Also, Sunday is Senior Day for the Irish - well-earned recognition for Mandy Laddish, Nicole Rodriguez, Elizabeth Tucker, and Rebecca Twining. Congratulations, ladies!
I predict ND will make it to at least the round of 8 in the NCAA's and probably the College Cup. Taking a few lumps in the ACC does not mean a lot. ND is very talented and has one of the best coaches in the game.
I only hate on teams when I know they are good and am secretly jealous of them. ND administered the biggest whoopin' of all times on UNC in 2010 in the NCAA's.
Wow another loss. This one was a heartbreaker. I wasn't at the game but watched the HL video. The goalie couldn't get it out of the box and a Duke player just stole it away from her and scored. She's a freshman keeper and will learn from this. But my question is not with the keeper. It's with scoring. You can't go through the ACC (There I said it. Still won't call it a grind though ) by being able to score only 1 goal a game. You have to have a constant threat up front. For next year and the future in my opinion, ND needs to make it a priority to recruit top-level forwards/ scorers. Anyway, they have to get it together fast. Go Irish!
Interesting quote from Coach Randy on the ND website: "'In each of our last three games, it was just an individual lack of focus that mismarked a player or did not get matched up the right way,' Waldrum said. 'That’s what the ACC does to you. We did not have that all the time in the Big East week in and week out. That’s been the biggest difference.'" BC is another big game today - they have some firepower. Hope the Irish do, too.
Nice win for ND last night. I can't believe I am pulling for ND this year after all the times I have pulled against them. They had a string of losses, maybe getting used to the ACC, but they are still a fantastic team. Look at UNC's recent ACC record, even in years when they won the national championship. 3 losses and a tie in 2012 in the ACC and I think 3 losses in 2009. It's a tough conference and ND is a wonderful addition. I am also counting on y'all to take UVA in the semi's of the ACC tourney, provided my Heels can get up to the #2 or #3 seed and not ending having to play ND in the quarters.
Irish win 2-0 over Clemson on what looks like a beautiful day in SC. Back on the winning track after a similar result at ND against Boston College on Thursday. A huge challenge at Florida State coming up.
Former Notre Dame soccer alums in cool jobs: The beautiful and talented Monica Gonzalez - ESPN Soccer Analyst It's cool to see former ND players that you have watched on the pitch while in college in nice/cool jobs. I remember Monica as a very tough-as-nails defender for the Irish and now you see her on the sidelines for ESPN as analyst. I'm sure Randy Waldrum is proud of her as well.
The ND-FSU match will be on Comcast SportsNetwork in the Washington, DC area on Thursday evening. Don't know about other parts of the country.
A complete list of stations is here: http://www.theacc.com/#!/news-detai...1-Notre-Dame-at-Florida-State_10-28-13_c6wyhd
An excruciating 2-1 loss in double overtime (another one this season) against FSU, who played brilliantly. GK Little was cool, calm, and collected, but the Irish need more out of the offense. Despite the result, this was a fun game to watch. Hokies next in the first round of the ACCs.
Another double overtime loss this year getting scored on in the last minutes of the game. Painful. Little may have looked cool but I think the winning goal that FSU scored looked savable to me. She dove backwards instead of a full extension to her right to save the shot. But my question is how was the FSU player left so wide open in the box like that - unmarked? I don't know. At least they are in the post-season.
It was perfect cross, perfect dive and perfect header in the perfect moment. ND's midfield was crushing FSU for most of the match, it was just two moments of brilliance from FSU that prevailed. Your team played very well Sir, football is just a cruel game.
Notre Dame has a magnificent midfield. We just need to put the ball in the net more and can't sleep for one second on defense.
Wow, another 1 goal D-OT loss. In all my years of following and watching ND women's soccer, I have never seen anything like this before.
Sounds like a wacky match. ND was assessed a blizzard of yellow cards, a couple of which led to a red for mild-mannered Elizabeth Tucker under unusual circumstances. Playing one-down, they were probably pretty desperate to get to PKs and the Hokies prevailed. Somehow I think a new rivalry is being born. Rest up, team, and get ready to hit the road during the NCAAs. http://www.und.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/110313aaa.html
Take heart, MRAD. We all know that ND has a good team. They'll do well in the NCAA. The potential is there. Your team has now passed through the ACC gauntlet (notice I did not use the dreaded word gri--!) and you should have smoother sailing to finish out the season.
So Tucker received a yellow for a supposed pushing match that happened between Roccaro and a VT player, but the ref confused the numbers because Tucker and the VT player both have #8 so Tucker gets a yellow even though she was nowhere near the play? What, the ref thought Roccaro and Tucker were getting into a pushing match? Players of the same team?.....what the...? So Tucker ends up getting another Yellow=Red Card later and ND plays a man down. Elizabeth Tucker is the most mild mannered player I have ever witnessed. I don't get it.
If that explanation is any where near true, then the ACC and NCAA should be reviewing tapes at this very moment and rectifying the injustice. (That being allowing Elizabeth Tucker to play in the first NCAA game.) While the rules do not allow for changing game decisions after the fact, the implications of those decisions (ie: sitting out games) can be modified by the organizations declaring them. Surely ND is pushing the NCAA hard to rectify this injustice and hopefully we'll see an announcement soon.
If that's the way it happened, then the refs should be suspended for a weekend and Tucker should be able to play in the first round game. That said, being a senior captain, you've gotta play smarter than pulling on a jersey while you're sitting on a yellow. But even if Tucker doesn't play the first round, Notre Dame is going to be more than a handful for any team and will be a Sweet 16 team at minimum, no matter where they end up in the bracket.
Elizabeth Tucker's first yellow card and ejection successfully appealed: http://www.und.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/110613aaa.html
And the referee's should be given a reprimand as well. ND played with a man down for much of the game. The outcome could have been much different if they had their full team.