The Notre Dame Girls Varsity Soccer team handed #1-ranked Dewitt its first loss of the season with a 2-1 win on Tuesday in the MHSAA regional semifinal round. The Panthers (19-1-2) scored the opening goal of the game less than five minutes in when a deflected shot by Mackenzie Dawes just found its way over the line. The Irish would answer later in the half as Maura Kruse intercepted a pass and found Rosella LoChirco for the goal. Just 16 seconds later Notre Dame would catch Dewitt off guard as Celia Gaynor assisted on the eventual game-winning goal by senior Erika Wiest. Goalkeeper Haley Williams and the Irish back line would make the 2-1 margin stand up over the final 50 minutes as they kept the Panthers off the board. “Defensively, we started to get more comfortable and we forced them to shoot from 25 or 30 yards, which is tricky to do at any time, let alone a pressure-filled game,” head coach Jim Stachura said. “We locked it down after we made that first mistake and it was impressive.” Notre Dame, now 18-1-3 and ranked #3 in division II, will take on Fenton in the regional final game on Thursday. The Tigers defeated Brandon 3-0 in the other semifinal match.
