9. Irish Look For Second Ever Win In Charlottesville

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 16 Notre Dame women’s soccer team has had some time to rest and gear up for ACC showdown number two of the 2024 season. In that time, they’ve also received their Canadian U20 World Cup reinforcements in Clare Logan and Annabelle Chukwu. This hungry and young Irish squad will now travel to Klockner Stadium for a ranked battle against No. 14 Virginia (8-1-0, 1-1-0).

If you are a Fighting Irish fan than Saturday is the day for you. The football team kicks off against Miami (Ohio) at home at 3:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock. Then immediately after, you can catch the Irish vs. Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.

UVA SERIES

If this year’s young Irish squad wants to make a splash in the ACC, look no further than the opportunity presenting itself on Saturday in a ranked matchup against No. 14 Virginia. The Cavaliers were off to a red-hot 8-0 start on the year until they hit a roadblock via Wake Forest in a 3-0 shutout. UVA is 1-1 in league play, defeating Miami previously.

The  Irish trail in the overall series, 2-7-1. They are 1-4-1 in Charlottesville. That lone win was a 2-1 double-OT victory back in 2015.

The Irish did win their last encounter with Virginia — a 1-0 victory in South Bend during the 2022 season. Maddie Mercado scored off of a corner kick from Korbin Albert.

ELLIE HODSDEN – THE COMEBACK STORY

Several freshmen have dominated the season storylines for the Irish thus far and yet another star has emerged in Ellie Hodsden. The Texas native missed the first several games due to working herself back into game shape, wrapping up a year-long return from an ACL injury.

Hodsden has subbed in late in each half in the past two games and has been a nightmare for opponent defenses. She’s played a total of 46 minutes and has scored three goals. That means she’s scoring every 15 minutes on the pitch. Against Marquette, she scored in the 43rd minute. At BC, it was in the 37th and 88th minute.

Hodsden played the hero at Boston College. The Irish were down 2-0 and she willed them back to a 2-2 draw with her first career brace. Her second goal, which came in the 88th minute, was a beautiful header off a cross.

At Dripping Springs High, Hodsen set her school record for goals in a season with 50.

ELECTRIC ENGLE

Nationally, Izzy Engle has entered her name for breakout star of 2024. Engle has 10 goals through eight 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.
• Engle ranks second in the country and first in the ACC in goals per game at 1.25.
• Engle boasts three game-winners (Butler, TCU, Marquette), which ranks sixth nationally and first in the ACC.
• Engle’s 21 points rank third in the nation behind California’s Karlie Lema (26) and Pitt’s Sarah Schupansky (22).
• Furthermore, Engle’s 2.63 points per game ranks seventh nationally, third in the ACC.

PICK YOUR POISON

The Irish attack will be very fun to watch moving forward as Coach Norman figures out how to fit his young arsenal together. We’ve seen Engle and Lily Joseph playing the majority of minutes up top, then Hodsden subbing in to add to the relentless attack. Now, Annabelle Chukwu returns from the U20 World Cup to add yet another impressive layer to the mix.

Lily Joseph has three goals on the year with two coming in the last three games. She also boasts three assists for a total of nine points, which ranks third on the team. Also, look for Joseph in the attacking center midfield role as well.

Chukwu has one goal and one assist in just two games. After the first two games of the season, Chukwu departed for the U20 World Cup with Team Canada. Virginia will mark her first game back with the Irish. More on her below.

CANADIAN SENSATION

Keep an eye on freshman Annabelle Chukwu from Ontario, Canada, now that she’s back in South Bend.

Chukwu was at the U20 World Cup for Team Canada where she made Canadian youth history. She scored a goal in their first match to earn a 3-3 tie against France, then followed that up with a hat-trick against Fiji. As a result, Chukwu broke the record for most goals scored through the Canadian Youth Soccer system, passing Canadian great Christine Sinclair.

Chukwu was 15 years old when she made her Canadian debut and has left her mark across all programs. Highlights include: Chukwu winning a CONCACAF silver medal with U15 in 2022, scoring in Canada’s opening match at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, receiving a National Team call-up in 2022 at the age of 15 and scoring twice in extra time in the bronze medal game to help Canada win and qualify the squad for the U20 World Cup.

THREE-HEADED MIDFIELD MONSTER

Notre Dame has developed a three-headed monster in 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 two games.
• In Notre Dame’s dominant win over Marquette, Restovich posted a career-best three assists.
• She ranks third in the country in total assists (6) and ninth nationally in assists per game (0.75).

Next, there’s sophomore Charlie Codd, who has recorded a point in 5-of-8 games this season. Codd ranks second on the team in assists with four, which places her sixth in the ACC and 38th 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 41 of 46 games played at ND. Matriano recorded her second career goal, first of the season, in the win over TCU, via a PK.

TRENDING

• The NCAA released its first RPI listing and Notre Dame checked in at No. 11.
• Notre Dame’s +21 goal differential ranks eighth in the country and third in the ACC.
• The defensive backline of Fisher, Gemma and Mills posted six straight shutouts together before the 2-2 tie at BC. The six shutouts tied for the third longest streak in program history. ND’s defense is allowing just 4.6 SOG/Game.
• Notre Dame’s scoring offense (3.13) ranks 14th overall and third in the ACC.

GOALIE BATTALION

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 0.750 which ranks ninth in the nation and third in the ACC. Together — a save percentage of .892 which ranks 21st nationally (4th in ACC) and a 0.500 GAA which ranks 22nd (4th in ACC).

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 four starts and has gone 2-1-1. She earned the shutout at Michigan and made six saves, then posted seven saves in the shutout over NIU. She has 19 total saves on the season with a GAA of 1.00.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

The freshman class at Notre Dame has been and will be a huge talking point. 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.

Right now the top-three point getters on the team are freshmen: Izzy Engle (21 points), Grace Restovich (12 points) and Lily Joseph (9 points).

Lastly, 21 of the team’s 25 goals have been scored by freshmen.

— ND —