Sports

SMC Golf: Belles end fall season with second-place finish

The Belles wrapped up their fall season with a second-place finish at the MIAA End-of-Season Weekend Jamboree on Friday and Saturday in Battle Creek, Mich. The combined scores from the four MIAA jamborees and the weekend's two-round tournament, in which the Belles shot a 665 total and 327 on Saturday, gave Saint Mary's the overall second-place award in the conference for the season. Olivet won both the weekend tournament, with a score of 642, and the MIAA championship. "Overall, I think we did well," Belles coach Kim Moore said. "The second round, we had our best team score of the fall season, so I definitely can't complain about that. I felt there were definitely some strokes out there that we kind of left there, but that's golf. You're always going to have a bad hole or two." Junior Janice Heffernan led the way for the Belles, posting a two-day score of 162 to finish in a tie for fifth place individually. Heffernan's card included a 75 in the second round, the lowest round for any Belles golfer this season and the best score in the field Saturday. "I was so excited for her," Moore said. "I thought she played a great round. She even had a few bad shots in there, too, so she could've made it even lower. She really responded and turned it around from her first round [score of 87], so I was really excited for her." Senior captain Paige Pollak finished second for Saint Mary's and seventh overall with her score of 163, and freshman Ali Mahoney took ninth with a 166. Sophomore Sammie Averill tied for 24th, shooting a 177, and senior captain Alexi Bown rounded out the Belles' scoring with her 178 for 26th place. Bown also won the MIAA Sportsmanship Award, determined by the conference's nine head coaches. Bown became the second Belles golfer to earn the distinction. "It says a lot about her as a person," she said. "The Sportsmanship Award goes towards somebody's accomplishments as a person, and in life, that's what it's about. Golf is just a game, and there's so much more to [life], and I think it really speaks volumes to how her peers look at her. It's a great accomplishment to have." Pollak and Heffernan earned spots on the all-MIAA First Team for their play throughout all six conference rounds, and Mahoney was named to the second team. With its fall season complete, Saint Mary's heads into a break until its spring season begins in March. NCAA rules prohibit the team from officially practicing until that time, but Moore said she thinks her golfers will keep their practice routines going while getting some much-needed rest. "I definitely think these girls are competitive, so I'm sure they'll do some stuff on their own," she said. "Hopefully, they'll really utilize this time to get caught up with their studies and really focus academically." With a second-place conference finish in the books, the Belles will take a break and hit the links again when their spring schedule begins in March. Contact Mary Green at mgreen8@nd.edu

SMC Soccer: Belles beat Hornets in OT for fourth straight win

Saint Mary's continued its longest winning streak of the season Saturday, notching its fourth consecutive victory with a 1-0 overtime win over Kalamazoo. The Belles (6-4-3, 4-2-3 MIAA) outshot the Hornets (5-8-0, 4-6-0) 17-11 through the first 93 minutes, but the scoreboard remained at zero, until senior forward Jordan Diffenderfer deflected an attempted clear by Hornets sophomore goalkeeper Lucy Mailing. With the ball trickling toward the goal, Diffenderfer sprinted past Mailing to tap in the game-winner, securing the Belles second consecutive overtime victory. Early in the game Kalamazoo dominated possession and had the Belles defense on its heels. Junior goalkeeper ChanlerRosenbaum was tested early, as she recorded four of her five saves in the first half as the Hornets outshot the Belles 7-4. "Chanler has been one of the most important assets to our defense all year," junior defender and captain Mary Kate Hussey said. "We trust her completely and know when we make mistakes she has our back." Saint Mary's pushed the offensive tempo and controlled possession throughout the second half, outshooting Kalamazoo 13-4. In the 75th minute, Belles sophomore midfielder Kathryn Lueking's volley looked like it was going to break the goal line - and the scoreless tie - but Mailing saved it just before it went over the line. Junior midfielder Erin Mishu narrowly missed in the 86th minute from just a few yards out, sending the game into overtime "At this point in the year, having played six overtime games, we are used to the pressure and intensity of going into an overtime game," Hussey said. "To us, now it's an advantage where we know we're in better shape and that much more prepared than the opponent." The victory moved the Belles, who haven't lost since Sept. 14, into fifth place in the MIAA, with seven games to play. The top four teams make the postseason tournament, but Hussey said the team has its sights set higher than simply making the conference tournament. "It feels amazing to finally be playing with the heart, skill, and chemistry we felt our team has had since day one," Hussey said. "This win is just one more step to our final goal, to make the NCAA tournament." The Belles look to continue their winning streak Wednesday, when they take on Alma at 4 p.m. at home. Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu  

