14. Sunday Showdown With #6 Stanford

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It’s a Super Sunday Showdown at Alumni Stadium. And here’s another ‘s’ for you. It’s against No. 6 Stanford. It’s another clash against two top-ranked teams in the country and the Irish need their home stadium rocking. It’ll kick off at 2 p.m. ET, also airing live on the ACC Network. It’s once again free admission to all who attend. Pink pom-poms will be distributed.

Notre Dame and Stanford have a little bit of history. The Irish defeated The Cardinal 1-0 in the 2010 NCAA Championship match to win their third national title. The series between the two is tied at 7-7-3. The two last met in 2018.

NOTRE DAME’S RESUME

• The NCAA committee released its initial top-16 on Oct. 17 and the Irish checked in at No. 15.
• Notre Dame’s RPI heading into the weekend is at No. 18. They are 2-1 against the RPI Top-25.
• The Irish are 3-1 against ranked opposition this season. They defeated No. 25 Cal, No. 13 TCU and No. 14 Virginia.
• ND’s lone loss was against No. 13 Michigan State in the season opener. The Irish are unbeaten since (12 straight games).

TRENDING

• Notre Dame’s +28 goal differential ranks 10th in the country and third in the ACC.
• Notre Dame’s scoring offense (2.7) ranks eighth nationally and third in the ACC.
• Coach Norman has stressed to his team about finishing chances. They rank in the top-10 in both SOG (9.2) and shots per game (20.5).
• Irish are 9-0 when scoring first this season. ND is 8-0 when leading at the half.
• They are 8-0-2 when allowing just one goal or less.
• Irish are 11-5-4 against ranked opposition over the last 2.5 seasons (Start of 2022 season-Present Day).
• 29 of the team’s 35 goals have been scored by freshmen.
• Right now the top-four point getters on the team are freshmen: Izzy Engle (21 points), Lily Joseph (16 points), Ellie Hodsden (14 points) and Grace Restovich (14 points)

IRISH IN THE ACC

Since Notre Dame joined the ACC in 2013, the Irish have gone 68-35-13 in conference games. Their .642 winning percentage in league play ranks fourth behind UNC, Virginia and Florida State.

With this year’s 1-0 victory at Virginia, the Irish knocked off the Cavaliers in back-to-back meetings for the first time in program history. It also marked their second ever win in Charlottesville.

This year’s ACC slate has been up-and-down. The down being that the three draws were against teams that are currently in the bottom half of the standings. The up being that the Irish battled back in two of those instances — Irish were down 0-2 at BC and 0-1 vs. NC State.

Presently, Notre Dame is 3-0-3 in ACC play. Their 12 points puts them in seventh place. They still will play three teams ahead of them in the standings. More on that next.

THE STRETCH AHEAD

It’s been three straight ACC regular seasons in which the Irish have gotten to seven wins. It’s been two consecutive seasons in which they’ve made the ACC Tournament semifinals. If they want to reach seven wins, and the ACC Tourney, the time is now. Notre Dame hasn’t suffered an ACC defeat but sit at 3-0-3. The Irish have five four remaining, three of which sit in the top-25 and the fourth is receiving votes.

After the big Stanford match on Sunday, the Irish still get to challenge No. 1 Duke, No. 18 Virginia Tech and Pitt.

ELLIE HODSDEN – THE COMEBACK STORY

Several freshmen have dominated the season storylines for the Irish but there’s not a better one than Ellie Hodsden. The Texas native missed the first several games due to working herself back into game shape, wrapping up a year-long ACL injury return.

Hodsden played hero at Boston College, recording a brace to rally the Irish down 2-0 for the 2-2 tie. Her game-tying goal came via header in the 88th minute.

Hodsden then had her best game to date against No. 25 Cal on Oct. 17, recording her first career hat trick in the 5-2 victory. When you watch Hodsden play, she’s the perfect combination of size, speed and finishing ability. Case in point, her hat trick was scored by three different mens: chest, head and foot!

Hodsden now has seven goals in 194 minutes of action, which means she’s finding the back of the net every 27.7 minutes.

DEFENSE HOLDING STRONG

Notre Dame’s defense has taken shape and has posted nine shutouts through 13 games. Coach Norman has solidified his backline with Abby Mills, Clare Logan and Leah Klenke.

• Notre Dame’s shutout percentage of 0.692 ranks sixth nationally and leads the ACC
• Sonoma Kasica & Atlee Olofson have combined for a save percentage of 0.860 which ranks 15th in the country and leads the ACC.
• Furthermore, their GAA of 0.538 ranks 10th nationally and second in the ACC.
• Freshman Sonoma Kasica has gotten the starting nod in three straight contests. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native is 5-1-2 with 28 saves and five shutouts. Her GAA is 0.75
• Then there’s sophomore Atlee Olofson. The Austin native surrendered her only goal of the season in the 1-1 tie vs. NC State. She is 4-0-1 with a GAA of 0.200 with 13 saves.

LOOK OUT FOR LILY

There are so many Irish freshmen to keep an eye on and here’s another … Lily Joseph.

Joseph brings the flashy play and swag to the Irish. In Notre Dame’s most recent win against No. 25 Cal, Joseph scored a heck of a bender from distance to get the scoring going. At Syracuse, she recorded her first career brace with two first half goals (within 90 seconds of each other).

Joseph has six goals on the year which ranks as the third most on the team. She also boasts four assists for a total of 16 points, which ranks second on the team.

RESTOVICH LEADS TEAM IN ASSISTS

And here’s another freshman for Irish fans to learn about – Grace Restovich, who leads the Irish in assists with eight.

In fact, Restovich ranks eighth in the country in total assists (8) and fifth in assists per game (0.62). Restovich ranks second in the ACC in assists.

Restovich ranks second on the team in points with 14. She has recorded a point in 8-of-13 games this season. In Notre Dame’s dominant win over Marquette, Restovich posted a career best three-assist performance.

Restovich was the highest rated recruit in the signing class, ranking No. 8 nationally. She was the 2022 ECNL National Player of the Year and a two-time ECNL National Champion with her club team Scott Gallagher in St. Louis.

— ND —