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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Irish drop first home matchup of the season to the Buckeyes

The Irish suffered their second loss of the season Sunday, falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes 1-0.

Buckeyes sophomore Blair Cowan scored the winning and solitary goal in the 80th minute of the match to hand Notre Dame its first home loss of the season.

Both teams came out of the gate strong, with the majority of the first-half shots being fired in the first 20 minutes of play. With neither team being able to find the back of the net, the pace of the game seemed to slow until the 38th minute when the Irish saw their best opportunity of the half as senior Sabrina Flores sent a cross into the box to freshmen Kelly Moss, but senior Buckeyes goalkeeper Devon Kerr got her hands on Moss’s shot.

 

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Anna Mason
Irish senior midfielder Sabrina Flores prepares to strike the ball during Notre Dame's 2-1 win over Cincinnati at Alumni Stadium on Aug. 30.


The Irish returned to the locker room at half, amidst a scoreless contest, something that has become somewhat of a pattern early on in the team’s season. The first six games of the season have been consistently close and low-scoring matchups, with the Irish finding the back of the net 8 times in the second half, but only once in the first half.

The Irish came out noticeably more physical in the second half. The Buckeyes responded by matching their physicality, but Notre Dame’s aggression was continually met with fouls that led to open opportunities for Ohio State. The Buckeyes were able to fire off three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of the half, but were continually denied by Notre Dame freshman goalkeeper Mattie Interian, whose play was strong throughout the contest.

With the game still scoreless, freshmen Eva Hurm gave the Irish their best look on goal, with a cross to Flores in the 67th minute. A breakaway moments later by freshman Olivia Wingate lead to another Irish opportunity, but the shot went just wide of the net.

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Irish senior defender Shannon Hendricks dribbles the ball during Notre Dame's 2-1 victory over Cincinnati on Tuesday.


Then, in the 79th minute, sophomore Buckeye defender Izzy Rodriguez sent a cross into the box that was finished off by freshman midfielder Blair Cowan to give Ohio State the lead and the victory. The loss marked the first time the Irish have been shut out this season.

Notre Dame will look to come back from this loss as the team takes the field Friday against the reigning national champions and top-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto.