CARY, N.C. – It was an absolute battle right to the very end in the 2025 ACC Championship as the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-1-3, 8-1-1) fell with a final score of 2-2 as the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal (16-1-2, 9-0-1) clinched their title by winning penalty kicks 5-4.
Izzy Engle and Charlie Codd scored the Notre Dame goals in the final 25 minutes of regulation to level the score before heading into double overtime and eventually, penalty kicks. Annabelle Chukwu, Laney Matriano and Ellie Hodsden each recorded an assist for the Irish.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish had some early chances, but ultimately the Cardinal struck first as they scored on an attack from the right wing into the bottom left corner of the net to lead 1-0 in the 29th minute.
It was a defensive possession battle between the two squads, but the Cardinal would lead 1-0 heading into the second half.
Stanford came out right away in the second half with another look, scoring in the 47th minute to extend their lead to 2-0.
The last time the Irish were down 2-0 was against No. 5 Florida State on October 9 when the Irish scored four unanswered goals to win it 4-2.
Shortly after, the Irish had a great look from freshman Tessa Knapp about 25 yards out for Notre Dame’s third shot on goal on the day. Knapp had another chance in the 64th minute, but missed just wide right.
The first Irish goal of the day would come from who other than the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Izzy Engle.
On a clipped pass over the top of the defense from Hodsden, she played the ball just in front of Engle that allowed her to weave past and outrun three defenders and lifted her effort over on-rushing Stanford keeper.
IZZY. ENGLE. 🤯#GoIrish☘️ | 📺 @ESPNU pic.twitter.com/ktVF0d0O8U
— Notre Dame Women’s Soccer (@NDSoccer) November 9, 2025
It didn’t take long for the Irish equalizer as Matriano sent it into the box on a corner kick and the Chukwu header fell to the feet of Codd, who sent it into the right upper 90 to tie it at 2-all in the 75th minute.
CODD WITH THE EQUALIZER‼️#GoIrish☘️ | @ESPNU pic.twitter.com/rkC2ckrpJh
— Notre Dame Women’s Soccer (@NDSoccer) November 9, 2025
Battling through the end of regulation, the Irish and Cardinal were tied at 2-all, leading into two 10-minute overtime periods where a golden goal would decide the champion.
With neither team able to capitalize on the two additional overtime periods, the outcome would then be decided on penalty kicks.
Both teams netted three straight to open up the shootout. And with a huge save from Kasica on Stanford’s fifth shot, the Irish title hopes were still alive.
Unable to convert on two of their last three shots, the Irish needed a Stanford miss on the sixth attempt. However, the Cardinal would go on to find the back of the net on the final shot to clinch the title, winning the shootout.
Notre Dame Shooting Summary
1 MADE #4 Leah Klenke
2 MADE #11 Tessa Knapp
3 MADE #3 Izzy Engle
4 MISSED #23 Morgan Roy
5 MADE #13 Laney Matriano
6 MISSED #9 Charlie Codd
Stanford Shooting Summary
1 MADE #20 Andrea Kitahata
2 MADE #5 Shae Harvey
3 MADE #18 Y-Lan Nguyen
4 MADE #8 Mia Bhuta
5 MISSED #3 Allie Montoya
6 MADE #10 Charlotte Kohler
UP NEXT
The Irish await seeding in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament as the Championship bracket will be revealed during a selection show on Monday, Nov. 10 live-streamed on NCAA.com. Thirty teams will earn automatic qualification, with the remaining 34 teams selected at-large by the Division I Women’s Soccer Committee — 16 teams will be seeded Nos. 1-4.