Marquette's strategy to slow down Notre Dame on Friday night was clear from the outset. After sophomore forward Christy Zwolski was pushed to the ground 90 seconds into the match, associate head coach Frank Pelaez reiterated the point to senior midfielder Julie Thompson.
"You know what kind of game it is! You know what kind of game it is! Go at 'em!" shouted Pelaez.
The Golden Eagles did just that early on. Junior defender Michelle Pitzl and senior midfielder Lindsay Michuda effectively disrupted the normally cohesive Notre Dame attack, which had scored 33 goals in its previous six matches.
Michuda won the ball from Notre Dame's Jen Buczkowski in the eighth minute and drew a foul when the Big East midfielder of the year retaliated. Several minutes later, Irish forward Katie Thorlakson took a frustrated swing at the back of Katie Kelly's head as the freshman defender was shielding the ball out of play.
"They came out and hit us hard, and we just needed to hit them back," said junior defender Michelle Pitzl. "And that's what we did."
During a stretch early in the second half, the physicality from both sides escalated. Kelly received a caution for pushing down Notre Dame's Kerri Hanks during a stop in play. Pitzl leaped for a header and knocked over Hanks in the process. Thorlakson and freshman defender Allison McBride became tangled up going for a loose ball.
It was ugly but reasonably effective.
"Defensively I thought we were very compact," said head coach Markus Roeders. "I don't think it was the most attractive soccer … but I don't think we expected that in the first place."
Moments of brilliance, however, can undermine even the best-laid plans. The finishes from Thorlakson and Hanks exhibited the high quality of players on Notre Dame's squad.
Just as important to the Irish's success was Jill Krivacek, a towering 5-foot-10 presence who missed the first meeting between the two teams Sept. 30. The holding midfielder curbed the Golden Eagles' ability to counter-attack — something Marquette had thrived on in the previous game.
"They're a physical team. They're big, and that's what they use to win balls," Michuda said. "Our midfield, the way we're set up, we possess the ball, we try to ping it around the midfield, and that's our game … They were strong."
After Notre Dame went ahead 3-0, Roeders shouted at Michuda and told her to remind her teammates that they have to keep playing.
"This is the first time this season that we've been down that much, and I think a lot of us didn't know what to do," Michuda said. "I thought we did an excellent job of sticking with it. I don't think any of us gave up."