Bulldogs use chemistry to formulate 4-0 victory

~ Notre Dame's senior duo clicks against St. Vincent.

Destiny Dirnberger lofted a beautiful ball from the goalie's left side toward the middle of the 6-yard box and teammate Meridith Medlin delivered a ferocious header that found the back of the net.

Notre Dame seniors Dirnberger and Medlin enjoy that kind of chemistry on the soccer field.

"I know she's going to be there," Dirnberger said. "I don't even have to see her."

Medlin scored twice and Dirnberger added one as the visiting Bulldogs shut out St. Vincent 4-0 on Tuesday.

Medlin's header started off a corner kick. Dirnberger kicked the ball toward the goal, but hit a defender and the ball ricocheted back to her. She took her time and lobbed the ball into the middle of the field.

"I just saw all the blue in the box," Dirnberger said. "I knew if I put it in there she'd score."

Medlin's second goal made it 3-0 and the Bulldogs would add another insurance goal when Mindy Siebert scored later in the second half.

St. Vincent coach Dustin Wengert admitted it's difficult to develop a strategy to slow down Notre Dame's attack, led by Medlin and Dirnberger.

"They can go inside, outside, through you, backdoor you," Wengert said. "They can do whatever they need to do. To really be honest, you're going to have to mark up on them. You're going to have to set two girls aside with one girl on each girl. It's almost like a man-to-man in basketball. You're going to have to do something like that to limit their touches, and if you don't, they're going to do exactly what they did to us today. They're just going to keep on coming."

Dirnberger said years of playing experience have helped her understand where Medlin will be on the field at all times.

"We've played soccer ever since we were in kindergarten," Dirnberger said. "We played varsity freshman year together so it's pretty much like instinct. We know where each other is going to be. We feed each other. I score for her, she scores for me."

Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said the two seniors excel at getting each other the ball but also spreading it around to their teammates.

"They have grown up together," Worley said. "Neither one of them is selfish in the least bit. It's not just with the two of them. They've been playing together for so many years, it is a real advantage for us."

Notre Dame opened a 1-0 lead on Medlin's first goal and the Bulldogs controlled the play for most of the half. But the Indians came alive in the last five minutes, thanks in part to a solid shot they smacked off the crossbar. Unfortunately for the Indians, their momentum didn't carry over to the second half.

"Right now, there's just something lacking in our team," Wengert said. "For me to say it's one thing would be wrong.

"We have to find our hearts again. It's probably cliche, but that's what we are lacking big time right now. I said it today and yesterday, the worst thing that happened to us, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, is us beating Jackson [2-1 on April 25]. Our head's gotten too big. We've gotten too big for our britches."

Dirnberger scored in the opening minutes of the second half and St. Vincent struggled to sustain an attack until the closing minutes of the game when both teams made substitutions and the Bulldogs enjoyed a 4-0 lead.

"We just knew what we had to do," said Notre Dame goalie Claudia Brauss, who earned the shutout. "To put them away, we knew we had to come out strong in the second half."

Notre Dame improved to 12-2-1 while St. Vincent dropped to 14-5 with its third straight loss.