Taylor Knaack Class: Freshman Hometown: Arlington, TX High School: Martin Height: 5-4 Position: Forward Club Team: Dallas Texans

Promising forward talent who would have been firmly in the mix as a top offensive contributor, if not for anterior-cruciate (ACL) knee injury suffered in her final regular-season game with Dallas Texans (May 2007) ... has made strong progress in her rehabilitation but is unlikely to return to competitive action until 2008 spring season ... athletic and quick forward, with great mobility and tireless workrate ... battle-tested competitor who knows how to handle pressure and win big games, as product of elite Texans club ... her on-field personality and playing flair should add to Notre Dame's long tradition of producing exciting players in the attacking third ... a creative player, constantly in motion and effective at getting in behind the defense ... very dangerous when running at opponent but looking to improve on playing with her back to the goal ... also will be focused on boosting her goalscoring efficiency ... expected to be tremendous addition, as she will provide yet another dimension to already potent attack ... has versatility to play multiple positions if needed ... her transition to college life should be aided by unique opportunity to attend classes and live on-campus at Notre Dame during 2007 summer session (her courses included international relations and principles of calculus) ... four other current Notre Dame players similarly have benefitted from attending early-entry summer session in past three years: fellow freshman Rose Augustin, junior Brittany Bock (in '05), and sophomores Amanda Clark and Michele Weissenhofer (in '06) ... will have brief reunion with two Dallas Texans teammates - Leslie Briggs and Nikki Washington - when Notre Dame faces North Carolina in 2007 preseason ... one of six Texas natives on current team, along with senior goalkeeper Lauren Karas (Flower Mound HS), senior defender Jennie Bireley (Plano/Ursuline Acad.), junior forward Kerri Hanks (Allen HS), junior midfielder Becca Mendoza (North Garland HS) and sophomore defender Ashley Galovic (Plano East HS) ... joins Notre Dame program that has featured 19 previous Texas natives, including 1990 captain Bernie Holland (Dallas/Ursuline), early-1990s forward Stephanie Porter (Spring/Klein HS), defender Tiffany Thompson (Houston/Cypress Creek), All-America/Academic All-America defender Monica Gonzalez (Richardson/Plano East), big-game 'keeper Liz Wagner (Spring/Klein) and clutch goalscorer Amanda Guertin (Grapevine HS) ... inherits number-four jersey worn by standout defender Kim Lorenzen (2006 captain), with others who have worn four including the likes of defender Molly Lennon ('92), forward Stacia Masters ('97) and midfielder Mia Sarkesian ('02).

ODP/CLUB HIGHLIGHTS: Member of ODP Region III team in 2003, playing for ODP North Texas state team from 2002-04 ... invited to 2003 National Team Camp (Austin) ... key member of Dallas Texans from 2001-2007, helping team advance to USYS national semifinals in 2004 and '06 ... led Texans to 2004-06 North Texas titles and spot in Region III tournament ... helped Texans win 2004 Region III title in Austin before advancing to Orlando for nationals ('06 held in Des Moines, Iowa) ... scored winning goal in final game of 2005 Disney Showcase (the Texans also won that event in '06) ... received Texans outstanding attacker award ... played for Tejanos club from 1999-2001.

PREP & PERSONAL: All-conference all four seasons at Martin High School, helping win four conference titles and compile 2005 undefeated season (as a sophomore) ... first team all-region as a sophomore and junior ... led team in scoring her first three seasons (first team all-district each year) ... named Martin's attacker of the year in 2004, as only freshman on varsity ... set team record for assists in a season (26, in '04) ... named one of three "players to watch" by Fort Worth Star-Telegram ... named to 2004 Plano Invitational all-tournament team ... recent Notre Dame baseball pitcher Tyler Jones ('05 graduate) also attended Martin ... born Sept. 30, 1988, in Fort Worth, Texas ... daughter of Ted and Wendy Knaack ... full name is Taylor Ann Knaack ... enrolled in the First Year of Studies ... intends to major in psychology.