Sept. 9, 2001
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The third-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team overcame a sluggish first half to claim a 2-1 lead early in the second half but Wisconsin’s Kelly Kundert scored her second goal of the game with just 6:38 left in regulation, as the Irish and Badgers played to a 2-2 tie in Sunday afternoon action at Alumni Field.
Notre Dame (3-0-1) again was forced to shuffle its lineup, as fifth-year player Monica Gonzalez moved from the defense to the midfield, in place of injured sophomore Randi Scheller. Gonzalez-who played forward during her first two seasons with the Irish-tied the game midway through the first half, with a strong shot from outside the box, while sophomore forward Amy Warner gave the Irish a 2-1 lead in the 57th minute.
The Irish also continued to play without freshman midfielder Mary Boland (out indefinitely with a leg injury) and promising sophomore forward Melissa Tancredi, who could see her first regular-season action next week after missing the entire 2000 season due to injury.
The tie ends Notre Dame’s team-record home winning streak at 29 games, dating back to a 3-2, double-overtime loss to North Carolina in the 1999 opener.
Wisconsin (2-1-1) claimed the lead just 31 seconds into the game, following a miscommunication as the Irish defense attempted to play the ball back to senior goalkeeper Liz Wagner. Kundert capitalized on the loose ball and send her shot into the vacated net for the early Wisconsin lead.
Passes from Kelly Tulisiak and Mia Sarkesian worked the ball from the right side of the field to Gonzalez, who pushed the ball to her left before ripping a leftfooted shot from the top of the box-with the ball tailing to the right as it tucked under the crossbar for the 17th goal of her Notre Dame career (27:54).
Warner created several scoring chances throughout the game (her six shots were three more than any other player in the game), including her second goal of the second early in the second half. Freshman defender Candace Chapman made a strong run down the right side before playing the ball to Warner, who dribbled left and sent a leftfooted 20-yard shot over the head of Wisconsin ‘keeper Kelly Conway for the 2-1 lead (56:10).
Wisconsin’s tying score was set up by a 3-on-2 counterattack, following a Notre Dame corner kick at the other end of the field. Irish junior midfielder Ashley Dryer hustled back to win the ball near the top of the box but Wisconsin’s Kristen Betz gathered the loose ball on the left flank. Betz quickly changed fields with a pass to Kundert, who found herself open for a shot in the upper right corner of the box. Wagner was well off her line and Kundert had the angle, quickly sending a low shot to Wagner’s left for the 2-2 equalizer (83:22).
Conway made four of her six saves in the 30 minutes of overtime play, with Warner launching three of Notre Dame’s five overtimes shots. The Irish finished with an 18-12 edge in shots, 7-4 in corner kicks.
Sunday’s tie also ended ND’s winning streak vs. Big Ten teams at 43 games (dating back to 1989) … since the 1999 double-OT loss to UNC, ND is 5-0-3 in its last eight overtime games
ND HEAD COACH RANDY WALDRUM: “We continue to play a little undermanned because of our injuries and personnel situation, with three of our better offensive players not playing, but that’s not an excuse for how things played out today. Wisconsin came in with a lot of emotion and they battled us, which is what we expected. They took advantage of a miscommunication on our part and then they cashed in that counterattack. But we also had some chances there in the second half where we could have added to the lead. I thought we were in a good flow for much of the second half but we let them hang around and they got the goal when they needed it. We certainly hope to be as healthy as possible next week, because we have some tough games on tap at Santa Clara and Stanford. We’re hoping to have Randi and Melissa back in the lineup next week but we’re not sure when Mary will be back. We’re a long way from where we want to be but there’s plenty of time for this team to keep improving.”
| ? | 1 | 2 | OT | OT | F |
| WISCONSIN (2-1-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| #3 NOTRE DAME (3-0-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
WIS 1. Kelly Kundert 2 (-) 0:31, ND 1. Monica Gonzalez 1 (Mia Sarkesian, Kelly Tulisiak) 27:54, ND 2. Amy Warner 2 (Candace Chapman). WIS 2. Kelly Kundert 3 (Kristen Betz) 83:22.
SHOTS: WIS 3-3-3-3-12, ND 6-7-3-2-18.
CORNER KICKS: WIS 3-1-0-0-4, ND 4-2-1-0-7.
SAVES: WIS (Kelly Conway) 2-1-2-1-6, ND (Liz Wagner 5, team 1) 2-0-3-1-6.
FOULS: WIS 7-8-3-1-19, ND 8-4-2-1-15.
OFFSIDES: WIS 2, ND 0.
YELLOW CARDS: Kristen Betz (WIS), Amy Warner (ND), Monica Gonzalez (ND), Jenny Kundert (WIS).