Notre Dame relentless against UNC keepers Daly, Sieloff

In the third round of the NCAA Tournament, the Notre Dame women’s soccer team was able to excel at what most of North Carolina’s opponents struggle to accomplish: scoring.

And score often, they did.

The Fighting Irish found the back of the net a record four times in their 4-1 victory against UNC on Saturday. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals by posting the most goals against the Tar Heels since 1980, when women’s soccer wasn’t even regulated by the NCAA.

Exploiting the Tar Heels’ three-back defense, Notre Dame exposed a goalkeeping position that has dealt with both of the major problems that have surrounded the team this season — youth and injury.

A miscue by UNC goalie Hannah Daly left an open net awaiting senior midfielder Rose Augustin early in the first half when the sophomore keeper lost control of a save and dropped the ball.

“(UNC) started off with a mistake to get us our first goal, and we were very opportunistic to be in the right place on Rose’s goal to open the game up,” Notre Dame coach Randy Waldrum said.

So the Tar Heels turned to a game split between two keepers.

Freshman Anna Sieloff replaced Daly in the net after 17 minutes. It was her first game back in goal since she broke a finger in an October practice.

“Both of them are great and deserve to play,” senior Meghan Klingenberg said. “It’s been really beneficial to both of them because I’ve seen them get better this season. They feed off each other.”

Replacing experienced goalie Ashlyn Harris, who graduated last season, Sieloff and Daly have split time in goal throughout the season before injury kept Sieloff out of the box.

“We lost some pretty significant players in the back and in goal for us,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. “We tried to replace them with some inexperience, and I thought, honestly, that group did very well.”

Notre Dame’s net was secured by someone who had the credentials Harris had last season. Nikki Weiss entered this season with 61 saves and three seasons of play under her belt. The senior’s five saves kept UNC’s counterattack unsuccessful as they attempted to rally from behind, especially in the second half.

Although the young pair of Daly and Sieloff have combined for 11 shutouts this season and Sieloff made an impressive save in Saturday’s outing, Notre Dame’s front line was relentless in its attack.

Whether firing a shot from set pieces, a free kick or just the right spot on the field, the Fighting Irish caught both Daly and Sieloff by surprise four times with their placement.

“They gave a lot of pressure and were really physical and really battled for all the 50-50s,” Sieloff said. “They really scrapped. They were a presence the entire game, and it gets tiring.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.