Aug. 19, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The largest crowd ever to watch any soccer game at Notre Dame (3,412) did not go home disappointed – despite Sunday’s soggy conditions at Alumni Field – as top-ranked North Carolina and the second-ranked Irish put on an impressive exhibition in preseason action, playing to a 2-2 tie while displaying a high level of all-around skill with just a couple days of preseason training under their belt. The game was a rare early-season rematch of the previous year’s NCAA title game, with several of the key players on hand for Sunday’s action.
Amanda Cinalli’s goal in the game’s seventh minute gave the fired-up home team the early lead but Whitney Engen’s rocket shot tied the game early in the second half. Rachel Givan then gave UNC the lead with 24 minutes left to play but the Irish quickly re-tied the game, on a goal by Kerri Hanks. Notre Dame finished with a 14-7 edge in total shots and a 6-4 margin in shots on goal while each team attempted two corner kicks (all of them coming in the second half).
(Note: look for a photo gallery from the ND-UNC game, to be posted early next week on und.com.)
Notre Dame’s senior class – led by Lauren Karas (left) and Amanda Cinalli (right), plus fellow four-year player Ashley Jones – still has yet to lose a home soccer game at any time during their career (48-0-3, including fall exhibitions and spring games).
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The attendance of 3,412 is the largest for any home soccer game at Notre Dame (for a men’s or women’s game, including any fall preseason or spring games) – even surpassing the big crowd that showed up in the spring of 2005 when both Irish soccer teams battled with Mexican national-team squads (the attendance that night was slightly over 3,000). Notre Dame ranked fourth nationally in 2006 average attendance (1,901) – trailing only Texas A&M, Portland and BYU – and topped the 3,000 mark in attendance three times last season (with a high of 3,168 for a Friday-night game vs. Seton Hall, the top regular-season crowd in ND soccer history).
Equally as impressive was the 1,318 tickets that were presold for Sunday’s game – believed to be the highest presale total for a Notre Dame varsity sport event (outside of football, men’s/women’s basketball, baseball and possibly hockey).
The members of the Notre Dame women’s soccer team’s senior class – led by four-year starter and 2007 team captain Cinalli – still have yet to lose any game at home in their career (48-0-3), even when including fall exhibitions and the spring seasons. The Irish will enter the 2007 regular season with the third-longest home winning streak (32) and third-longest home unbeaten streak (41; 40-0-1) in NCAA women’s soccer history (for official fall games). The only other non-victories at home during the careers of the current senior class have come versus Rutgers (0-0, in the 2004 fall season) and in a 3-2 loss to the Mexican National Team in the 2005 spring season.
Notre Dame’s seven veterans who had started in the 2006 NCAA title game also were in the starting lineup on Sunday, joined by junior midfielder Becca Mendoza, junior right back Elise Weber (a transfer from Wisconsin), freshman defensive midfielder Lauren Fowlkes and versatile sophomore Amanda Clark (who started at center back for the fifth time in her young career) – who respectively filled the spots of departed seniors Jen Buczkowski, Christie Shaner, Jill Krivacek and Kim Lorenzen (Shaner’s left back spot actually was filled by current senior Ashley Jones, the typical right back in ’06).
UNC opened the game with four of the same starters from the 2006 title game – Engen, fellow forward Casey Nogueira, attacking midfielder Yael Averbuch and right back Kristi Eveland – although center back Jessica Maxwell also was back in the lineup after starting most of 2006 (prior to a late injury). Penn State transfer Allie Long filled the defensive midfielder role (replacing injured Allie Hawkins) while UNC flipped the order of its goalkeepers from the ’06 title game, with Ashlyn Harris starting on Sunday and Anna Rodenbough playing the second half. Rightside midfielder Nikki Washington did not start on Sunday but logged significant minutes while two other starters – leftside midfielder Tobin Heath and left back Ariel Harris – did not make the trip due to nagging injuries (per head coach Anson Dorrance’s postgame comments). UNC’s two other starters from the 2006 title game included forward Heather O’Reilly (’07 graduate) and M/D Robin Gayle, who was Maxwell’s replacement on the final weekend of the 2006 season (Gayle currently is preparing to play in the World Cup with the Canadian National Team).
With many veterans in play but plenty of newcomers also in the mix, the teams went at it for 90 minutes and then called it a day without the need for playing any overtime. Notre Dame used 16 field players and all three goalkeepers (who each played 30 minutes) while UNC cycled in 18 field players and the pair of ‘keepers.
Notre Dame came out flying in the first half and nearly scored in the second minute, as Hanks ran onto a quick touch from sophomore forward Michele Weissenhofer and got free into the right side of the box. But her former U.S. Under-19 national teammate Harris was quick off her line and stuffed the shot at the top of the six-yard box.
