Sports

Football: Redfield makes his mark on special teams

Max Redfield has never played quarterback, but he has had to adjust to being a defensive signal-caller.

Women's Interhall: Lewis blanks Farley for first win of the year

Lewis 6, Farley 0

SMC Soccer: Saint Mary's seeks fourth straight victory

Fresh off their third straight win, Saint Mary's looks to extend its longest winning streak of the season Saturday in a home MIAA matchup against Kalamazoo. The Belles (5-4-3, 3-2-3 MIAA) come into the matchup off their second consecutive shutout, a 1-0 overtime thriller over Trine on Sunday. Senior midfielder Mollie Valencia scored the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute on a penalty kick, her first goal of the season. The defensive unit, led by juniors Kerry Green and Mary Kate Hussey, held the Thunder to two shots, helping earn Green MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Junior goalkeeper ChanlerRosenbaum notched her fourth shutout of the year, recording one save on the lone shot on goal she faced. In the Belles and Hornets (5-7-0, 4-5-0 MIAA) first matchup Sept. 12, Kalamazoo defended their home turf with a 1-0 overtime win, despite being outshot 23-14 by the Belles. However, Hussey said there is a world of difference between those Belles and the ones the Hornets will play Saturday. "Team chemistry has improved so much since then, and we are finally clicking not only off the field but more importantly on the field," Hussey said. "And now that [Belles coach Mike] Joyce has started to get a better feel for newer players everyone is comfortable with the players around them." As hot as the Belles have been - they haven't lost since Sept. 14 - the Hornets come into the matchup almost equally as cold. Despite coming off a 1-0 victory of their own over Trine, the Hornets have lost five of their last six games and six of their last eight. In addition to the differences in form, Hussey said the Belles hold another distinct advantage, albeit a subtle one. "A huge advantage for us playing on our grass field is Kalamazoo plays on turf," Hussey said. "That might not seem like a big deal but it's the type of thing that can tip the scales." Hussey said the Belles gameplan revolves around simple hard work and effort. "Our gameplan is really about just working hard, outworking the other team," Hussey said. "Other than that, our attitude has to be to encourage each other to play to the best of our ability. If we play to our potential that I know we can, especially the way we've played lately, we won't lose." The Belles and Hornets take the field Saturday at noon at Saint Mary's. Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu  

SMC Volleyball: Belles look to continue success

After putting an end to a five-game losing streak by taking two of their last three matches, the Belles (7-11, 5-5 MIAA) will take on some familiar faces when they host Alma (9-10, 4-6 MIAA) tonight. The last time these two teams faced off on Sept. 7, the Belles were victorious in four sets  (25-21, 16-25, 25-22, 26-24).

Men's Golf: Platt leads team as senior, sets eyes on pros

Senior captain Niall Platt, four-year starter and three-time monogram winner, found his life-long sport of golf with the help of his father at the age of three. "My dad got me into it, he loved the game," Platt said. "He doesn't play much anymore, but we used to play together all the time when I was a little kid." A Santa Barbra, Calif. native, Platt said his father John attends many of his tournaments now and serves as an extra coach. "When he comes to my tournaments, he will help me out with my swing and stuff," Platt said. "He is also usually my caddy over the summer." Throughout his time at Notre Dame, Platt has made a great impact on the team. He started 11 tournaments as a freshman and has kept his starting spot through all three seasons at Notre Dame. His freshman year, Platt earned the Big East Freshman of the Year award, a spot on the All-Big East Team, and a monogram award. "Freshman of the year was a great honor for me, I was really happy with that," Platt said. "And obviously to win a monogram, especially freshman year, was a big deal for me." Platt consistently finished within the top three on the team for lowest stroke averages - 73.4 his freshman year and 73.81 his sophomore year. He led the team in lowest stroke average his junior year with 73.41. This season Platt continues to be an asset to the team, currently leading the team with a stroke average of 70.83. Platt has also had one top-10 finish and two top-20 finishes - his best place being at the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 9 with a tie for sixth. Platt said his decision to come to Notre Dame was the right one, not just because of the success he found with the team, but also because of the coaches and players he has had the privilege to golf with. "You don't want to get stuck with coaches you don't like, and luckily that didn't happen to me," Platt said. "I love competing with these guys [the team and coaches], traveling to tournaments is my favorite thing about being on the team." Platt, an applied and computational mathematics and statistics major, said he hopes play pro-golf after college. "Right now, my plan is to turn pro, and see how it goes for a few years," Platt said. "And if it doesn't work out then I will do something else, but for now professional golf is where I want to go." Platt and the team tee off again at the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate tournament in Carmel, Ind. on Oct. 14. Contact Meredith Kelly at mkelly29@nd.edu  

