00 with an ACL injury)...Pruzinsky is a current 5th-year player (out most of '02 with ankle injury) while Chapman will be a senior in '04 and have her own option at a 5th year in '05...Tancredi missed three of the final five games in the '03 regular season while junior F Mary Boland recently has missed two games (both players have been sidelined due to nagging ankle injuries).

BOHN ON A ROLL - Sophomore G Erika Bohn is 29-3-1 in her last 33 starts (28-1-1 last 30), allowing just 17 goals in that 33-game stretch (20 shutouts, 11 with 1 GA)...her only losses in that stretch: 3-2 game BYU with a fluke goal (clearance deflected off referee) and a rare late-game PK; the season-ending loss at top-ranked Stanford, with the only goal coming in the 81st minute; and the 3-2 loss to Michigan in the final game of the '03 regular season (UM's final two goals came on corner-kick breakdowns by the ND defense)...prior to the Michigan game, Bohn had logged 29 consecutive games with the Irish (24 fall, 5 spring) without allowing multiple goals (previously done by BYU on Oct. 19, 2002).

MAGIC NUMBERS -- The 3-goal mark has been virtually an automatic win in ND history, with the Irish 198-3-1 all-time (.983) when scoring 3-plus, losing to N.C. State in the '92 opener (4-3), UConn in '95 (5-4, OT) and at Georgetown in '02 (4-3), plus a 3-3 tie vs. Vanderbilt in '91Š the Irish had won 88 straight when scoring 3-plus, before the GU loss (now 102-1-0 since Oct. 6, 1995)...ND is 274-8-11 (.954) in all-time games when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals, including tough 1-0 losses in '02 to eventual NCAA champ Portland and top-ranked Stanford...prior to the UP loss, the Irish had been 56-0-3 in the previous 59 games when allowing 0-1 GA (dating back to 1-0 loss to SMU in '99, playing minus Finnish national teamer Anne Makinen)...the program's 16-year history includes just 281 goals allowed in 361 games (0.78 GA per game)...the Irish have allowed more than one goal in only 68 all-time games (19%) and have yielded 3-plus goals in just 32 all-time games (9%; including two 6-goal games by the opponent, four 5-goal and six 4-goal)...91% of ND's all-time games have seen the Irish hold the opponent to 0-2 goals (ND is just 4-27-1 all-time when allowing 3-plus).

FIRST-HALF FORTRESS - The ND defense has been particularly stingy in the first half the past three seasons, allowing just 20 goals in the first half of those 61 games...the first half in '02 featured little scoring (12-10 ND edge), compared to a 35-5 first-half edge in '03.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE - Fifth-year D Vanessa Pruzinsky in May 2003 became the third chemical engineering major (and first since '74) to graduate from ND with a 4.0 cumulative GPA...Pruzinsky is a two-time Academic All-American, with ND's other top candidates for that award in '03 including junior F/M Mary Boland (3.87, psychology), senior M Kimberly Carpenter (3.41, psychology) and sophomore G Erika Bohn (3.67, College of Business).

EARLY SPARK - Mary Boland is the fifth ND player to register a hat trick in an opener and has scored in all three openers of her career (including ND's first goal in '01 and '03), with a diving header to open the scoring in '01 vs. Penn State (2-1) and the final goal in the '02 win at Providence (3-0) ... previous Irish players with hat tricks in openers: Rosella Guerrero as a freshman vs. N.C. State in '92 (4-3 loss), Guerrero and sophomore Michelle McCarthy in '93 at LaSalle (12-0 win), and senior Amy Van Laecke and sophomore Monica Gerardo in '96 at PC (14-0)...Boland's 7 points vs. Hartford (3G-1A) are most by an ND player since Jenny Streiffer had 3G-1A vs. Miami on Oct. 1, 1999...Streiffer holds the ND record for points in a game, with 9 (3G-3A) in the '96 win over Providence (14-0).

ALUMNI UPDATE - Several former Notre Dame women's soccer players have been in the news during recent weeks:

FRESHMAN CLASS RANKED AMONG BEST IN NATION - Soccer America rated ND's freshman class 5th in the nation, behind Santa Clara, UCLA, Texas and Portland...Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove, Ill.) was No. 6 on the list of top recruits (second among M, behind Nebraska's Brittany Timko, who was 2nd overall)...D Christie Shaner (Ambler, Pa.) was No. 22, making ND one of seven schools with multiple players on that top-25 list...M/D Lizzie Reed (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) also was a prep All-American.

FAR & WIDE - Notre Dame's 2003 roster includes players from 14 states, two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario) and Iceland...the states on the '03 roster touch all corners of the nation: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

See PDF for game capsules with linescores and notes