March 25, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – The 16th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes avenged their 2002 first-round NCAA loss to the 14th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a 12-9 victory at Moose Krause Stadium on Tuesday. The Buckeyes got four first-half goals from sophomore Regina Oliver and two each from juniors Caroline Weatherill and Noemi Hites to improve their winning streak to six straight games.
Last May, the Irish eliminated Ohio State from the NCAA tournament with an 11-7 win over the Buckeyes at Moose Krause Stadium. On Tuesday, the Bucks scored three times in the first six minutes then saw Notre Dame cut the lead to one goal three times before holding onto for the win.
Notre Dame was paced by Danielle Shearer (Sr., Hampstead, Md.), who had two goals and an assist, and junior Lauren Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa.) who added two goals in the loss.
The defeat, the second in a row for the Irish, drops Notre Dame to 2-3 on the year while the Buckeyes improve to 6-1 on the year.
Ohio State got off to its quick start with goals from Shannon Wilson (10 seconds into the game), Oliver and Tracey Bounds just 5:52 into the game. The Irish answered back with goals from Shearer and Fischer to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Buckeyes made it 5-2 on goals by K.C. Carter and Oliver (her second) with 19:35 left in the half. Fischer made it 5-3 on a nifty setup in front by Abby Owen (Jr., Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.). Hites first goal made it 6-3 only to be offset by Eleanor Weille’s (Sr., Garden City, N.Y.) goal to cut the lead to 6-4. Oliver sandwiched two more goals around Irish scores by Shearer and Meredith Simon (Jr., Flemington, N.J.) to make it 8-6 at the half.
The two teams traded scoring chances early in the second half before Weatherill got her first of two free-position goals with 22:26 left in the game. Owen (19:27) and Anne Riley (Sr., Marblehead, Mass.) cut the lead to 9-8, but that was as close as the Irish would get. OSU scored three of the last four goals in the game to lock up the 12-9 win.
In the game, the Irish ended up with 32 shots on goal to Ohio State’s 31. Notre Dame’s Jen White (Sr., Annapolis, Md.) finished the game with nine saves. OSU’s Erin Forquer also made nine saves in the win.
Notre Dame returns to action on Saturday, March 29, when the Irish travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech in a 1:00 p.m. game. The Irish are 1-0 in BIG EAST play this season.
Game Summary
First-Half ScoringTeam Time Score Goal AssistOSU 29:50 0-1 Shannon WilsonOSU 26:47 0-2 Regina OliverOSU 24:08 0-3 Tracey BoundsND 23:57 1-3 Danielle ShearerND 23:15 2-3 Lauren FischerOSU 20:56 2-4 K.C. Carter Tracey BoundsOSU 19:35 2-5 Regina Oliver (2)ND 16:43 3-5 Lauren Fischer (2) Abby OwenOSU 16:20 3-6 Noemi HitesND 11:45 4-6 Eleanor Weille Danielle ShearerOSU 5:45 4-7 Regina Oliver (3) Noemi HitesND 3:35 5-7 Danielle Shearer (2)ND 2:37 6-7 Meredith SimonOSU 0:37 6-8 Regina Oliver (4)
Second-Half ScoringTeam Time Score Goal AssistOSU 22:26 6-9 * Caroline WeatherillND 19:27 7-9 Abby OwenND 17:58 8-9 Anne Riley Crysti FooteOSU 12:53 8-10 * Caroline Weatherill (2)OSU 6:36 8-11 Noemi Hites (2) Ashley EvansND 5:12 9-11 Crysti Foote Meredith SimonOSU 1:28 9-12 Alexia Vogler
* indicates free position goal
Scoring: 1st 2nd FinalOhio State (6-1) 8 4 12Notre Dame (2-3) 6 3 9
GoalkeepersOhio State: Erin Forquer (60:00, 9 goals against, 9 saves)ND: Jen White (60:00 minutes, 12 goals against; 9 saves)