Sept. 7, 2014
STANFORD, Calif. – In what felt like a marathon ending to a long West Coast road trip, the University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team battled to the final whistle with one of the top teams in the NCAA on Sunday. The No. 25/18 Fighting Irish scratched through the full 110 minutes, earning a 0-0 draw with No. 4 Stanford at Cagan Stadium.
Notre Dame (3-2-1) capped its swing out West with a pair of decisions after claiming a 2-0 shutout win at No. 16/21 Santa Clara on Friday night. Sunday’s draw was Notre Dame’s first decision ever at Stanford (4-0-1) in its fourth all-time trip to Cagan Stadium (entered 0-3 previously).
“I was really proud of the team,” Fighting Irish head coach Theresa Romagnolo said. “They brought a great defensive mentality and toughness to the field, and we had some opportunities to score goals. It didn’t quite happen for us, but overall I was happy with the energy and mentality we brought to the field.”
Notre Dame worked the ball into the Stanford half during the sixth minute, as senior forward Lauren Bohaboy (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) made a nice move to the top of the box on the attack. The Cardinal back line stepped up to deflect the ball away on what was officially credited as a blocked shot.
Stanford had its first chance when striker Chioma Ubogagu worked the ball into the 20-yard zone in the 18th minute, sending a blast from the left of the box that carried wide of the right post to stamp out the Cardinal threat.
Junior forward Anna Maria Gilbertson (Davis, Calf/Davis) gathered a loose ball headed up the middle of the pitch later in the half, advancing past the Stanford defense to set up a clear look on frame. A 25-yard left-footed blast by Gilbertson was snagged by a diving Stanford goalkeeper Jane Campbell.
Ubogagu uncorked a strong strike from straight on in the 32nd minute, but the ball sailed right into the hands of sophomore goalkeeper Kaela Little (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley) to stop the Stanford offensive.
Stanford created the first scoring chance of the second half in the 50th minute, as a dangerous corner kick from Andi Sullivan took a second bounce in the box to Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, whose header bounced right into Little’s grasp for a key save.
The Fighting Irish countered with a pair of scoring chances off the right foot of freshman forward Karin Muya (London, England/Burntwood School), the second of which was corralled by a diving Stanford keeper Campbell in the 65th minute.
Stanford nearly broke through for the match’s first goal in the 68th minute, as a shot by Alex Doll was blocked by the Notre Dame defense. A follow-up shot by Doll was clipped by Little, and junior defender/tri-captain Katie Naughton (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) skillfully swept the ball off the line and out of danger.
“Having Katie kick that one off the end line summed up what we talked about, covering for each other and making sure we are defending as a group,” Romagnolo, who served as an assistant coach at Stanford from 2008-10, said. “We are also always trying to transition into the attack as a group.”
Stanford started an odd-man rush up the pitch in the 88th minute, but a heads-up tackle on the run by Scofield cleared the ball out of play to halt the Cardinal surge to send the match to extra time.
It was Notre Dame’s turn on the counterattack in the 96th minute of the opening overtime period, as a loose ball squirted back to Von Rueden roughly 40 yards out. A Von Rueden service was headed on toward the goal by sophomore midfielder Morgan Andrews (Milford, N.H./Milford), but the ball flew wide to the left of the net.
A dangerous cross into the box by Stanford in the 108th minute clipped Scofield dropping back on defense and skirted in front of the goal. Little snapped the ball off the grass and held on to ensure the draw.
Muya led all Fighting Irish players with three shots, two of which were on goal. Bohaboy added a pair of shot attempts for Notre Dame.
Little turned away six shots during the full 110 minutes in net to pick up the tie on the score sheet. She also extended her current shutout streak to 243 plus minutes in the Fighting Irish goal.
“Stanford is a quality team, and they are going to get better just like we are going to get better,” Romagnolo said. “They haven’t lost a game yet this year and I think you saw why. They have a great defense, and it was a hot day, and both sides were sort of running out of ideas up front.”
Notre Dame returns home on Sept. 12 to host Baylor at 7 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium. The game will be televised via WatchND.tv, and the WatchND app.
To purchase a season pass or single-match tickets for the 2014 Notre Dame women’s soccer season, call the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office at (574) 631-7356, visit the official Notre Dame athletics ticketing web site, UND.com/tickets or stop by the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office windows during normal business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday). Tickets also can be purchased at Alumni Stadium on match days.
For more information on the Fighting Irish women’s soccer program, follow Notre Dame on Twitter (@NDsoccernews or @NDSoccer), like the Fighting Irish on Facebook (facebook.com/NDWomenSoccer) or sign up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the main page at UND.com.
–ND–
#25/18 Notre Dame 0, #4 Stanford 0
Sept. 7, 2014
Stanford, Calif. (Cagan Stadium)
Notre Dame 0 0 0 0 – 0
Stanford 0 0 0 0 – 0
Total Shots: ND 8 (2-5-1-0), STAN 14 (4-6-2-2)
Shots on Goal: ND 4 (1-3-0-0), STAN 6 (2-2-2-0)
Saves: ND 6 (Kaela Little 6 in 110:00), STAN 4 (Jane Campbell 4 in 110:00)
Corner Kicks: ND 2 (0-2-0-0), STAN 6 (1-5-0-0)
Fouls: ND 4 (2-2-0-0), STAN 12 (6-6-0-0)
Offsides: ND 1, STAN 1
Records: ND 3-2-1, STAN 4-0-1
Next for ND: Vs. Baylor, 7 p.m. (ET) Friday at Alumni Stadium, WatchND.tv