16. Virginia Tech on Sunday

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sunday will be the overall series rubber match between Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The two are tied at 4-4-0 all-time. The two last squared off in Blacksburg during the 2022 season with the Irish taking that one, 1-0.

Presently, Notre Dame is 4-0-4 in ACC play. Their 16 points put them in a three-way tie for fifth place. Virginia Tech sits one point in front of them, thus a win is critical for a spot in this year’s ACC Tournament.

Virginia Tech marks Notre Dame’s fourth straight ranked opponent. They’ve gone 2-0-1 during this stretch, outscoring the opposition 11-5. If they get to five ranked wins by defeating No. 19 Virginia Tech on Sunday, it’ll mark the most ranked victories during the regular season since 2008.

No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 19 Virginia Tech will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday inside Alumni Stadium. Admission is free. The game will be streamed on ACCNX.

HAD #1 ON THE ROPES

What a game it was down in Durham this past Thursday. No. 1 Duke scored the opening goal, but an Izzy Engle first-half brace gave the No. 7 Irish a 2-1 halftime lead. Annabelle Chukwu then scored in the opening minutes of the second half to give ND a 3-1 advantage. Duke later scored back-to-back goals in quick succession to tie it at 3-3.

Duke received a red card in the 62nd minute and played a woman down the rest of the game. Notre Dame created several chances, including its best one in the 79th minute—a penalty kick. Unfortunately, the PK was missed wide, and the two sides settled for a 3-3 draw.

Despite the draw leaving an unfavorable taste in the mouth, a lot of firsts were accomplished. It marked the most goals Notre Dame has scored in program history against the top-ranked team in the country. It also marked the first time Duke has given up multiple goals all season.

Izzy Engle’s brace marked the first time in program history that an Irish freshman recorded multiple goals against the No. 1 team in the country.

Sonoma Kasica came up huge in net tonight, time after time. She recorded a career-high eight saves.

TRENDING

• It was an Irish sweep of ACC awards on Oct. 22 as Ellie Hodsden earned Offensive, while Leah Klenke was named Defensive Player of the Week.
• Notre Dame’s +31 goal differential ranks 11th in the country and third in the ACC.
• Notre Dame’s scoring offense (2.73) ranks seventh nationally and third in the ACC. They average 2.6 assists per game which ranks 10th nationally and third in the ACC.
• Irish are 10-0 when scoring first this season. ND is 8-0-1 when leading at the half.
• They are 9-0-2 when allowing just one goal or less.
• Irish are 12-5-5 against ranked opposition over the last 2.5 seasons (Start of 2022 season-Present Day).
• 34 of the team’s 41 goals have been scored by freshmen.
• Right now the top-five point getters on the team are freshmen: Izzy Engle (27 points), Lily Joseph (17 points), Ellie Hodsden (16 points), Grace Restovich (15 points) and Annabelle Chukwu (8 points).

ENGLE HEATING UP AGAIN

Izzy Engle scored 10 goals during the non-con portion of the schedule and was the nation’s leader in Goals Per Game entering ACC play. The freshman hit a little dry spy but finally got the money off her back against No. 6 Stanford. She followed that up with a brace at No. 1 Duke.

Her 13 goals now rank eighth most in the country, and second in the ACC. Her 0.87 goals per game ranks sixth nationally and second in the ACC.

Engle’s 13 goals rank as the 11th most by a Notre Dame freshman all-time. Engle leads the Irish with 27 points, which rank second in the league (16th nationally).

NOTRE DAME’S RESUME

The NCAA committee released its initial top-16 on Oct. 17 and the Irish checked in at No. 15. Since then, they’ve only improved their postseson resume.

Over the past week, Notre Dame’s RPI has shot up from No. 18 to No. 11. They are 3-1-1 against the RPI Top-25.

The Irish are 4-1-1 against ranked opposition this season. They have defeated No. 6 Stanford, No. 25 Cal, No. 13 TCU and No. 14 Virginia, while tying at No. 1 Duke.

ND’s lone loss was against No. 13 Michigan State in the season opener. The Irish are unbeaten since.

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 earned the ACC Offensive Player of the Week after an amazing four-goal week in wins over No. 25 Cal and No. 6 Stanford. Hodsden started with her first career hat trick against Cal – scoring by three different means: chest, head and foot. She then followed that up with a second half goal against Stanford.

Hodsden also 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 now has eight goals in 254 minutes of action, which means she’s finding the back of the net every 31.8 minutes.

DEFENSE HOLDING STRONG

• Notre Dame’s defense has taken shape and has posted 10 shutouts through 15 games. Coach Norman has solidified his backline with Abby Mills, Clare Logan and Leah Klenke.
• Notre Dame’s shutout percentage of 0.667 ranks 10th nationally and leads the ACC
• Sonoma Kasica & Atlee Olofson have combined for a save percentage of 0.844 which leads the ACC.
• Furthermore, their GAA of 0.667 ranks fourth in the ACC.
• Freshman Sonoma Kasica has gotten the starting nod in five  straight contests. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native is 6-1-3 with 39 saves and six shutouts. Her GAA is 0.90.
• Kasica recorded a career high eight saves at No. 1 Duke on Oct. 24.
• 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.

AN EMBARRASSMENT OF FRESHMEN RICHES

We’ve talked about Izzy Engle, Annabelle Chukwu and Ellie Hodsden, and yet there’s a couple more prolific playmakers in Lily Joseph and Grace Restovich.

Joseph brings the flashy play and swag to the Irish. Just this past week, Joseph recorded four points with a goal and two assists. In the game against No. 25 Cal, Joseph scored a heck of a bender from distance to get the scoring going in the 5-2 win. A few days later against No. 6 Stanford, Joseph completely broke down her defender in a counter attack to set up her assist.

At Syracuse, she recorded her first career brace with two first half goals (within 90 seconds of each other). Joseph is hitting her stride at the right time as well, recording a point in three of the last five matches. All-in-all, Joseph has six goals and five assists on the year, good for 17 points, which is the second most on the team.

Next, there’s Grace Restovich, who leads the Irish in assists with nine. In fact, Restovich ranks seventh in the country in total assists and seventh in assists per game (0.6). Restovich ranks third in the ACC in total assists.

— ND —