Sept. 15, 1999
? Coach Waldrum’s Postgame Audio
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The sixth-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team used goals by five different players and allowed just three shots to shut out Butler 5-0 on Wednesday night at Alumni Field. Freshman Nancy Mikacenic?s first career goal was all the Irish would need to improve to 3-1-0. Butler falls to 0-4-0 with the loss, its ninth in nine meetings with former Midwestern Collegiate Conference rival Notre Dame. Irish goalkeepers LaKeysia Beene and Sani Post combined to record the second consecutive shutout for Notre Dame, which returns to action against eighth-ranked Texas A&M at 4:30 p.m., on Fri., Sept. 17, at the Women’s College Classic in Klein, Texas.
The Irish took a 2-0 lead into halftime on goals by Mikacenic and Monica Gonzalez. Mikacenic?s goal came in the first minute of the contest when she put back a loose ball in front of the net. Gonzalez headed a Kara Brown corner kick to Butler goalkeeper Trisha Czerniak, who failed to secure the ball. Mikacenic bounced on the ball for the game-winning goal 57 seconds into the contest. Gonzalez converted a penalty kick at 18:47 for a 2-0 Irish advantage. Jenny Heft was fouled in the box to set up Gonzalez’s goal.
Jenny Streiffer received the ball at midfield from Vanessa Pruzinsky and put Notre Dame ahead 3-0 with a blast at 51:06 from 35 yards out from the center of the field into the lower right corner of the net. Jen Grubb fired a free kick from 20 yards into the upper left corner of the net for a 4-0 lead at 58:47. Iris Lancaster scored her first goal of the season at 78:48 when she headed in a corner kick from Grubb to close out the scoring.
?We set some goals going into this game and I think we met them,? said Irish head coach Randy Waldrum. ?I?m really pleased with our effort tonight.?
The Irish used 10 substitutes in the contest. Junior Liz Zanoni entered the game at 72:09 to make her first appearance since Nov. 2, 1997, after missing all of 1998 with an injury. Grubb and Lancaster notched their first goals of the season, while Gonzalez and Streiffer scored their team-leading third goals in four games in 1999.