Highlights from Notre Dame Women's Soccer 2-1 victory over NC State.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame women’s soccer team (6-6, 2-2) rebounded from their defeat against Florida State earlier this week as they took a 2-1 victory over No. 21 North Carolina State (8-3-2, 1-2-1). After getting a goal from Karen Muya in the opening five minutes, Jennifer Westendorf go-ahead goal in the 60th minute sealed the victory for the Fighting Irish.
How it Happened
The Fighting Irish started off the game strong and were rewarded for their attacking play with a quick goal after five minutes. After a Alexis Martel-Lamothe header from a corner was saved by NC State goalkeeper Sydney Wooten, Muya headed in the rebound from close range to pick up her third goal of the season.
Despite Notre Dame’s early control of the game, NC State managed to pick up a shock equalizer. NC State’s first corner of the match turned into a goalmouth scramble, where Taylor Porter managed to pick her spot and slot the ball into the bottom right corner.
After a frenzied first ten minutes, the action slowed considerably, with Notre Dame continuing to hold both a majority of the possession and shots on goal. The best chance of the final 35 minutes fell to Sammi Fisher, as she took a left-footed shot from 17 yards out that narrowly missed wide.
The second half started out pretty evenly for both sides, but the Irish managed to take the lead in the 60th minute. An Eva Hurm cross was deflected onto the crossbar, and Westendorf was the first to react in the box for a simple tap in.
“We always wanted to follow the ball after a shot,” said Westendorf on her game-winning goal. “I had a coach in high school that always had us touch the goalie when anybody takes a shot so it is a habit of mine to always follow it in. We knew their goalie would give up second chance opportunities so following is really important. Plus after someone does all that hard work and it is bouncing in the box, the least I can do is follow it in and finish it off.”
This goal led to a spell of dominance for Notre Dame, with Martel-Lamothe heading a shot off the crossbar following a corner kick. The Fighting Irish were able to hold onto the lead and improve to .500 in both the overall and conference standings.
Stat of the Match
- The Irish picked up its first win over a ranked opponent this season. Notre Dame’s next two games will be against top-10 opponents, No. 3 North Carolina and No. 6 Virginia.
Coach Norman Says…
On getting the first goal in the opening minutes
“Yeah I thought we started the game really well. We didn’t start off on right foot against Florida State so I was proud how we responded today. Credit to NC State for getting back in the game. I was happy on how we reacted after that, we got control of the game right back. I was really proud of our performance overall against a really good team.”
On the defense limited NC State’s chances….
“I thought our back line was great. NC State has one of the best forwards in the country in Tziarra King and I thought Brianna Martinez did a fantastic job defending her. We challenged her before the game and she really took charge of that. I was really happy with the whole back line, they were organized, the talked and communicated. It was a great performance by them.”
Coming Up Next
Notre Dame continue their four-game homestand on Thursday against No. 3 North Carolina at Alumni Stadium. The Irish and the Tar Heels will kick off at 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
For behind-the-scenes coverage of the Irish women’s soccer program, follow @NDSoccer on Twitter and @NDWSoccer on Instagram. For tickets to a Notre Dame women’s soccer match, click here.
–ND–