Sofia Olenchek has recorded a hat trick or two in her Notre Dame soccer career.
She can't remember exactly how many. She can certainly add another to that list.
Olenchek, a junior, scored three goals and helped the Lady Irish defeat Merrol Hyde 7-0 in a Region 4-A/AA semifinal.
"I know I had one my freshman year," Olenchek said. "I don't think I had one last year. Maybe.
"I think it's pretty special because it doesn't happen every game."
Notre Dame (8-5-4) will face Chattanooga Christian on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Chargers defeated Central Magnet 1-0 on Tuesday.
The game will be the third matchup of the season between the Lady Irish and the Lady Chargers. Notre Dame won both games, 1-0 in the first and on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in the second game.
"It will be another close game," Notre Dame coach Jim Schemerhorn said. "We were able to rest players tonight. Nothing against Merrol Hyde, but we had an easier game tonight than CCS. Maybe that will help Thursday."
Olenchek scored two of her three goals in the first half.
After a couple of awkward passes she found herself one-one-one with Lady Hawks keeper Maria Popescu about 15 yards dead in front of the goal. Olenchek buried her shot in the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead less than 12 minutes into the game.
About 14 minutes later, Gaby Mullin sent a long pass ahead to Emma Higgins, creating another one-one-one situation. Higgins booted her shot through the legs of Popescu from less than 10 yards out.
Olenchek scored her second goal of the game by dribbling around a defender in the box and shooting, with her left foot, a perfect ball into the upper right corner of the net with five minutes to go in the first half.
"I don't think it snowballed until the second half," Lady Hawks coach Jason Bentley said. "We were OK down 3-0 at halftime."
Mullin found the net to open the second half. She booted her goal from the right side of the field into the left side of the net less than three minutes after halftime.
"That goal took the wind out of our sails," Bentley said.
Olenchek completed her hat trick with more than 32 minutes left to play. She stole a pass in the box and scooted her shot to the left of Popescu.
Notre Dame added another goal when Liz Ciabattone collected a deflected pass and lofted her shot just under the crossbar with several reserves on the field. Just two minutes later Ashley McMeen stole a pass in the box and buried her shot in the back of the net.
"This next game is everything we've been working for," Ciabattone said. "It's going to be nerve-racking against our biggest rival."
• Chattanooga Christian 1, Central Magnet: At Murfreesboro, Sara Farlett scored the Lady Chargers' goal on a penalty kick after she was taken down on a run inside the scoring box by keeper Abby Coleman. CCS (10-5-4) had to hold on defensively in the final 10 minutes as a pair of Central Magnet shots bounced off the post.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.