Sept. 9, 2007
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P> SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Shari Summers converted a penalty kick in the 98th minute as fifth-ranked Stanford won a hard-fought battle with second-ranked Notre Dame, 2-1, in final-day action at the Santa Clara Classic. The Irish had taken the lead on a first-half goal by Lauren Fowlkes but Kelley O’Hara tied the game in the 52nd minute, with Notre Dame ultimately going on to suffer its first overtime loss since 1999.
Notre Dame (1-2-0) – which has completed a challenging start to the season that include exhibitions vs. UNC and Virginia, plus regular-season games with Michigan, Florida, SCU and Stanford – opened Sunday’s scoring at Buck Shaw Stadium in the 34th minute, on a sequence set up by sophomore forward Michele Weissenhofer as she angled past a group of Stanford players from the left side. Weissenhofer then played a short pass to the top of the penalty area for senior midfielder Susan Pinnick, who quickly sent the ball on to Kerri Hanks near the top of the six-yard box. Hanks then dropped the ball back to Fowlkes and the freshman buried a one-timer from 12 yards out into the left side of the net (33:37).
The Irish continued to try different lineup combinations, after opening the game in a 4-4-2 formation with Hanks and Fowlkes as the two frontrunners. Freshman goalkeeper Nikki Weiss had a solid showing in her first start with the Irish, with aggressive play on crosses and a huge point-blank save moments before the game-ending PK. Notre Dame played most of the game without its senior leader and team captain Amanda Cinalli, who logged the first 20 minutes in the midfield before being held out for precautionary reasons (after being shaken up in a collision).
The veteran Stanford squad (4-0-0) – which owns other top wins this season over Connecticut and Virginia – tied the game early in the second half, after a short Notre Dame goal kick. Christen Press won the ball on the left side and played a pass into the center of the field for Lizzy George. O’Hara was angling into the play and headed the short pass from George. Weiss had come off her line and was able to get her right hand on the shot, but the ball had enough momentum to roll over the endline for O’Hara’s her third goal of the young season (51:19).
Stanford left back Marisa Abegg provided the lead pass down the left side, setting up the foul that produced the decisive penalty kick. O’Hara gained some separation as she chased the ball into the left side of the box, with a foul from behind sending the ball to the PK spot. Summers – a fifth-year senior midfielder – stepped forward and sent her try to the lower left corner, with Weiss diving too late as the game ended 2-1 (97:13).
The Cardinal had all five of the shots in overtime to finish with a 15-12 edge in total shots (ND had the slight edge in shots on goal, 4-3).
Notre Dame saw its 21-game unbeaten streak in overtime games (14-0-7) come to an end. The only other OT loss in the nine-year Randy Waldrum era came in his first game with the Irish, a 3-2, double-OT game with North Carolina in the 1999 opener.
Hanks (50G-40A) became the 39th player in the 26-year history of Division I women’s soccer ever to reach 40 career goals and 40 assists, doing so early in her junior season after only 56th career games played. She is the seventh Notre Dame player (and one of only two since 2000) to reach the 40-40 milestone, with others in that exclusive group including Cindy Daws (61G-67A), Jenny Streiffer (70G-71A), Monica Gerardo (73G-44A), Anne Makinen (65G-56A), Meotis Erikson (59G-46A) and Katie Thorlakson (55G-73A).
Fowlkes and junior Brittany Bock (who dropped back to a defensive midfielder role in Sunday’s game) were named to the SCU Classic all-tournament team. Santa Clara and Virginia played to a scoreless tie in Sunday’s late game.
The first two weeks of the 2007 season have seen most of the nation’s top teams stumble, with Sunday’s results featuring Portland’s 1-0 loss to Purdue, Indiana’s 2-1 win over USC and West Virginia’s 1-0 victory over Penn State.
1 2 OT – F
#2 Notre Dame (1-2-0) 1 0 0 – 1
#5 Stanford (4-0-0) 0 1 1 – 2
ND 1. Lauren Fowlkes 1 (Kerri Hanks, Susan Pinnick) 33:37; STAN 1. Kelley O’Hara 3 (Lizzy George, Christen Press) 51:19; STAN 2. Shari Summers 1 (PK) 97:13
Shots: ND 7-5-0 – 12, STAN 5-5-5 – 15
Corner Kicks: ND 2-3-0 – 5, STAN 5-2-0 – 7
Saves: ND 1 (Nikki Weiss), STAN 3 (Erica Holland)
Fouls: ND 14, SCU 12
Offside: ND 1. SCU 1
Yellow Cards: Carrie Dew (ND) 36:58, Amanda Clark (ND) 76:40