MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - If a goal in the third minute wasn't enough to take the wind out of Notre Dame's sails Thursday, the quick succession of Greeneville scores that followed finished the job.
The Lady Devils netted four goals in the first 26:53 of the contest and rolled to a 6-0 victory over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the Class A/AA state soccer tournament at the Richard Siegel complex.
Greeneville advanced to face Page in today's first semifinal game, while Christian Academy of Knoxville and Chattanooga Christian meet on the other side of the bracket.
The Lady Irish end the season with an 11-8-3 overall record after their 11th consecutive state tournament appearance.
Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn said the game started out about as badly as it could have for his team. Greeneville's Katherine Galoffin curved in her own corner kick into the top corner of the net three minutes into the contest, and the Lady Irish never recovered.
"It's hard to regroup and get your composure back when you just gave up a goal two minutes into the game," Schermerhorn said. "That was huge for them.
"Players have to understand that you've got 78 more minutes to play. We've talked about that. And a couple more (goals) right after that didn't help, either."
Greeneville (23-2) showed off its balanced attack as three other players found the net before the half was over. Jessica Sallah scored in the 10th minute, Katelynn Hadjopoulos in the 17th and Lauren Albright in the 26th.
The Lady Devils outshot Notre Dame 9-4 in the first half and 22-8 for the game. Sofia Olenchek and Emma Higgins combined to take seven of the attempts for the Lady Irish.
Six players attempted two or more shots each for Greeneville as coach John Eiskamp had the luxury of working in his reserves toward the end of each half.
Galoffin and Sallah both scored for a second time early in the second half as Greeneville made the final margin by the 53rd minute.
"The kids were so energized and focused," said Eiskamp, whose squad is making its first state appearance since 2010. "Our objective was to get out of the gates fast and find the back of the net as quick as we good. Thankfully we were able to do that."