After a scoreless first half, Notre Dame’s offense constantly pressured the Syracuse backline, stringing together a two-goal second half to down the Orange.

Notre Dame (7-4-2, 2-2-1 Atlantic Coast) downed Syracuse (6-5-3, 2-3-1), 2-0, on Sunday afternoon. In the second half, where UND scored both its goals, SU only mustered one shot. The Fighting Irish finished with 28 total shots to SU’s five, controlling possession often and pressuring the Syracuse backline.

UND midfielder Sandra Yu led the charge for Notre Dame. Though she ended the game scoreless, her ability to rush into the final third created many scoring opportunities for the Fighting Irish. The first goal came after Yu sprinted past midfield and fired a pass through the box to Natalie Jacobs who found Jennifer Westendorf for the opening goal.

In the 87th minute, only two Syracuse defenders were in the zone when Kate O’Connor drew Jessica Vigna out of the box. She fed the ball to Jacobs who scored UND’s second of the game.

SU’s defense held Notre Dame scoreless until the 68th minute. Shannon Aviza and Vigna blocked several offensive bushes in a half where Courtney Brosnan only needed to make three saves. She moved up to second on the program’s all-time saves list and now has 312 career saves.

In the second half, Notre Dame began to control possession and attack. The Fighting Irish recovered its blocked shots, getting second and third chances.

For a large part of the game, Brosnan protected the net on those chances, saving 10 shots. But the constant offensive pressure from Notre Dame proved too much.

The Orange returns home Wednesday at 1 p.m. to host Miami at SU Soccer Stadium.

Published on October 8, 2017 at 4:19 pm

Contact Bobby: rpmannin@syr.edu