With a 1-0 victory over Syracuse at Alumni Stadium on Thursday night, No. 16 Notre Dame earned its second conference win of the season after two consecutive losses last week.
The game-winning goal came 15 minutes into the game when Irish sophomore defender Monica Flores directed a pass into the box to junior midfielder Sandra Yu, who headed the ball past the Orange goalkeeper for her third score of the season.
“What I loved about the goal was the courage to get on the end of the ball in a crowd and go up for it,” Irish head coach Theresa Romagnolo said. “That’s something we talk about, just finding a way and showing that grit and determination. Sandra really showed that with the goal. She showed that in how she played.”
Notre Dame (9-3-1, 2-3-0 ACC) failed to score after that, though it had a number of chances, totaling 18 shots, including six on goal.
Senior forward Anna Maria Gilbertson, who already ranked sixth in the country in shots per game, took seven shots overall on the night, with two finding their way on goal.
The Irish nearly extended the lead late, getting a pair of shots off in the final two minutes of the game that sailed just wide of the post, the first by junior forward Emily Geyer and the second by Gilbertson.
“I felt like we went out and took care of business,” Romagnolo said. “We scored a great goal. We could’ve had a lot of other ones, but we generated a lot of attack.”
The other leader on attack for the Irish against Syracuse (4-9-1, 0-5-0 ACC) was sophomore midfielder Sabrina Flores, who had five shots. Romagnolo praised the production and effort from all of the Irish midfielders.
“I was happy with our midfield,” Romagnolo said. “We shook it up and had some different faces in there. [Sophomore midfielder] Ginny [McGowan] did a great job of moving the ball for us, [sophomore midfielder] Taylor Klawunder was very active, and Sabrina was connecting and making runs beyond the forward line very well.”
The Irish defense kept the Orange locked down for all 90 minutes, not yielding a single shot until there were 11 minutes remaining in the match, when Syracuse got one off that flew high over the bar. Romagnolo said her defenders’ ability to clear the ball was key.
The shutout was the seventh of 2015 for Notre Dame and its first against an ACC opponent.
Notre Dame was coming off two consecutive 1-0 losses, the first a home defeat at the hands of No. 2 Florida State on Sept. 27 and the second an upset loss to Miami on the road one week ago. Romagnolo said she saw several improvements Thursday.
“The last couple games we didn’t get the passing rhythm that we got today,” she said. “I was happy to see us just moving better today, and I want to continue to see that.”
Next up for Notre Dame is Boston College on Sunday at home. Finishing on attack will be a point of emphasis entering the conference matchup, Romagnolo said.
“I think we can maybe move it a little quicker in the back, but other than that we just need to finish our chances,” Romagnolo said. “You never know how many chances you’re going to get against ACC opponents, so I’d like to see us convert more.”
Kickoff against the Eagles is 1 p.m. Sunday at Alumni Stadium, when Notre Dame will aim to string together consecutive ACC wins for the first time this year.
