“It’s a huge win,” Pace said, “considering we played our worst half of the season in the first half.
“We were fortunate to be tied at the half.”
But they were, despite the fact that Notre Dame dictated much of the action.
Still, Sacred Heart outshot Notre Dame, 8-4, in the first half and 17-8 for the match. It was a product of the Knights’ more methodical approach that yielded less opportunities and the Tologs’ more dynamic offense.
“We weren’t very awake in the beginning,” Garoian said.
But that soon changed in the second half.
“[The] defense settled in,” Pace said.
Led by Pip Harragin and Sinead Fleming, the Tologs continued to bend, but not break, keeping the Tologs even before Garoian took an outlet pass from goalie Dominique Oro.
Oro’s kick came down around midfield and Gorian did the rest, weaving her way through three defenders as she worked her way up the middle of the field with her coach yelling at her to go from the sideline. The junior forward didn’t hear any of it, though, but she certainly complied.
“At that point everything just got tuned out,” she said. “All I saw was the ball in the goal.”
After she’d dribbled around and through the aforementioned defenders, Garoian let loose on a perfect shot from approximately 20 yards out that dipped just under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute.
The wait until Garoian’s next tally was a painful one for the Tologs.
Notre Dame proceeded to take over possession with a bevy of corner kicks and throw-ins deep in Tologs territory coming to fruition.
In the Tologs’ previous contest, a 3-3 tie with Louisville, all three goals against Sacred Heart came off set pieces.
“It’s no question that they’re not our strengths,” Pace said.
