The North Texas women's soccer team came into Sunday's clash with Notre Dame having outscored their last three opponents 21-1.
Notre Dame reversed those numbers on the Mean Green.
Senior Amanda Guertin opened the floodgates with her score only a few minutes into the game, and by the time freshman Becky Tweneboah capped the scoring in the second half the No. 2 Irish had climbed to 8-0-1 with an 8-1 rout of the Mean Green, who fell to 7-3.
The Irish showed off their depth, as 11 different players registered at least one goal or assist.
Senior defender Melissa Tancredi led the offensive charge with two goals, while classmates Guertin and Amy Warner added a goal and an assist each. Katie Thorlakson continued her strong play with two assists, while Tweneboah and fellow freshman Lizzie Reed both added their first career goals for the Irish.
"We had a lot of firsts today," Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said, referring to the first career goals. "Tancredi had two goals and could have had three, which was really good to see. We scored some goals in a lot of different ways. I was pleased."
The Irish opened up a 2-0 lead with two goals in the first seven minutes. After scoring the first goal, Guertin lofted a corner kick for Tancredi's first goal.
It was in the final 10 minutes of the first half that the Irish put the game away. Tancredi's second goal in the 35th minute gave the Irish a 3-0 lead before sophomore Maggie Manning took a pass from Kim Carpenter and used some nifty dribbling to get past Mean Green goalkeeper Briana Buchanan. Reed's goal was almost saved by Buchanan moments later, but she and the ball went over the line for a 5-0 halftime margin.
Warner continued the surge in the second half, scoring her sixth goal of the year to make it 6-0. Junior Mary Boland's team leading eighth goal of the year made it 7-0 as Tancredi added the assist.
North Texas' lone score came on a goal from Melinda Pina off a corner kick, before Tweneboah added the final margin.
"The first 10 minutes we had a couple goals," Waldrum said. "Then it kind of died for a little bit, and we came back and got a few quick ones. We had a couple of goals off of five or six shots again early so we were putting in some chances. It was nice to get some players some rest and get some of the other players got some experience."
The Irish outshot North Texas 31-3, with Erika Bohn registering one save while shutting out the Mean Green over her 57 minutes of action. Buchanan added 12 saves for North Texas.
The Irish now have outscored their opponents 37-5 on the season, including 20-3 in the first half. The Irish only outscored their opponents 12-10 in the first half on the season last year. They have not allowed more than one goal in their last 19 contests, dating back to a loss to BYU last year.
The Irish continue their home stand Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Indiana State.
