Blundi, Notre Dame cruise past Ewing in opener

EWING » This was the day that Maggie Blundi had circled on her calendar for almost a year.

When the season opener finally arrived Blundi, a Notre Dame senior, was ready to get back on the field.

After missing more than half of 2016 with a jaw injury, Blundi scored four goals to lead the Irish to a 5-1 season opening win over Ewing on a warm Tuesday on the Blue Devils turf.

Both teams traded chances early before Blundi got the Irish on the board. ND (1-0) built a 4-0 lead, but the Blue Devils (0-1) never went away as the two traded goals in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“I really wanted to get back on the field,’’ said Blundi. “It was exciting and we are really hopeful for a good season.’’

Blundi gives the Irish quite a boost in living up to the hopes of 2017. She brings a great skill set to the field and a calm demeanor that will be a key around the young Notre Dame team.

“I was really happy with what I saw from the whole team,’’ said Barbara Major, the 49-year head coach of the Irish. “We have a lot of young kids, but they are coming on. It so important to get a win in the first game. It gives them confidence.’’

Ewing played well and in the beginning they carried the play to the Irish. The Blue Devils couldn’t sustain it, though. They continued to battle and got on the board with 11:21 left in the contest.

“We were off our game,’’ said Ewing coach Leslie Conant. “We were really on point in our first two scrimmages. We had some opportunities when we could’ve stepped up and we didn’t. Maybe it was the first game of the season jitters. But, we are going to go up from this point and try to improve.’’

ND scored at 19:08 when Blundi scored unassisted, the lead grew to 2-0 when Cate Buecker, a sophomore, put back a shot off a penalty corner.

The third ND goal was a rifle shot from Blundi just inside the circle for the 3-0 halftime lead.

“Practicing those touches paid off,’’ said Blundi. “It’s exciting when you can score like that.’’

The lead jumped to 4-0 on another Blundi rocket midway through the second half.

While it might seem like the entire offense revolves around the senior, the got a solid defensive game and saw many chances around the cage fall short.

“I don’t mind the pressure, but I really think it’s distributed among all of us,’’ Blundi said. “We all share the burden. We believe we can have a good season. We have to continue to work hard and we need to continue to put a lot of effort into our practices.’’

The Blue Devils got a great game from Jaycee Lowe, who scored the lone Ewing goal off an assist from Deanna Hedrick.

“We’ll never quit,’’ said Conant. “We have to learn to focus and finish.’’

ND’s Blundi finished her 2016 season early with an injury and now she’s back and already making up for lost time.

Notre Dame (1-0) 3 Ewing (0-1) 0 2—5 1—1 Goals: ND: Blundi 4, Buecker. E: Lowe Assists: ND: Besler. E: Hedrick. Shots: ND: 18, E: 20. Saves: ND: Dill 8, E: Bartkowski 11.