The Observer u IRISH INSIDERFriday, December 4, 2009 page 2

Underclassmen carry Irish through rough start

Entering the season, all signspointed towards another NotreDame run at an NCAAChampionship.Sure it didn’t help to lose one

of most talented senior classes inprogram history, but as is true ofall great programs, there wouldbe no rebuilding, just reloading.The third-ranked Irish not onlyboasted a strong senior class,who could not have come closerto a title in its previous tries onlyto be denied in three College Cupappearances, butalso a collectionof talentedunderclassmenready to step intostarring roles,whatever theymay be.“At the begin-

ning of the sea-son, you are stilltrying people atdifferent posi-tions using dif-ferent rotations,” junior forwardRose Augustin said.While still trying to find the

right lineup as injuries depletedthe team, top-ranked NorthCarolina came to town.The Irish had high expecta-

tions heading into the rematch oflast season’s College Cup final, a2-1 Tar Heel victory, hoping tochristen the brand new AlumniStadium with an opening nightvictory.However, an energetic crowd

of 3,000-plus fans weren’tenough to will the Irish to a winas the Tar Heels dominated earlyand often on their way to a 6-0shutout.Things continued to worsen for

the Irish.Just a week later, Notre Dame

traveled out west for a pair ofshowdowns with highly rankedopponents Stanford and SantaClara. The offensive woes contin-ued as the Irish failed to score in

either match, falling 2-0 in bothcontests.“When we were struggling to

find the right lineup early in theseason, injuries really com-pounded our problems,” Irishcoach Randy Waldrum said.“Early on we just didn’t have asolid back line and it took us awhile to establish that.”For some teams, these losses

might have just been a case ofrunning into a better opponent.But this Notre Dame team wasn’taccustomed to losing. Prior tothe North Carolina loss, the Irishhad been riding a 30-game regu-lar-season winning streak follow-

ing last season’sundefeated regu-lar season. Thisseason, theyalready had threedefeats.“You are trying

to find your wayas the seasongoes on andthat’s why youplay those hardgames early on inthe season,” jun-

ior forward Lauren Fowlkessaid. “It exposes what you needto work on the rest of the sea-son.”While Notre Dame was able to

find its rhythm in time to turn itsseason around, and thus reachits fourth consecutive CollegeCup, things might not havepanned out so nicely hadWaldrum not made a number ofcrucial personnel changes.During the blowout loss to

North Carolina earlier in the sea-son, Waldrum made the decisionto move Fowlkes from the mid-field into the central forwardposition.“When we made that move,

there’s no question that’s whenthings started to really click,”Waldrum said. “We made a fewmoves and that was probablyone of the biggest.”No stranger to the position

having played it in high school,Fowlkes has shined scoring 10

goals and adding four assists thisseason on her way to collectingBig East co-Offensive Player ofthe Year honors.“[I’m willing to do] whatever is

needed for the team and coachthought that it was a good fit. Iwas excited about it and it justkind of worked out,” Fowlkessaid.Possibly the biggest beneficiary

of Fowlkes’ transition has beensophomore forward MelissaHenderson. Henderson has real-ly come on in the NCAA tourna-ment, scoring seven goals in fourcontests, bringing her seasontotal to 18 tallies and five assists.“It’s awesome having

[Fowlkes] up there,” Hendersonsaid. “All of our forwards aretremendous. But she has beendoing really well, to come inthere and score the goals thatshe has and setting up the playsthat she has.”Toward the end of last season,

Henderson was slowed by a lin-

gering knee injury that took itstoll down the stretch as the Irishgot deeper into the tournament.Henderson admitted to feelingmuch better and it having a posi-tive impact on her performance.“I’m definitely excited [to be

healthier] this year,” she said.“Last season I never really knewhow much I could give on thefield. Now I know I can give 100percent and still have energy togo into overtime and actually beable to help my team.”While Fowlkes and Henderson

have had outstanding seasons intheir own right, they have juniormidfielder Rose Augustin tothank for many of their offensiveopportunities. Augustin, in hersecond season as a regularstarter, leads the team with 10assists and has seven goals ofher own.“[Augustin] has been one of

our most consistent players allyear,” Waldrum said. “I thinkshe’s having an All-American

type year. I think she’s madegreat improvements in herdefending and she’s reallybecome a leader for us on thefield.”Augustin’s emergence became

possible when last year’s talent-ed class graduated, creating anopening that Augustin has filledably.“Rose has definitely come into

her own this season,” seniordefender RachelVanderGenugten said. “Last yearshe had a lot of other peopleahead of her in that position.”VanderGenugten said necessity

spurred the younger players intobigger roles. After Notre Dame’sleading scorer last year, KerriHanks, graduated, someone hadto pick up the offensive slack.Fowlkes and Henderson havecertainly done such. Similarly,Augustin’s leadership was need-ed in the front line.“This year it had to be [Rose],”

