Notre Dame keeps finding new ways to win. A week after securing its first comeback win of the season, the No. 1 Irish picked up a 3-2 overtime victory at Villanova Sunday. The win capped a weekend in which Notre Dame also took down No. 17/16 Georgetown on the road.
"The wins were good for us because those are two places that haven't been easy places for us to play," Irish coach Randy Waldrum said. "And those two teams - Villanova and Georgetown - have not been easy teams for us over the years."
Sophomore forward Rose Augustin netted the game-winning goal less than seven minutes into overtime Sunday to improve Notre Dame's record to 14-0-0, including 7-0-0 in Big East play.
"Rose had a good weekend for us," Waldrum said. "She was really good against Georgetown and then played well again [Sunday] ... The [game-winning] goal was really a fitting way to end a good weekend for her."
The Irish got off to a fast start against the Wildcats, scoring twice in the first eight minutes to take a quick lead. But Villanova clawed back and eventually scored an equalizing goal with just nine minutes remaining in the contest.
Waldrum said he was disappointed that his team surrendered its lead.
"I was a little disappointed that we missed a chance to really put the game away," he said. "I think subconsciously we relaxed and quit really pushing."
But Augustin kept the Irish unbeaten when she took a bouncing pass from senior defender Elise Weber and volleyed it into the left side of the net.
"It was a great goal," Waldrum said. "The pass was coming from left to right in the air and it bounced a couple times. Rose took it on a bounce from about 12 yards out and really hit a rocket into the other side of the goal."
Against Georgetown on Friday, Notre Dame got important contributions from several underclassmen. Freshmen Melissa Henderson and Courtney Barg each scored a goal as the Irish notched a 3-1 win.
"Both of them had a really good game against Georgetown," Waldrum said. "They were both a little beaten up so we didn't use them as much as I would have liked [Sunday]. I think that hurt us [against Villanova]."
Waldrum said he was pleased with his team's ability to bounce back after playing poorly during the second half against Villanova.
"One thing I'm really happy about is our response when we got into a little bit of a hole and our ability to dig out of it," he said.
Note:
u Senior forward Kerri Hanks had another big weekend for Notre Dame, chipping in two goals and extending her goal-scoring streak to eight games.
