Two weeks after most Notre Dame students attended their first classes of the semester, sophomores Brittany Bock and Carrie Dew are finally back on campus.
The pair returned from Russia Tuesday after helping Team USA to a fourth place finish at the U-20 World Champion-ships.
Bock and Dew combined for 15 goals and nine assists last season for the Irish, playing key roles in Notre Dame's 22-3 season that included a Big East Championship and a quarterfinal run in the NCAA Tournament.
Irish coach Randy Waldrum said the pair will not immediately return to practice for Notre Dame.
"We're going to give them the week to get adjusted to the travel and the time zone and recover from the tournament they just finished," Waldrum said. "More importantly, we're giving them time to get the academic side of things taken care of. That's got to be our biggest priority since they've missed so much class."
Waldrum said Bock and Dew may work out with the team today, but will not participate in the full practice. The Irish leave tomorrow for Dallas, Texas, where they will face SMU and TCU this weekend.
As for Bock and Dew, Waldrum said they will only be inserted into the lineup if he feels they are needed.
"We'll see how the games go as to whether we play them or not," Waldrum said.
Next week, when Bock and Dew resume full workouts with the team, Waldrum said they will have to earn their starting spots back.
Several players, including freshmen Amanda Clark and Michele Weissenhofer, have played well in the absence of Bock, a forward, and Dew, a defender. Notre Dame is 4-0 without Bock and Dew in the lineup and has scored 16 goals while allowing just two so far this season.
"It's going to pose problems for us, but in a good way," Waldrum said. "Obviously, as well as the team has performed at times, it's going to be important to get them back, but at the same time the players who have been out there have done just fine.
"We're going to have to see how everyone does at practice and then figure out our lineup."
Bock and Dew were in Russia since Aug. 12. The U.S. beat Congo, Argentina and France to advance out of the group stage, then downed Germany 4-1 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Team USA lost in a shootout to China after a scoreless tie and then fell to Brazil in the third place game, also on penalty kicks.
The Irish will take on TCU in Fort Worth, Texas at 7 p.m. Friday. The game against SMU in Dallas will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.