8. Shipping Up To Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The 2024 ACC season is upon us. Over the past couple of years, the Notre Dame women’s soccer team has knocked on the door of both a regular-season title and a tournament championship but have not been able to unlock it. They’ll enter the conference slate on a high note, riding a six-match win streak. To make it seven, the Irish will look to take down a 7-1 Boston College squad on the road.

The Irish and Eagles kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 12, on ACC Network.

THE ACC AWAITS

Since Notre Dame joined the ACC in 2013, the Irish have gone 65-35-11 in conference games. Their .635 winning percentage in league play ranks in the top 4 behind UNC (.864), Virginia (.679) and Florida State (.644).

Notre Dame has been consistent in ACC play over the last three years, achieving at least seven wins during league play (10-league game format) in each.

In addition, the Irish have recorded back-to-back years in which they’ve made the ACC Tournament semifinals in Cary, North Carolina.

A season ago, Notre Dame finished in 2nd place in the ACC and outscored league competition 24-11.

STREAK SEEKERS

Count it up. After dropping a 2-1 decision to a now top-10 ranked Michigan State team in the season opener, No. 13 Notre Dame found its footing with six consecutive wins. Not only that but all six were shutouts, outscoring its opposition 22-0.

That means the Irish defense has produced 584 minutes and 20 seconds of shutout soccer and counting.

If the Irish were to shut out Boston College on Thursday, it would go into the program record book as the third-longest shutout streak.

The top-two program shutout streaks all-time were eight in 1995 and 10 in 2003.

BC Series

Boston College enters the matchup 7-1-0. Notre Dame will be the first-ranked opponent BC will face this season.

The  Irish own a commanding 16-1-1 series lead over the Eagles. The lone loss occurred on Nov. 7, 2003, in the Big East Tournament in New Jersey.

ELECTRIC ENGLE

Izzy Engle has entered her name into the breakout star of 2024 conversation. Engle has 10 goals through seven games, with four multi-goal performances.

• Her 10 goals are the second most in the country, behind only California’s Karlie Lema who has 11.
• However, Engle does lead the country in goals per game at 1.43.
• Engle boasts three game-winners (Butler, TCU, Marquette), which ranks second nationally.
• Engle’s 21 points rank third in the nation behind California’s Karlie Lema (24) and Pitt’s Sarah Schupansky (22).
• Furthermore, Engle’s 3.00 points per game ranks third nationally as well.
• Engle recorded the first freshman hat trick in program history since 2008 in Notre Dame’s win at Samford then recorded braces in the win over No. 13 TCU and most recently against NIU.

1-2-3 PUNCH

Notre Dame has developed a three-headed monster in the middle of its midfield. First let’s start with freshman Grace Restovich, another young breakout star of 2024.

Restovich ranks second on the team in points (12), goals (3) and assists (6). The St. Louis native has earned a point in all but one game.

She is coming off a Marquette win in which she recorded three assists.

She ranks second in the country in total assists and fourth nationally in assists per game (0.86). Restovich’s total points and points per game rank sixth in the ACC.

Next, there’s sophomore Charlie Codd, who has recorded a point in 5-of-7 games this season. Codd ranks second on the team in assists with four, which places her fifth in the ACC and 26th nationally.

Lastly, there’s junior Laney Matriano, who was named 1-of-4 team captains for the 2024 season. Holding down the tough No. 6 position, Matriano has now started in 40 of 45 games played at ND.

TRENDING

• Notre Dame’s +21 goal differential ranks fifth in the country and second in the ACC.
• The defensive backline of Fisher, Gemma and Mills have started together in all six shutouts. Over the six games, the defensive unit have combined in allowing just 26 shots on goal (4.3 per game).
• Notre Dame’s scoring offense (3.3) ranks eighth overall and second in the ACC.
• There might not be a more dynamic duo in the country right now than Engle and Restovich. Just look at the last four games. At Michigan, Engle earned her first assist with a flick header in which Restovich buried in the net. A few days later at Butler, Restovich returned the favor with a phenomenal first touch which allowed her to attack the Butler backline and made the easy dish to Engle for the finish.  Very next game versus NIU, both players scored in the dominant win over NIU. Then against Marquette, a brace for Engle and guess who assisted both – Restovich. In fact, Restovich had a three-assist day.
• Also trending is freshman forward Lily Joseph. She has scored in back-to-back games and now has three goals on the year.
• Lastly, despite its dominant six-match winning streak in which they haven’t conceded the goal, the Irish slid four spots in the top-25 poll to No. 13 this week.

GOALS STOP HERE

Coach Norman has a talented goalie group at his disposal and both Atlee Olofson and Sonoma Kasica have shown out.

Together the duo, along with the defensive unit, have posted a shutout percentage of 0.857 which ranks third in the nation and tops the ACC. Together — save percentage of .939 which ranks fourth nationally and a 0.286 GAA which ranks 10th.

First, let’s look at sophomore Atlee Olofson. The Austin native has not surrendered a goal this season and is 4-0. She has notched 13 total saves.

She has almost matched last year’s shutout total of five. In 2023, she went 7-3-2 in net with a .763 save percentage and a GAA of 1.17.

Then there’s 5-10 freshman Sonoma Kasica. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native has gotten three starts and has gone 2-1. She earned the shutout at Michigan and made six saves, then posted seven saves in the shutout over NIU. She has 17 total saves on the season with a GAA of 0.67.

Kasica was ranked 44th overall in her recruiting class.

— ND —