After a solid first-half that produced a 2-0 lead, the women's soccer team struck three times in the first five minutes of the second half to run away from Western Kentucky 5-0 at Alumni Field Saturday night.
Sophomores Annie Schefter and Katie Thorlakson each had two goals for the Irish, while senior forward Amy Warner added a goal and two assists for the Irish.
The second-ranked Irish dominated from the beginning, outshooting the Hilltoppers 21-3, including 11-0 in the first half. Erika Bohn and Nikki Westfall combined in goal for a second consecutive shutout for the Irish, who were never severely threatened.
"I was pretty pleased with the way we started the game," Irish coach Randy Waldrum said. "We talked about a couple ways to get in behind them at halftime. The kids just made it happen. I thought the girls came out and played very well tonight."
Schefter started the Notre Dame attack in the 16th minute on a long crossing shot from the left side to give the Irish a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Schefter delivered a pass toward the left endline where midfielder Mary Boland crossed the ball to Warner, whose header gave the Irish a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
Warner and Thorlakson led the assault coming out of the half. Warner's pass down the right side to Maggie Manning set up the third goal, as Manning sent a cross to Thorlakson whose header started the Irish surge.
Warner and Thorlakson struck again less than two minutes later, as Warner took the ball near midfield before racing through the Hilltopper defense. She passed to Thorlakson who scored again to push the lead to 4-0.
The Irish onslaught was completed moments later when Thorlakson was taken down in the box, giving the Irish a penalty kick. Schefter's low shot easily got past Becky Kasper, giving the Irish the 5-0 margin of victory.
In addition to the goal scoring, all four Irish starters on defense turned in strong performances, including freshmen Kim Lorenzen and Lizzie Reed.
"I thought Tancredi was great for us tonight," Waldrum said, "and Kim Lorenzen was solid as well. With that first group we had in, this was probably one of our most organized nights since [Gudrun Gunnarsdottir] went down. [Reed] could make a great outside back for us."
In addition to being able to continue pressuring teams with big leads, the Irish depth has also helped them play better in their second game of a weekend. Whereas a year ago the Irish went 4-4 when playing two days after a previous game, this season they are 3-0, outscoring those opponents 13-1.
"I think it is due to having the depth to being able to change our lineups," Waldrum said. "We're able to keep fresher kids a little more, and we can change people during the game too. In my five years, this may be the best we've been on the second day."
The Irish will next be in action at the Santa Clara Tournament in California. The Irish play Stanford on Friday at 5:00 p.m. PDT and Santa Clara Sunday at 1:30 p.m. PDT. Both games will be televised live on CSTV.
