ND NIPS SQUAWS IN 2OT

Notre Dame soccer fans, players and coaches breathed a collective sigh of relief as the Lady Bulldogs escaped with a win over St. Vincent Monday night.

Notre Dame (13-10-3) squeaked out a 1-0 win in two overtimes to advance to the semifinal round of the Class 1A-3A, District 1 tournament at Notre Dame High School.

"We thought we controlled the action, especially as the second half went along and in the overtimes," said Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley, " but St. Vincent played with a lot of heart. There was no quit and they were close on some chances. They easily could have won this game."

But the Lady Bulldogs ended the match with two minutes left in the second overtime period, when Katie Mehner squeezed a shot past the St. Vincent goalie off a corner kick from Cyndi Cox.

Dominating possessions and shot attempts throughout the match, Notre Dame had numerous just-miss opportunities.

Said Worley, "It would have been a heartbreaker had we lost, as many times as we hit the post and the crossbar, and all."

St. Vincent (14-9-1) had some good scoring chances also, particularly in the first half, but failed to convert.

At the 17-minute mark, the Lady Bulldogs dodged a bullet when goalie Katie Palmer, stellar in goal all evening, managed to somehow get a hand on a goal-bound shot. The ball deflected off the left goalpost directly to a wide open St. Vincent player whose shot from point-blank range soared high over the crossbar.

"It was a tough loss," said St. Vincent coach Eric Long. "You hated to see anybody lose this game. Both teams played really well and you knew it was going to come down to somebody making one of their opportunities count."

Notre Dame's victory sets up a rematch against top-seeded Notre Dame of St. Louis, who advanced with a 6-0 win over No. 8 seed De Soto, on Wednesday. Notre Dame (Cape) dropped a 2-0 decision to Notre Dame (St. Louis) early in the season.

Worley, however, is confident about his team's chances.

"I know we can play with them," said Worley. "I don't think they're beyond our reach."

Perryville, the second seed, got two goals and an assist from Stacy Baer to knock out No. 7 Lutheran South, 3-0.

The Lady Pirates (19-3-3) broke loose in the second half after a scoreless opening period.

"We played much better in the second half," said Perryville coach Brean LeMaster. "We were a little nervous and tentative in the first half, but when we managed to score early in the second half, that gave us a big confidence boost."

Perryville goalie Amanda Nuyt registered her 15th shutout of the season.

The Lady Pirates will meet No. 3 seed Cor Jesu, an 8-0 winner over No. 6 St. Pius, in the other semifinal on Wednesday.