Oct. 8, 1999
Five different players scored, including four in the second half, as the sixth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team beat West Virginia 5-1 on Friday to clinch the BIG EAST Conference Mid-Atlantic division title with a 5-0-0 record and one division game remaining on Sunday at Pittsburgh for the Irish. Junior Anne Makinen scored the game-winning goal just 2:16 in the second half after Notre Dame had taken a 1-0 lead into halftime. The Irish improve to 10-2-0 overall and earn the top seed from Mid-Atlantic division in the BIG EAST championship. Notre Dame will play host to the fourth-seeded team from Northeast division in a BIG EAST championship quarterfinal game at 7:30 p.m. on Tues., Nov. 2.
The Irish held a 38-4 advantage in shots over the Mountaineers, who fall to 8-5-0, 2-2-0 with the loss. Senior Jenny Heft scored her 70th career goal at 27:45 to give Notre Dame a 1-0 lead. Senior Jenny Streiffer slipped a pass through the West Virginia back line to Heft, who scored into the lower right from 18 yards after Mountaineer goalkeeper Tara Berardi came off her line. Notre Dame led 1-0 at halftime after out shooting West Virginia 16-8.
Makinen, who scored the game-winning goal 2:25 into the second half in Tuesday?s 4-1 win over Michigan, needed just 2:16 into the second half to net the gamewinner against Mountaineers. Freshman Ashley Dryer dished the ball to Makinen from 35 yards on the right wing. Makinen dribbled 10 yards and blasted a shot that skimmed off a West Virginia defender and into the upper left corner of the net.
Junior Meotis Erikson made it 3-0 in the 60th minute with another long blast from the right wing that sailed into the upper center of the net from 22 yards. Freshman Katie Barnes pulled West Virginia within 3-1 at 62:41 with her 11th goal of the season. Mountaineer senior defender Stacey Sollman, whose brother played baseball at Notre Dame from 1994-96, sent a low free kick from 25 yards on the left side to the far post. The ball deflected off a Mountaineer to Barnes, who punched the ball into from five yards.
Streiffer quickly put the Irish ahead by three once again when she headed in a Jen Grubb corner kick at 65:12 to score her 57th career goal. Senior Irish Lancaster closed out the scoring with a shot from 25 yards that floated over West Virginia goalkeeper Melissa Haire into the upper center of the net at 88:21.
Streiffer, who also assisted on Heft?s first goal of the game, upped her career totals to 57 goals and 63 assists, moving her within three goals of joining former Irish All-American Cindy Daws (1993-96), UC Santa Barbara?s Carin Jennings (1983-86) and North Carolina?s Mia Hamm (1989-90, 1992-93) in becoming the only players in NCAA women?s soccer history to score at least 60 goals and record 60 assists. Streiffer?s 177 points move her one point past four-time Irish All-American Holly Manthei (1994-97) and into third place on the Notre Dame career scoring list, behind Monica Gerardo?s (1995-98) 190 and Daws? 189.
West Virginia (8-5-0, 2-2-0) 0-1 1
#6 Notre Dame (10-2-0, 5-0-0) 1-4 5
First half — 1, Notre Dame, Jenny Heft 10 (Jenny Streiffer, Jen Grubb), 27:45.
Second half — 2, Notre Dame, Anne Makinen 7 (Ashley Dryer, Kara Brown), 47:16. 3, Notre Dame, Meotis Erikson 8 (Jenny Heft) 59:06. 4, West Virginia, Katie Barns 11 (Stacey Sollman) 62:41. 5, Notre Dame, Jenny Streiffer 6 (Jen Grubb) 65:12. 6, Notre Dame, Iris Lancaster 2 (Kate Morrel, Ashley Dryer) 88:21.
Shots –West Virginia 2-2 4. Notre Dame 16-22 38.
Corner kicks –West Virginia 0-0 0. Notre Dame 4-6 10.
Saves –West Virginia 3-7 10. Notre Dame 0-0 0.
Fouls — West Virginia 4-5 9. Notre Dame 3-6 9.
Cautions — West Virginia, Kristin English, 70:20.