Oct. 17, 2002
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Junior forward Amanda Guertin added to her career collection of clutch plays, burying a chance midway through the second half as the 23rd-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team took another step in its lateseason surge with Thursday’s 1-0 victory at No. 13 Michigan.
The win completed a rare stretch of four consecutive games vs. top-25 opponents for Notre Dame (9-6-0), with the Irish also gaining a valuable edge in the Great Lakes Regional rankings. Michigan (now 11-4-0) and Purdue entered the week tied for first in the regional rankings, with Notre Dame third.
Junior defender Kim Carpenter set the goal in motion with a pass down the right flank. Sophomore forward Katie Thorlakson then caught her defender flatfooted, with Thorlakson faking a play on the ball and letting it carry down the sideline before sending a cross into the box. The ball sailed to the far left post but Michigan’s clearance landed at the feet of Guertin, who calmly sent a 16-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net (58:22).
The goal was Guertin’s sixth of the season and the 32nd of her career, with 13 holding up as gamewinners (tying former teammate Meotis Erikson for seventh in ND history). Guertin’s 13 career GWGs include six in one-goal games and three in four career games vs. the Wolverines (most recently in last season’s 2-1 overtime win).
The game marked just the third time in ND women’s soccer history that the Irish have faced four consecutive NSCAA top-25 teams during the regular season, with the challenging 2002 stretch (2-2-0) producing a better record than the previous stretches of four straight vs. top-25 teams (1-3-0 in 1992 and 1-2-1 in ’95).
Notre Dame posted its 11th first-half shutout of the season – but first in the last four games – while the Irish offense continued to struggle finding the net in the first 45 minutes (ND’s season totals now include just six first-half goals, with 24 in the second half).
The Irish fielded the same lineup as in Sunday’s 3-1 win over #8 UConn, with junior Melissa Tancredi continuing to make progress as she adjusts to the role of central back.
Notre Dame now has won all nine of its meetings with Michigan and is 21-9-2 vs. top-25 teams during the Randy Waldrum era (since ’99). The win also halted ND’s three-game losing streak on the opponent’s field.
# 23 NOTRE DAME 0 1 - 1
#13 MICHIGAN 0 0 - 0
ND 1. Amanda Guertin 6 (-) 58:22.
Shots: ND 7-9-16, UM 2-4-6. Corner Kicks: ND 3-1-4, UM 0-1-1.
Saves: ND (Erika Bohn) 3, UM (Suzie Grech) 4.
Fouls: ND 21, UM 11. Offsides: ND 0, UM 2
Yellow Cards: Melissa Tancredi, ND (6; 41:04).