Irish play through freezing temperatures to beat Crimson
By KEVIN BERCHOU
Sports Writer
It was a frigid night but the top-ranked Notre Dame women's soccer team was red hot.
Battling the Harvard Crimson in the third round of the NCAA tournament, the Irish blanked the Crimson 2-0 in their first ever meeting.
"I thought we came out with a lot of intensity," said Irish head coach Randy Waldrum. "We really set the tone for not getting ourselves in trouble. I never felt that we were struggling."
When a Harvard defender pushed the ball over the end line in the game's 31st minute, Notre Dame was awarded a corner kick, an opportunity they would be quick to convert.
Senior forward Meotis Erikson lofted a high cross to the far side of the box where a leaping Anne Makinen was able to head the ball into the lower half of the net to provide the Irish with all they would need to win.
"Meotis played the ball to the far post, which was pretty much planned from practice, and the girl in front of me that was marking me jumped at the wrong time," said Makinen. "It just came to my head and I headed it in."
"Anne can finish, so I was trying to hit her," added Erikson.
The Irish have enjoyed considerable success off set plays all season. Nine of the last 13 team tallies have come off corner kicks or free kicks. Waldrum emphasizes the set play in practice.
"We noticed that Harvard puts a couple players on the post and then man-marks in the box and that's very difficult in that kind of a space, because there's so much traffic," said Waldrum. "Late in the season we've begun to spend more time on set pieces and we have had a lot of success."
Still leading by a count of 1-0 as the second half commenced, the Irish moved to put the game out of reach. Again it was a corner kick that made the difference. Erikson served the ball from the right corner and Mia Sarkesian slid the ball past Crimson goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther.
"We needed that second goal to ensure things," said Waldrum. "I was concerned that they might be able to counter us."
Harvard coach Tim Wheaton acknowledged that the second goal was the clincher.
"The second goal was very disappointing," said Wheaton. "In a game like this, to give up a second goal and keep battling is very tough. It takes a lot of character and a lot of fight. We were battling all the way through, trying to get a goal."
Despite the loss, Wheaton was pleased with his squad's effort. "We thought we could give them a battle and I think we did," he said.
With the win the Irish extend their unbeaten streak to 23 games, just one short of the team record, and earn the right to play a familiar foe in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
For the second time this year, the Santa Clara Broncos will make the trip to South Bend.
The Broncos were undefeated last year, before being shocked by the Irish, 1-0, in the NCAA semifinals, in a game they maintain they still should have won. After their 6-1 Irish defeat in September, the Broncos will look to come back and end Notre Dame's unbeaten season.
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 20, 2000
