Irish women advance to soccer title match

Associated Press

CARY, N.C. – Courtney Barg scored in the 15th minute and Notre Dame beat Stanford 1-0 Friday to reach the championship of the NCAA Women’s College Cup.

The Irish (26-0-0), who are in the final four for the third straight year, will play UCLA or North Carolina on Sunday.

Freshman Melissa Henderson sent a low cross into the right side of the box for Barg, who trapped it, then turned and fired a right-footed shot to the far side past Stanford goalkeeper Kira Maker.

Stanford (22-2-1), which set a school record for wins in a season, had a pair of good scoring chances in the first half. But Notre Dame goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander turned away both chances. Lysander made a sliding save on a shot by Kelley O’Hara midway through the half, then stopped a header by Christen Press five minutes later.

Lysander had seven saves in the Notre Dame’s 18th shutout of the season and eighth shutout in the last nine games.

The Cardinal dominated possession in the second half giving them a 20-12 advantage in shots overall, but failed to score for just the second time this season.

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The Journal Gazette's Assistant Sports Editor Tony Krausz covers The University of Notre Dame. Krausz, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a native of St. Louis, has been assistant sports editor since October 2005. Prior to joining the JG, he worked at two papers in Mississippi covering high school and college athletics.