For junior Angela Ryck and sophomore EilyAndruszkiewicz, Notre Dame's 56-14 victory over Navy was particularly special because it was also their birthdays.
"It was pretty much a perfect game for me because it was my 20th birthday," Ryck said. "My family was here — my parents and my sister and a few friends."
Winning was a great birthday present, Andruszkiewicz said.
"It was awesome to have a game on my birthday," she said. "And it was really fun to share my birthday with Angela. We called every touchdown a birthday touchdown for us and I got to go up for 28 push-ups."
Andruszkiewicz said she thought the game went very well overall.well."stop."vulnerable."pumped."time."Rague said she liked the music a lot.
"It was pretty much a perfect game for me because it was my 20th birthday," Ryck said. "My family was here — my parents and my sister and a few friends."
Winning was a great birthday present, Andruszkiewicz said.
"It was awesome to have a game on my birthday," she said. "And it was really fun to share my birthday with Angela. We called every touchdown a birthday touchdown for us and I got to go up for 28 push-ups."
Andruszkiewicz said she thought the game went very well overall.
"There were definitely still some sloppy plays, but there is always room for improvement," she said. "I think the team definitely pulled themselves back together after being shaken up by USC last week and started playing like it was our game, not someone else's. It was great to see us converting on third downs and driving the ball well."
Junior Joe Thomas said the Oct. 23 loss to USC lowered his expectations for the season but did not make him especially concerned about Saturday's game against Navy.
"I think we needed this game against a not very legitimate offense," Thomas said. "I would have been a lot more concerned if they weren't an option offense that I know we can stop."
Thomas said he was pleased the Irish scored so many points but thinks the team still needs to improve.
"I've always thought the key to success in a football team is having a steady quarterback, and we still haven't made a decision there," he said. "We're a solid chunk through the season and I think that's what's holding us back. The quarterback is the leader on the field and if we feel like the quarterback could be pulled at any time, everyone feels more vulnerable."
The music played over the loudspeakers was a nice touch, Thomas said.
"I thought they did a really good job with it this weekend. ‘Crazy Train' was fun, but it got played a little too much [at the USC game]," he said. "I thought they did a great job of mixing it up this weekend. It got everyone pumped."
Junior Kelly Sullivan said she wasn't sure if she liked the music but thought it was better than it was at the USC game.
"It was more toned-down," Sullivan said. "I was worried that it would take away from the band, and I like the tradition that we have, but I think they did a better job this time."
Sophomore Lisa Rague said she liked the music a lot.
"I think especially when it's songs that everyone knows and we're all singing at the same time, we're all a community, and it feels cool to be a part of that," she said.