SMC Golf: Belles look to surpass Olivet in last tourney

Saint Mary's will wrap up its fall season this weekend at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) End of Season Weekend Jamboree at Bedford Valley. Olivet will host the event, and is currently leading the MIAA with a season score of 1294. The Belles trail in second place by 52 strokes. The Comets have won all four prior MIAA Jamborees behind seniors Adrienne Plourde and Theresa Damico. Plourde finished second overall at the fourth MIAA Jamboree at Zolner Golf Course, and her performance led Olivet to a first place finish with a score of 320. After seeing her team finish second to Olivet four straight times, Belles coach Kim Moore said she believes it will take a consistent effort from the entire team for a Belles victory. "We're right there, its just a matter of getting four consistent scores," Moore said. "It doesn't matter if it's the number one player or the number five player, your score helps the team no matter where you're at." After finishing at least 12 strokes back in the previous three MIAA tournaments, the Belles closed the gap a bit last weekend at Zolner, shooting a season-best 329. Two Belles finished in the top-five. Freshman Ali Mahoney (76) finished third place individually, and senior Paige Pollak (77) finished fourth. Moore said that the season-best performance would be a boon to her players heading into their final tournament of the fall. "I think it just gives them confidence that we can put a couple good scores in there," Moore said. "Based on those results, we can be close to beating Olivet." Mahoney's performance in last weekend's event was her career best, and broke a streak of high-scoring outings. After shooting an 81 in her first round of the season, Mahoney shot 88 or higher in five straight rounds before last weekend's 75. Moore said she credited the freshman's practice habits for her improvement, and to continue playing at a high level, Mahoney must hone her putting game. "She had a good couple weeks of practice, and she really improved on her putting," Moore said. "[Last weekend] was her best putting performance of the year. It really shows that when you're making puts, your scores tend to drop. It was really a reflection on her preparation." In addition to Mahoney and Pollak, who lead the Belles with an average score of 80.6 on the season, Moore said Saint Mary's will need sophomore Sammie Averill, senior Alexi Brown, junior Janice Heffernan and freshman Courtney Carlson to make an impact in their final two rounds. Moore said the team's focus isn't just on a victory, but also on improving and building confidence as they did in their previous tournaments. "I really want us to go in there and take the confidence we have from the previous tournament," Moore said. "Hopefully we can add to our performance and it would be nice to get another low score in there, which I think we can." The Belles will play their final two rounds of the season at the MIAA End of Season Weekend Jamboree at Bedford Valley Golf Course, teeing off at 1 p.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Saturday. Contact Casey Karnes at wkarnes@nd.edu  

ND Women's Tennis: Irish compete in regional singles championships

In their second contest of the fall season, the Irish head to the Midwest Regional Championships today through Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich. to test their individual strength.

ND Women's Golf: Armstrong's consistency guides Irish play

From the moment she stepped on campus, Ashley Armstrong was a leader. Irish coach Susan Holt knew that she had found a golfer that would take the reins and push her teammates to be better.

ND Women's Basketball: Irish enter ACC unsure of identity

"We are ND."

Jacobsen: Men's soccer putting on a show (Oct. 9)

Another night, another hard-fought draw for the No. 2 Irish.

Jacobsen: Breaking in to the Boys Club (Oct. 8)

Men's Soccer: Terrapin test

Men's Soccer: Cicciarelli provides skill, humor for No. 2 Irish

Everyone needs a good laugh, and every group has that one person who never fails to make them chuckle. In that respect, the Irish are no different than everybody else. 

Men's interhall: Alumni slips past Siegfried to remain undefeated

Hefferon: Returning to "Backyard Baseball" (Oct. 9)

Growing up, most adults around me liked to wax poetic on their glory days of childhood sports. In the romantic ideal of "The Sandlot," they'd leave the house all day, go play with the neighborhood kids and return home only for dusk or the dinner bell.

Football: Turnover battle remains critical to Irish success

In probably the biggest venue in all of football, if not in terms of level of importance, at least in the literal sense, Notre Dame captured an upset win over No. 22 Arizona State in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday. 

SMC Soccer: OT penalty kick gives Belles victory

SMC Volleyball: Belles snap six-match losing streak before splitting doubleheader

Women's interhall: Gargan leads Pangborn over Howard

Men's Tennis: Freshmen impress at Bobby Bayliss Invitational

After a long weekend of competition, three Irish players, including two freshmen, ended the Bobby Bayliss Invitational undefeated in singles play, a result Irish coach Ryan Sachire said he sees as an important mark in the team's development. "Like any fall tournament, there are so many matches that are played and so many guys competing that there's always going to be some positives and things you wished you had done better as a team," Sachire said. "Overall, there were a lot of good things that happened over the weekend." In particular, freshmen Josh Hagar and Eddy Covalschiexcelled, both winning all four of their singles matches. Covalschi and Hagar separately added a doubles victory each, paired with senior Billy Pecor and junior Dougie Barnard, respectively. Sachire said he was very impressed with his young players' performance. "Both of them played very well all weekend," Sachire said. "It's always good when your freshmen play that well." Besides Hagar and Covalschi, sophomore Alex Lawson also went 4-0 in his singles matches. Throughout the weekend, Lawson did not lose a single set in any of his matches either. Sachire also praised junior Wyatt McCoy. McCoy finished with a 3-1 record in singles play, with his only loss coming at the hands of Michigan State senior Aaron Pfister. "Pfister was their top player last year, and presumably he'll be the same this year, so there's no shame in losing to a player like that," Sachire said. "Those four guys [Hagar, Covalschi, Lawson and McCoy] were probably the highlight of the meet for us." No overall team score was kept for the invitational, which was just what Sachire said he wanted. "These are individual tournaments and I don't think that it's a crucial thing for the team to place well," Sachire said. "Certainly you want everyone to do as well as possible and get better, but we're strictly looking at the fall as a developmental period for our players. We'll be better as a team because our individual players got better over the weekend. After two days of full play in warm and humid conditions, Sunday play was dampened by occasional rain. Doubles play had to be cancelled, but singles play finished unhindered. The tournament, a staple on the fall schedule for the Irish, was recently renamed in honor of Notre Dame's former coach, Bobby Bayliss. Coach Sachire said it was a fitting honor for the man who gave so much to the team "Coach Bayliss, words can't describe what he did for our program and for the University in general," Sachire said. "It's the least we could do to recognize that and recognize him. It's definitely something we're going to continue to have every year and hopefully we'll build on it and make it stronger each year."