Sept. 19, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team created several scoring chances throughout the game but was unable to find the net as the Irish played to a scoreless tie with 16th-ranked Stanford in Friday’s first-round action at the Santa Clara Adidas Classic.
Sophomore goalkeeper Erika Bohn and the rest of the Irish defense posted their third straight shutout and now have held the opposition scoreless in the last 355 minutes of action.
Notre Dame (6-0-1) – which has gone unbeaten in its last 14 overtime games (10-0-4), dating back to 1999 – finished with a 13-7 shot edge, including a near-goal by senior Amanda Guertin in the 66th minute. Guertin found herself ummarked near the center of the box and sent a 14-yard chip shot towards the right corner of the net – but Stanford All-American goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart made a leaping tip and the ball clanged off the crossbar to preserve the deadlock.
Stanford (3-2-1) and Notre Dame both entered the game having allowed just three goals this season but the Irish were the nation’s third-ranked scoring offense, with an average of 4.50 goals per game.
Despite seeing its season-opening win streak come to an end, the Irish are one of just 13 unbeaten teams remaining in all of Division I women’s soccer. The game marked just the fourth scoreless tie in the program’s history (spanning nearly 350 games) while only two previous Notre Dame teams have allowed fewer goals during the first seven games of a season (the ’93 team allowed just two goals in the first seven games of that season while the ’95 NCAA-title team started with seven shutouts).
The Irish rolled up eight shots and most of their scoring chances in the first half of play but could not beat Barnhart, whose 18 shutouts last season included the 1-0 win over Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament round of 16. Senior midfielder Kim Carpenter had a chance in the opening minutes but cracked her shot just over the crossbar. Minutes later, sophomore forward Katie Thorlakson showed her touch on the ball with a chip pass that led Mary Boland into open space down the right side, but the junior forward volleyed the chance over the bar.
A classic combination play came later in the half, with the five-pass sequence featuring rare back-to-back give-and-go passes. Jen Buczkowski put the play in motion as she entered the attacking third, touching a short pass ahead to fellow freshman midfielder Lizzie Reed. With her back to the goal, Reed played the ball out to Buczkowski’s left and the Irish playmaker then duplicated that give-and-go exchange with Carpenter seconds later before lofting a leftside cross into the box – with Barnhart in position to collect Boland’s 10-yard volley.
Senior forward Amy Warner was possibly the best player on the field, playing nearly the entire game while keeping constant pressure on the Stanford defense with her pace of play and presence as a regular scoring threat.
Notre Dame dominated the first 25 minutes of play before Stanford had a couple of scoring changes before the intermission – but the Cardinal managed just two total shots in the final 65 minutes of play (second half and OT). Both teams managed just one shot in overtime (neither required a save) while Notre Dame finished with five total shots on target (to Stanfords’ two). Both teams had two corner kicks in regulation, with the Irish adding two more in the extra 20 minutes of play.
NOTES: Since yielding an early goal to Arizona State on Sept. 5, the Irish have allowed just one goal in the last 460 minutes (including the 355 minute shutout streak) … Bohn is 15-1-1 in her last 17 games with the Irish, allowing just nine goals in those games (8 shutouts, 9 games with 1 GA) … Bohn has allowed just three goals in her last five outings vs. NSCAA top-25 teams (3-1 vs. UConn, 1-0 vs. Michigan, 3-1 vs. Purdue, 1-0 vs. Stanford, 0-0 vs. Stanford) … ND is 21-10-3 vs. teams ranked in the NSCAA top-25 poll during the five-year Randy Waldrum era … the Irish now have posted solid results in their last seven regular-season tournament games on the road (5-0 vs. Washington and 1-0 vs. Portland at the 2000 UP Invitational, 2-1 vs. Hartford and 5-2 vs. Maryland at the ’02 Maryland Classic, 9-1 vs. Hartford and 3-0 vs. Wake Forest at the ’03 UConn Classic and Friday’s 0-0 tie with Stanford) … ND continues to lead the tight series vs. Stanford (4-3-1), with the last four games between the teams including Friday’s tie and three one-goal games (a 1-0 ND home win in the ’99 NCAA round of 16, a 2-1 ND home win in OT and last year’s 1-0 loss at Stanford in the NCAA round of 16) … the other scoreless ties in ND history include: vs. Dayton in 1991, vs. North Carolina in 1994 (played in St. Louis, ended UNC’s NCAA-record 92-game winning streak) and at UConn in 2000 … the Irish return to action on Sunday vs. the host and 10th-ranked Broncos (1:30 PDT), with the game to be broadcast live nationally by College Sports Television (South Bend’s WHME will air a delayed broadcast at midnight on Sunday).
#2 NOTRE DAME 0 0 0 0 – 0
STANFORD 0 0 0 0 – 0
Shots: ND 8-4-0-1 – 13, STAN 5-1-0-1 – 7.
Corner Kicks: ND 1-1-0-2 – 4, STAN 0-1-1-0 – 2.
Saves: ND 1-1-0-0 – 2 (Erika Bohn), STAN 2-3-0-0 – 5 (Nicole Barnhart).
Fouls: ND 8-5-0-2 – 16, STAN 7-7-0-1 – 15.
Offsides: ND 1-1-0-0 – 2, STAN 0-1-0-0 – 1.