Sept. 11, 2004
Notre Dame’s Canadian connection combined for both goals and the gamewinning assist as the second-ranked Irish women’s soccer team posted its third straight victory over a nationally-ranked opponent, overcoming an early deficit to defeat No. 11 Arizona State, 2-1. The game was played in front of a record-setting crowd of 1,505, on a muggy 106-degree night at Sun Devils Stadium.
Notre Dame (5-0-0) – which posted wins last week over No. 13 Stanford and 4th-ranked Santa Clara – trailed midway through the first half before tying the game in the 34th minute on senior Candace Chapman’s fifth goal of the season. Junior forward Katie Thorlakson’s free kick then set up a patented score from fifth-year defender Melissa Tancredi, who volleyed home the gamewinner in the 59th minute.
The Irish offense held a 15-7 edge in total shots (6-3 in shots on goal) while attempting the only five corner kicks of the game. Freshman Lauren Karas picked up the win in the first start of her Notre Dame career.
Notre Dame managed to stay unbeaten despite the absence two top offensive players, as senior forward and All-America candidate Mary Boland suffered a season-ending broken leg vs. Santa Clara while freshman Jannica Tjeder (a standout with Finland’s national team program) has not played since the opener, due to an ankle injury.
Notre Dame’s recent dominance now includes a 25-1-1 record in its last 27 regular-season games.
The Irish had yielded just 23 first-half goals spanning the 2001-04 seasons (and only 8 combined opponent first-half goals in ’03 and ’04) but Arizona State (1-2-1) bucked that trend by scoring in the 23rd minute. Junior college transfer Katie Leahy notched her team-leading fourth goal of the season, victimizing a Notre Dame defense that had to overcome some mistakes during the early run of play.
Leahy found herself behind the defense and scored from 20 yards out at the top of the box, on a shot into the left side of the net (22:49).
After losing a 3-2 game to BYU on Oct. 19, 2002, Notre Dame had trailed in just five games for a total of 186:27 (or 6.2% of the time, spanning 3,009:29) over a span of 33 games, prior to Friday’s action. The only deficit faced by the Irish in the first 19 games of the 2003 regular season came vs. ASU (0-1) but it lasted for just 7:18, with Notre Dame going on to a 3-1 win.
ASU’s lead in the 2004 matchup lasted a bit longer (11:26) before Chapman scored amidst a scramble, tying Thorlakson for the team lead with her fifth goal of the season (despite Chapman playing just 136 minutes all season). Freshman midfielder Ashley Jones, who like Chapman had checked into the game midway through the first half, set up the goal with a driven ball from the right side of the box.
Jones’ classmate Amanda Cinalli then made a “dummy” play on the ball, in a crowded penalty area, and Chapman whacked a shot before sending home the rebound from close range for the equalizer (34:15).
Thorlakson set up the winning goal with a free-kick from the left side. Tancredi has been a threat on set pieces throughout her career and she delivered again on Friday, going up for an apparent header but instead volleying the ball for a well-struck shot that ripped into the right sidenetting (58:14).
Minutes later, Tancredi almost scored on a similar play but her sharp header clanged off the crossbar.
Virtually every Notre Dame goal this season (14 of 18) has featured Thorlakson in a key setup or finishing role, led by her two gamewinning goals and pair of gamewinning assists.
Sixth-year Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum now is one win shy of his 100th victory with the Irish (99-19-4; .827). Notre Dame improved to 279-9-1 (.951) all-time when holding the opponent to 0-1 goals.
RANDY WALDRUM QUOTES – “We played well tonight in a touch environment. Defensively we made some mistakes against a very fast group of frontrunners. Jen Buczkowski played a fantastic game in the midfield. She settled the game down and really controlled the pace of play. Ashley Jones also continues to give us a great lift off the bench and Candace just has been a huge boost to the offense. … “
#2 Notre Dame (5-0-0) 1 1 – 2
#11 Arizona State (1-2-0) 1 0 – 1
ASU 1. Katie Leahy 4 (-) 22:49; ND 1. Candace Chapman 5 (-) 34:15; ND 2. Melissa Tancredi 1 (Katie Thorlakson) 58:14.
Shots: ND 15, ASU 7.
Corner Kicks: ND 5, ASU 0.
Saves: ND 2 (Lauren Karas), ASU 4 (Kim Bingham).
Fouls: ND 7, ASU 14.
Offside: ND 1, ASU 0. Yellow Cards: Juanita Lawson (ASU) 22:24; Annie Schefter 1 (ND) 22:31; Melissa Tancredi 1 (ND) 29:24.