5. A Bout With Butler

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 9 Notre Dame women’s soccer team is finding its footing, taking a three-match win streak into Indianapolis on Sunday. What awaits for them there is a team that hasn’t loss yet, a 3-0-1 Butler Bulldogs squad. That match will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on FloSports inside the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl.

MIDWEST TRAVELS

Notre Dame will compete in its third road contest in five games when they head south to Indy. The Irish own a commanding 11-1-1 series lead over the Bulldogs. However, the Irish have only played at Butler three times where they are 2-1. That lone loss occurred on their last trip back in 2018.

The Irish are red-hot right now with all three victories being shutouts.  Notre Dame has outscored its opposition by a combined 12-0 in that span.

ELECTRIC ENGLE

Izzy Engle has entered her name into the conversation of breakout freshman star of 2024. After recording the first freshman hat trick in program history since 2008 in Notre Dame’s win at Samford, Engle recorded a brace in the 4-0 win over No. 13 TCU.

• Engle’s 5 goals rank third in the country and first for a freshman. She’s the only freshman on that list.
• Engle’s 11 points rank 7th in the nation, which tops all freshmen as well.

1-2-3 CENTER MIDFIELD PUNCH

Notre Dame has developed a three-headed monster in the middle of its midfield. First let’s start with sophomore Charlie Codd.

• Codd has registered points in all 4 games. She dished out an assist in each of the first three games, then picked up a goal in the fourth at Michigan – which was a game-winner.
• Codd ranks 21st in the country in total assists, which ranks 4th in the ACC.
• Junior Laney Matriano recorded her second career goal, first of the season, in the win over TCU.
• Matriano has now started in 37 of her 42 games played at ND.
• Then there’s freshman Grace Restovich who recorded 4 points in the opening week of play with one goal and two assists. She then recoreded her second career goal in the 2-0 win at Michigan.
• Restovich ranks second on the team in points with six.

TRENDING

• The Irish moved five spots up in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week to the No. 9 spot. That means there are five ACC teams ranked in the top-10 alone: No. 1 FSU, No. 2 Stanford, No. 5 UNC, No. 7 Virginia and No. 9 Notre Dame.
• During last Sunday’s win over TCU, the Irish earned their first set piece goal on the year. Morgan Roy collected assist number one, delivering a perfect corner kick to Lily Joseph who volleyed it into the corner of the net. It marked the first collegiate goal for Joseph.
• The defensive backline of Fisher, Gemma and Mills have started in three straight games and have three shutouts to show for it. Over the three games, the defensive unit has combined to allow just 11 shots on goal (3.7 per game).
• Notre Dame’s +11 goal differential ranks 8th in the country and 3rd in the ACC.
• ND’s scoring offense ranks 14th in the nation and 3rd in the ACC, averaging 3.25 goals per game.
• Their shutout percentage (.750) ranks 19th nationally and 3rd in the ACC.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

The youth movement is on at Notre Dame and will be a huge talking point early on. An infusion of 13 freshmen – the most in program history. Not only that, this freshman class boasted a top-4 national recruiting ranking by Top Drawer Soccer.

Though an early sample size, but four of the top-six point getters on the team are freshmen: Izzy Engle (11 points), Grace Restovich (6 points), Annabelle Chukwu (3 points) and Lily Joseph (3 points).

GOALIE BATTALION 

Coach Norman has a talented goalie group at his disposal so it’ll be an interesting battle for the starting role.

• First there’s sophomore returner Atlee Olofson. The Austin native has two shutouts under her belt already this season.
• Last year, Olofson went 7-3-2 in net with five shutouts. She produced 45 total saves with a .763 save percentage. She finished with a GAA of 1.17.
• Then there’s 5-10 freshman Sonoma Kasica. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native has gotten two starts and has gone 1-1. She earned the shutout at Michigan and made six saves.
• Kasica ranked 44th overall in her recruiting class.

— ND —