VanderGenugten said. “If Rosedidn’t step up, I’m not sure if wewould have had an upperclass-man [leading] up there at all.”Another change came in the

Irish net. Senior Kelsey Lysander,who started every game last yearcompiling a 26-1-0 record,began the season splitting timewith junior Nikki Weiss beforeWeiss eventually took over forgood.With all the changes this Irish

team has undergone, they findthemselves in a familiar position,even familiar to the youngerplayers on the team.“It’s good to have [those previ-

ous tournaments] under yourbelt and to experience somethinglike that,” Henderson said.“Coming into next year, you areused to it and more prepared.”The Irish have indeed become

used to the NCAA Tournament,as the bar has been set at a highlevel.“There is just an expectation to

be there [at the NCAATournament] every year,”Fowlkes said. “Just having thosegoals really helps you focusthroughout the season.”After changes throughout the

lineup, Fowlkes, Henderson andAugustin have found themselvesin positions where their focuscould lead the Irish beyondexpectations, to a College Cuptitle.

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Sophomore Melissa Henderson has emerged as an offensive stalwart for Notre Dame this season,leading the Irish with 18 goals and 41 points. She also has five assists on the season.

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Juniors Lauren Fowlkes, left, and Rose Augustin, right, have adapted to expanded roles this season. Fowlkes began the season asa midfielder, but after Notre Dame struggled in the beginning of the season, moved to forward and led the team with 76 shots.

“Early on we justdidn’t have a solid

back line and it tookus awhile to establish

that.”

Randy WaldrumIrish coach

Henderson, Fowlkes and Augustin fill in for injured seniors with goals, assists and leadership

Contact Alex Barker atabarker@nd.edu

By ALEX BARKERSports Writer

Four College Cups. Twonational runner-up finishes.Four Big East divisional titles.Three Big East Tournamenttitles. Ninety-one wins againstonly 10 losses.It is safe to say that Micaela

Alvarez, Amanda Clark, HaleyFord, Kelsey Lysander,Courtney Rosen, RachelVanderGenugten and MicheleWeissenhofer, the seven sen-iors in this year’s senior class,have accomplished a lot in thepast four years. They wouldsay they have not accom-plished enough.“I came in wanting to win a

National Championship andplay competitively for a suc-cessful team,” forward andcaptain Weissenhofer said.“We have definitely surpassedmy expectations for a success-ful team, and we may havemany accomplishments includ-ing four Final Fours, but I stillhaven’t received a nationalchampionship yet.”The Irish have indeed gone

oh-for-three in the CollegeCup, and each loss in the finalweekend of the season stungmore than the previous one.In their freshman year, 2006,

Notre Dame lost to, of al lteams, North Carolina 2-1.Two years later the same thinghappened, a 2-1 loss to the TarHeels after North Carolinascored a goal with only twominutes left in the game.“I would say our approach

against North Carolina fresh-man year was that we hadthem on this pedestal that theywere this unbelievable oppo-nent and rival that we couldn’tbeat,” defenderVanderGenugten said of theirfirst experience in the finals.In between the two losses to

the Tar Heels, Florida Statebeat the Irish in the CollegeCup semifinals in 2007.“That year we wanted to win

so badly after losing to NorthCarolina the year before,” for-ward and captain Rosen said.“We just felt we had worked sohard the whole season to getthere, and then to have itpulled short in the semis was

even harder than losing in thechampionship.”Even if all three previous

Cup appearances ended inlosses, the pure feat of reach-ing four Cups consecutivelysurpasses any expectationsanyone had for the team’sseven seniors Irish coachRandy Waldrum said.“It is such a difficult thing to

get to a College Cup, yet alonefour of them,” he said. “I don’tthink I could honestly sit hereand tell you that I would haveexpected this group to get tofour. You hope that you have agroup that could win a nation-al championship along theway, but I think they have cer-tainly exceeded any expecta-tions that you realistically hadwhen you started out.”In getting to the four Cups,

