Irish game plan pays off in win over No. 1 Carolina
- by Soccer America , Sep 15, 2013
North Carolina finished with an 18-5 edge in shots, but freshman goalkeeper Kaela Little anchored the Irish defense, making five saves to record her third career shutout.
“It was classic Notre Dame-Carolina,” Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said. “Every time we play one another, it’s going to be a hard-fought, physical match that’s probably going to come down to one or two plays, and that’s exactly what happened today. I thought we handled the moment much better than the first time we played a ranked team [a 1-0 loss to then-No. 2 UCLA] and executed the way we’re capable of."
The Irish did what few teams dare to do and that is take the game to Tar Heels.
"We looked very strong in the first half, particularly in the midfield, and did a great job of putting them under some pressure,” he added.
The lone goal came when Andrews, the two-time Gatorade High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year, scored on a header off a cross from Brittany Von Rueden.
“Morgan’s goal and Brittany’s service were top shelf, added Waldrum, "and it certainly gave our team an added lift and the confidence we needed to weather the storm in the second half.”
Waldrum said the player of the match, though, was sophomore midfielder Cari Roccaro, who helped shut down 2012 Soccer America Women's Player of the Year Crystal Dunn, with whom she played on the same club team, Albertson Fury, and the 2012 U.S. Under-20 World Cup championship team.
“I thought Cari was the player of the match, no question about it,” Waldrum said. “The work she put in to track Crystal was exceptional. Our center backs, Katie [Naughton] and Sammy [Scofield], also played a very strong game for us, and Kaela had another solid day in goal. It was great to see so many young players coming along and developing in a hostile environment, especially one that only a handful of them had every played in before.”
Top 25 Upsets ...
-- Natalia Ledezma scored a goal with 30 seconds left to give UC Irvine a 1-0 win over No. 5 BYU, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season.
-- A goal from freshman McKenzie Muchow -- the first of her career -- gave Butler arguably the best win in the women's program history as the Bulldogs defeated No. 14 Michigan, 1-0. The loss was the first for the Wolverines after six wins.
-- Lynn Williams scored her third game-winner of the season to give Pepperdine a 1-0 overtime win over No. 23 USC in the first regular-season meeting between the Southern California schools since 1998.
-- Dagny Olson, Rachel Tejada and Allie Newsom scored in the first 29 minutes for Illinois State, and the Redbirds held off No. 25 Marquette, which rallied for two goals by Emily Jacobson, for a 3-2 win.
SEMINOLES END DURHAM DROUGHT. Kristin Grubka’s header in the 87th minute was the difference as No. 7 Florida State remained unbeaten at 6-0-2 with a 2-1 victory over No. 12 Duke for its first win in 10 meetings in Durham. The Blue Devils struck on a goal by Kim DeCesare in the 19th minute, but the lead was short lived however as Berglind Thorvaldsdottir found the equalizer just 48 seconds later on a blast from 20 yards.
“It is a tough trip,” Florida State head coach Mark Krikorian said. “We knew coming up and playing at Wake [0-0 tie] and then at Duke would be very challenging games for us and they proved to be. It’s another step in the right direction for this program to come up here and get four big points.”
Freshman Watch ...
Freshman Savannah Jordan scored a pair of second-half goals to give the No. 19 Florida a 2-0 win over previously undefeated Minnesota. She has eight goals in eight games, including three multi-goal matches.
PIONEER RECORD. Kristen Hamilton scored two goals and added an assist to lead No. 20 Denver to a 3-0 victory over previously unbeaten and untied Colorado. Hamilton tied and broke Denver’s all-time record with 43 career goals, passing Taryn Hemmings (2004-08) and Kathy Conklin (1989-92).
Unbeaten and untied ...
Denver (7-0-0)
Georgetown (7-0-0)
Iowa (7-0-0)
Virginia (7-0-0)
Penn (4-0-0)