Cinalli opened the scoring five minutes later, on a play set up by sophomore center back Haley Ford’s flare pass from the kickoff circle. The pass led Hanks down the left flank and she one-touched her own pass off the outside of her right foot, sending the leftfooted Weissenhofer into the left side of the box. Harris ranged well out of the six-yard box and was closing on the ball – but Weissenhofer deftly played a chip with the outside of her right foot, with the ball glancing off the hands of the charing ‘keeper and carrying into the center of the box. A UNC defender failed to clear the ball on the slick gras, and Cinalli was in position to sweep her sliding leftfooted shot into the vacated net (6:29).
Notre Dame nearly tacked on another goal five minutes before halftime, after a scramble in the box that saw junior midfielder Brittany Bock rip a shot from the right side of the box (blocked) before sophomore M/F Courtney Rosen poked the deflection towards the goal (producing a team save that preserved the 1-0 lead).
Engen tied the game five minutes into the second half, after recovering her own ball that was played off Fowlkes on the right flank of the slick field. Engen quickly sized up her shot from 20 yards out, beyond the upper right corner of the box, and drilled a well-placed shot that eluded sophomore `keeper Kelsey Lysander and settled into the far-left side of the net (50:32).
A nice combination play gave UNC the lead midway through the half. Nogueira scooped the ball from the edge of the attacking third, with Sterling Smith then quickly cycling the ball outside the top of the penalty box. Smith’s pass led Givan into the left side of the box. Givan was angling into the play and took the ball in stride before scoring on a high shot to the far-post shot, beat freshman `keeper Nikki Weiss for the 2-1 lead (76:33).
Less than two minutes later, Clark played a deep free kick from the right side of the midfield line. The ball skipped into the hear of the penalty area and the UNC again failed to make the quick clear, as Hanks collected the ball and beat the charing Rodenbough with a low shot inside the right post (78:17).
The Irish nearly scored again in the 80th minute, after a ball played from Bock in the left corner. With a UNC defender converging, the leftfooted Weissenhofer had minimal space in the upper left side of the box – but her quickness and expert body control allowed her to squeeze of a shot that smacked off the near post to maintain the tie score.
Freshman midfielder Lauren Folwkes had an impressive debut to her college career.
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The individual minutes-played totals – which are unofficial at this time (due to the frequency of the subbing and UNC’s changing of numerous jersey numbers prior to the game) – included seven players who logged all 90 minutes: ND’s Clark and Weber, plus UNC’s Averbuch, Maxwell, Long, Eveland and defender Mandy Moraca. Fowlkes turned in an impressive 84-minute stint in her college soccer debut, with an assortment of top plays that ranged strong tackles to deft thru-balls.
Notre Dame opted not to play junior center back and the 2006 BIG EAST Conference defensive player of the year Carrie Dew, who missed all of the 2006 postseason due to an ACL knee injury and recently was cleared to begin training (see quotes below from ND head coach Randy Waldrum). Junior D/M Kerry Inglis is nearing a return from the nagging ankle problem that held her out of the entire 2006 season while senior forward Susan Pinnick did not play on Sunday after injuring her ankle this week in practice.
Also note that espn.com college soccer beat writer Graham Hays was at Sunday’s game and will be filing a feature on Dew, in addition to a game report.
(linescore and stats follow below, after the quotes summary)
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM ND HEAD COACH Randy Waldrum – “We wanted to get a look at as many of our young players as we could and we got a chance to see all three of our goalkeepers in a big game with a big crowd. I was very pleased with the freshmen group. They all came in and did a good job, especially considering they were going against the number-one team in the country. The hard part was that you want to look at young players, but you also want to win.
“We’re very happy with the result, especially since it’s the preseason. I thought today we had the better opportunities. We fought for every loose ball. It’s one of the best games we’ve played against Carolina since I’ve been here. When you play a team like this, it’s not an exhibition game. We came out with the attitude that we could win. I would have liked to have that last December, but maybe we’ll have it this December.
“We really talked about keeping the ball and slowing their pressure down. Last year in the final, we got caught up playing in Carolina’s tempo and style of play – and that’s not what got us there to begin with. We started thinking about the recruitment process and how we wanted to deal with it. The gameplan that we had to deal with them today was a key. I was really proud of how the team followed the plan. I also was proud of them to give up the two goals – knowing that they had the better chances during the game – and we easily could have folded. Instead, we came right back and tied it up.
