| 3-seed Notre Dame (12-3-4) | NCAA Tournament 2nd & 3rd Rounds |
|---|---|
| Where: | Fayetteville, AR | Razorback Stadium |
| Watch: | ESPN+ |
| 2nd Rd Opponent: | 6-seed Memphis (19-1) |
| When: | Friday, Nov. 16 | 4 p.m. ET |
| 3rd Rd Opponent: | Pitt or Arkansas |
| When: | Sunday, Nov. 18 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Social: | NDWSOC Twitter NDWSOC Instagram |
DURHAM, N.C. – Soaring high after a dominant start to ACC play, the No. 10 ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer squad (5-1-2, 1-0-0) will have a major road test this week. Up first, a ranked showdown in Durham on Thursday night with the No. 16 Blue Devils (5-2-0, 1-0-0). That match will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
Last season, Notre Dame ended the regular season with Duke with a share of the regular-season title on the line. The two sides battled to a 2-2 draw with Korbin Albert scoring both goals.
ANOTHER ACC SEASON UPON US
Since Notre Dame joined the ACC in 2013, the Irish are 59-34-9 in conference games. Their .623 winning percentage in conference games ranks 4th amongst ACC schools. A season ago, the Irish earned a three-seed in the ACC Tournament. This year, the Irish were predicted to finish fourth in the league.
In addition, Notre Dame tied its most-ever All-ACC selections with five.
RECENT MOVES PAYING DIVIDENDS
Coach Norman has experimented with his lineup as of late and recent moves are paying offensive dividends. First off, Maddie Mercado has played more of an attacking center mid instead of forward. She has now scored three times over the last four games. Mercado leads the team in scoring with four goals and 10 points.
Another move was moving Kristina Lynch from right-wing to forward. Lynch has now scored a goal in back-to-back games and boasts three on the season.
TRENDING
Notre Dame ranks 19th in the country and 4th in the ACC in shots per game with 19.0. Maddie Mercado leads the Irish in this category with 3.6 shots per game, which ranks 34th in the nation and 2nd in the league.
The team is averaging 2.4 goals per match, which is what they averaged a year ago. Last year’s 2.4 goals per match was the highest since 2008.
The Irish have scored multiple goals in every game this season except its 1-0 loss to Michigan. Notre Dame has secured back-to-back games scoring three goals.
ASSIST LEADER – LEAH KLENKE
Leah Klenke has become the main cog that runs the Notre Dame offense. Klenke leads the team with five assists, which ranks 23rd nationally and third in the league.
Klenke recorded her first multi-assist performance with two against Wake Forest in the ACC opener on Sept. 15.
A GLANCE AT THE DEFENSE THIS YEAR
An interesting case study for Notre Dame’s defensive unit this season. They are only allowing 2.6 shots on goal per match thus far – a lower mark than last year (3.0); however, teams are making the most of their minimal opportunities. The Irish have allowed eight goals through eight matches aka 1.0 goal per match – a higher rate than last year’s 0.7 per match.
The Irish have earned two shutouts this season.
TURNED A “CORNER” THIS SEASON
You can say the Irish have turned a corner in 2023 in terms of scoring off of set pieces, specifically corner kicks. Last season, the Irish ranked 1st in the ACC in corners per game (6.4), but only had three goals to show for the 146 total corners taken.
This year has been quite a different story. Out of 51 corners taken, the Irish have scored four goals — two from Gaetino, one from Fisher and one from Ospeck.
Now add in a goal scored off of a free kick from Mercado and the Irish have scored five set-piece goals out of their 19 total goals on the year.
GOAL SCORERS FROM ALL OVER
Currently, five players have three goals or more. In total, eight different Irish have found the back of the net this season.
All-in-all, the Irish have tallied 19 goals on the year. Last season, 47 of the team’s 56 goals came from Albert, Wingate, Mercado and Van Zanten.
— ND —