Nov. 15, 1998
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Seniors Shannon Boxx and Monica Gerardo scored all of Notre Dame’s goals, and the Irish defense held 18th-ranked and unseeded Michigan without a shot in the final 55 minutes of the game as fourth-ranked and fourth-seeded Notre Dame blanked the Wolverines 3-0 in the NCAA second round at Alumni Field. Gerardo and Boxx each scored in the first half, and Gerardo added another goal in the second half to lead the Irish. Junior goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene made two saves to record her 11th solo shutout of the season and her second over Michigan in less than a month. Notre Dame beat Michigan 1-0 in double overtime earlier in the year on Oct. 23, in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The win extended Notre Dame’s winning streak against Big 10 teams to 36 games, which dates back to 1989. The Irish have outscored the Wolverines 9-0 in their last three meetings and improved to 4-0-0 all-time against Michigan. Notre Dame is now 10-0-0 at Alumni Field and 11-0-0 all-time at home in NCAA championship games, winning those 11 games by a combined score of 53-4. The Irish have won 21 consecutive games in November, with 15 shutouts in those 21 wins.
The Irish improve to 20-2-1 and advance to the NCAA third round when they will face Nebraska, a 7-0 winner over Texas A&M on Sunday. Notre Dame expects to be named the host for the third-round game, which would be played on Fri., Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Field The Irish and Cornhuskers met in the NCAA second round a year ago at Alumni Field, a 6-0 Notre Dame win. Michigan, which was making its second appearance in the NCAA championship, ends the season at 14-7-1.
“We played very well today,” said Irish head coach Chris Petrucelli. “The difference between today and the last time we played Michigan was that we scored more goals today. The games were pretty similar but we just were able to finish our chances. We are excited about the way we played and advancing to the third round.”
Gerardo started off the scoring at 21:11 when she scored from two yards out. Junior Jen Grubb served a corner kick to the far post to Boxx, who headed the ball back across the goal to Gerardo. She then booted the ball into the right corner of the net for what would be the game-winning goal.
Boxx then put the Irish up 2-0 just before halftime at 40:38. Freshman Lindsey Jones found Boxx open from two yards behind the top of the box. Boxx finished the sequence with a lofted shot over Michigan goalkeeper Carissa Stewart and into the upper center of the net.
Boxx set up Notre Dame’s final goal when she slipped the ball through the Michigan backline and found Gerardo unmarked on the right wing. Stewart came off her line, but Gerardo dribbled to the left side and scored into the left corner of the net at 77:04 for her Notre Dame record 71st career goal.
In their first meeting in 1998, Notre Dame needed a Jenny Heft goal in the 113th minute for a 1-0 win in double overtime. The Irish outshot the Wolverines 23-5 in that 1-0 win and 22-6 in Sunday’s 3-0 win, including 13-6 in the first half and 9-0 in the second half. Michigan committed 21 fouls to Notre Dame’s seven on Sunday, while the Irish had seven corner kicks to the Wolverines’ four.