ND Women's Golf: Campbell leads way at invite

SMC Volleyball: Belles battle Comets

The Belles begin a series of MIAA matches Tuesday at home against Olivet that will decide who makes the conference tournament. Saint Mary's (8-12, 6-5 MIAA) is in third place in the MIAA, behind nationally ranked No. 1 Calvin and No. 2 Hope. The top four teams make the tournament, held Nov. 8-9. Five of the Belles' final seven regular season matches are against conference opponents, and Belles coach Toni Elyea said her team is looking forward to the upcoming competition and opportunities to secure its tournament spot. "We have lost to three conference teams in five [sets] this season by two points," Elyea said. "We are looking forward to playing two of those teams again and have the opportunity to solidify our spot in the tournament." Saint Mary's first has to tackle Olivet (8-14, 5-6) on Tuesday. The Belles last played the Comets on Sept. 11 in an away match that Saint Mary's won 3-1. Junior outside hitter Kati Schneider's attacking spurred the Belles to victory. Schneider recorded 31 kills, the most of any Belles player in a four-set match this season. "Kati Schneider had a breakout performance the last time we played Olivet," Elyea said. "We are looking for our team to play stellar defense and attack well around a strong blocking team." Olivet's leading attacker is junior middle hitter Emma Brann. Brann has pounded 202 kills on the season for an average of 2.93 per game. Sophomore Marissa Guile adds depth at the middle hitter position for the Comets. Guile has 86 kills on the season. "Both of the middles for Olivet are good," Elyea said. "Our middles will need to do a great job of fronting them and setting up early for our defenders. We are looking forward to the challenge." Junior middle hitter Melanie Kuczek leads Saint Mary's with 49 blocks. Junior middle hitter Taylor Etzell has 30 blocks and Schneider has gone up for 22. The Belles are completely focused on playing Olivet, despite the many matches ahead that will have implications on the conference tournament and the team's long-term goals, Elyea said. "We are focused on our match with Olivet at the moment," Elyea said. "When that match is complete, we will focus on what is next." Saint Mary's takes on Olivet at home Tuesday at 7 p.m. Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu

Women's Swimming: Irish drop dual meets

Green: Bucs infected by losing attitude (Oct. 14)

You think you've got it bad, Giants and Jaguars fans?

DeFranks: Boston had no business winning (Oct. 15)

Imagine that you ah about to sit down for Thanksgiving dinnah. The food is all ready and made, it just needs to be brought to the table. But then your dog knocks down everything and you are left with nothing but a big appetite. That was what Sunday was for me and every othah Boston-hater out theah. I was about to watch Boston's beloved Patriots and Red Sawx both lose on national stages in high-profile games. But both teams still won, despite having no business even being in those games. My Thanksgiving dinnah was ruined and all I was left with was dog food. If you actually like Boston teams, I have no idea why (unless fah some reason, you ah from theah). This is the city that gave the world Paul Pierce's emasculating beahd, Tom Brady's variety of ugly haircuts, Manny being Manny and the Bruins. Theah is no reason to like Boston teams at all. Not even a clam chowdah bread bowl can make up fah Bill Belichick's style, although it may come close. So, yes, I was slightly irked when Brady's Pats pulled out a 30-27 win ovah the Saints on Sunday. New England should not have even had a chance to win in the final minute. They had both a tuhnovah on downs and an intahception in the last three minutes of the game - and still had a shot to win it. If the Saints had gotten one first down on thieah final possession, they would have won the game. But instead, they lost two yards and wehfohced to punt the football away. On the previous possession, they gained just three yahds, used 22 seconds and had to settle for a field goal instead of icing the game with a touchdown. But if New Orleans' field goal did not close the game, Brady's wicked bad pick on the next play surely did, right? Well, the Boston fans surely thought so as they headed for the exits. I'm positive they weh all just trying to get to the Red Sawx game, yeah? If the Patriots did not deserve to be in the game, the Red Sawx did not deserve to be in the stadium on Sunday. But still, Boston's boys eked out a 6-5 win ovah the Tigers in Game 2 of the Amahican League Championship Series. The best pitching rotation in baseball had held the Sawx scoreless for 14 innings and had only allowed one hit in that timeframe. But in the eighth inning, aftah Detroit managah Jim Leyland yanked 21-game winnah Max Scherzer, the Sawx came alive. They scored foah runs in the frame to tie the game up at five. In innings one through seven, Boston had only foahbaserunnahs total. But when David Ortiz's grand slam sailed into the bullpen, Boston was level and the game was a new one. The very next inning, the Tigers gift-wrapped a run fah Boston. Jonny Gomes reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing errah by the nahmally sure-handed Jose Iglesias. On the yeauh, Iglesias had only committed three errahs at shortstop but had a costly one Sunday evening. Gomes then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Rick Porcello. Porcello, in 177 innings in 2013, only threw six wild pitches but had a costly one Sunday evening. Gomes scored on a single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who hadn't had an RBI since Game 1 of the Amahican League Division Series against Tampa Bay. But he had a big one Sunday evening. Detroit's starting pitching has dominated the Sawx but heads home with the series deadlocked at 1-1. Neither of Boston's squads should have been in a position to win Sunday but both weh. If that does not get yah angry, theiah accent should.

