By Jordan Shim–
In their third consecutive match against a ranked opponent, the No. 18 Louisville women’s soccer team dropped their second home game of the season. No. 15 Notre Dame won 2-1 on Saturday night.
Both teams came into this match with unbeaten runs. The Cards were unbeaten in four, while the Fighting Irish had not lost in their last eight.
Losing 1-0 the last time the two teams met, Louisville got off to a quick start. The Cards scored in the fifth minute on a goal by Alison Price. Brooklynn Rivers flicked on a cross sent into the box to Price, whose looping header flew over Notre Dame goalkeeper Kaela Little. It was Price’s first goal of the season.
Despite the fast start, it was Notre Dame that was more dangerous as the first half progressed. The Fighting Irish had 10 shots and came close multiple times.
The visitors were rewarded for their pressure with a goal in the 38th minute. A long throw-in into the box was not cleared, and Sandra Yu hit a volley flush past Louisville goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin to the right post.
The game was end to end in the second half with each team coming at each other in spurts. But as the half progressed, the Cards did not fade and kept up the pressure. Arianna Ferraro created the bulk of the Cards’ chances, but was unable to find a goal.
Coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes understands the growing pains of underclassmen.
“Ari has a wonderful bright future,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “Just a little bit inconsistent right now. Typical freshman. It’s a hard conference to get acclimated to, but she’s making some big plays.”
In the fifth minute of double overtime, Notre Dame took advantage of Louisville’s flaw in defending set pieces. Jennifer Westendorf’s cross from a corner found the head of Megan McCashland for her first goal for the Fighting Irish this season.
“We need to work on set pieces,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “(Notre Dame is) excellent at attacking set pieces. But we need to address this. The kids that come off the bench need to know their assignment better, know their roles, and that might have been what went wrong.”
Despite the loss, Ferguson-Dayes thought was not disappointed with her team’s performance.
“I thought we were playing fine,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “We ended up getting clean enough looks, but not being opportunistic enough with the chances that we were getting. But overall I thought we put together a good performance.”
Both goalkeepers were kept busy in this contest. Bucklin had a season-high nine saves, and Little had eight.
Notre Dame finished the game with a 22-13 shot advantage. Yu led the way with a game-high six shots. Rivers, Price, and Jill Vetere had three shots each for the Cards.
The Cards will be back in action on Thursday in the third of a four-game homestand against NC State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Photo by Nancy Hanner / The Louisville Cardinal
