Bringing Down the Horse

#7 Notre Dame defeats #22 USC
in second round of NCAA Championship

Mounting the Trojan Horse

This Saturday, while most of the Fighting Irish faithful were packing marshmallows, shot-gunning beers, and praying to the powers that be for a Senior Day victory; the ladies of Notre Dame futbol were taking it to our traditional football rivals inside the walls of Alumni Stadium. After playing “our most complete 90-minute performance of the season,” (according to coach Waldrum), the Irish left the field with a sound 4-0 victory emblazoned on the scoreboard.

ND began their domination early; with a goal by senior Rose Augustin recorded at 7:12. Just 74 seconds later, senior Lauren Fowlkes struck a low shot from the top of the six, finding the inside of the right post. In the fifty-eighth minute, Fowlkes tallied an assist with a cross to junior Melissa Henderson, who connected with the net on a low shot to the left. Henderson contributed her own assist off another cross from Fowlkes, with a quick flick to freshman Adriana Leon who connected from inside the six. On the defensive end, senior keeper Nikki Weiss managed to shut down the Trojan offense with three saves over 83 minutes, until sophomore Maddie Fox relieved her – the Irish defense remained strong, however, and keeping USC scoreless until the final whistle without Fox registering a save.

This win finds the Irish in the Sweet 16 Round of the NCAA Championships for the seventh season in a row and the fifteenth time overall in the program. The fourth-seeded Notre Dame squad is slotted to face the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill at 5:00 on the twentieth. The Tar Heels have claimed the NCAA title for the last two consecutive years and hold an all time 12-4-2 record over the Irish. Despite this seeming disadvantage, ND is 3-1 against UNC in Chapel Hill and managed a 1-0 win on their last trip in 2008. After elimination at the feet of the Tar Heels in the Quarterfinals last year, however, the Irish are ready to wreak their revenge. This motivation, combined with their experience and exponential talent, gives Notre Dame a competitive edge over North Carolina – an edge that will hopefully land the Irish in the Quarterfinals, and pave the way to another NCAA Title.

-IrishGirl10