Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said that he liked where his team stood heading into their opening weekend against Hartford and Wake Forest. The team showed why Waldrum's optimism was deserved by dominating its opponents in two opening wins.
The Irish, who won 9-1 over Hartford Friday in their opener, returned to shut out the Demon Deacons 3-0 on Sunday to go undefeated in Connecticut's adidas Classic.
Notre Dame received numerous strong efforts in both games, headlined by junior Mary Boland's hat trick in the decisive victory over Hartford. Boland added another goal against Hartford, while senior forward Amy Warner had two goals and three assists and classmate Amanda Guertin added two goals and two assists for the weekend.
The Irish won the two games while still suffering from some of the injuries that plagued them last season. The Irish found out before this weekend that junior All-American Candace Chapman will be lost for the season with a torn ACL, while senior Randi Scheller had surgery to correct a nagging hip injury that will also sideline her for the year.
Against Hartford, the Irish scored early and often. Boland started the scoring with a goal off of her own missed shot after a cross from Warner in the seventh minute. Warner and Boland struck again nine minutes later, with Boland's second goal giving the Irish a 2-0 lead.
Midway through the first half the Irish cashed in again, as senior Kim Carpenter rebounded a near-miss by sophomore Annie Schefter. Another rebound goal from sophomore Maggie Manning pushed the lead to 4-0 two minutes later.
Hartford avoided the shutout with a goal in the 42nd minute, but the Irish restored a four-goal lead when Guertin converted a penalty kick after Warner was taken down on a breakaway. Guertin, Manning, Boland, and Warner all added goals in the second half, while Schefter added her second assist.
Notre Dame again created numerous opportunities against Wake Forest. The Irish tallied 20 shots, with many near misses in addition to their three goals. Freshman Jill Krivacek gave the Irish a 1-0 lead with her goal in the final minute of the first half. Warner began the sequence with a pass to freshman midfielder Jen Buczkowski, who moved the ball to the left endline, where Krivacek gave the Irish the lead.
The Irish added two more goals in the second half, with Boland scoring her fourth goal of the weekend on a rebound from a shot by Guertin. Warner capped the scoring in the final minute with her second goal of the season.
Goalkeeper Erika Bohn had an outstanding weekend in net for the Irish, giving up only one goal. Defenders Melissa Tancredi, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, Kim Lorenzen, Lizzie Reed, and Christie Shaner all had solid weekends in the back for the Irish, who yielded only one goal in two games.
Next up for the Irish is the Notre Dame Classic, which begins Sept. 5 and has the Irish hosting Arizona State and Oklahoma at Alumni Field.
Notes
-Defender Gudrun Gunnarsdottir left the Wake Forest game with an arm injury; her status is unknown.
-Fifth-year senior defender Vanessa Pruzinsky returned to limited action against Wake Forest as she returns from an ankle injury.
