Erikson assists in Irish offensive explosion vs. Devils
By MIKE CONNOLLY
After playing close to their chest against the Tarheels, the Irish offense let it all hang out Sunday afternoon against the Blue Devils in their 4-1 victory.
The Irish showed no signs of an emotional letdown after their draining loss to North Carolina on Friday night. Notre Dame controlled the ball for most of the game and dictated the flow of the game.
"There is a lot of energy that goes into the North Carolina game," junior Meotis Erikson said. "We had to find that emotion that we had on Friday night. Not because we weren't excited about Duke but because we put so much into the North Carolina game. We had to find that emotion again."
To find the same intensity that they had against North Carolina, the Irish focused on getting their first win, according to junior captain Kelly Lindsey.
"We wanted to get our first win of the year and we didn't get it against North Carolina," she said. "So this was the best time to get it — the next game. Hopefully this is the start of our winning streak."
Erikson dished out three assists and Jenny Heft scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Irish offense as Notre Dame jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The Irish offense was looking to explode after the North Carolina game.
"We discussed in the North Carolina game that we weren't getting enough offense as we would have liked," Erikson said. "Maybe we were too defensive minded. Today, coach talked about how we had so much talent so we need to get involved."
The Irish offense got involved early and often. Anne Makinen took a pass from Jenny Heft and dribbled right pass the goalie for an empty net goal. Makinen threw a fake on Duke goalie Isis Dallis that completely stunned her and left her on the ground.
Erikson picked up her first assist 10 minutes later. Erikson and Heft got the ball to All-American midfielder Jenny Streiffer on the left wing. Streiffer fired the ball past Dallis from 15 yards out to put the Irish up 2-0.
Four minutes later, Erikson lofted a pass over the top of the defense to Heft, who launched the ball past Dallis. The Irish closed out their offensive surge in the 39th minute when sophomore Kelly Tulisiak redirected an Erikson pass past the outstretched keeper for her second career goal.
Erikson credited her teammates for her assists.
"My teammates made great runs," she said. "I just had to get them the ball."
The better offense was a result of a change in attitude, according to Irish head coach Randy Waldrum.
"We talked a little but about our defensive attitude," he said. "We were worried too much about defending in Friday's game. We tried to come out with a different mentality today."
Even with the more offensive minded strategy, the defense remained strong. Duke got few scoring opportunities and only fired six shots on goal.
The lone Duke goal came on a defensive miscue by Irish All-American Jen Grubb. Late in the first half, Grubb turned the ball over to Alexis Highsmith at the top of the penalty box. Highsmith fired from point blank range at Irish goalkeeper LeKeysia Beene. The goal was Highsmith's second of her career.
All Sports Stories for Monday, September 6, 1999
