C4D1: Bulldogs upset Flyers in opening round

JACKSON - A defensive effort was the difference in the No.6 seed Notre Dame Bulldogs' 2-1 win over the No. 3 seeded Lindbergh Flyers in the Class 4 District 1 quarterfinals on Saturday in Jackson.

The first half was all Flyers as they controlled the possession and forced the Bulldogs to defend for the majority of the first 40 minutes.

“We held our ground,” Bulldogs coach Ryan Schweain said. “The wind was at Lindbergh’s back and it seemed to be helping them quite a bit. We had a hard time getting out on them. They were able to push many numbers up so going into halftime tied was a win for us.”

Just eight minutes into the second half, Notre Dame’s Addison Clippard broke the scoreless tie with a goal.

“The keeper was a little far out,” Clippard said. “The pass was beautiful and I caught it at the right time.”

Clippard would strike again just under 15 minutes later with another goal to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Despite the two-goal lead, Clippard said she and her teammates knew they couldn’t be comfortable with the lead.

“It wasn’t over,” Clippard said. “Especially in a game like this with two close teams.”

It wouldn’t take the Flyers long to respond as Ella Green cut the lead in half with a goal to give Lindbergh the momentum.

“(Lindbergh) had a lot of chances today,” Schweain said. “It was only a matter of time before they got one. But, I’m still very very proud of our defense. They really worked hard today.”

Clippard had high praise for the way the Bulldogs defended.

“We definitely owe it to our defense today,” Clippard said. “They played a great game.”

Perhaps the perfect example of the intensity the Bulldogs brought defensively came in the final 30 seconds as Lindbergh took a shot from the box, but Mya Shaffar stepped in front, took the collision and prevented a scoring opportunity.

Shaffar would leave the game with an injury but she prevented the last big scoring opportunity the Flyers had.

“She knew what she had to do,” Clippard said. “And she did it and she saved us on that one.”

“Players are literally sacrificing themselves to block a shot,” Schweain said.

Notre Dame (14-6-2) advances to the semifinals of the Class 4 District 1 Tournament where they will take on the No. 2 seed, Oakville Tigers at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16 in Jackson.