Dec. 3, 2004
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
CARY, N.C. - Notre Dame beat Santa Clara 1-0 in today's national semi-finals match. Notre Dame's Candace Chapman scored with about 18 minutes left to put the Fighting Irish (24-1-1) in the final for the first time since 1999.
Chapman worked a give-and-go with forward Katie Thorlakson, who paused just outside the box to stay onside, then passed back to her teammate. Chapman gathered herself, then sent a blast to the right of goalkeeper Julie Ryder to snap the scoreless tie.
"I didn't think I had the angle. I was lucky to get it to Candy," Thorlakson said. "She was in the right spot."
The Broncos (18-5-2) struggled for scoring opportunities and finished with only three shots.
 Tina Estrada makes a play during Friday's match against Notre Dame.  |
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Santa Clara finally got its first official shot about 10 minutes into the second half, but Osborne's left-footed bloop was snared easily by Bohn. Later, Osborne nearly scored on header, but it sailed wide.
"We had a bunch of dangerous chances," Broncos coach Jerry Smith said. "We put away zero of our dangerous chances, and they put away one of theirs, and that was the difference."
