#5/7 Irish Kick Off Four-Match Homestand This Weekend Notre Dame to face St. John's (noon ET, li

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..Other Notre Dame-Syracuse Series Tidbits

• While none of the current Syracuse players were on the roster the last time the Orange visited Notre Dame in 2002, SU sophomores Brielle Heitman and Skylar Sabbag should be familiar with Alumni Stadium. Last season, the pair played at Central Michigan when the

• Chippewas came to Notre Dame for the second round of the NCAA Championship on Nov. 15. Both players came off the bench (Heitman for 30 minutes, Sabbag for five minutes) in a 6-1 Fighting Irish win.

• Syracuse and St. John's are the only two schools from the state of New York that Notre Dame has played in its women's soccer history. The Fighting Irish are 19-0-0 all-time against the Empire State with a combined goal margin of 89-4.

Scouting St. John's St. John's came into this weekend in sixth place in the BIG EAST American Division (1-2, three points). The Red Storm have lost three of their last four entering Friday's match at DePaul, although that one win was a 2-1 victory at Connecticut on Sept. 23.

Notre Dame is the second ranked opponent on the road for St. John's, which dropped a 3-0 decision at #8 Texas A&M on Aug. 22.

The Red Storm have scored six goals and allowed nine this season. They are led by freshman midfielder/forward Amy Marron and sophomore forward/defender Runa Stefansdottir, who have five points (2G-1A) apiece. Junior goalkeeper Kristin Russell also is one of the BIG EAST's best with an 0.93 goals-against average and four shutouts.

Head coach Ian Stone is in his 17th season at St. John's with a 153-127-35 record (prior to Friday's match at DePaul), including an 0-12 record against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-St. John's Series Notre Dame has won all 12 meetings with St. John's, with each match coming since the Fighting Irish joined the BIG EAST in 1995.

Notre Dame also has outscored the Red Storm, 55-1 in the series, although that lone St. John's score came in their most recent series matchup, a 2-1 overtime victory for the Fighting Irish in last year's BIG EAST Championship semifinals in Storrs, Conn. (Jessica Schuveiller won it for Notre Dame in the 99th minute off a corner kick by Rose Augustin).

St. John's is visiting South Bend for the first time since the 2006 BIG EAST quarterfinals (a 3-0 Fighting Irish win at old Alumni Field)