19. NCAA Tournament Time in South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It’s becoming a tradition at Alumni Stadium — opening the NCAA Tournament in South Bend. On Friday, Nov. 15, the Notre Dame women’s soccer team will do just that, kicking off against Milwaukee at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Fighting Irish (11-3-4), who drew a No. 4 seed will start their postseason journey with the Horizon League champs in the Panthers (12-6-2), who are unbeaten in their last 13 matches.

Since it’s NCAA Tournament time, it is a ticketed event now. To purchase ahead of time, click here.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• For the 30th time over the last 32 years, Notre Dame women’s soccer qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
• Notre Dame’s overall postseason record sits at 74-25-4. Their 74 victories are tied for third-most with UCLA (74-22-6) and rank only behind Florida State (77-19-4) and UNC (145-18-4).
• Irish are an impressive 51-4-1 at home in the NCAA Tournament
• They also have recorded 50 all-time clean sheets in the NCAA Tournament.
• Notre Dame will be a seeded team for the fourth consecutive year, earning the four-seed in the bottom-right quadrant.
• The past four seasons under Doug & Lisa Jones Head Coach Nate Norman: Sweet 16 in 2021, Elite Eight in 2022, 2nd Round in 2023.

IRISH HOST HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPS

It will likely be the last time the Irish take the field of Alumni Stadium for the 2024 season, so it’s time to go off on a high note.

What’s at stake — simple, survive and advance, but also a little redemption along the way. The last time the Panthers visited South Bend, they escaped with a 2-2 draw after a buzzer-beating desperation shot from near midfield.

The winner of Friday’s matchup will most likely head to Starkville and will play the winner of West Virginia/No. 5 seed Kentucky.

Notre Dame is 7-1-1 all-time against Milwaukee. The Panthers are 12-6-2 on the season and are making their 18th NCAA Tournament appearance.

NOTRE DAME’S RESUME

• RPI of 12. They are 3-2-1 against the RPI Top-25.
• Irish competed in the No. 1 RPI league that is the ACC and went 5-2-4. Before the ACC Tournament, Notre Dame was the only ACC school to earn a point against the Duke Blue Devils.
• The Irish are 4-3-1 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.
• All 3 of ND’s losses were to ranked teams. They dropped the season opener against then No. 13 Michigan State and then later against then No. 19 Virginia Tech at No. 6 Florida State.
• Notre Dame against top seeds in the field: Tied 3-3 vs. No. 1 Duke, Lost 1-2 at No. 1 FSU, Won 3-0 over No. 3 Stanford, Won 1-0 over No. 4 Virginia, Won 4-0 over No. 5 TCU, Lost 1-2 vs. No. 5 Michigan St.

FRESHMEN CLEAN UP ACC AWARDS

Kudos to Coach Norman for the talent he’s been developing in South Bend. For it was the third straight year in which the program took an ACC ‘of the year’ award. And get this, it’s been three different players as well. Korbin Albert in 2022 (ACC Midfielder of the Year), Eva Gaetino in 2023 (ACC Defender of the Year) and now Izzy Engle in 2024 (ACC Freshman of the Year).

Engle’s awards didn’t stop there. The Minnesota native was also named First Team All-ACC alongside junior defender Leah Klenke. Third-Team All-ACC honors went to freshmen Annabelle Chukwu and Lily Joseph.

Klenke, who missed a portion of the early season because she was busy winning a bronze medal with Team USA at the U20 World Cup. Klenke came back and solidified the back-three while also securing a goal and an assist. This marks the second straight year for Klenke taking home an All-ACC award, improving upon her Second-Team status in 2023.

The Irish dominated the ACC All-Freshman Team list with four of the 11 spots, the most of any school. Izzy Engle, Lily Jospeh, Ellie Hodsden and Annabelle Chukwu were all named to the All-Freshman Team. The foursome rank first, second, third and fifth, respectively, on the team in total points. They also equated for 37 of the team’s 45 goals.

TRENDING

• Notre Dame’s highest national rankings: ninth in both scoring offense (2.5) and shots per game (19.0). Irish average 8.5 SOG/game which ranks 15th nationally.
• ND’s +29 goal differential ranks 15th in the country and third in the ACC.
• Irish are 11-0 when scoring first this season. ND is 10-0-1 when leading at the half. They are 9-0-2 when allowing just one goal or less.
• 37 of the team’s 45 goals have been scored by freshmen.
• Right now the top-five point getters on the team are freshmen: Izzy Engle (33 points), Lily Joseph (17 points), Ellie Hodsden (16 points), Grace Restovich (16 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 monkey off her back against No. 6 Stanford. Since then, she’s been back on a tear and at the perfect time heading into NCAA Tournament play.

She’s recorded six goals over the last five games with braces at No. 1 Duke and against Pitt. Her 16 goals now rank seventh in the country, and first in the ACC. Her 0.89 goals per game rank fifth nationally and lead the ACC.

Engle’s 16 goals rank tie her for the eighth most by a Notre Dame freshman all-time. Irish great Kerri Hanks holds the record with 28.

Engle leads the Irish with 33 points, which rank second in the league (13th nationally). She’s also one of only two players in the ACC with 30 or more points on the year. 

ELLIE HODSDEN – SUPER SUB

Then there’s super-sub Ellie Hodsden. The forward from Dripping Springs, Texas, recorded the second-most goals on the team with eight, despite playing in six fewer games. In fact, Hodsden averages a goal every 45.8 minutes. Hodsden’s eight goals ranked eighth among ACC players and was a notable miss on the All-ACC Team.

Hodsden 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.

FRESHMEN RICHES

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

Joseph brings flashy play and swag to the Irish. In the game against No. 25 Cal, Joseph scored an unreal 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 counterattack to set up her assist.

At Syracuse, she recorded her first career brace with two first-half goals (within 90 seconds of each other).

A dynamic force in the midfield all season long, Joseph boasts the second most points on the team with 17 – six goals and five assists. She has recorded two games with a season-best four points – against Marquette and Syracuse.

Next, there’s Grace Restovich, who leads the Irish in assists with 10. In fact, Restovich ranks 11th in the country in total assists and 10th in assists per game (0.56). Restovich ranks third in the ACC in both categories.

— ND —