ND Volleyball: Irish shutout halts seven-match losing streak

After suffering their seventh-straight loss Friday when they fell 3-0 to Clemson, the Irish bounced back Saturday to sweep Georgia Tech 3-0 and snatch their first ACC victory.

ND Women's Soccer: Late goal dooms ND on the road

A late-game goal sealed the 1-0 win for No. 10 Virginia Tech as the home team handed No. 9 Notre Dame its third-straight loss Sunday in Blacksburg, Va. Hokies junior midfielder Ellie Zoepfl slipped the ball between the legs of Irish freshman goalkeeper Kaela Little in the 87th minute for the match's only score. Little was off balance after making a save off a shot from Hokies redshirt junior forward Shannon Mayrose, who passed the ball across the net to Zoepfl for the assist. The Hokies (11-2-1, 6-1-1 ACC) pestered Little and the Irish (9-4-1, 5-3-1) throughout the first half, controlling most of the possession and keeping the ball in their offensive zone. To fend off the constant pressure, Little made three saves on the day, including one off a first-half Mayrose shot in which she blocked the ball and caught it before Mayrose had a chance to make a second attempt. "Kaela was solid for us," Irish coach Randy Waldrum said. "She coped with a lot of crosses and picked up some loose balls from over the top when she had to come out of the goal and beat the attacker to the ball to get it cleared. I thought once the game got going and once she got her mind into the speed of the game, she was pretty good." The Irish also needed some time to get going, looking slow in the first half next to the speedy Hokies offense, which won most of the battles for loose balls. Coming out of halftime, Notre Dame picked up its pace and its shot count, putting up 10 shots in the second half compared to four in the first. "We had to make a couple of changes to adjust to the speed [Virginia Tech] had up front," Waldrum said. "I ended up pushing [sophomore midfielder] Cari Roccaro back to the right-back spot and bringing [freshman] Rilka Noel in as the attacking midfield player, and I thought that really calmed us down, and we were able to get a handle on more of our possessions." With their energy level and focus picked up in the second half, the Irish put up more shots but could not respond to Virginia Tech's goal in the final minutes. Notre Dame's best scoring opportunity came with two minutes remaining off a free kick from freshman midfielder Morgan Andrews. Andrews's kick lasered to the front of the goal, where junior forward Lauren Bohaboy shot it into the outstretched arms of Hokies senior keeper Dayle Colpitts. "[Colpitts] had to make a little bit of a diving save, but I think Lauren didn't get ahold of it well," Waldrum said. "So even after they scored, we had an opportunity to tie the game up, but that's the difference. They converted [their chances], and we didn't convert ours." The Irish will look to bring an end to their four-game winless streak when they meet Duke on Sunday at Alumni Stadium. Contact Mary Green at mgreen8@nd.edu  

Hockey: Irish shut down Broncos

The No. 8 Irish blanked No. 18 Western Michigan twice this weekend, winning 4-0 Friday at Compton Family Ice Arena and 3-0 Saturday at the Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.