and falling short in the firstthree, the seven seniors wentthrough experiences that fewothers can fathom.“Especially after last year’s

loss, we can think of so manytimes we just sat on our futonsback in the dorm and criedbecause we lost,”VanderGenugten said. “It wassuch a bonding experience togo through something l ikethat.”The three dramatic losses

have not been the only thing tobring the seven closer.“We have relationships that I

can’t even describe, to be ableto play on the field as a com-petitor, be a teammate, andalso be a roommate. There areso many facets of our relation-ship that I believe we havedeveloped through soccer thatgo into various areas of ourlives,” defender Clark said.“We have learned so muchthrough both the successesand even more through thedefeats. You learn more afteryou lose and have a chance tolook back at it.”Learning more through a

loss does not mean these Irishare willing to suffer anotherdefeat, not at all. If nothingelse, the seven hope their pre-vious heartbreaks will con-tribute to a triumph this week-end.“This year we are going in

knowing we have beaten[North Carolina] in the past

and are fully capable of beat-ing them again,”VanderGenugten said. “I thinkwe are stronger than we werelast season.”Last season’s end is a com-

mon motivational theme, aswell as lesson, among thisgroup. The team rolledthrough the regular seasonlast year, reach-ing the NCAAChampionshipfinal undefeatedand untiedbefore NorthCarolina dashedperfection.“Last year I’d

say it camepretty easy,”forward Fordsaid. “Most ofthe season, from the very firstgame to the final, we clickedpretty easily. This year wehave had to work a lot harder.We had three losses in our firstfew games.”Tears are no longer shed

over those three losses, includ-ing defeats to the Tar Heels as

well as to Stanford, both ofwhich are in the College Cupthis weekend.“It’s kind of an advantage.

Last year we never tailed, sowe never had to fight back andcome from behind,”VanderGenugten said. “Thisyear we’ve done that all sea-son. … We’ve been down late

in the half, andwe come backand get thewin. That’s ahuge differ-ence.”The past four

years haven’tonly beenabout fightingback fromdeficits ordefeats though.

As made evident by theirbounty of wins and trophies,these seniors have had moregood times than most collegeathletes come to know. One ofthe highlights of their fouryears was Senior Day on Oct.25. The highlight of the daycame when Waldrum subbed

Alvarez onto the field. Alvarezhad torn her ACL that week inpractice, and doctors hadruled her out of any competi-tion for the rest of the season,so Waldrum’s move was quitesurprising.“[Waldrum] sprung it on me

on the sideline as we were sit-ting there,” she said. “Just toput on the jersey one moretime and to be able to step outthere was really an unbeliev-able experience. It was emo-tional, but it was somethingI’m always going to cherishhaving that memory.”The kind gesture did not only

reward Alvarez, but her team-mates, friends rather, got somegreat blackmail out of themoment.“Some quality dance moves

were caught on tape,” saidRosen, unable to control herlaughter.In the long run, the seven

seniors wil l remembermoments l ike Alvarez’smoment, or VanderGenugten’sfirst two career goals in thefirst two rounds of these play-offs, more vividly than anyCollege Cup heartbreaks, butin the short term, they all haveone common thought.“Haley said the other day

and it sums it up pretty well.We are tired of someone elseending our season, and aretired of ending the season cry-ing,” Alvarez said. “Let’s cele-brate for once.”Goaltender Lysander, who

has stepped strongly into aleadership role this season asjunior Nikki Weiss has shinedin the goal, summed up thesenior class’ thoughts concise-ly.“We have a job to do,” she

said. “Let’s get it done.”In the end though, the sen-

iors’ long list of accomplish-ments to date cannot be over-looked, no matter how badlythey want to add two wins tothe list this weekend.“We have a lot to celebrate

and we have had a great four-year run,” Rosen said. “But wewant to end it with winning thefinal big kahuna.”

The Observer u IRISH INSIDERFriday, December 4, 2009 page 3

Seven seniors seek one title

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

Headed to their fourth College Cup, Irish seniors are seeking an elusive Championship

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Writer

IAN GAVLICKThe Observer

Senior forward Michele Weissenhofer leads the Irish into their fourth College Cup in four years. Weissenhofer is a member of one of the mostsuccessful senior classes in program, and NCAA, history, but the seven seniors at Notre Dame still lack a National Championship.

