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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Thorlakson sparks ND's offense

Goals and glory are synonymous.Such was the case for Katie Thorlakson, who enjoyed her share of glory after tying and breaking school records in the team's opening weekend.In Notre Dame's 7-2 victory against Baylor Friday night, Thorlakson was the first player in the program's history to either score or assist on the first five goals of a game. In addition to this feat, she also tied the school record for most points scored in a half with seven."Katie was amazing this weekend. She scored and set up a bunch of goals," senior Mary Boland said. "She came ready to play this weekend."Behind Thorlakson, the Irish were able to hold a sizable 5-0 lead at halftime en route to the dominating victory.The No. 3 ranked Irish proved why they are contenders for this year's national title. The team held considerable margins in total shots (32-9), shots on goal (25-5) and corner kicks (8-1).Thorlakson was not the only player to make her mark in the record books Friday night. Freshman forward Amanda Cinalli scored the first two goals of the season with primary assists from Thorlakson.Cinnalli joins only three other freshmen in the school's history - Margaret Jarc, Rosella Guerrero and Boland - for scoring the opening goal of a season. Cinalli scored her goals in the 13th and 22nd minutes of the game. Boland had only words of praise for the up-and-coming soccer standout. "It is a great way to start your college career and she has a great career ahead of her," Boland said. Thorlakson and sophomore Jen Buczkowski followed her lead, with Thorlakson adding two goals to the Irish effort and Buczkowski chipping in a goal as well. To begin the second half, returning senior Candace Chapman scored the final two goals for the Irish. Chapman missed the entire 2003 season due to an ACL knee injury. "She is one of the best players in the country and it definitely hurt us [not to have her last year]. This year it is exciting to have her back," Boland said. "She has incredible energy and she has the ability to take the ball from the defensive third and score."Boland didn't say the team played perfectly. She cited ball handling as an area for improvement. "We came out too anxious but we needed to take care of the ball better," Boland said.

Notre Dame 3, Eastern Illinois 0After an impressive victory Friday night against Baylor, the Irish came away with another remarkable performance against Eastern Illinois on Sunday. Following her record-breaking performance, Thorlakson continued to dominate on the field by setting up all three goals the Irish scored against Eastern Illinois.Junior Annie Schefter began the contest by scoring her first goal of the season and the game. Jen Buczkowski quickly followed Schefter by scoring the second goal off of a header to the right side of the goal.With a 2-0 margin at halftime, senior Candance Chapman came off the bench to score the final Irish goal of the game in the second half. Her goal put the Irish ahead 3-0 and guaranteed the team their second consecutive win for the season. The Irish had 10 players for a combined total of 38 shots at the goal. Despite the incredible effort, Boland emphasized that the team still needs to work on ball movement."In our game today, we took 38 shots and we only scored three goals," Boland said. "We all have the energy to play, but we need to do better with our ball movement and our finishing."The Irish will face No. 2 Santa Clara - possibly their biggest rival of the season - at Alumni Field next weekend.