The No. 1 ranked Irish (16-0-1) encountered a couple of challenges over the fall
break, with one of them resulting in the team's first tie of the season.
On Oct. 16, Notre Dame faced Big East conference rival No. 20 Boston College. In the 1-0 victory at Alumni Field, the team relied upon sophomore midfielder Jen Buczkowski to score the winning goal in the 80th minute of the contest.
This is the second time Buczkowski has scored a last minute, game-winning shot, the last time being in the 2-1 win over Georgetown on Oct. 10. The opportunity was created when freshman midfielder Ashley Jones kicked the ball to Kim Lorenzen near the top of the box. Lorenzen then quickly served the ball to Buczkowski who scored 10 yards from the goal past Boston College goalkeeper Kate Taylor.
"She has definitely stepped up for the team by scoring key goals," Jones said. "She has helped us get to where we are now. We just have to continue to make sure we are putting games away and if we do this, we have a great shot at winning the national championship."
In addition to the national championship, one of the team's main goals this season is to reclaim the Big East Championship. The Irish were given an early exit in last year's tournament after a 2-1 loss to Boston College, the last time these two teams met.
"Games against conference rivals are important because we want to win the Big East and with last year's loss, it was a really big game," Buczkowski said.
The importance of this game to the team was clear, as they played with a determined mindset throughout the contest.
The Irish led in total shots, with a 14-2 edge over Boston College. Only one of these two attempts put the Irish in position for a shot at the goal. This attempt came with 2:27 left to play from forward Laine Ceddia. Jones managed to clear the ball away from the goal.
Notre Dame 0, Rutgers 0
The Irish came away disappointed with a tie against Rutgers on Friday, Oct. 22 at
Alumni Field.
"Even though it was a tie, it definitely felt like a loss. We were so disappointed," Jones said. "We dominated the game but the result did not show that."
Notre Dame held a 20-5 edge on total shots, 9-2 shots on goal and 8-3 corner kicks. The team was only one win away from matching the best start in the program's history (16-0-0- in 2000).
The Irish struggled to convert its opportunities into points, despite several great opportunities. One of these missed chances came from junior forward Katie Thorlakson, who hit the goalpost twice in the second half from relatively close range in the 68th and 83rd minutes of the match.
"We just didn't put our opportunities away," Buczkowski said.
"They limited our
chances and put pressure on the ball, but I think we were just unlucky."
Adding to the team's misfortune was an impressive showing by Rutgers goalkeeper, Robyn Jones who stopped all nine shots from the Irish.
Notre Dame 3, Seton Hall 1
Senior Candace Chapman scored twice for the Irish in its impressive victory over
conference rival Seton Hall last Sunday, Oct. 24.
The two goals came after facing a 1-0 deficit within the first five minutes of the match.
The Seton Hall goal came from a misfired kick by Irish goalie Lauren Karas to Seton Hall's Carley Piagentini. Piagentini took advantage of the rare opportunity by quickly coming towards the goal for the wide-open shot and the lead.
"It was shocking but we weren't devastated," Buczkow-ski said. "But we just
fought back."
The Irish were able to rebound quickly when Chapman found the net in the 33rd minute of the contest. Junior midfielder Annie Schefter passed the ball from the top left corner of the box to Buczkowski, who then kicked the ball to Chapman. The senior Chapman secured the goal, firing it into the right side of the net.
The team's second goal came after freshman Jannica Tjeder sent the ball to Chapman at the right side of the box. Chapman then set up Thorlakson for her 26th career goal and the 2-1 lead in the 55th minute of the game.
The third and final goal for the Irish also came from Chapman. Passes from Thorlakson
and Buczkowski set up the 10-yard shot for Chapman, whose kick deflected off a Seton Hall defender during the 60th minute of the match.
"She created a lot of our offensive opportunities during the game,"Buczkowski
said.
"And her two goals proved that."
