Having played seven games in 15 days, the Irish were looking to survive this weekend to get back to their normal routine. And survive they did, hammering Big East foes Georgetown and Miami at Alumni Field.
The Irish, who did not allow a goal on the weekend, beat Georgetown 6-0 Friday night before coming back to beat Miami 3-0 Sunday afternoon. The Irish, still ranked No. 2 and now 14-0-1 on the season, have now shut out their last six opponents with goalkeeper Erika Bohn owning a 590-minute shutout streak.
Irish coach Randy Waldrum did not feel like his team played particularly well against Miami but was happy about the way they still managed to win convincingly.
"The thing we talked about at halftime is that good teams find a way to win these kind of games," Waldrum said. "The energy level wasn't real high, and I think physically it will be nice to get back to a regular week. I'm really proud of them though it was a really tough stretch."
The Irish took the lead against Miami in the first half off a corner kick. Freshman Christie Shaner's kick was headed by Katie Thorlakson before bouncing to Mary Boland who headed it in. Shaner and Thorlakson were credited with assists on the goal.
The Irish were unable to get another goal before halftime, but a through ball from senior Melissa Tancredi sprung classmate Amanda Guertin for a breakaway. Guertin then beat the keeper for the goal. The Irish finished off the Hurricanes quickly, as Thorlakson rebounded a shot by freshman Jill Krivacek for the 3-0 margin.
The Hurricanes broke the Irish streak for having allowed one or fewer shots on goal at 11 games by getting two long shots that were easy saves for Bohn.
The Irish got on the scoreboard quickly against Georgetown, with senior Kim Carpenter continuing her scoring surge with a close shot off assists from Vanessa Pruzinsky and Amy Warner. Although the Irish continued to dominate, they did not score again until late in the half when Pruzinsky's cross was knocked in by sophomore Maggie Manning for a 2-0 halftime lead.
Guertin came off the bench to score two second half goals for the Irish, with her first coming on a breakaway off an assist from Manning only moments into the half. Warner added another goal two minutes later for a 4-0 lead to give the Irish a dominating lead.
Guertin got a second goal in the 69th minute off assists from Krivacek and fellow freshman Jen Buczkowski, and sophomore Annie Schefter capped the scoring with her fourth goal off an assist from freshman Becky Tweneboah.
As has been customary for the Irish, they dominated the Hoyas, allowing only one harmless shot on goal. The Irish did not allow a shot until the 63rd minute, capping a streak of 138 minutes where the Irish did not allow a shot to the opposition.
The Irish again used their depth to wear out the opposition, using all of their healthy players against Georgetown and used many of the same players against Miami.
"The players that we brought in helped step up the energy level," Waldrum said. "Lizzie Reed came in and I thought Becky Tweneboah gave us some good minutes as well. Jill [Krivacek] has been playing very well in midfield for us. I'm pretty pleased with that."
The Irish will finish up their eight-game home stand Friday as they host No. 10 Connecticut at 7 p.m. at Alumni Field.