ND Women's Tennis: Irish split up for weekend

The Irish split up this weekend, while three players travelled to the Bronco Invitational in Kalamazoo, Mich., while other Irish players continued play at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Men's Soccer: Last-minute victory

Unbeaten Notre Dame captured another close victory Friday, when Irish senior forward Harrison Shipp netted the game-winner in the 90th minute against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Shipp's unassisted goal secured the 1-0 win for No. 2 Notre Dame (7-0-4, 4-0-3 ACC) and saved the Irish from heading into their sixth overtime period of the season. Irish coach Bobby Clark said Shipp came through for the Irish after they couldn't convert early chances into goals. "Harrison Shipp got in the best spot," Clark said. "We had some headers early on, and we had some great opportunities, and then Harry was able to work his magic." Before unleashing the game winner, Shipp regained possession after a deflection then dribbled up the middle. His shot eluded Hokies senior goalkeeper Kyle Renfro and zipped into the lower right corner of the goal. Although the game's lone goal came in the last possible minute, the Irish threatened to score early in the game. Irish junior forward Vince Cicciarelli created the first scoring opportunity in the third minute, but Renfro came up with his first save of the night. Notre Dame produced a flurry of headers in the 18th and 19th minutes on corner kicks taken by Shipp. Renfro came up with a stop on senior defender Luke Mishu's first attempt to head the ball in, then Virginia Tech (3-4-4, 1-2-4) recorded a team save on a header from Irish senior defender Andrew O'Malley. Renfro saved a header from Shipp shortly thereafter and Cicciarelli had a shot blocked by the Hokies defense to end the threat. Cicciarelli (3), O'Malley (2) and Shipp (2) all had multiple shots on goal for Notre Dame. The Hokies, meanwhile, managed only one shot on goal, delivered by senior midfielder Robert Alberti in the 14th minute. The Irish didn't have to stop many shots, but the defense looked sharp, Clark said. Senior goalkeeper Patrick Wall had just one save, but stayed active in other ways he said. "Wall had what I like to call 'timely interceptions,'" Clark said. "For example, coming off his line for crosses. He looked sharp without lots of saves. He had to be on his toes." Notre Dame kept the ball in Virginia Tech's territory, especially in the first half. The Irish forced eight corner kicks in the first period as the Hokies failed to clear the ball consistently against Notre Dame's pressing offense. Clark said the Irish offense looked good in the first half and played to win in the second. "We had about three or four [corner kicks] in a row at one point," Clark said. "They couldn't clear the ball ... Generally we did good offense in the first half, and we looked like a team that wanted to win in the last 45 seconds." Cicciarelli unleashed two of his three shots on goal during the final 10 minutes of the game. Renfro saved Cicciarelli's shot in the 80th minute, and the forward's shot in the 88th minute sailed wide. Renfro saved seven shots against Notre Dame, who attempted 23 total shots against Virginia Tech's 13. The Irish and Hokies played in front of a large crowd, and Notre Dame learned how tough it can be to win a road game, Clark said. The Irish will face four ranked opponents, both from the ACC and out of conference, in their final six scheduled games this season. "The main thing is that first of all, it's very difficult to go on the road and win games," Clark said. "But they seemed very motivated to win the game all the way up to the 90th minute. I think the team is dealing with ACC travel really well. We still have four very difficult ACC games and tough nonleague games to play." Next up, Notre Dame clashes with No. 14 Northwestern at Alumni Stadium at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu

ND Women's Tennis: Vrabel advances to second day

Sophomore Julie Vrabel will move on to the second day of qualifying at the ITA Midwestern Regional Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., after taking her only match of the day in straight sets.

Men's Interhall: Dawgs seek to remain undefeated

By EVAN ANDERSON

Hockey: Squad faces rival in new conference

Notre Dame will take the ice in a regular-season game for the first time as Hockey East members tonight after a 21-year run in the CCHA ended last season.

Men's Soccer: Irish travel to Virginia Tech

Women's Interhall: Pangborn and Ryan clash as unbeatens

By REBECCA ROGALSKI

ND Women's Golf: Irish head to elite Tar Heel Invitational

The Irish will face high stakes when they take on a tough field at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., this weekend.

ND Volleyball: Irish to visit Clemson, Georgia Tech on road trip

Notre Dame travels south this weekend for ACC matchups against Clemson and Georgia Tech in hopes of snapping a six-match losing streak.

Lorton: If your team loses, cheer for underdogs (Oct. 11)