It hasn't been the quantity of Liz Ciabattone's goals during her Notre Dame soccer career, but the quality and the timing of them. Saturday evening was one of those timely moments.
The Lady Irish senior scored a goal off a deflection in the seventh minute, and Notre Dame was able to advance to the A/AA state tournament again with a 1-0 win over Boyd-Buchanan in a sectional match.
The match was played mostly in the middle of the field. The chances were few and far between, save for a couple of dangerous opportunities by each team.
"Boyd-Buchanan played well against us tonight," Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn said. "The girls were frustrated, because we played well effort-wise. They worked hard and created chances, but they just didn't finish the shots."
Boyd-Buchanan (13-7-2) had its opportunities. In the first half, Alexis Meadows had a shot that Lee University commitment Taylor Green had to punch over the crossbar. In the second half, the Lady Bucs started creating chances in the attack, led by Emma Rogers and Emily Hauke.
"Notre Dame outplayed us in the first half. They had more shots, more opportunities, and they had more seniors that are on a mission," Boyd-Buchanan coach Todd Ledbetter said. "This is the first year our girls have had a taste of success, but it was great to push the No. 3 team in the state to where they were scared. We started to win more 50-50 balls in the second half, but we could never create that dangerous goal-scoring chance."
Notre Dame (10-5-4) will find out its opponent for Wednesday's state quarterfinal this afternoon in a blind draw. In typical fashion, though, the Lady Irish don't care whom they play.
"We didn't look good tonight, but we don't have to look good," Schermerhorn said. "We just have to get to state."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.