It took the Irish 95 minutes to light up the scoreboard for the first time against Rutgers Friday, but Kerri Hanks' 17th goal of the season was enough to lead Notre Dame past Rutgers 1-0 in a thrilling Big East overtime match.
Five minutes into sudden death, senior standout Katie Thorlakson fed the ball from the left flank to freshman Brittany Bock at the top of the box. Hanks received the one-time pass from Bock and blasted the game-winning shot into the right side of the goal.
The Irish dominated the game statistically but failed to capitalize on any of their 10 shots on goal during regulation. Notre Dame attempted 14 shots but committed 10 offsides compared to Rutgers' lone penalty.
Hanks led the Irish offense with three shots (all on goal), and the Irish defense stood strong, preventing Rutgers from mounting any serious offensive onslaughts.
But the Irish defense made up for the offense. It posted its eighth shutout of the year, yielding only two corner kicks and one shot-on-goal.
Though the normally high-powered Irish offense was held scoreless in regulation, head coach Randy Waldrum was happy with the end result.
"To get the win Friday night at Rutgers in overtime was a great win," he said.
His team's offense rebounded two days later against Seton Hall on the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark with a 7-0 drubbing of the Pirates.
Bock scored two unassisted goals in a five-minute span in the second half and Hanks marked her 18th goal of the season in Notre Dame's ninth shutout in 14 games.
The Irish defense held Seton Hall to just three shots - none on goal - and four corner kicks in the game as Lauren Karas combined with Erika Bohn for the shutout. It was Bohn's first appearance in a month, as the all-conference goalkeeper has been sidelined with an injury since Notre Dame's trip to the Santa Clara Classic in early September.
"I hope by this next weekend she'll be back completely," Waldrum said. "We didn't play her Friday but we played her the second half today."
Hanks opened the scoring and six players scored for the Irish on the afternoon. Lizzie Reed scored in the final two minutes of the first half, and Amanda Cinalli, Susan Pinnick and Maggie Manning netted goals in the second to put the game away.
Waldrum noted the dispersion of the scoring Sunday.
"It was a good overall performance from everybody," he said. "I can't think of somebody, anybody who had a bad day today.
"Two Big East wins, it was good for us," Waldrum said. "Now we [just need to] get back home to get ready for Connecticut."
The Irish host Connecticut Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Field.
