Michigan
3-1-2, 0-0-0
Notre Dame
3-1-2, 0-0-0
Wolverines Upset No. 11 Fighting Irish Behind Prych's Tally
9/7/2023 10:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer
» Freshman Gabrielle Prych scored the lone goal of the match with a tally off assists from Jenna Lang and Kacey Lawrence in the 58th minute.
» The last time U-M defeated the Fighting Irish in South Bend was in the 2003 season, while the last time Notre Dame lost to a Big Ten team was the 2019 campaign.
» U-M overcame a 27-8 shot disadvantage with Stephanie Sparkowski earning her fourth clean sheet with seven saves.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team upset the No. 11-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 1-0, on Thursday (Sept. 7) at Alumni Stadium behind a 58th-minute goal from freshman Gabrielle Prych.
The road win is Michigan's first in South Bend since 2003 and gave Notre Dame its first shutout loss since Oct. 15, 2020.
Michigan (3-1-2) had an early chance from Prych, who found space 25 yards out in the fourth minute. Her effort was aimed for the lower right portion of the goal but was stopped by Notre Dame goalkeeper Ashley Naylor, who dived to her left.
Six minutes later, junior Avery Peters had a knuckler shot off a corner from 25 yards out top center that dipped narrowly left of the left post.
From there, Notre Dame (3-1-2) started to control the flow of the match -- with superb chances in the 18th and 26th minute. It built up a 9-3 shot advantage with seven minutes to go in the first half.
Michigan's final chance of the opening half came in the 41st minute off a set-piece service from sophomore Abby Zugay. Her service found the head of freshman Lilley Bosley but her effort from the top of the six was saved.
After dodging a few promising chances in the early going of the second half for the Fighting Irish, U-M's counter-attacking work rate paid off in the 58th minute. Senior Kacey Lawrence connected with sophomore Jenna Lang on the left flank. Lang then connected with Prych, who finished just outside the six to give U-M the 1-0 advantage.
The U-M backline of junior Tamia Tolbert, sophomore Aniyah League and senior Sarah Bridenstine held strong while being outshot, 14-4, in the second half and 27-8 overall. Stephanie Sparkowski finished with seven saves, including a show stopper in the 88th minute off a free-kick from 20 yards out top center.
Sophomore Vickie Jones also made her season debut as a holding midfielder, playing 25 minutes.
The shutout runs U-M's streak to four matches, the longest streak since the 2012 season.
U-M will close out the week, as well as non-conference play, with a matchup against Western Michigan on Sunday (Sept. 10) at 1 p.m. from U-M Soccer Stadium. The match will be broadcast on B1G+.
Tweet of the Match
FT: Michigan 1, No. 11 Notre Dame 0
— Michigan Women's Soccer (@umichwsoccer) September 8, 2023
First win in South Bend since the 2003 season as we move to 3-1-2 on the year.
SHOTS | 7-28
SOG | 3-7
SAVES | 7-2
CK | 3-11
FOULS | 9-11
?U-M: 57' Prych (Lang, Lawrence)#GoBlue?? | #OurWay pic.twitter.com/tIDNQvzoCe
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Team Stats
Gabrielle Prych (3)
Assisted By: Jenna Lang , Kacey Lawrence
GOAL by UM Prych, Gabrielle Assist by Lang, Jenna and Lawrence, Kacey.
57:08