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Senior defender Haley Ford has gotten used to playing North Carolina in the College Cup. Friday’smatch-up will be the third between the two teams in the College Cup in the past four years.

“We want to end [ourfour years] with

winning the final bigkahuna.”

Courtney RosenSenior forward

Familiar foe awaits Irish in College Cup SemisThe Observer u IRISH INSIDERFriday, December 4, 2009 page 4

For the second straight year,and the third time in fouryears, Notre Dame and NorthCarolina will meet again in theCollege Cup.In women’s college soccer,

No. 5 Notre Dame (21-3-1) andNo. 4 North Carolina (21-3-1)have formed the premier rival-ry for more than a decade.“The last 15 years, I think

when you think of women’s col-lege soccer, I think Notre Dame[and North Carolina] wouldprobably have to come to mindas that biggest and most storiedrivalry,” Irish coach RandyWaldrum said. “Over time thatNotre Dame-Carolina rivalryhas been one of the best in thecountry, and I know that whenwe go there to play, it’s alwaysa packed house and obviouslywhen they come to us it’s apacked house because that’sthe game that everybody wantsto see, and I think everybodyaround the country is alwayswaiting to see what the score isthe next morning when thegame’s over.”Coming into this season,

Notre Dame faced questionsearly about their ability toreplace key seniors after theirrun to an undefeated nationalchampionship ended in theCollege Cup final with a 2-1 lossto the Tar Heels, the samescore that North Carolinadefeated the Irish by in 2006

when Notre Dame’s currentseniors made their first run at anational title as freshmen.The Irish had a chance to put

concerns surrounding thisyear’s team to rest when theTar Heels traveled to NotreDame for the first time in adecade to open newly-con-structed Alumni Stadium onSept. 4 in a matchup of the toptwo teams in the country.Unfortunately for the Irish, theywere the ones whose heelslooked like they were stuck intar after North Carolina dis-mantled Notre Dame in a 6-0blowout. Doubts continued torise after the Irish lost toStanford, who enters theCollege Cup with an undefeatedrecord, and Santa Clara on anearly West Coast road trip.Since their early season

struggles, however, the Irishhave been one of the hottestteams in the nation, rattling offa 19-game unbeaten streak inwhich they have trailed for just16:38.“They beat us in the begin-

ning of the season when wewere a different team. We havechanged and developed thisseason,” senior defenderAmanda Clark said. “We are adifferent team; they don’t knowwhat’s coming to them.”The streak has given not only

Clark, but the whole Irish teamconfidence, and not only dothey expect a better result thantheir blowout loss inSeptember, but a win againsttheir rivals.

“It’s our time to beat themwhen it counts,” Clark said.“They won in the beginninghere, but we are ready to takethat national championship.”Of the four teams still chasing

that national championship, theIrish are the only remainingtwo-seed. North Carolina, UCLAand Stanford are one-seeds. “I think, in fact, that [the

team is] probably feeling thatmost people think that we’rethe underdogs going into thegame,” Waldrum said. “I thinkwe’re the only ones that reallyfeel like we can go there andwin and are expecting to dothat on Friday.”After their three disappoint-

ing early season losses, theIrish made a few key lineupchanges that propelled them totheir current unbeaten streak.For starters, junior goalie NikkiWeiss took over the goalkeeperduties from senior KelseyLysander and posted a 14-1-1record in net with an astound-ing 0.47 goals against averageand 7 shutouts, with a 13-0-1record during the winningstreak.Furthermore, Fowlkes moved

from midfield to forward andgave the Irish much neededfirepower on offense throughher own goal scoring. Fowlkes’smove also freed up sophomoreforward Melissa Henderson formore chances in the opponent’shalf of the field. Henderson hasscored 10 goals and notchedthree assists in seven playoffgames.“We made a few moves, and

[moving Fowlkes] was probablyone of the big moves that wemade,” Waldrum said. “I thinkmoving [Fowlkes] up front gaveus two things. It gave us a play-er who could hold the ball forus, a bigger stronger kind oftarget for us to play into thatcould hold the ball, and I thinkcertainly because she’s a greatplayer in her own right, it nowgave the opposition anothergood player up front to have todeal with, and that’s certainlytaken some of the pressure offHenderson.”For her part, Henderson has

teamed with junior midfielderRose Augustin to provide aspark for the Irish offense dur-ing their postseason run.“I think both of them really

turned it on,” Waldrum said.

