ND WOMEN'S SOCCER: Blast cancels competition
Joe Licandro
Sports Writer
In the wake of Tuesday's tragedy, the sports world does not seem so important any more. A day after one of the darkest moments in Amer-ican history, it came to no surprise that all Irish athletic competition scheduled through Sunday was postponed.
As a result the Notre Dame women's soccer team will be unable to play some top-ranked competition this weekend as their games in California against Santa Clara and Stanford were cancelled. The chances of these games being rescheduled are slim because the Notre Dame's regular season schedule is full until the start of the Big East tournament in early November.
Flying to California certainly complicates matters even more as air travel will undoubtedly be extremely hectic and difficult over the course of the next few months.
"I think it was the right decision to cancel the games," said head coach Randy Waldrum. "I don't think in our good conscience that we could travel out to California and not be able to ensure the safety of these kids. We hate to lose these two games, but we have to put things in perspective."
Captain Mia Sarkesian further echoed the sentiments of her coach.
"I definitely think it was the right decision," Sarkesian said. "Soccer really does not seem so important right now. We would have loved to play those two games, but in light of what happened, this was the right thing to do."
While the Irish are disappointed over the cancellation of their games this weekend, they plan to use these next two weeks to recuperate from injuries and work on their fundamental approach to the game.
Starters Ali Lovelace, Randi Scheller, Ashley Drier, and Mary Bolton have all been sidelined recently due to injuries so the extra rest could work to Notre Dame's advantage as they look to regain their form from last year and make another run at the NCAA championship.
"I don't think the two-week layoff will effect us. We need to get healthy. We can still stay back here and focus on getting better as a team," said star midfielder Scheller. "Each day my left leg feels a little stronger. I participated in the full practice today, and I should be ready in two weeks."
While a two-week layoff is a long time in between games, the Irish do not expect the break to effect their overall play. Waldrum plans to conduct practices every day this week and prepare diligently for the rest of the season.
The Irish plan to conduct a scrimmage Friday against some former high-school players who now attend Notre Dame.
"We need to keep the same rhythm going,"Waldrum said. "We plan to hold a scrimmage on Friday against the guys that help us train every day. This we'll give us a chance to simulate game action and work on our weaknesses."
Notre Dame will not be in action again until Friday, Sept. 21 at home against Villanova. After four games this season, Notre Dame's record stands at 3-0-1. The cancellation of the trip prevents the Irish from taking their first road trip of the season. The team will not play its first road game until Sept. 28 against the University of Pittsburgh.
Despite the missed opportunity to gain some valuable road experience, the Irish will be fine at the end of the season. "I don't expect that missing those two games will hurt us," Scheller said. "If anything, we will come out more focused and more excited than before. After two weeks of practicing against each other, we will be more than ready to play another game."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, September 13, 2001
