Sept. 3, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Annie Schefter converted a penalty kick in the 82nd minute and the Notre Dame defense logged yet another dominating effort, as the second-ranked Irish defeated No. 13 Stanford, 1-0, in first-day action at the Notre Dame Adidas Classic.
Notre Dame (3-0-0) – which has allowed just seven shots on goal this season – limited Stanford (0-1-1) to three total shots in the game, with two coming on goal. The Cardinal sent a shot off target in the 16th minute of play and later forced Erika Bohn into a save with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Irish then held the visitors without a shot for the next 45 minutes of game time, with Amy Grady supplying a routine shot from outside the top of the box in the lategoing.
The game followed a pattern of recent defensive struggles between Notre Dame and Stanford, with the last five games in the series featuring a total of just six goals over the course of four one-goal games and a scoreless tie.
Freshman Amanda Cinalli set up Schefter’s second goal of the season by gaining possession in the heart of the penalty area. Lindsey Hunt – a former teammate of Schefter’s with the Olympic Development Program’s Region IV Team – responded with a hard foul and the referee signaled for a penalty kick. Schefter, who again saw most of her time at the new position of forward, then sent a shot into the lower right corner of the net as the Irish finally put the ball past All-American Nicole Barnhart , who had stopped the six previous Notre Dame shots on goal.
Notre Dame finished with a 17-3 edge in total shots while the game featured an unusually low number of corner kicks (two for Stanford, one for Notre Dame).
Leslie Osborne’s overtime goal earlier had given No. 4 Santa Clara a 2-1 win over 23rd-ranked SMU. The Broncos dominated the first half (11-0 shot edge) and owned a lead thanks to Christina Estrada’s header in the 6th minute – but the Mustangs gained the equalizer when Olivia O’Rear knocked in her penalty-kick shot early in the second half.
The tournament concludes on Sunday when Stanford takes on SMU at 11:30 a.m., followed by the top-ranked showdown between Notre Dame and Santa Clara (at approximately 1:30).
The win provides a measure of redemption for the Notre Dame veterans, who has their chances to beat the Cardinal in the two previous meetings. Two years ago, the Irish were surging into the NCAA tournament round-of-16 and nearly overcame the loss of injured All-American Candace Chapman before losing at top-ranked Stanford (1-0, after a goal in the 82nd minute). The 2003 season then saw the Irish settle for a scoreless tie versus the Cardinal, at the Santa Clara Classic (Stanford similarly had just two shots on goal in that ’03 game vs. ND).
Sophomore defensive midfielder Jill Krivacek played a leading role in the shutdown defensive effort, as did the veteran back line of fifth-year All-American Melissa Tancredi, senior Icelandic national teamer Gudrun Gunnarsdottir and sophomore Christie Shaner (an emerging member of the U.S. Under-21 National Team pool).
Sophomore forward Katie Thorlakson failed to factor into a goal for just the third time this season (spanning 11 Notre Dame goals) but the feisty Canadian continued to play at a high level throughout the offensive third.
Notre Dame’s best chance at scoring actually may have come on a try that was slightly off-target, early in the second half. Senior Candace nearly notched her fourth goal of the season, elevating for a ball that was served into the box and snapping a header that flew just outside the left post.
ANNIE SCHEFTER QUOTES – “Cinalli got the ball right in the front of the back line and turned with a girl on her back and beat her and the girl took her down. Then it was `put the ball on the penalty mark’ and I took it from there. … We deserved to beat this team and it would have been a disappointment to walk away 0-0. It shows that we are where we need to be and have to keep going. … If I see No. 11 on the board, I’m happy. People are being thrown around everywhere and I’ll take playing time wherever I can get it. .. It was fun to see familiar faces and it was fun to beat familiar faces. It would have been very frustrating to not have won, because we felt we dominated. … Stanford played very defensively and our back line completely wrapped up any attempt they had at an offense.
ERIKA BOHN – “I just need to keep my head in the game, so I’m ready if anything does happen. It shows how good we are in the back. To give up just three shots to a team like Stanford is awesome.”
STANFORD HEAD COACH PAUL RATCLIFFE – “Notre Dame has a lot of strong athletes with a lot of depth. They kind of `sub you’ and wear you down. … It’s such a good team and if you are an above-average forward, you are going to look really sharp and (Thorlakson) looks really sharp. … On Sunday, hopefully we can get a better results. We still are kind of a work in progress. We need to be more dynamic up front. … Their defenders are very strong and their team in general is a very athletic group. I didn’t see any weaknesses. They are nice and sharp and look a lot fitter.”
NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM – “Stanford has great organization in the back and just a handful of our 17 shots were quality chances. And that’s what you are going to run into versus the top programs. But I’m happy that we kept plugging away, handled the ball so well and kept it. We were able to keep the pressure on in their end. As a team, we moved the ball very well. … Jill (Krivacek) set in their tonight in that defensive midfielder role that is so key and she was so disciplined in keeping her shape all the time. So many of those balls that we played in and they would win and play out, she was in the right position to pick up those `second balls out.’ … If you think you have All-Americans, they have to prove it against top talent and our players did that tonight. … Katie (Thorlakson) is so good with her back to the goal and has tremendous strength with her low center of gravity. She has such great touch on the ball and she is very difficult to get if away from. Now, her confidence is sky-high and she’s taking people on off the dribble. Now, we have the type of players around Katie that are a good complement, with Cinalli and Mary Boland, plus Annie Schefter. The movement that they play off of her fits her game.”
#13 Stanford 0 0 – 0
#2 Notre Dame 0 1 – 1 ND 1. Annie Schefter 2 (81:57).
Shots: STAN 2-1 – 3, ND 9-8 – 17.
Corner Kicks: STAN 1-1 – 2, ND 1-0 – 1.
Saves: STAN 6 (Nicole Barnhart), ND 2 (Erika Bohn).
Fouls: STAN 15, ND 15.
Offsides: STAN 2, ND 0.
Yellow Cards: Christie Shaner (ND) 50:32; Jenny Farenbaugh (STAN) 58:30. #4 Santa Clara 1 0 0 1 – 2
#23 SMU 0 1 0 0 – 1 SCU 1. Christina Estrada 1 (Megan Kakadelas) 5:14; SMU 1. Olivia O’Rear 1 (PK) 55:56; SCU 2. Leslie Osborne 2 (Megan Kakadelas) 106:12. Shots: SCU 11-7-5-3 – 26, SMU 0-7-0-1 – 8.
Corner Kicks: SCU 2, SMU 4.
Saves: SCU 2 (Julie Ryder), SMU 10 (Amanda Clark 9, team 1).
Fouls: SCU 15, SMU 14.
Yellow Cards: Suzanne Collins (SMU) 83:50; John Cassaboon (SMU head coach) 100:47.