ND WOMEN'S SOCCER: Class of 2005 adds speed, agility to Irish
Mike Connolly
Sports Writer
Head coach Randy Waldrum's first two years at Notre Dame featured teams that were noticeably faster and more agile than previous Irish squads. With the addition of the Class of 2005, Waldrum expects this year's squad to be his fastest yet.
"I've been really impressed with the freshmen so far,"Waldrum said. "Overall we are faster and more athletic than ever before. Our basic goal was to match up better athletically with the other top teams while still maintaining the high level of soccer that has characterized past Notre Dame teams."
Although Waldrum expects at least four first year players to be impact players this season, Mary Boland and Candace Chapman have impressed Waldrum the most in the preseason.
"Those two freshmen have certainly stepped in and shown they are more like veteran players,"Waldrum said.
Chapman is a speedster who gives the young and dangerous Irish offense even more quickness. She has experience playing with Canada's under-18 national team.
Teamed with junior Ali Lovelace and sophomore Amy Warner, the Irish will feature one of the fastest frontlines in the country.
"When Amy Warner got hurt and Ali Lovelace got hurt, we didn't have the depth,"Waldrum said. "As fast as Ali and Amy are, we now have players who are even faster."
Boland is a high school All-American from Ohio who has spent time with the U.S. under-19 national team. She will give the Irish midfield a lot more speed and depth.
"She is certainly going to be an impact player on our team — no question about it,"Waldrum said.
Ashley Dryer's injury in last year's NCAA Women's College Cup exposed Notre Dame's severe lack of depth in the midfield. Waldrum hopes Boland will play a big role in solidifying the midfield.
"Ashley still has a big role on our team but by adding Mary Boland, we have more options,"Waldrum said. "Last year when Ashley went down, we didn't have a plan for that."
In their first preseason scrimmage, the Irish once again were forced to play without Dryer who missed the scrimmage with an illness. With Boland in the lineup, however, Notre Dame didn't miss a step and beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2-0.
Although the victory was far from flawless, two first-year players had big nights for the Irish. True freshman Reagan Jones and redshirt freshman Melissa Tancredi each scored for the Irish.
The return of Tancredi to the lineup after missing all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament gives the Irish even more depth on the front line. Tancredi is a big, powerful player in the mold of graduated-senior Meotis Erikson.
Both Erikson and Tancredi are tall players with powerful shots but Waldrum believes Tancredi could develop into an even better player than Notre Dame's sixth all-time leading scorer.
"She is a little different from Meotis in that she is faster and more athletic,"Waldrum said. "She will take what Meotis did for us to a higher level."
The Irish lost two starters on defense but will have to wait a little while before they find out if the Class of 2005 will play a role on defense. Gunna Gunnarsdottir was expected to step in for the Irish back line but a torn medial collateral ligament in her knee has sidelined her for the entire preseason.
The injury is not as serious as Tancredi's last year but has kept her from practicing yet and may keep her out of the lineup for the first few games of the year.
When she is healthy, however, Gunnarsdottir may prove to be the best of the class. She has played 15 games with the Iceland national team and defended against some of the best players in the world.
"We're eager to see what she can do,"Waldrum said. "We think she can step in right away for [graduated seniors] Kerri Baker or Kelly Lindsey. The only problem is she can't step in right away because she has missed the preseason."
Erin Sheehan and Kate Tuliasiak round out the freshman class. Waldrum said he was satisfied with the way they both played in the first scrimmage. Tuliasiak, however, had to leave the game early to get six stitches after she collided with a Wisconsin-Milwaukee player.
All Sports Stories for Sunday, August 26, 2001