“Rose was pretty good for usscoring some goals early, andthen she went through a spellwhere she was still playing verywell but wasn’t scoring as manygoals, and then it just seemslike come playoff time she gothot again, and I think her and[Henderson] have a great con-nection with each other.”The Irish hope that the

changes they’ve made will leadto a different outcome againstthe Tar Heels when they faceoff on Friday at 8 p.m. inCollege Station, Tex. AlthoughWaldrum is unsure about howNorth Carolina might plan forNotre Dame’s changes, hethinks that his team has anopportunity to catch the TarHeels sleeping.“Well I really don’t think they

will change,” he said. “They’vegot such a history in their ownprogram, I think they’ll contin-ue to play the way they’veplayed all year, and I don’tthink just because we’vechanged some personnelaround it will cause them tomake any adjustments orchanges.“What will be different is I

think they’re going to have torespect the fact that we are adifferent team than what theysaw when they came to ourplace in September,” he contin-ued. “What you hope for is thatthey don’t respect it enoughand they don’t take it seriouslyenough, and they rememberthe 6-0 win and you can catchthem a little bit off guard ifthat’s the case.”

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Notre Dame defenders, including Rose Augustin (15), Mellisa Henderson (6) and Courtney Rosen(14) line up to block North Carolina forward Casey Nogueira’s free kick in last year’s final.

By MIKE GOTIMERSports Writer

Contact Mike Gotimer atmgotimer@nd.edu

Irish recover from three losses with 19-game unbeaten streak

After beginning the season3-3, No. 5 Notre Dame hasgone unbeaten in 19 consecu-tive matches. The streak start-ed with a 4-0 victory overDePaul on Sept. 18, andincluded two golden goal vic-tories as well as a tie.The Ir ish topped West

Virginia in overtime with agolden goal from junior for-ward Taylor Knaack. The con-ference victory broke theDivision I record for consecu-tive unbeaten games in con-ference play, previously heldby North Carol ina at 55games. The Irish record hasnow been extended to 66games.

Notre Dame used anothergolden goal, provided by soph-omore defender JessicaSchuveiller, to beat St. John’s2-1 in the semifinals of the BigEast Tournament on Nov. 6.On Oct. 4 Notre Dame did

not manage a golden goal as itfought Pittsburgh to a 0-0 tiein double overtime.

Weiss winsJunior netminder Nikki

Weiss stepped in at goal whensenior Kelsey Lysander wasbattling some nagging injuries.Once in goal, Weiss did not

come out, going 13-0-1 duringthe unbeaten streak, includingseven solo shutouts.Weiss earned Big East recog-

nition when she led the con-ference statistically in goals-against-average (GAA) by only

allowing one goal in 597:00minutes of Big East action fora 0.15 GAA. This broke theconference record, previouslyheld by former Irish goalkeep-er LaKeysia Beene. Beene’smark was 0.18 GAA in 1997.Weiss also led the confer-

ence with a 0.955 save per-centage and 0.71 shutoutspergame.

Senior class sets marksThe Irish senior class has a

.886 winning percentage todate and a 91-10-4 record.Both marks are second in thenation, behind only NorthCarolina’s senior class, at 92-9-4 (.895).UCLA’s senior class is third

in both categories, at 84-9-5(.883).This is the fourth senior

class in Notre Dame history toreach 90 victories. No classhas reached 93, which thisclass st i l l has a chance ofdoing.Only one other Irish senior

class has gone to four consec-utive College Cups, the class of1997.

Déjà vuThis year’s College Cup field

is made up of the same fourteams as last year’s was. Lastyear, Notre Dame beatStanford 1-0 in one semifinal,and North Carolina toppedUCLA 1-0 in the other beforebeating Notre Dame 2-1 in thefinal.The way the bracket was set

up this year, the pair ingsswitched, and Stanford facesUCLA at 5:30 p.m.Friday.

Hot HendersonIn seven postseason games,

with up to two more gamesremaing, sophomore forwardMelissa Henderson hasalready more than doubledher regular season goal outputof eight goals.She netted a hat trick in the

Big East Quarterfinals againstSouth Florida, scored twomore goals in the openinground of the NCAATournament against IUPIUIbefore erupting for four goalsagaist Central Michigan in thesecond round of the NCAAs.She raised her postseason toalto 10 goals with a goal againstFlorida State in the NCAAQuarterfinals.

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Writer

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

ANDREA ARCHER | The Observer