Notre Dame girls soccer team remains unbeaten

~ The Cape squad prevailed 5-0 to remain unbeaten

You won't find her name among the goal scorers in the scorebook, and she doesn't get as many accolades as some of her teammates.

But Madeline Rosenquist had as much to do with host Notre Dame's 5-0 win over St. Louis Notre Dame as anyone on the field Thursday evening.

Maybe more.

"She doesn't get enough credit for how hard she works out there," Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said after the Bulldogs improved to 15-0-1 on the season. "She probably doesn't score as much as she would like to, but we get so many things off of her effort. She makes everybody better out there. She's just such a luxury because she never stops. It's just fun to watch her."

"Madeline's reliable," senior forward Abby Boyer said. "I know every time I make that run, she's going to be looking for it. And she's good enough to dribble around a person and split the defense, so every time I make that run, she's going to be looking for it. I can rely on her."

Rosenquist's ability to fuel the Bulldogs' attack was never more evident than in the opening minutes of the game. The Bulldogs totally controlled possession in their half of the field, thanks to their senior midfielder's efforts. That led to Annie Siebert's goal just 2 minutes, 11 seconds into the contest after the Bulldog senior defender worked her way through the Rebels' defense for a shot into the upper corner of the net from just inside the penalty box.

Fewer than 30 seconds later, Boyer passed ahead up the middle to junior forward Mackenzie McDaniel, who took the pass, turned and fired a shot into the net for a 2-0 Bulldogs lead.

"In practice, coach always talks about how it's not the first pass that matters but the second one," Rosenquist said. "So we're really working on the second run and getting the second ball in. We're learning how to click now and making these runs."

Rosenquist was at the center of two more scoring opportunities later in the half, but Rebels freshman goalkeeper Mary Beers came up with saves both times. First she sprinted forward to beat Rosenquist to a ball some 10 yards in front of the goal, then smothered a shot from Jordan Nelson on the goal line that was set up by crisp passes from Rosenquist and Maddie Baumgart.

Then, at the 25-minute mark, Rosenquist sent a perfect pass to senior defender Karson Powers down the right sideline. Powers' cross was deflected out of bounds, but on the resulting corner kick, Powers' perfect boot found Kaitlin Welter at the far post, and the senior defender footed it into the wide-open corner for a 3-0 cushion.

"I was just trying to keep it in, honestly," Welter laughed. "But it was perfect. It was a great ball."

Worley commended his defenders' ability to get into the offensive flow and generate scoring chances.

"When you're able to get defenders forward the way we've been able to do, it's so hard to cover," Worley said. "You can't account for those backs coming forward, and that's when you start getting those lanes, and it seems like you always get someone open. And they did a beautiful job with that."

The second half was nearly a carbon copy of the first, with the Bulldogs consistently attacking in their offensive end. Welter connected on a long shot from about 25 yards out, lofting her kick just over Beers' reach at the 30:24 mark to make it 4-0.

Then, with just over 15 minutes remaining in the game, Nelson lofted a corner kick high to the front of the net, where a host of Bulldogs and Rebels players vied for a piece of the ball. When it came down to the grass, Siebert was able to get a foot on the ball and poke it into the back of the net for her second goal of the game and a 5-0 lead.

Notre Dame totalled 30 shots to just six for the Rebels.

"That's a credit to their organization and it's a credit to how well-prepared they were," said Rebels coach Jeff Robben, whose young team -- Robben started four freshmen -- fell to 5-12 on the season. "They took care of the task at hand. They finished the game in the first 15 minutes. That's a tribute to what they do and how well they're coached.

"We're going through some growing pains, and we went through a pretty good spell tonight. He's got a really good team here, and they're going have some success with the district and the playoffs and beyond."