June 21, 2018
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — After making a run to the NCAA Round of 16 in 2017, The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team will look to build on its success under the new direction of head coach Nate Norman against one of the nation’s toughest schedules when the Fighting Irish kick off the 2018 season this fall.
“Every year we try to challenge ourselves with one of the most difficult schedules in the country and this year is no different,” said Norman. “We are blessed in that we always have a challenging schedule with our ACC opponents, but we also strive to challenge ourselves at the very highest level with our non-conference opponents. We are very excited about this upcoming year.”
The Irish announced the 2018 schedule Thursday, highlighted by 10-of-18 opponents who finished last season ranked within the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 or were receiving votes, four of which finished ranked in the top 10.
The Irish ended the 2017 campaign with a mark of 10-7-5 and were placed No. 18 in the final national rankings. Notre Dame made a run in the NCAA Championships, defeating IUPUI (5-0) and then advanced to the round of 16 after besting No. 2 seed Texas A&M in penalties. The Irish almost went to the quarterfinals but fell to Baylor in overtime 3-2.
The 2018 slate includes 10 regular-season match-ups at Alumni Stadium, while the Irish will travel to eight different campuses for matches.
Notre Dame will get its first taste of competition with exhibitions matches against Michigan and Purdue. The Irish will welcome the Wolverines on August 8 and close out the exhibition slate at West Lafayette against the Boilermakers.
The regular season will commence at home with a trio of matches, the first two against a pair of midwest opponents as the Irish welcome Central Michigan on August 16 and Loyola University Chicago on August 19. The team then hosts Stony Brook on August 23. Notre Dame will travel to Butler for its first road match of the season on August 26.
The Irish open September against Ohio State on August 30, a squad that finished 2017 ranked 23rd in the country. Notre Dame then travels west to wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule with two marquee matchups in California against the defending national champions Stanford on September 7 and then plays Santa Clara on September 9 before heading back home.
Notre Dame begins Atlantic Coast Conference play at home on September 16 against NC State (2017 No. 21). The Irish will then hit the road for two games — at Louisville (Sept. 20) and at Wake Forest (Sept. 23). Notre Dame closes out September at home against Florida State (2017 No. 15; Sept. 28),
The Irish will open October with a pair of home games versus North Carolina (2017 No. 8; Oct. 4) and Virginia (2017 No. 9; Oct. 7).
Notre Dame will close out the regular season with three of its final four matches on the road. The Irish will play away contests at Syracuse (Oct. 13), Virginia Tech (Oct. 18) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 21). The regular season finale and Senior Day will be played on October 25 against a Duke squad that is coming off a semifinal appearance at the NCAA Championships.
The top eight ACC teams will once again compete for the conference championship, wrapping up the first weekend of November. The NCAA Championship will commence the following weekend, culminating in the 2018 Women’s College Cup in Cary, N.C., Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.
2018 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer Schedule
All Times ET
August
8 — Michigan (Exhibition), 4:30 p.m.
11 — @ Purdue (Exhibition), 7 p.m.
16 — Central Michigan, 7 p.m.
19 — Loyola University Chicago, 2 p.m.
23 — Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
26 — @ Butler, 1 p.m.
30 — Cincinnati, 7 p.m.
September
2 — Ohio State, 1 p.m.
7 — @ Stanford, 9 p.m.
9 — @ Santa Clara, 4 p.m.
16 — NC State*, 1 p.m.
20 — @ Louisville*, 7 p.m.
23 — @ Wake Forest*, noon
28 — Florida State*, 5 p.m.
October
4 — North Carolina*, 7 p.m.
7 — Virginia*, noon
13 — @ Syracuse*, 6 p.m.
18 — @ Virginia Tech*, 7 p.m.
21 — @ Pittsburgh*, 1 p.m.
25 — Duke*, 7 p.m.
October 28-November 4 — ACC Championship
Opponents’ 2017 NSCAA Postseason Rankings
No. 1 Stanford
No. 3 Duke
No. 8 UNC
No. 9 Virginia
No. 15 Florida State
No. 20 Santa Clara
No. 21 NC State
No. 23 Ohio State
RV Butler
RV Wake Forest
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