Michigan Shut Out by No. 2 Fighting Irish in Home Finale

Thursday, October 28

Ann Arbor, Mich.

3:00 PM

Michigan

9-7-2

Notre Dame

17-0-1

Notre Dame

Michigan

Michigan Shut Out by No. 2 Fighting Irish in Home Finale

10/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team dropped its fourth straight game, losing 4-0 to No. 2-ranked Notre Dame in its home finale Thursday afternoon (Oct. 28) at the U-M Soccer Field. The Wolverines were unable to extend their two-game winning streak against the Fighting Irish, as Katie Thorlakson's six-point effort spearheaded a UND offensive attack that scored a pair of goals in each half and outshot U-M 20-2.

Notre Dame controlled possession from the opening whistle and found itself on the scoreboard just 4:55 into the game, as Thorlakson sent a short cross inside the box to Jen Buczkowski, who beat her defender and put it past sophomore goalkeeper Megan Tuura (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic HS) to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.

UND continued to apply pressure down on Michigan's end of the field throughout the first half. Thorlakson nearly made it 2-0 with 32 minutes left, but sophomore Katelin Spencer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) got a body in front of the shot and deflected it wide. A Thorlakson corner kick one minute later was right on target, but Tuura stepped out and punched the ball clear of danger. Michigan dodged another bullet with 21 minutes left, as Melissa Tancredi's header off a corner kick sailed just high of the crossbar.

Spencer came up with another key block on a Thorlakson attempt with 19 minutes remaining in the half, and the ensuing corner kick saw Tuura make a diving save on a shot by Christie Shaner to keep the Wolverines from going down by two goals.

Unfortunately, Michigan found itself down by a pair of scores heading into halftime after Buczkowski and Thorlakson hooked up once again for Notre Dame's second goal. This time, Thorlakson took a centering pass from Buczkowski and blasted the ball past Tuura to give the Irish a 2-0 advantage at 28:12.

The Wolverine offense had difficulty breaking through Notre Dame's back line the entire contest, and Michigan's first shot came with just 33 minutes left in the second half, as sophomore Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) took a short touch from senior Laura Tanchon (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) and fired a shot from the top of box into the arms of UND goalkeeper Erika Bohn.

Tuura prevented further damage with a save on a Thorlakson shot with 31 minutes left in the game, and then made a diving stop on another Thorlakson attempt off a direct kick one minute later.

With just under 29 minutes remaining, the Fighting Irish were threatening down on the left endline, and Tuura dove to make a play on the ball at the left post. Unfortunately, the ball popped back out in front and Candace Chapman stuffed it into the back of the net before Tuura could get back in position to give UND a 3-0 lead.

Michigan's last solid chance to get on the board came with 20 minutes left, but freshman Carrie Lacroix (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley HS) was unable to chase down a loose ball on the break, and Bohn charged out of the cage and scooped it up before Lacroix could get there.

Thorlakson capped off the scoring at 72:54, taking a pass from Amanda Cinalli and sending a shot into the upper left corner to seal the victory and give the Irish an undefeated regular season at 17-0-1.

The Wolverines (9-7-2) close out their regular season Saturday (Oct. 30) at Western Michigan. The non-conference matchup with the Broncos is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at WMU Soccer Complex in Kalamazoo, Mich.

GAME SUMMARY

Team	1	2	F
Notre Dame	2	2	4
Michigan	0	0	0

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- UND, Jen Buczkowski, 4:55 (Katie Thorlakson)
1st -- UND, Thorlakson, 28:12 (Buczkowski)
2nd -- UND, Candace Chapman, 61:31 (Amanda Cinalli, Thorlakson)
2nd -- UND, Thorlakson, 72:54 (Cinalli)

Shots: U-M 2, UND 20
Saves: U-M 6 (Megan Tuura), UND 1 (Erika Bohn 1, Nikki Westfall 0)
Corner Kicks: U-M 0, UND 5
Fouls: U-M 8, UND 11
Cards: None

Q U O T E S

U-M Head Coach Debbie Rademacher
On Michigan's recent struggles ... "If you defend well, then you're not going to lose the game. We just haven't defended well. We have to learn to defend as a unit and attack as a unit. I come from a philosophy that stresses the importance of organizing on defense. That's what got us to where we were last year, and then we finally found a way to score goals. But if you give up goals, then you're not going to win games."

N O T E S

 Today's game against Notre Dame will be shown via tape delay on Comcast Local (channel 8) on Friday, Oct. 29, at 2:30 p.m., and again on Monday, Nov. 1,  at 1:30 p.m., featuring former U-M goalkeeper Suzie Grech (2000-03) as the color analyst.

Senior Kate Morgan (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) saw time on the field in the second half after sitting out the previous seven games with a leg injury.

The Wolverines' last four-game losing streak came during the 1996 season, U-M has never lost more than four games in a row in the 11-year history of the program.

Michigan suffered its third shutout loss of 2004.

U-M falls to 2-8-0 all-time against Notre Dame.

Michigan drops to 2-4-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423