INDIANAPOLIS – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team knew they were dancing in the NCAA Tournament, it was just a matter of where. On Monday afternoon, the NCAA named the Fighting Irish a No. 3 seed in the top-left quadrant.
The top-eight seeds in said quadrant are as follows: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Memphis, No. 7 Pittsburgh and No. 8 Texas A&M.
With a three-seed, Notre Dame will only get to host its first-round matchup inside Alumni Stadium, which is none other than Missouri Valley Champion and next-door neighbor Valparaiso. The game will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. ET. Ticket info will be made available soon.
The Irish would only get to host the following weekend (second and third rounds) if two-seeded Arkansas would get upset in the opening round – they host Grambling.
ON THE IRISH SEASON
Ranked in the top-12, with an RPI in the top-12, for the latter half of the season, the Irish enter the NCAA Tournament with an 11-3-4 record. Notre Dame finished in second place in the always-tough ACC, producing a record of 7-1-2.
The Irish recorded a 2-2-1 record against ranked opposition, which included wins against No. 8 Clemson and No. 16 Duke, with ties against No. 3 North Carolina and No. 10 Arkansas.
Four players were named All-ACC selections: Eva Gaetino (First Team), Kiki Van Zanten (First Team), Leah Klenke (Second Team) and Maddie Mercado (Second Team). Gaetino was also named the ACC Defender of the Year for the second year in a row. In addition, both Charlie Codd and Morgan Roy were named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
DEJA VU
The last time the Irish were a three-seed – you don’t have to look far. Two years ago, Notre Dame fought its way to the Round of 16 to square off against two-seed Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks took that one 3-2 to advance.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
For the 29th time over the last 31 years, the Irish are dancing in the NCAA Tourney. Notre Dame’s overall postseason record sits at 73-24-4, which ranks as the third most wins behind UNC and Florida State.
All-in-all, the Irish boast three NCAA championships (1995, 2004, 2010) and five runner-up finishes (1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008) with 12 total College Cup appearances.
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