| 3-seed Notre Dame (12-3-4) | NCAA Tournament 2nd & 3rd Rounds |
|---|---|
| Where: | Fayetteville, AR | Razorback Stadium |
| Watch: | ESPN+ |
| 2nd Rd Opponent: | 6-seed Memphis (19-1) |
| When: | Friday, Nov. 16 | 4 p.m. ET |
| 3rd Rd Opponent: | Pitt or Arkansas |
| When: | Sunday, Nov. 18 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Social: | NDWSOC Twitter NDWSOC Instagram |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The road to the College Cup indeed runs through South Bend, as two storied programs collide at Alumni Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 5 p.m. ET. It’ll be No. 1 Notre Dame (17-2-3) hosting No. 2 North Carolina (18-4-1) in an ACC showdown. This will mark the first time this season the two league foes will have matched up against each other.
The Fighting Irish are looking to punch their ticket to the College Cup for the 13th time and first time since 2010 (when they last won the national championship).
Notre Dame is 7-22-3 all-time against North Carolina and 3-7 against them in the NCAA Tournament. However, this will mark the first NCAA Tournament matchup taking place in South Bend. Important to note, the Irish boast a 50-3-1 record at home in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA TOURNEY HISTORY
Notre Dame’s overall postseason record sits at 73-23-4, which ranks as the third most wins behind UNC (142-17-4) and Florida State (75-18-4). UCLA is right behind with 71-21-6.
The Irish boast three NCAA championships, which is tied for second-most – 1995, 2004, 2010 – and five runner-up finishes (1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008).
They are making their 16th appearance in the quarterfinals and first since 2012. They are an impressive 12-3 in that round.
UNBEATEN STREAK ROLLS ON …
Notre Dame is now unbeaten in its last 12 matches, outscoring the opposition 33-6 over that stretch. Their last loss was a 3-1 decision to Pitt on Sept. 25.
ALBERT SAYS HI TO HERMANN TROPHY COMMITTEE
Korbin Albert has been an absolute highlight reel over the final stretch to the season and we’ll let the following stats speak for itself.
Albert has scored an impressive 14 goals over the last 11 games.
4 multi-goal performances over the last seven games – 5 total on the season
16 total goals – 8th in the country – tops for a midfielder
0.8 goals per game – 10th in the country
37 total points – 9th in the country
1.8 points per game – 11th in the country
6 game-winning goals – 4th in the country
She has 3 PK goals, so when looking at her 13 non-PK goals – 10 have come from outside the box. In addition, three have come via direct free-kicks.
One of the best individual performances she’s had this season was against Florida State on Nov. 3 when she recorded her first career hat trick. The way she did, you just have to see to believe.
9 of her 16 goals have come against top-25 teams.
And oh by the way, she’s your 2022 ACC Midfielder of the Year in the country’s top conference
HOLD THE LINE
Notre Dame’s defensive/goalie crew now boasts 14 shutouts on the year – their most since 2016 (15). Their shutout percentage of 0.636 ranks 6th in the country.
The Irish are the only Elite Eight team to have not given up a goal in this year’s NCAA Tournament, boasting an 11-0 goal differential.
The Irish backline of Hudson, Klenke and ACC Defender of the Year Eva Gaetino have only allowed 65 shots on goal over 22 games – which equates to a stout 2.95 SOG per game.
7 games this season the Irish backline has only allowed 1 SOG or fewer: TCU (Nov. 20), NC State (Oct. 6), Boston College (9/30), Virginia (9/22), Saint Louis (8/25), Western Michigan (8/21) and Marquette (8/18).
Mackenzie Wood won the starting role and has been tremendous – her 0.522 GAA ranks 8th in the nation, 1st in the ACC. Furthermore, she has collected a career high 10 shutouts and would have had two more, both in NCAA Tournament, if it weren’t for late-game substitutions. Her 10 shutouts rank 13th in the country.
TAKING THEIR PLACE
The Irish have made major statements all season long. Take this stat — 6-1-3 against the top-25.
Notre Dame defeated then No. 2 Virginia 1-0 and No. 3 Florida State 4-0, marking the first time in program history in which they defeated two top-three teams during the regular season. This weekend, they could add No. 2 North Carolina to the list.
The victory over FSU was its largest win against a top-3 program since Sept. 8, 2000 (6-1 win over #2 Santa Clara). Furthermore, the last time Florida State lost by 4 goals in an ACC matchup was on Oct. 15, 2002 against #2 UNC by a score of 5-1.
ND’s RPI was rated No. 4 entering the Tourney. They went 3-2-3 against the current RPI Top-25 and 7-2-3 against the Top-50.
BREAKAWAY NUMBERS
The importance of scoring first? Well, the Irish are 17-0-1 and undefeated when doing so. In addition, the Irish are 11-0-1 when leading at the half.
Notre Dame is averaging 9.6 shots on goal per game, which ranks 2nd nationally. Overall, the Irish are averaging 20.9 shots per game, which ranks 3rd nationally.
In comparison, shots on goal differential sits at 211-65.
All those shots have led to 56 goals on the year and a scoring offense (2.6) that ranks 9th in the nation.
2ND HALF STRONG
When looking at Notre Dame’s 56 goals – 37 have come in the 2nd half. The 2nd half goal differential sits at 37-8.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Irish have made Alumni Stadium a difficult venue for opposing programs to succeed in. Since its creation in 2009, Notre Dame has gone 119-28-8.
This year the Irish have gone 11-1-2 inside Alumni. Last season, Notre Dame went 10-1-1. Therefore, Notre Dame is 21-2-3 at home over its past two seasons. Since the start of the 2019 season, the Irish are 33-5-4 at home.
Irish improved to 50-3-1 at home in the NCAA Tournament.
OFFENSIVE SPARKPLUGS
Notre Dame has tallied a 56-14 goal aggregate over the 2022 season. Out of the 56 goals – it’s come from 10 different players: Albert (16), Wingate (14), Mercado (10), Van Zanten (7), Klenke (2), Ospeck (2), Coyle, Fisher, Matriano and Gaetino.
The trio of Albert, Mercado and Wingate are all having career high years up top in goals scored.
Wingate – 3rd in SOG per game (2.4), 10th in total goals and 13th in total points.
Now add in Van Zanten to complete the four-headed monster that is the Irish attack. As a foursome, they have contributed 74.7 percent of the team’s points.
— ND —