Notre Dame women endure tough start to 2009

Number in parenthesis denotes TopDrawerSoccer.com preseason college ranking. See complete rankings here.

NOTRE DAME (14)
Last season: 23-0-0 11-0-0 in Big East National
Result: Won regular season and conference tournament; lost in NCAA final to North Carolina
Head coach: Randy Waldrum
Key returners: F Melissa Henderson (So.), M Courtney Rosen (Sr.), F Michel Weissenhofer (Sr.), M/F Erica Iantorno (Jr.).
Key Subtractions: F Kerri Hanks, M Brittany Bock, D Carrie Dew, D Elise Weber

2009 SKINNY
   
We’re not in 2008 anymore Auntie Em.

It’s been a major reality check for the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish thus far as they’ve gone from impenetrable to merely mortal in 2009.

Gone is the undefeated season of a year ago; gone is the win streak, gone is the star-studded cast.

Two-time Hermann Trophy Award winner Kerri Hanks, all-conference midfielder Brittany Bock and two top flight defenders in Carrie Dew and Elise Weber have all departed leaving Notre Dame with perhaps more valuable holes to fill than any top team  in the country.

With a top program like Notre Dame and its breadth of talent, producing stars isn’t so much an issue, but the transition from last season’s veteran group to this one has clearly taken its toll on the 2009 Fightin’ Irish. The team that’s used to running roughshod throughout the conference and the country finds itself at 3-3 so far with a pair of losses to Santa Clara and Stanford this past weekend where Notre Dame went scoreless. The early turn of events has taken the program from No. 5 in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s preseason poll to currently No. 14.

If the Fightin’ Irish are to reach their goals this time around they might have to take the longer route, and one led by a few new faces. Melissa Henderson, who burst onto the scene and scored 17 goals as a freshman in 2008, takes over the role as leading scorer with Courtney Rosen filling the midfield leadership left by Bock.

Upperclassmen forwards Michel Weissenhofer and Erica Iantorno will also be key in helping to guide in a new era.

Despite the early hiccups, Notre Dame can still right the ship, and now would be the perfect time. Beginning this Friday the Fightin’ Irish start Big East competition with DePaul coming to pay a visit.