Oct. 17, 1999
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The sixth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team allowed four goals in a 9:19 span in the first 20:39 of the game in a 4-2 loss at top-ranked Santa Clara on Sunday in front of 4,051 fans. The Broncos’ Aly Wagner scored twice and Mandy Clemens and Devvyn Hawkins each added goals during the scoring spree. Jen Grubb and Anne Makinen scored second-half goals for the Irish, who fall to 11-3-0 with the loss. Santa Clara improves to 15-0-0. Notre Dame returns to action on Fri., Oct. 22, when it plays host to 11th-ranked Connecticut at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Field.
After falling behind 4-0 in the first half, the Irish regrouped in the second half. Meotis Erikson nearly gave Notre Dame’s its first goal in the third minute of the second half but her header bounced off the crossbar. Makinen put the Irish on the board at 65:04 when Ali Lovelace beat Bronco defender Danielle Slaton around the top of the right corner of the box and served the ball to Makinen, who scored from eight yards out into the lower right corner of the net. Grubb pulled Notre Dame within 4-2 when she blasted a free kick from the top left corner of the box into the upper corner of the net at 68:43.
Wagner’s first goal came at 11:20 when she converted a penalty kick after Clemens was fouled in the box. Clemens then scored at 13:49 when Hawkins slipped a pass through the Irish back line. Hawkins scored the game-winning goal at 19:31 when she headed in a shot that Irish goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene saved and tipped off the crossbar. Wagner closed out the scoring for Santa Clara at 20:39 when she blasted a shot into the lower right corner from 20 yards.
Santa Clara’s defense kept the Irish out the net the rest of the way after Grubb’s goal as the Broncos won for the 25th straight time at Buck Shaw Stadium, named after a former All-American football player at Notre Dame from 1919-21. The Broncos had a 16-8 advantage in shots and 6-3 in corner kicks. Santa Clara committed 18 fouls to 11 for the Irish. Yellow cards were issued to Santa Clara’s Kathleen Celio and Kerry Cathcart and Notre Dame’s Monica Gonzalez.