Makinen leads Irish to Final Four
Mike Connolly
Sports Writer
For 24 straight games, the Irish women's soccer team never found itself trailing when time ticked off the clock. For 17 straight games they held on to the No. 1 ranking in the country. For 45 minutes, they dominated defending champion North Carolina in the semifinals of the Women's College Cup.
But then 24 games of injury, 24 games of fatigue and North Carolina quick strike offense caught up with the Irish.
"I was really proud of the effort, due to a lot of things we fought through all season due to injury," head coach Randy Waldrum said after the Tar Heels scored two second half goals to end Notre Dame's perfect season.
The Irish battled to a 23-0-1 record in Waldrum's second year leading the Irish but knee injuries to key players like Ashley Dryer, Kelly Lindsey and Amy Warner finally ended their run to a title.
But what a run it was.
Notre Dame opened the season with dominating wins against Detroit (6-0), Tulsa (2-0) and Providence (5-1) before facing its first real challenge of the season Ñ the Santa Clara Broncos.
The Irish knocked the previously undefeated Broncos out of the 1999 NCAA tournament. The Broncos entered Alumni Field with revenge on their minds but Anne Makinen sent them home with a 6-1 blowout loss. The senior from Finland, who was later named the Hermann Trophy winner as the top women's college soccer player, assisted on two goals and converted a penalty kick for another goal as the Irish completed dominated the Broncos.
"Our team is just not ready for this type of competition," Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith said after the game.
Three wins against west coast soccer powers Stanford, Washington and Portland propelled Notre Dame to its first No. 1 ranking in women's soccer since 1996.
"It's certainly a special moment but we hope there are many more to come for us," Waldrum said in a prepared statement.
There were nine more special moments for Notre Dame before it hit the only blemish on its regular season record. After winning 16 games in a row, the Irish had their first set back against the Connecticut Huskies. Connecticut played strong defense against the Irish and settled for a 0-0 tie.
Four games later, however, Notre Dame would have its revenge with a 1-0 win against the Huskies in the finals of the Big East Championships at Alumni Field.
The win gave the Irish their sixth straight Big East women's soccer championship. The Irish have won the title every year they have been in the league.
The Irish entered NCAA play undefeated for just the second time in the history of the program. The Irish entered the 1997 tournament undefeated as well.
The Irish easily advanced to the semifinals of the Women's College Cup for the second straight year. They outscored their opponents 7-1 including a 2-1 win against Santa Clara in the quarterfinals.
All Sports Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
