Sept. 5, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 13th-ranked Arizona State soccer team (2-1) tallied the first goal of the game to lead fifth-ranked Notre Dame (3-0), 1-0, but the Sun Devils then allowed three unanswered goals in a physical and evenly played match to drop their first game of the year, 3-1 Friday night at the Notre Dame Classic Tournament in South Bend, Indiana.
The Sun Devils started the game strong with a flurry of shots from their forwards. Then in the 11th minute of action, freshman Courtney Crane continued her hot start as she collected up a lose ball rebound and fed it to junior Stephanie Peel who fired a 12-yard strike into an open Notre Dame net for the 1-0 edge. However, just eight minutes later, Notre Dame tied the match at one when Mary Boland scored the first of her two goals off of a set play with an assist from Jen Buczkowski in the 18th minute. The Irish would then take the lead for good in the 23rd minute when Boland lobbed the ball over ASU goalkeeper Kelly Fitzgerald from the top of the box for the 2-1 lead.
Both teams then buckled down for nearly the rest of the match until Notre Dame scored a late goal in the 71st minute of play. Buczkowski served a long pass to Amy Warner for a breakaway to push the final score to 3-1.
Arizona State and Notre Dame each posted 11 shots with the Sun Devils posting four on goal. Fitzgerald made only save, while the Irish's Erika Bohn tallied four. The evenly played match also had each team posting four corners apiece. Patrice Feulner led ASU with four shots with three going on goal, while Brittany Cooper recorded three shots.
Up next, the Devils will face Rutgers on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. (Arizona time) to end tournament play.