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University of Louisville
#1 Notre Dame
No.27 Cardinals Can't Contain Top-Ranked Irish
September 24, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 24, 2006
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The 27th-ranked University of Louisville women's soccer team held the top-ranked team in the nation to a scoreless tie for the first 73 minutes before eventually giving way to #1 Notre Dame in a 2-0 loss Sunday afternoon.
The loss is the first of the season for the Cardinals, who despite the loss still possess the best record through eight games in school history. Notre Dame's two goals match their lowest offensive output of the season.
"Notre Dame is obviously a great team," said Head Coach Karen Ferguson.
"We felt like we executed our game plan pretty well all day. We gave up a bad foul with 15 minutes to play and they made us pay for it."
Junior keeper Joanna Haig posted four saves in the first half to help the Cardinals send the game to intermission in a scoreless tie.
The Irish (9-0-0, 2-0-0 BIG EAST) outshot the Cardinals (6-1-1, 1-1-0 BIG EAST) 7-3 in the first half.
The Fighting Irish broke through in the 74th minute when Carrie Dew netted her first goal of the season, deflecting Michele Wessenhofer's free kick past Haig.
Ashley Jones made it 2-0 Notre Dame in the 82nd minute on assists from Amanda Cinalli and Jill Krivacek.
Haig was solid in net, collecting four more saves in the second half.
"Haig was outstanding in goal for us today and defensively we were very sound. We limited Notre Dame's quality chances and produced some of our own," Ferguson added.
Monique Gjini had two of the Cardinals' four shots, with Heather Engel and Erica Robinson each chipping in one shot.
The Cardinals will host DePaul Tuesday afternoon in Cardinal Park at 4:00 p.m. ET to make up their Friday match which had been canceled due to lightning.
Louisville then continues the five-game home stand Friday against St. John's in Cardinal park at 7:00 p.m. ET. U of L will host Syracuse Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
