Aug. 25, 2017
By Megan Golden
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The #24 University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team (1-0-2) battled Minnesota (1-0-2) to a 1-1 tie on Friday at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
With the tie, the Irish move to 2-1-1 all-time against Minnesota.
How It Happened
The beginning of the match proved to be one of the first true tests for sophomore goalkeeper Brooke Littman, who made three saves in the first 15 minutes. Littman did not record another save until the 60th minute of the match.
Notre Dame’s midfield, led by graduate student Sandra Yu, battled a physical Minnesota team all over the field.
Yu contributed offensively and defensively for the Irish, most evident at the 28-minute mark. The midfielder took back-to-back shots — both wide of the goal — in the 28th minute. Then, in the 31st minute, she was in the defensive third clearing the ball away for the Irish.
Notre Dame’s offense came out of the gates firing in the second half, picking up two offsides calls in the first 10 minutes. Freshman Eva Hurm led the Irish attack, drawing a foul just a few yards outside of the box, but sophomore Jennifer Westendorf’s free kick came just high of the goal.
Minutes later, Hurm brought the ball up the field and connected with a wide-open Westendorf, who netted her second goal of the season to put the Irish up 1-0. Hurm recorded her second assist of the season on the play, which occurred at the 56:31 mark.
The goal came on Notre Dame’s ninth shot of the match and fourth shot of the second half.
Minnesota and Notre Dame exchanged possessions midway through the second half, but the Gophers eventually knotted the score at 1-1 with a goal from sophomore Nikki Albrecht (73:52).
The Irish went to overtime for the second time this season. Notre Dame took one shot in the first overtime, compared to Minnesota’s two. In the second 10-minute overtime period, senior Kaitlin Klawunder had two shots within the first four minutes, but the Irish were unable to take advantage and get the victory.
Note of the Match
Notre Dame outshot Minnesota by one, concluding Friday’s match with an 18-17 advantage in the statistical category. In the first half, the Gophers tallied six shots to Notre Dame’s five. But the Irish took the slight edge in the second overtime, outshooting the Gophers 3-1.
Westendorf led the Irish with 11 shots.
Match Notes
- Notre Dame is 0-1-1 in its previous two neutral-site matches.
- The Irish have finished both of their night matches in ties this season. Notre Dame is 3-1-5 in its last nine matches away from Alumni Stadium.
- Notre Dame won the corner kick battle 7-3, with two of its corner kicks coming in the second overtime period. All three of Minnesota’s corners were taken in the first half.
- Irish freshmen Sammi Fisher and Eva Hurm each made their second career starts, starting in the same match for the first time this season. The duo combined for two shots in the match.
- Littman finished the match with five saves and now owns 12 saves on the year.
- Irish senior and co-captain Monica Flores saw her first action of the season, entering the match in the 36th minute.
Coming Up Next
Notre Dame will play its first true road match against Iowa at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday at the Iowa Soccer Complex (Iowa City). The match will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus.
The Irish are 1-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. The schools last played on Nov. 15, 2013, when Notre Dame defeated Iowa 4-1 at Alumni Stadium in the NCAA Championship First Round.
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.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.