Bulldogs rebound after halftime speech, win 1-0

Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn admits he doesn't get fired up often.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs' coach did -- and it made all the difference.

A fiery halftime speech helped the Bulldogs rebound from a lackluster first half and earn a 1-0 victory over Marion in the second semifinal of the night at Notre Dame's SoccerFest.

"I didn't think we played with the kind of heart and desire I know we have in us the first half," Wittenborn said. "I let them know that at halftime. I don't give many fiery halftime speeches, but I let them know I wasn't pleased with our effort, and they responded well."

The Bulldogs (2-1) were on their heels most of the first half with Marion having several scoring opportunities. Notre Dame's defense held off the Wildcats multiple times.

Sophomore goalkeeper James Holloway was forced to come up with several big saves.

"James Holloway was fantastic in goal," Wittenborn said. "He kept us in the game."

After halftime, the Bulldogs responded to Wittenborn's words.

Notre Dame controlled most of the play in the half. Senior midfielder Joe Froemsdorf nearly scored 8 minutes into the half with a strike from the top of the box. Froemsdorf later set up Tyler Buelow, who had his shot blocked by a defender.

"We definitely got a reality check from our coaches," Froemsdorf said. "They told us to come out hard, and we started winning balls and things starting turning around."

Froemsdorf broke through 10 minutes into the second half.

After a foul, Bulldogs defender Taylor Essner used a quick restart to find Froemsdorf streaking down the left side. Essner dropped the ball on his foot and Froemsdorf buried a left-footed shot for a 1-0 lead.

"I saw space in front of me," Froemsdorf said. "Taylor and I had that connection. I did the easy work, and he played the hard ball."

"It was kind of a quick restart," Essner added. "I saw [Joe] up there and played him the ball, and he did the rest."

The goal was all the Bulldogs needed. Notre Dame continued to apply pressure late in the game.

Holloway made a point-blank save in stoppage time.

"James has already shown incredible improvement," Essner said. "Anything in the box is his."

Holloway was thankful his team was the one applying the pressure in the second half.

"When you start getting pelted all the time, you think, 'Oh they're going to put one in,'" Holloway said. "But when the offense starts working, you start feeling better again."

Wittenborn was happy to walk away with the victory.

"It was a good team win," he said. "We went up against a good squad. We played as a team and held together. We were fortunate to win. Marion was a handful."

Editor's note: The name of Tyler Buelow has been corrected from the version that appeared in print.