W. Soccer Hangs Tough In Loss

NOTRE DAME, Ind.--It simply was not meant to be.

Make no mistake--overtaking the No. 1 team in the land was never going to be easy. But had the Harvard women's soccer team come up against top-ranked Notre Dame one week ago, it may have met a more joyous fate than the 2-0 loss it suffered at a frigid and snowy Alumni Field here on Friday night.

In its second-round match the previous weekend, the Irish (22-0-1)--slightly rusty after receiving an opening-round bye--stumbled out of the gate against No. 25 Michigan. Notre Dame fell behind 1-0 in the first half and required a late-game surge to rally for the win.

But as the Crimson discovered this weekend, Notre Dame's first tournament game served more as a wake-up call for the Irish than a performance set for an encore.

Against Harvard, Notre Dame showed exactly why it was awarded the top seed in the tournament, controlling possession throughout much of the contest and doubling the Crimson's totals in both shots and corner kicks.

Harvard battled against a ferocious and persistent Irish attack and prevented any goals during the course of live action. But Notre Dame was able to break through on a pair of set plays, furnishing all the offense the Irish would need to advance to the quarterfinals and eliminate the Crimson.

"They're the best team we played this year," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said. "We've been saying all year long that we can play with anybody, and I think we proved that today."

Notre Dame's first strike came in the 31st minute when a corner kick by forward Meotis Erickson was headed into the right corner of the Harvard net by unmarked midfielder Anne Makinen. As Erickson's cross passed in front of the goal, the Harvard defender positioned in front of Makinen mistimed her leap, leaving the Irish's leading scorer--and the leading candidate for Player of the Year--open for the redirect.

"We weren't marked up tight enough, and they were able to find an open player and knock it in," McCarthy said. "Makinen is a great player, really good in the air. But there's no excuse, we needed to be marked up on that."

While the Harvard defense may not have executed as well it would have liked on the play, the difficulty did not come by accident. The Irish had specifically planned its strategy on set pieces in the week leading up to Friday's game.

"One thing we saw on the videotape on Harvard is that on corner kicks, they put a couple kids on the post and then they man-mark outside in the box," Notre Dame Coach Randy Waldrum said. "It's very difficult to man-mark in that kind of space, in my opinion, because there's so much traffic that you can kind of get picked. So this week we worked on some set pieces to set some picks and run off the man-marking."

Before the score put Notre Dame ahead, Harvard had succeeded in withstanding a flurry of scoring threats by the Irish, including an apparent goal that was called back by a late offsides call.

The Irish rattled off ten first-half shots.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Notre Dame defense, which has allowed just seven goals on the season, was stingy as usual against the Crimson. Throughout the first half, Harvard struggled to connect on more than two consecutive passes and failed to mount any prolonged threat in the Irish end.

"We thought we could get wide a little better, but they made some adjustments," Wheaton said. "We were getting wider in the first half, finding [sophomore midfielder] Orly [Ripmaster] wide, but then they kept a player up on her to take that away."

Despite Notre Dame's success in both ends of the field, however, the Harvard defense played well enough to keep the Irish lead at just one goal going into the halftime.

"Holding them to one goal, we felt like we were still in the game," co-captain Brooke McCarthy said. "There was a whole 'nother half to go and we had nothing to lose."

But the Irish came out just as dominant in the second stanza as they did in the first. Just five minutes into the period, Notre Dame notched an insurance goal, once again off a corner kick.

Erickson unleashed the pass from the right side, and after the ball hit off back Monica Gonzales, midfielder Mia Sarkesian pounced on the loose ball and drilled it into the back of the net.

"There was a scramble in the box, and it was unfortunate that they got to [the ball] first," McCarthy said. "It was disappointing because you feel like if you can hold them to no goals in the run of play, it's just disappointing to get two goals off set pieces that you feel like you should've had more control over."

The tally gave the Irish--which has not given up two goals in a game all season--some needed breathing room for the rest of the half.

"I felt like if we got a second goal, the game would be over," Waldrum said. "I think Harvard's got a great team and Tim's done a very good job with them of being able historically to hang in games where they weren't predicted to do well. They've stole some wins that way."

"That was my biggest concern--that they could counter us," Waldrum said. "So I thought we needed a second goal to kind of ensure things."

But while the two-goal lead would prove more than enough to give Notre Dame the win, the result of the game did not go uncontested. Though the Crimson attackers took a while to figure out a way around the Irish defense, once they did, they managed several good opportunities.

"I thought their outside backs played really well," freshman Katie Westfall said. "They made it hard, and we didn't adjust enough until, I'd say, the last 30 minutes."

Westfall, the Crimson's second-leading scorer on the season, was particularly persistent on offense, even as Harvard trailed by two. She recorded four of the nine shots the Crimson fired on net in the game.

"If you came at this game at the end and didn't have the scoreboard on, you wouldn't know it was 2-0," Wheaton said. "We wanted to score; we didn't come out here to lose. We felt we could win it, we felt we could give them a battle, and I think we did that today."

Notre Dame was able to endure the Harvard surge, however, as Irish goalkeeper Liz Wagner made the necessary stops to preserve the shutout, finishing with four saves.

Sophomore goaltender Cheryl Gunther saved six shots for Harvard.

"We created some chances at the end," Wheaton said. "I was proud of our kids. I thought they came out and played with a lot of heart. I think we need to finish a little better, but in terms of the intensity, the focus, and staying organized as a team, I thought they did a fantastic job today."

The Crimson's unflappable effort in the game was an entirely appropriate way to conclude the season for a Harvard squad that overcame as much as the Crimson did this year.

"Considering how hard we played, and the injuries we had, and the tough schedule we have, there is no shame at all in losing in the round of 16," Wheaton said. "I am so proud of all of them."

Notes

Harvard arrived for its third-round clash with Notre Dame this weekend hoping to make Friday evening the night the lights went out for the Fighting Irish.

For as long as Notre Dame has held the top ranking in the national polls, the Irish women's soccer team has enjoyed an honor usually reserved for the football team in the form of an illuminated "#1" sign that stands atop one of the school's academic buildings.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the tribute will remain in effect at least until the Irish plays its quarterfinal opponent, Santa Clara, at home next weekend.

Interestingly, prior to this fall, the sign had not been lighted since 1993. That is when the sons of Knute Rockne last sat atop the college football rankings....

After suffering a concussion in last week's 3-0 second-round victory over Hartford, back Kathleen Ferguson did not play against Notre Dame on Friday. The Crimson still employed a four-person defensive backfield, however, as Wheaton started sophomore Bryce Weed in Ferguson's place.

Westfall, who hails from Johnsburg, Ill., and has two cousins who play for the Notre Dame men's soccer team, had a large contingent of relatives cheering for her on Friday night.

"It was extremely emotional," Westfall said of seeing so many family members in attendance. "I haven't seen them, being out in Boston and everything. I tried to do my best."...

Five Harvard seniors concluded their careers on Friday night, having advanced deeper into the tournament than any Harvard team since 1997. Most of them played on the team as freshmen that year, when the Crimson faced eventual-champion North Carolina in the quarterfinals.

After the loss on Friday, Wheaton attributed the Crimson's success this season to the team's outgoing players.

"All the credit goes to our seniors," Wheaton said. "They just picked it up and kept fighting. I am so proud of them. All five of them were great leaders."

Added Westfall: "I think they went out really strong. I give them a lot of credit. It will be hard to play next year without them."