NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team (5-1-1) put its foot on the throttle from the opening whistle and never looked back against Detroit Mercy (1-6-0), cruising to an 8-0 victory on Thursday night. The eight goals tied for the sixth most in a match dating back to the 1999 season.
The Fighting Irish boasted three multi-goal scorers for the evening, as Sammi Fisher, Korbin Albert and Maddie Mercado all scored twice. Meanwhile, Brooke VanDyck and Kiki Van Zanten each secured their first goals of the season. Furthermore, sophomore goalkeeper Ashley Naylor registered her first career start and shutout.
How It Happened
The Fighting Irish wasted no time in this contest, needing just 103 seconds to score. An Olivia Wingate cross found Sammi Fisher who dished backwards to Brooke VanDyck, who then put it in the right corner of the goal. The goal was the 15th fastest to start a match in program history.
For goal No. 2, Wingate took the ball deep into the right side of the Detroit 18-yard box. The senior spun and found a wide open Sammi Fisher who buried it left side in the 12th minute.
VanDyck was later involved in Notre Dame’s third goal of the evening, picking up her first assist of the year in the 23rd minute. The senior dished to Sammi Fisher in the middle of the field, who then hit a rocket from close to 30 yards out.
The fourth goal came in the 35th minute. A nice passing sequence at the top of the box between Katie Coyle, Sophia Fisher and Maddie Mercado, led to the latter’s first goal of the season. It also marked Fisher’s first career assist.
The fifth and final goal of the half came courtesy of last year’s leading goal-scorer Kiki Van Zanten. The junior received a pass from Audrey Weiss around the penalty marker and put it in the back of the net.
In the second half, the Irish tallied three goals in just under a five-minute span. More impressively in that time frame, freshman Korbin Albert recorded back-to-back goals that were just one minute and 26 seconds apart.
The eighth goal was a result of a beautiful backwards flick pass from Erin Hohnstein, which found Mercado at the top of the box for her second goal of the evening.
Meanwhile, the Irish defense did their job for the game, allowing just one Detroit Mercy shot.
Up Next
The Irish continue their homestand on Sunday, Sept. 12, when they host Brown at 1 p.m. ET. That game will be streamed live on ACCNX.
— ND —