“We are entering this season with a lot of questions unanswered in the defense, after losing Lorenzen and Shaner to graduation and then Dew not playing today. That being said, I thought we were very solid in the back today. We kept their opportunities to the minimum. Some of the newcomers stepped in – Stephanie Sohn, Julie Scheidler and Elise Weber – and they all played great. Amanda Clark was solid wherever we put her, along with Haley Ford as the other center back. Clark was solid as could be and we could play her in a lot of spots this season. She is very destructive to the opposition. She is such a hard tackler and she is aggressive and is the type of defender that good forwards don’t want in a physical confrontation. She was very physical from the get-go and that set the tone. She read the game well and avoiding the tendency to give the ball away out of the back. We were really pleased with Scheidler. She was very good handling the pressure of this game and played with a lot of confidence.
“In the midfield, I thought Rebecca Mendoza was great for us today. She’s shown that – after her first two years – she’s now ready to come in and play. With Courtney Rosen, we watched her playing time because she’s still got that foot injury from last year, but she’s ready to step in. Lauren Fowlkes was brilliant. As a freshman, she was outstanding today. She took the gameplan really to heart. Usually young players do not follow the instructions completely, but she did an outstanding job in the holding spot. She was very composed and fought and battled for every ball. She has Buczkowski’s vision and ability with the ball and Krivacek’s size and presence, with the physical components. Brittany Bock also was outstanding in the middle, as were Mendoza and Rosen. They always were sliding and diving in, tackling and winning the air battles.
“Carrie Dew’s knee is fine, but she’s not game-ready yet. We’ll try to get her into the game on Thursday. Today it was a game-time decision. We knew what the speed would be like and it rained all day yesterday. Right now she has to get her quickness and explosiveness back. Mentally she is fine and did not have a problem with not playing today. It’s just going to be a couple of weeks to get her game-fit.”
“Carrie has tremendous composure for a young player and is very good with the ball. Most defenders generally are not as comfortable with the ball as Carrie is. She is very comfortable with pressure, reads the game very well and her distribution out of the back 90 percent of the time is it’s the right pass to make. She doesn’t give it away much. But she also has that physical presence, is a great tackler and is dominant in the air. She is the whole package.
“On Thursday against Virginia, we will want to see the young players again and probably will play similar to what we did today while getting a couple other players in who did not play much today.”
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM UNC HEAD COACH ANSON DORRANCE – “What was so good about this scrimmage against Notre Dame this early in the season was that we were able to make some adjustments at the half. I thought that Notre Dame in the first half totally outplayed us and they were only up 1-0, but I told my team that we easily could have been down three or four. That’s how well I though Notre Dame played in the first half. We talked to the girls about some things we had to do within our system to make the game more competitive for us. We made those adjustments and the second half was better for us.
“The passion that Notre Dame came out with was just fabulous and put us under the gun immediately. we just struggled to weather their pressure but at halftime we had the chance to settle the troops a little bit. Allie Long is going to be a huge addition for us and that’s made up for the loss of Ali Hawkins. [Long} is a world-class midfielder. Rachel Givan also showcased herself well and those were our top two newcomers today. It was good to see Jessica Maxwell back. She played very well today and was a leadership force.
“This was a great early-season test for us. Randy and I felt that we both got something out of the game and nobody got hurt. Both teams will benefit going into the season by playing this match.”
“Whitney played well the entire game and Nogueira in the second half lifted her game a little bit, and so did Sterling Smith. Whitney’s cracker was a great strike – a man would have been proud of that strike, it was hit so hard and accurately. The series leading up to our second goal was very attractive, with Givan finishing on a nice pass from Sterling that was sent by Casey on a nice scoop over a defender. I was in a much better mood after watching that front line in the second half. We’ve got to develop a way to score guys, with the loss of O’Reilly and Guess. Losing those attacking personalities will make the evolution of our forward line an interesting thing to study this fall.
“Casey has every conceivable tool, her skills are world-class. The only thing missing in her game is she has to learn to compete. There’s another gear she has to establish if she wants to become a collegiate star and an international star.”
#1 North Carolina 0 2 – 2
#2 Notre Dame 1 2 – 2
ND 1. Amanda Cinalli (-) 6:29; UMC 1. Whitney Engen (-) 50:32; UNC 2. Rachel Givan (Sterling Smith, Casey Nogueira) 76:33; ND 2. Kerri Hanks (Amanda Clark) 78:17.
Shots: UNC 3-4 – 7, ND 6-8 – 14
Corner Kicks: UNC 0-2 – 2, ND 0-2 – 2
Saves: UNC 4 (Ashlyn Harris 1/1 GA in 45:00; Anna Rodenbough 2/1 GA in 45:00; team 1), ND 2 (Lauren Karas 1 in 29:33; Kelsey Lysander 1/1 GA in 30:00; Nikki Weiss 1/1 GA in 30:00)
Fouls: UNC 14, ND 9
Offside: UNC 0, ND 4