W. Soccer Faces No. 1 Notre Dame Tonight

If Harvard's women's soccer team found getting into the NCAA Tournament the hardest part, it must not have imagined playing top-seeded and undefeated Notre Dame.

The Crimson (12-7, 4-3 Ivy) travels to Alumni Field in South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish (21-0-1) tonight at 7p.m.

Harvard snuck into the tournament despite five straight losses to end the season. The Crimson has made the most of its opportunity, however, beating Quinnipiac 2-1 in the first round, and upsetting #13 Hartford 3-0 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Fighting Irish are going to try to interrupt the Crimson's Cinderella run. Notre Dame presents the best team Harvard has faced in some time, as they have dominated their Big East conference and rolled through non-conference games with intimidating ease.

Winning their sixth straight Big East championship, the centrally located South Bend squad surged to the No. 1 spot in the country in mid-September and have not looked back.

"We've been happy with our play," Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said. "We just hope we can continue to play strong when it matters."

The Fighting Irish have shown the ability to make clutch performances unnecessary this year, outscoring opponents 71-7 on the season.

Their performance in the tournament thus far has indicated that Notre Dame's perfect regular season has prepared the team for a championship run. Easily dismissing Michigan 3-0 after a first-round bye, the Irish will try to improve upon their 21-6-1 all-time tournament record against the Crimson.

The Irish's reign of terror on NCAA women's soccer comes in the wake of their 2-0 championship loss to North Carolina last year.

In Waldrum's eyes, Notre Dame's domination this year is attributed to their strong team play.

"We're an attractive team when we possess the ball and make the other teams work," Waldrum said.

Notre Dame will look to control the game, as they boast a young but incredibly skilled team that can maintain possession and dictate the pace of the match.

Superstar Irish co-captain and likely national player of the year Anne Makinen leads Notre Dame's explosive offense with abilities seen no where else in college soccer. A native of Finland, Makinen's capacity to create chances, serve corners, dominate the penalty area, and score goals has astounded competition.

Makinen leads a young offense that has seen 40% of its scoring done by a trio of freshmen. Midfielder Randi Scheller and forwards Amanda Guertin and Amy Warner have provided strong play to support the efforts of more experienced players.

"That's certainly our biggest strength," Waldrum said. "We don't have to rely on one player because we have a great group of girls that can play well and play well together."

Notre Dame ranks near the top of the nation in team defense and team offense. The Irish boast an amazing .31 GAA and have allowed only four goals in the last 15 games, including 11 shutouts over that span.

The Crimson will have to work to get past a speedy defense anchored by co-captains Kelly Lindsey and Kerri Baker. Both are physical players that cover a lot of ground and push the ball through midfield to initiate the quick- strike Notre Dame offense.

Waldrum will look to exploit the speed and skill of his forwards to push past Crimson defenders. The tight Irish defense should make for a tiring match for a Harvard team looking for a huge upset tonight.

"We're not going to take anyone for granted," Waldrum said in response to reports that he anticipated, and prepared, to play Hartford in this match. "We got as much videotape as we could on every team we could conceivably face. Harvard is playing real strong and will be a challenge."