ND WOMEN'S SOCCER: Irish calm Red Storm
By: JOE LICANDRO
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame women's soccer team owns the Big East Tournament.
In fact, the Irish have not lost a game in the tournament since joining the conference seven years ago. Notre Dame's quest for a seventh-straight Big East title began Sunday at home with a 2-0 victory against St. John's. Although they were not as dominant as they were a month ago in their 7-0 victory against the Red Storm, the Irish were still good enough to advance to the next round of the tournament.
"To be honest, I am very disappointed with our performance today," said head coach Randy Waldrum. "The only reason why we won today is because we are a more talented team than St. John's. They outworked and outhustled us today. We'll take the win, but we must play better in the next round."
The beginning of the game looked like a mirror image of the Irish's earlier lopsided victory against the Red Storm with the Irish scoring two quick goals in the first half. But St. John's outplayed the Irish in the second half, but were unable to capitalize for the win.
Amanda Guertin scored Notre Dame's first goal less than eight minutes into the first half on a swerving corner kick that eluded the reach of St. John's goalie Tina Fogg. With the goal, Guertin's second corner kick of the season extended her scoring streak to six straight games.
"The wind certainly helped the ball go in the goal," Guertin said. "I was trying to elevate the ball and shoot it towards the far corner. It was a designed shot. I work on it in practice every day."
Shortly after Guertin's goal, Irish senior captain Mia Sarkesian added a goal of her own on a long shot from five feet outside the goalie box. Sarkesian's shot landed in the upper right corner of the net for her sixth goal of the season. Although the Irish got the scores they needed to win. They clearly struggled on offense in large part due to an inability to possess and control the ball in the midfield.
Although they registered 24 shots on goal, the Irish were unable to organize a consistent offensive attack.
"We were not communicating well offensively. We failed to establish any kind of offensive rhythm all game," Waldrum said. "We did not stick to the game plan we had practiced all week. I think the kids just thought that since we beat St. John's 7-0 earlier this year that all we had to do was just show up. St. John's deserves a lot of credit for not backing down."
While the Irish offense was unable to create scoring opportunities in front of the St. John's net after their first two goals, the Notre Dame defense, led by seniors Monica Gonzalez and Lindsey Jones, junior Vanessa Pruzinsky, and freshmen Candace Chapman and Gunnar Gunnarsdottir prevented St. John's from creating any scoring chances of their own. In the first half, St. John's would only mount two shots on goal. While St. John's put more pressure on the Irish in the second half, most of their shots were well beyond the parameters of the goalie box making Irish goalie Liz Wagner's job much easier.
The Irish offense did not play at full strength. Starting forward Melissa Tancredi was held out of action due to a re-aggravation of a knee injury she suffered earlier this year. This forced Waldrum to juggle his lineup. Junior forward Ali Lovelace started in place of Tancredi, while starting defender Candace Chapman would see action at forward in the second half in an effort to catalyze the Irish's offense. Starting freshman midfielder Mary Bolton also missed her third straight week due to an ankle injury. She unlikely to play for the remainder of the Big East tournament, but there is a possibility that she could return for the start of the NCAA tournament in a few weeks.
Waldrum is hopeful that Tancredi will be able to return to the starting lineup this weekend when the Irish travel to the University of Rutger's Yurcak Field to take on a tough Boston College team Friday night. If the Irish beat the Eagles, they will face the winner of the University of Connecticut vs. the University of West Virginia match-up in the finals to be held on Sunday.
The Irish are hoping tough competition raises their level of play.
"We certainly did not play our best game of the season," said Guertin. "But we always play our best against the toughest competition. We will take the win, but I expect us to play much better next week."
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 5, 2001
