Astroturf challenges Notre Dame
By MIKE CONNOLLY
The biggest challenge facing the Notre Dame women's soccer team this weekend is not the St. John's Red Storm or the long road trip to New York.
It's the Astroturf on DaSilvia Memona Field.
"Playing on Astroturf is a whole different game," head coach Randy Waldrum said. "The game is going to be a lot faster. The quality of the turf there isn't very good, and there is a bit of a crown to the field.
"All of those things will come into play," he continued. "I am not a real big fan of playing soccer games on Astroturf. I don't think it is very conducive to our sport at all."
The Astroturf will pose bigger challenges than just a faster style of play. With Irish junior captain Kelly Lindsey still suffering from a sprained knee, Waldrum is concerned about letting her play on the Astroturf, which is less forgiving than natural grass and tends to aggravate injuries.
He said he would prefer to hold her out and let her rest for stronger future opponents.
Lindsey, however, is not the kind of player who likes missing games.
"She's the kind of player that wants to play," Waldrum said. "It might be that we get her some minutes to begin with and then get her off."
Injured reserve
Lindsey is not the only Irish player who is fighting through an injury. Ali Lovelace, a freshman midfielder from Dallas, Ga., has a quad pull and will not play against St. John's.
Ashley Dryer suffered a sprained ankle just before halftime of Notre Dame's 3-2 overtime loss to North Carolina last Friday night. Dryer did not practice this week, and her status for Sunday will be a game-time decision.
Even with all the injuries, the Irish, who were ranked fourth by the NSCAA and third by Soccer Times on Sept. 6, should handle the Red Storm easily.
St. John's does not have a single player on the All-Big East preseason first team; the Irish have four — goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene and midfielders Jen Grubb, Jenny Streiffer and Anne Makinen.
With veterans like Beene, Grubb, Streiffer and Makinen on the team, Waldrum said he doesn't think he will have any trouble motivating the team for game against St. John's.
"This group so far has no struck me as a group that goes into the games lightly," he said. "I just haven't seen any indicators of a let down. I think everyone now, especially since it is so early in the season, is really excited to play.
"Maybe if this game were at the tail-end of the season it might be a different story. But right now there is still a high motivation just to play somebody different," he said.
Offensive attack
In their last game against Duke, the Irish showcased a high powered offensive attack that scored four goals in the first half.
Waldrum said he wants to see that attacking-style offense continue against St. John's.
"I think we were very good in the first half against Duke," the first-year Irish head coach said. "We were able to get our midfielders forward and we were able to get in behind their defense a lot. Hopefully we'll be able to do that against St. John's too."
If the Irish offense scores a lot of goals early, Beene should leave the game early like she did against Duke.
While Beene is an All-American and candidate for the Herman award — given to the nation's best women's soccer player — backup goalies Elizabeth Wagner and Sani Post are inexperienced.
They both played in the second half against Duke, and Waldrum hopes to get them into the game against St. John's as well.
"We want to get some experience, and right now there are very close," Waldrum said. "In these first few games, we want to get them both some time."
All Sports Stories for Friday, September 10, 1999
