She was due for a goal.

After Marquette's 4-1 win over South Florida on Sept. 16, Meghan Connelly joked that her first goal of the season would come two weeks later against mighty Notre Dame.

The junior forward, who led the team with six goals in 2004, fulfilled her prophecy Friday after the defending national champions pinned the Golden Eagles back in their own half for 25 minutes. By that point, the Irish had scored once already and appeared likely to run away with the game. Marquette, meanwhile, could barely muster an attack.

"We were just looking for something to tell us, 'We can play with them,'" Connelly said. "We believed we could, but I think we just needed something that would spark us. And after (the goal) we were just pumped."

It changed everything.

Connelly cut inside a Notre Dame defender and curled an 18-yard left-footed shot into the top corner to tie the game in the 26th minute. Junior forward Alison Loughrin added two more before halftime, and Thompson's superb second-half strike sealed a remarkable 4-1 victory over the No. 6 Irish in front of a Valley Fields record crowd of 2,034.

"When we went down 1-0, I was like, 'Oh crap,'" senior midfielder Julie Thompson said. "And then (Connelly) had an awesome goal, and as soon as we had that, I was like, 'We're gonna be fine.'"

Connelly certainly picked a convenient moment to net her first of the year.

"It couldn't have come at a better time in the season," Loughrin said. "I know she's been frustrated. But that was amazing, it lifted our team. … It made (the Irish players) hang their heads as soon as she scored. They didn't know what hit them."

If Connelly's goal stunned the Irish, Loughrin's pair of goals at the end of the first half must have had the champions pinching themselves in hopes of awaking from a nightmare.

A perfectly executed counterattack caught Notre Dame off guard in the 38th minute. Thompson led the break and chipped a pass for Loughrin, who raced in behind the defense and knocked the ball over the charging Irish goalkeeper.

Loughrin gave the pulsating half yet another twist with her sixth goal of season — her fifth as a substitute.

"It was a typical 'Al' goal," Roeders said. "She takes advantage of slight mistakes, she creates something. She just challenged a loose ball where other people might have backed off."

A moment of hesitation in the 44th minute between an Irish defender and the goalkeeper allowed Loughrin to swoop in, knock the ball away and steer it into an empty net.

"The coaches keep telling me to pressure everything, go for every ball," Loughrin said. "You run at them, the goalie takes her mind off the ball, and you're in. It's happened a couple times this season, and it pays off."

Notre Dame had outscored its 10 opponents 48-5 prior to Friday's match. It had posted four straight shutouts. The squad featured forward Katie Thorlakson, a member of the Canadian national team and the 2004 national player of the year, as well as freshman Kerri Hanks, who had scored 16 goals in her first 10 games.

All of the talent overwhelmed the Golden Eagles at the outset. Notre Dame's breakthrough in the 21st minute was long overdue.

Freshman Brittany Bock played a 40-yard pass that released Hanks down the left. Hanks crossed, and the ball fell to junior Jen Buczkowski, who found the roof of the net from 15 yards.

Thorlakson dazzled on the right flank in the first half, slipping past Marquette defenders with ease and serving dangerous crosses. The Golden Eagles struggled to string even a few passes together.

The poor start to the game helped them, however, for after Loughrin netted her second goal, the Notre Dame players could scarcely believe that the team they battered for 25 minutes were doing this to them.

"The third one really rattled them," Roeders said. "You could tell that their team just wasn't used to somebody scoring three goals against them."

Notre Dame's play became more ragged in the second half as the players attacked with less confidence and more desperation, which left gaps at the back.

Thompson took advantage in the 66th minute when she intercepted a clearance, held off two Irish defenders at her side as she dribbled in and buried an 18-yard shot into the top corner.

Sophomore goalkeeper Laura Boyer stopped 13 Notre Dame shots, none as good as her double-save in the 76th minute on a pair of close-range headers from Bock.

"It kind of shows that we can hang in there with anybody in the country," Thompson said. "It's good for our confidence."

"It's one of the top moments as a coach because you see kids fulfill a dream," Roeders said. "It's just one of those moments that we'll remember forever."

They'll remember how senior Heather Goranson held together the defense that allowed just one goal on 24 Notre Dame shots. How junior defender Michelle Pitzl fearlessly tackled the Irish forwards even after picking up a yellow card early in the second half. How sophomore goalkeeper Laura Boyer tipped shot after shot over her net with her fingertips.

With one minute left the crowd rose to its feet and cheered for its heroes dressed in white. A few students stormed the field. Associate head coach Frank Pelaez waved his arms, urging more to follow. They complied.

"Tonight was our night," Roeders said.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 4, 2005.