Oct. 22, 1999
Junior All-American Anne Makinen scored the game-winning goal in the 112th minute to lift the sixth-ranked Notre Dame women?s soccer team to a 2-1 double-overtime win over eighth-ranked Connecticut in a BIG EAST Conference cross-division game Friday night at rainy and windy Alumni Field. Irish senior Jenny Heft tied the school record for career goals with her 73rd in the 15th minute to put Notre Dame ahead 1-0. Connecticut freshman Sarah Popper sent the game into overtime with her first career goal in the 89th minute. The Irish improve to 12-3-0 with the win and snap the Huskies? 11-game winning streak, as Connecticut falls to 11-5-0 with the loss. Notre Dame plays host to Miami at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24, while Connecticut travels to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Notre Dame outshot Connecticut 25-10 in the contest, including 7-3 in the first half, 11-6 in the second half and 6-0 in the second overtime. After both teams managed just one shot each in the first overtime, the Irish came out fast in the second overtime with five shots in the first 5:29 before the sixth shot ended the game. Husky goalkeeper Maria Yatrakis was forced to make four saves during that span and finished with 12 saves in the game, while LaKeysia Beene made five saves for the Irish. The Connecticut defense also saved a header off the backline from Jenny Streiffer from six yards in the 64th minute.
Makinen scored her third game-winning goal against Connecticut and second in as many games against the Huskies at 111:03. Irish senior Jen Grubb served a corner kick into the box that the Connecticut defense could not clear out of the box. Makinen collected the loose ball from six yards and blasted a shot towards the upper right corner that skimmed off a Husky defender and deflected into the net. Makinen, who extended her streak to 10 games with at least one point, also scored on a failed clear in Notre Dame?s 1-0 win at Connecticut in the 1998 BIG EAST championship game.
Popper scored the game-tying goal from 18 yards and just inside the upper right corner of the box at 88:21. Salla Ranta dished the ball from the center of the midfield to Popper, who dribbled to just inside the box and sailed a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
Heft gave the Irish a lead they would hold for 73:52 when she scored off a corner kick from Kara Brown, who served the ball to Heft at the top of the box. Heft settled the kick and lofted a shot after one bounce that sailed into the upper middle of the net at 14:29. The score marked the 73rd goal of Heft?s career, matching the 73 Monica Gerardo scored from 1995-98.
The game pitted the BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic division winner, Notre Dame, against the Northeast division champion Connecticut. Both teams will play host to BIG EAST championship quarterfinal games on November 2, with the four-time defending champion Irish facing Miami and the Huskies welcoming Georgetown. With the win Notre Dame improves to 8-2-1 against Connecticut, which loses for the third time this season at Alumni Field after dropping games to Duke and North Carolina at the KeyBank Soccer Classic in the opening weekend of the season.
#8 Connecticut (11-5-0) 0-1-0-0 1
#6 Notre Dame (12-3-0) 1-0-0-1 2
First half — 1, Notre Dame, Jenny Heft 13 (Kara Brown), 14:29.
Second half — 2, Connecticut, Sarah Popper 1 (Salla Ranta), 88:21.
Second Overtime — 3, Notre Dame, Anne Makinen 9, 111:03.
Shots –Connecticut 3-6-1-0 10. Notre Dame 7-11-1-6 25. Corner kicks –Connecticut 1-3-2-0 6. Notre Dame 2-5-2-1 10. Saves –Connecticut 3-5-1-4 13. Notre Dame 1-3-1-0 5. Fouls — Connecticut 9-4-2-0 15. Notre Dame 7-11-3-1 22. Cautions — Connecticut, Naima Montacer, 27:37. Notre Dame, Jen Grubb, 101:06.