May 3, 2002
Photo Gallery
Notre Dame, Ind. - The eighth-ranked Notre Dame women's
lacrosse team showed their never say die attitude on Friday afternoon
at Moose Krause Stadium by scoring three goals in the final 1:55 to
wipe out a 9-6 Vanderbilt lead and send the game to overtime.
A goal by midfielder Eleanor Weille and two by top scorer
Danielle Shearer, the second coming on a free position shot with 20
seconds left, tied the game at 9-9. That set up overtime where
senior midfielder Natalie Loftus got the only goal the Irish would
need for a hard-fought 10-9 win over the Commodores.
The victory gives the Irish their best record ever with a
12-4 mark while Vanderbilt goes to 9-5 on the year. Notre Dame must
now wait until Sunday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. for a bid to the NCAA
tournament and a possible home game next Thursday, May 8.
Being down by three goals with less than two minutes left did
not discourage head coach Tracy Coyne. "We came back against Duke
and I knew we could score. That's just the way this team has played
all season, with lots of heart and character. Our seniors really
took over at the end to spark us," said Coyne.
Playing the final game of their careers, Notre Dame's seniors
were on a mission to get the Irish into the NCAA tournament and they
came through with big plays all day.
Senior midfielder Alissa Moser scored three goals and added
an assist for four points and Loftus scored a pair and added an
assist for three points in the game. When the game was on the line,
the Irish defense, led by Maureen Henwood, Kathryn Lam and Tina
Fedarcyk (all seniors) stopped the Vanderbilt attack. The trio
combined for 14 ground balls and forced 10 turnovers with several key
plays late in the game.
"This has been the focus for our seniors and they showed
great leadership today. They are the heart and soul of this team,"
said Coyne.
As has been the case most of the season, the Irish wasted
little time getting on the board when junior Eleanor Weille scored
the first of her two goals on the game on a Kassen Delano set up.
The Irish would score three more times, Loftus, Moser and
Meredith Simon getting their first goals of the game, to build a 4-0
lead less than halfway through the first half. Notre Dame continued
to dominate the first half, but could not get the ball past
Vanderbilt's Ashley Bastinelli.
With 10:47 left in the half, the Commodores got on the board
with Jess Roguski getting the first of her two goals. Tara Schmucker
(4:53), Mary McCeney (2:53) and Jeannie Crawley (1:02) each scored to
pull Vanderbilt into a 4-4 tie at halftime.
The string of unanswered goals went to five when Schmucker
scored her second of the game for Vanderbilt just 4:38 into the
second half.
Moser answered back with goals at 22:16 and 18:14 (free
position shot) to put Notre Dame back on top at 6-5. That lead
lasted just 10 seconds as Crawley grabbed the ensuing draw and
outraced the Irish defense, beating Notre Dame goalkeeper Jen White
from 10 yards out to tie the game at 6-6.
That goal seemed to give Vanderbilt the spark they needed as
the Commodores added three more unanswered goals to build the lead to
9-6. Crawley completed her hat trick with 14:28 left, Roguski scored
her second of the game with 13:47 on the clock and Kinsey Osberg
scored Vandy's final goal with 11:37.
That set up Notre Dame's final assault as time ran down.
Weille was fouled in close and scored on a free position shot with
1:55 left.
Following Weille's goal, Vanderbilt controlled the draw and
carried the play into the Notre Dame end looking to run out the
clock. Fedarcyk and Lam forced a turnover deep in the zone and were
able to work the ball to Loftus who raced down the field. She found
Shearer, Notre Dame's top scorer who had been quiet all day, on the
left side and fed her the ball. The author of 34 goals coming into
the game, Shearer slipped through the Commodore defense and fired a
shot past Bastinelli to make it 9-8 with 1:08 left.
Henwood got possession off the following draw in the Notre
Dame zone and headed down field as time wound down. She too found
Shearer to the right of Bastinelli and fed her the ball. Shearer cut
to the front and was knocked down receiving a free position shot. On
her first attempt, she missed, but a Vanderbilt player moved to soon
giving her another shot. She buried that shot to tie the game with
20 seconds left.
"Danielle is capable of scoring any time she wants," said
Coyne. "When she lets the game come to her, she has all the ability
to get the job done."
In overtime, the Irish scored in the first of the two
three-minute stanzas. The winning goal was all Loftus as she forced
a turnover at midfield, carried the ball deep into the Vanderbilt
zone, beat a triple team and scored her second goal of the game for
the 10-9 advantage with 1:49 left in the first overtime. From there,
the Irish controlled play, giving up just one shot in the extra
period to hold on to the win.
On the day, the Irish outshot Vanderbilt, 33-16. Bastinelli
made 11 saves in 66 minutes for the Commodores while White had six
saves on the afternoon for the Irish.
Game Summary
First-Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
ND 29:06 1-0 Eleanor Weille Kassen Delano
ND 24:05 2-0 Natalie Loftus
ND 20:50 * 3-0 Alissa Moser
ND 15:18 4-0 Meredith Simon Alissa Moser
VU 10:47 4-1 Jess Roguski Liz Drennan
VU 4:53 4-2 Tara Schmucker
VU 2:53 4-3 Mary McCeney
VU 1:02 4-4 Jeannie Crawley Kinsey Osberg
Second-Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
VU 25:22 4-5 Tara Schmucker - 2
ND 22:16 5-5 Alissa Moser - 2 Natalie Loftus
ND 18:14 * 6-5 Alissa Moser - 3
VU 18:04 6-6 Jeannie Crawley - 2
VU 14:28 6-7 Jeannie Crawley - 3 Michelle Allen
VU 13:47 6-8 Jess Roguski - 2 Kelly Devlin
VU 11:37 6-9 Kinsey Osberg Liz Drennan
ND 1:55 * 7-9 Eleanor Weille - 2
ND 1:08 8-9 Danielle Shearer
ND 0:20 * 9-9 Danielle Shearer - 2
Ovetime Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
ND 1:49 10-9 Natalie Loftus - 2
* indicates free position goal
Scoring: 1st 2nd OT Final
Notre Dame (12-4) 4 5 1 10
Vanderbilt (9-5) 4 5 0 9
Shots on Goal
ND 33
VU 16
Goalkeepers
ND: Jen White, (66:00 min., 9 goals, 6 saves)
VU: Ashley Bastinelli, (66:00 min., 10 goals, 11 saves)
