NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 4 seeded Notre Dame women’s soccer team (13-5-1, 7-3-0) found itself in an early 2-0 hole to No. 5 seeded Clemson (12-5-1, 6-3-1) on Sunday evening in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. The Irish did their best to rally, pulling within one on two occasions, but the Tigers escaped with the 3-2 victory.
Korbin Albert scored the first goal, marking her ninth goal of the season – second most on the team. Maddie Mercado notched the assist, her fourth. Then Sammi Fisher scored her team-leading 12th goal of the year off of a penalty kick in the 81st minute. Fisher is now 3-for-4 on penalties this year.
How It Happened
Notre Dame found itself in an early 2-0 hole as Clemson found the back of the net in both the 12th and 25th minutes. The first goal occurred on a counterattack that began at midfield. With numbers, Clemson’s Caroline Conti drove down the left side, into the box and scored near post.
The second Clemson goal came shortly after a Tigers corner kick. Unable to clear the ball out, Megan Bornkamp made Notre Dame pay, giving the visitors some cushion.
The Irish only tallied one shot in the first half, but they certainly made the most of it. Off of a throw-in, Mercado hit a lob pass into the Clemson box. Albert beat the Tiger goalie to the ball by a millisecond, allowing her to score in the open net. The goal occurred in the 36th minute.
However, another costly turnover in the Notre Dame defensive third haunted the Irish again in the second half. After turning the ball over near the top of the box, a blocked shot landed at the feet of Clemson’s Makenna Morris, who scored to make it 3-1 in the 58th minute.
The Irish continued to battle, recording several good chances around net late in the game. Things got interesting when Fisher converted a penalty kick in the 81st minute.
Fast forward to 63 seconds left in the match and Irish had a free kick opportunity just within the Clemson box. However the Tigers defensive wall blocked the shot and ran out the clock.
Up Next
The Irish have to wait for the NCAA selection show on Nov. 8.
— ND —