Who would have thought that some team from Marquette would be able to take down one of the most storied women's collegiate soccer programs in the country?
Who would have thought that this Marquette team, just one year removed from playing in Conference USA, would be able to embarrass the defending national champions?
Certainly Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum and his roster full of nationally-acclaimed players would have not even considered the notion.
Well, on Sept. 30, the Golden Eagles defeated the Fighting Irish 4-1.
Coach Waldrum, who are these players from Marquette?
"I don't even know who any of their players are," Waldrum said after the game. "I have no idea who they are."
Oh…
As a courtesy to Waldrum in light of Friday night's rematch in the Big East Conference tournament semifinals, we would like to introduce some of the Golden Eagles' key players.
Meet Laura Boyer.
The sophomore goalkeeper has received national recognition for her play between the posts.
During the course of the season, Boyer was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team-of-the-week, was twice named Big East Goalkeeper-of-the-week, and was honored as Soccer America Player-of-the-week.
Boyer and the rest of the Marquette defense amassed nine shutouts in 19 regular-season matches.
As she prepares for a second meeting with the Fighting Irish, Boyer plans on sticking with what worked the first time.
"I'm just going to come out and meet them, because they're not going to back down," Boyer said. "We didn't really give them any one-on-one chances last time."
Meet Heather Goranson.
The senior defender will be the one organizing the Marquette defense and making sure Notre Dame's strikers don't get any one-on-one chances Friday night, either.
Considering that the Fighting Irish bring with them the most potent scoring tandem in the nation, the task will not be easy.
Notre Dame freshman forward Kerri Hanks (20 goals, 12 assists in the regular season) and senior forward Katie Thorlakson (14g, 23a) are the nation's first pair of 50-point teammates since 2000 and enter the week as the only players out of 307 teams in Division I women's soccer with 12-plus goals and 12-plus assists.
"We know we still need to go out and attack them first," said Goranson, who earned Big East Defender-of-the-week honors earlier this season. "As long as we work as a group and mark them collectively, we'll have a good chance at stopping them."
Meet Julie Thompson.
Speaking of attacking, the senior midfielder with five goals and five assists on the season will organize the Golden Eagles' offense on Friday night.
In the last meeting, Marquette took five shots and scored four goals — a feat the team does not expect to reach again.
"We're not going to have time to do exactly what we want to do," Thompson said. "If we have an open shot from 20 yards out, we need to take it."
Meet Christy Zwolski.
The 5-foot-2 sophomore forward has been the Golden Eagles' most prolific shot-taker in 2005.
Zwolski has taken 42 shots (24 on goal) this season, scored nine goals and forced opposing defenses to make the extra effort to find her on the field.
"Their defense is not their strong point," Zwolski said. "We can attack them more and get more (scoring) chances by putting pressure on them."
The plan is for that pressure to wear on the new faces that Notre Dame will be putting out on the field.
Senior goalkeeper Erika Bohn and junior midfielder Jill Krivacek missed the first game between the two schools due to injuries.
Bohn, the 2005 preseason Big East Goalkeeper-of-the-year, returned from an ankle injury on Oct. 9 and has been splitting time in goal with sophomore Lauren Karas.
Krivacek earned All-Big East honors in 2004 and returned from a knee injury on Oct. 7.
Both Bohn and Krivacek are expected to start Friday night.
Meet Markus Roeders.
While not a player, the Golden Eagles' head coach is responsible for preparing his players to put offensive and defensive pressure on the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
"We don't look at faces or numbers as much as we look at the (opposing) team and how they like to execute," Roeders said. "We respect their players, but there's no need for us to be in awe."
The Golden Eagles will look to earn a little respect of their own on Friday, especially from the coach who doesn't even know their names.
"We took offense to the fact that (Notre Dame's) coach didn't recognize who we are," Goranson said. "At the same time, we take pride in not being a group of individuals, but in being a team."
Some Golden Eagles were a little more blunt in their reaction.
"Next time, he better know who we are, and if he doesn't, we're going to score on (his team) again," Thompson said. "He better prepare for us this time."