Miami Falls at Notre Dame, 3-0
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In what was a tale of two halves, the University of Miami dropped its road tilt with Notre Dame, 3-0, Thursday night at Alumni Stadium.
“I thought we played really well in the first 45 minutes. We knew they were going to come out with fire and energy in the beginning of the second half and they did,” Miami head coach Sarah Barnes said. “It is just small errors, cumulatively, that cost us. It is unfortunate and you feel like you are saying it over and over again. We just have to keep working hard as a whole group to fix those details, learn from our mistakes and continue to get better.”
Scoreless through the opening 45 minutes of action, the Hurricanes’ (3-6-2, 0-4-1 ACC) defense held strong against the Fighting Irish (9-4-0, 3-2-0 ACC) attack, as sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Speaks made a trio of key saves.
Facing her first shot of the match, Speaks corralled her opening save off the foot of Olivia Wingate in the sixth minute.
In the 20th minute, Michelle Giamportone found herself in space just outside the 18 yard box. Cutting in towards the center of the pitch, the junior midfielder blasted a right footed shot towards the far right post, but Brooke Littman was able to make an incredible diving save to prevent the goal.
Two minutes later, Speaks made an amazing diving save of her own off a shot by Luisa Delgado. Off the ensuing corner kick, the Dunwoody, Ga., native once again made a great play on the ball, punching it out of play.
In the 36th minute, senior defender Dejah Cason made her presence felt when she made a last ditch effort to block a shot by Waniya Hudson, who was one-on-one with Speaks, and prevent a goal-scoring opportunity.
Just 22 seconds into the second half, Notre Dame’s Eva Hurm connected with Sammi Fisher at the six-yard box and placed the Irish in front, 1-0.
Then, at the 49:15 minute mark, Fisher doubled Notre Dame’s lead off an assist by Wingate.
Notre Dame’s Fisher then capped off the night with a hat trick in the 58th minute following a defensive miscommunication.
In goal for Miami, Speaks closed out the night with five saves.
Miami will return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m., when the Hurricanes square off against the Orange in Syracuse, N.Y. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
