Big Second Half, Stingy Defense Help U-M Upset No. 12 Irish

Thursday, August 25

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

2-0-1

Notre Dame

2-1-0

Notre Dame

Michigan

Big Second Half, Stingy Defense Help U-M Upset No. 12 Irish

8/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Whitney Vojtkofsky

» After a scoreless first half, Abby Kastroll (61:38) and Katie Foug (64:00) scored goals just 2:22 apart to give U-M a 2-0 lead. Foug played just five minutes in the match -- enough time to tally her first career goal.
» Michigan held Notre Dame, which was averaging 18.5 shots per game coming into tonight's game, to just seven shots, including three on goal. Goalkeeper Sarah Jackson earned her third career shutout in the win.
» Michigan defeated Notre Dame for the first time since the 2013 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and for the first time in the regular season since 2003.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (U-M Soccer Stadium)
Score: Michigan 2, #12 Notre Dame 0
Records: U-M (2-0-1), UND (2-1)
Attendance: 837
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Aug. 28 -- at Marquette (Milwaukee, Wis.), 1 p.m. CST

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team used a solid team-defensive effort and second-half goals from sophomore Abby Kastroll and sophomore/freshman Katie Foug to shut out No. 12 Notre Dame, 2-0, and earn the upset victory on Thursday (Aug. 25) at U-M Soccer Stadium. The Wolverines remain unbeaten at home with a 2-0-1 record to start the season.

Katie Foug

The Maize and Blue rebounded from a 2-0 loss to the Fighting Irish in South Bend last season and defeated Notre Dame for the first time since the 2013 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. Michigan last earned a win over UND in the regular season in 2003. The last time U-M beat a NSCAA top-25 team was No. 22 Northwestern on Oct. 8, 2015 (1-0). Michigan's two goals were the first Notre Dame had given up this season.

The game was scoreless as the second half started, but U-M got its momentum in the 62nd minute with a goal from Kastroll. Sophomore Reilly Martin lined up to take a free kick from 30 yards out and served it straight to the head of senior/junior captain Ani Sarkisian, who headed it across the face of the goal to Kastroll and the Naples, Florida, native headed it again perfectly into the lower right 90 for the first tally of the game.

Three minutes later in the 64th minute, Foug checked into the game and quickly impacted the game. From the top of the 18-yard box, senior Nicky Waldeck fed Martin on the left -- Martin turned her defender and sent a ball into the six-yard box, where Foug punched it into the goal before ND goalkeeper Kaela Little could jump on it.

Notre Dame got off three shots in the final 20 minutes, but none hit the target.

The first half ended scoreless after a defensive battle between the two teams. U-M's backline cleared away several Notre Dame chances in the box, highlighted by a strong showing from freshman Jada Dayne. The Wolverines put two shots on frame in the first half, both of which Little snatched out of the air.

In her first career start, senior Rosalind Porritt, and fellow defenders Anna Soccorsi and Madisson Lewis, also helped the Wolverines maintain a clean sheet. Junior/sophomore Sarah Jackson ended the game with her third career shutout, making three saves to protect the Wolverine goal.

With one assist each in tonight's match, Waldeck and Sarkisian both have a team-best six points (3G, 3G), while Martin is right on their heels with five points (1G, 3A).

The Wolverines will hit the road for the first time this season to take on Marquette on Sunday (Aug. 28) in a 1 p.m. CDT matchup at Valley Fields in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.