Sept. 5, 2014
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A huge debut game from freshman forward Karin Muya (London, England/Burntwood School) and a balanced collective attack was the key for the University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team on Friday night, leading the No. 25/18 Fighting Irish to a 2-0 win over No. 16/21 Santa Clara at Buck Shaw Stadium. The win was just the second for Notre Dame on Santa Clara’s home field in eight all-time contests, and the first since Sept. 21, 2003 (a 2-1 Notre Dame win).
Friday’s victory was also the first for Notre Dame (3-2) on the West Coast since earning a 1-0 decision at Loyola Marymount on Sept. 12, 2010. The Fighting Irish are now 16-17-3 in games played out West in their history.
Notre Dame finished with a 12-4 edge in shots (8-1 shots on goal), and limited the Broncos to only one shot attempt in the second half. The Fighting Irish also earned five corner kicks to just one for Santa Clara.
“I was really proud of the team, they played from start to finish,” Notre Dame head coach Theresa Romagnolo said. “They brought a great effort, they worked hard, and that was something I wanted to see.”
Sophomore midfielder Morgan Andrews (Milford, N.H./Milford) broke through for her first goal of 2014 in the 18th minute off a great feed from Muya. Making her first career Fighting Irish appearance and start, Muya drove hard into the right corner and skillfully saved the ball on the end line from a Santa Clara defender and cut toward the net. She centered a perfect pass out front to a cutting Andrews, who buried a 15-yard strike into the top left corner at 17:27. Andrews’ first goal of the year, and Muya’s first career point, put Notre Dame in front 1-0.
“The easiest part was the actual assist, because I had five yards of space and Morgan was screaming for the ball,” Muya said with a laugh.
The Fighting Irish put the match away in the 82nd minute, as sophomore goalkeeper Kaela Little (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley) flipped the field brilliantly with a dropkick clearance that carried up the middle of the pitch. Muya stole the ball from a retreating Santa Clara defender, chipping a running flick over the reach of Bronco goalkeeper Andi Tostanoski into the goal for her first career goal at 81:53. The freshman’s second scoring play of the evening pushed the Notre Dame advantage to 2-0.
“That was tough, I was so tired and breathless,” Muya said. “My match fitness, I am not used to playing full just yet, and America is such a different game compared to England, I was exhausted. But I had run that far, and it was a poor pass back to the keeper. I sprinted and kept my composure to finish it.”
Notre Dame controlled the early pace of the contest, attempting three shots in the first 12 minutes to get the offense in motion. An attempt from the top of the box by senior forward Lauren Bohaboy (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita) traveled dangerously past the right post to cap the Fighting Irish flurry that featured a save by Bronco keeper Tostanoski.
Santa Clara (2-2) picked up its first two shots of the match 15 minutes in. Leading scorer Sofia Huerta rolled a long attempt into Notre Dame goalkeeper Little in the 15th minute, and followed with a dangerous bender from the left wing a minute later that sailed past the right post and out of play.
“(The defensive effort) was huge,” Romagnolo said. “I thought a big factor was the way we defended as a team. We made things predictable for the back four, and when they did have issues they dealt with them very well.”
Andrews found space in the front of the net less than two minutes after her goal, rocking a clean shot on frame that Tostanoski snagged sprawling to her right to take away a second Fighting Irish goal.
Santa Clara went nearly 20 minutes without a shot attempt before a ball got loose over the top to Kat McAuliffe, who received a pass down the left flank and made a shifty move back up field. A strike from inside the box by the Bronco attacker flew wide to the left of the cage, and a diving Little, to flip fields for Notre Dame with a goal kick.
Late runs down the left wing by sophomore forward Kaleigh Olmsted (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) set up cross opportunities for Bohaboy in the center of the pitch, but Tostanoski came off her line on both occasions to swipe the ball and deny the service. Unable to break through a second time before the end of the opening Notre Dame carried its early 1-0 lead into halftime.
Andrews drove the ball hard into the right corner during the tail end of the 57th minute, earning a Fighting Irish corner kick opportunity. The Notre Dame midfielder set the ball up herself from the spot and sent a low serve into the box that found its way Olmsted with a straightaway look on goal, but Olmsted’s attempt was blocked before it left her foot.
Santa Clara had its first scoring threat of the second half, as Muya picked up a yellow card following a hard foul in the Notre Dame third to give the Broncos a free kick. A short restart left Jordan Jesolva with a good look from distance, but the Santa Clara shot drifted wide to the left.
Andrews led all players with four shots (all on goal) to pace the Notre Dame offense, while junior forward Anna Maria Gilbertson (Davis, Calif./Davis) added three shot attempts. Little claimed her second shutout of the season, turning away one shot in the full 90 minutes in net.
Notre Dame travels to No. 4 Stanford on Sunday for a 1 p.m. (PT) kickoff at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
“I was super proud of the way we hustled out there (tonight), the possessions that we had were very good,” Romagnolo said. “We were sharp and brought great intensity. We’ll enjoy this tonight, and then tomorrow we will start thinking about Stanford and what we need to do on Sunday.”
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.
#25/18 Notre Dame 2, #16/21 Santa Clara 0
Sept. 5, 2014
Santa Clara, Calif. (Buck Shaw Stadium)
Notre Dame 1 1 – 2
Santa Clara 0 0 — 0
ND 1. Morgan Andrews 1 (Karin Muya) 17:27. ND 2. Muya 1 (-) 81:53.
Total Shots: ND 12 (7-5), SCU 4 (3-1)
Shots on Goal: ND 8 (3-5), SCU 1 (1-0)
Saves: ND 1 (Kaela Little 1 in 90:00), SCU 6 (Andi Tostanoski 6 in 90:00)
Corner Kicks: ND 5 (1-4), SCU 1 (1-0)
Fouls: ND 8 (5-3), SCU 6 (4-2)
Yellow Cards: Karin Muya (ND, 60:57); Kaleigh Olmsted (ND, 70:51); Lauren Bohaboy (ND, 87:33)
Offsides: ND 1, SCU 0
Records: ND 3-2, SCU 2-2
Next for ND: At No. 4 Stanford, 1 p.m. (PT) Sunday in Stanford, Calif., Pac-12 Network
— Tony Jones, Media Relations Assistant