Talented Irish
not afraid of NU
By Darren Ivy
Staff Reporter
Notre Dame athletic programs
have a rich tradition.
Even though its football team
may be having a down year, the No.
2 women’s soccer team is still one
of the most dominating programs in
the country.
The Irish (21-0-1) have played
in the last three NCAA finals, and
the 1997 team’s only blemish is a 2
2 tie with No. 1 North Carolina.
“We have talented players at
every position,” said Coach Chris
Petrucelli, who has a 131-18-8 in
seven years at Notre Dame.
Nebraska, 18-3, will try to
match up with the Irish’s talent
level when the teams meet on
Sunday at noon in South Bend, Ind.
Because of its tradition, Notre
Dame is able to attract top players
from around the world each year.
This allows them to have many
quality players at every position,
Petrucelli said. Strikers are one area
where the Irish are deep.
The Irish have three players -
sophomore Jenny Streiffer, who
was an alternate for the 1996
Olympic team; freshman Meotis
Erikson, who was the U.S. high
school female soccer player of the
year in 1997; and freshman Anne
Makinen, a former Finnish player
of the year - who have scored 19 or
more goals. They also have several
other players who have scored more
than 10 goals.
“There is not one player you can
mark (on offense) to stop us,”
Petrucelli said.
The defense also has been
impressive. Since the tie with North
Carolina on Sept. 19, the Irish have
won 15 straight games. In those
games, Notre Dame has outscored
its opponents 93-4.
One of those four goals allowed
came in the opening-round 7-1 win
against Cincinnati. Streiffer said
the team came out a little flat, but
doesn’t expect it to come out flat I
against NU.
Streiffer, who is the Irish’s lead
ing point scorer, said she remem- |
bered Notre Dame’s 1-0 loss to NU
last spring. I
“They are a really physical and .
strong team,” Streiffer said. “They '
haVe super good athletes.” |
Petrucelli didn’t put much
weight on that game. Games in the I
spring are like scrimmages, and it ,
doesn’t matter if a team wins or '
loses, petrucelli said.
From that game, Petrucelli
remembered the physical toughness
of NU and has warned his team.
“We need to make sure we wear
our shinguards and pass the ball
quickly or we will get knocked
around,” Petrucelli said.
Other than the spring game, the
Huskers and Irish have never met,
but Petrucelli knows the Huskers,
in their fourth year of soccer, are an
upcoming team.
“It is obvious from their record
that they are getting better and bet
ter,” Petrucelli said.
Even though NU has improved,
Petrucelli is not convinced the
Huskers will be able to duplicate
their victory when the game counts
for something.
“We’ll find out if they can
match up (Sunday),” Petrucelli
said.
Aggies bounce back
after dismal 1996
By Sam McKewon
Staff Reporter
The bonfires didn’t burn as
brightly, the 12th man at Kyle Field
didn’t roar, and The Texas game was
n’t even a contest.
This was last season for the Texas
A&M Aggies.
A&M limped through 1996,
going 6-6 and failing to have a win
ning season for the first time since
1983. The Aggies were upset by
Southwestern Louisiana and then
lost 51 -15 to rival Texas.
But the 1997 campaign bears no
resemblance to last year’s debacle.
Texas A&M stands at 8-2 this
season and has already earned a
berth in the Big 12 Conference
Championship as the Southern
Divison representative.
Texas A&M Coach R.C. Slocum
said he has seen improvement in
every area.
“We’re working together much
better than we did last year,” Slocum
said.
Some of thel6th-ranked Aggies’
success can be credited to an offense
that has not had a problem with
turnovers. A&M is tied for third in
the nation in turnover margin with
28 takeaways and 13 giveaways.
The major contributor to that sta
tistic is senior quarterback Branndon
Stewart. This season, Stewart and
freshman Randy McCown have only
thrown two interceptions.
Not to be forgotten is the tradi
tional A&M rushing offense. The
Aggies rank 14th nationally in rush
ing offense, averaging 217.4 yards
per game. Baylor Coach Dave
Roberts, whose team lost to A&M
38-10, said the Aggies still know
how to play smash-mouth football.
“We have had problems with
physical teams, and they were very
physical,” Roberts said.
But Texas Coach John Mackovic
said the Aggies’ success leads back
to their coach.
“R.C. Slocum has done a great
job of rebounding his team this
year,” Mackovic said. “You have to
give him a lot of credit.”
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$3.75 Burger Baskets $4.00 w/cheese
Tuesday $ l .50 Rails and Domestics
Wednesday Buy l Pitcher, 2nd Half Price and
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including Bass, two Dogs and Harp
Thursday Manager’s Choice
$3.75 Burger Baskets $4.00 w/cheese
Friday $1.00 Shots j
Who knows what they might be
Saturday $ l .oo Pounders of Beer
Every Monday and Thursday Night
During Football-Buckets of Beer
Located at 9th
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Parking available
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