University of Louisville
#14 Notre Dame
No. 14 Notre Dame Edges Women's Soccer 1-0
September 27, 2009 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 27, 2009
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Louisville women's soccer team opened a five-game BIG EAST road stretch with a tough 1-0 loss at No. 14 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 3-6-0 overall and 0-3-0 in BIG EAST action, while Notre Dame improved to 7-3-0 overall and 3-0-0 in conference play with the win.
"Our performance was very good today against a solid Notre Dame team," said Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. "We were disappointed with the result, but we played well enough to give ourselves a chance to win. If we continue to show the fight and competitiveness we showed today in our remaining Big East matches, then we certainly will have opportunities to be successful."
After the two teams played a scoreless first half, Notre Dame broke through in the first five minutes of the second half as Lauren Fowlkes connected on a snap header from the middle of the box following a cross from Molly Campbell for a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute. The goal was the fifth of the season for Fowlkes, while the assist was the second of the season for Campbell.
Trailing by one goal, the Cardinals' best chance of evening the score came in the 75th minute as sophomore Giselle Mangal's chip attempt was stopped by Notre Dame's Kelsey Lysander to preserve the lead.
Overall, Notre Dame held an 18-6 advantage on shots, including a 6-1 margin on shots on-goal, as well as a 7-5 edge on corner kicks. In goal, Lysander finished with one save, while Louisville freshman Taylor Vancil had five stops on the day.
The win stretched Notre Dame's unbeaten streak against BIG EAST opponents to 55 consecutive matches (53-0-2), tying the NCAA record first set by North Carolina during Atlantic Coast Conference play from 1994-2000.
Up next, the Cardinals will continue their five-game BIG EAST Conference road stretch at St. John's on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, and at Syracuse on Sunday at noon.
