| 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 |
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team opens its 2021 season on Thursday night, inside the friendly confines of Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish will host the Bowling Green Falcons at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed on ACCNX.
Important note for all soccer matches this year – Notre Dame Athletics has announced a renewed effort to enhance opportunities for the local community to experience Fighting Irish sporting events. All tickets to regular season Notre Dame home athletic events, besides basketball, football and hockey, will be free for all attendees.
IRISH IN SEASON OPENERS
The Irish program is now in its 34th year, dating back to the 1988 season. ND has achieved much success in its season openers, amassing a 27-4-2 record.
When looking at specifically home season openers, the Irish haven’t lost an opener inside Alumni Stadium since a 3-2 double-overtime defeat to North Carolina on Sept. 3, 1999. Since, the Irish have gone 13-0-2 in that span.
PRESEASON B1G SWEEP
The Irish competed in two preseason tune-ups, starting with Ohio State at home on Aug. 10. Notre Dame trailed 2-0 early but rallied to defeat the Buckeyes 3-2. ND received goals from Kiki Van Zanten, Sammi Fisher and Olivia Wingate, as the latter scored in the final minute of play.
The Irish then traveled to Champaign, where they took on the Fighting Illini on Aug. 14. It was all blue and gold, as Notre Dame cruised to a 4-0 victory, which included a goal from Brooke VanDyck.
ABOUT BOWLING GREEN
In an abbreviated 2020 season, Bowling Green went 6-1-1 overall and 5-1-0 in MAC play, outscoring opponents by a 17-3 count. The Falcons tied for first in the nation in shutout percentage (.750), recording six shutouts in eight matches. BG earned the MAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season.
SIX WINS, SIX SHUTOUTS
It was a 6-7 campaign for the 2020 Irish, but the unique stat about last year was that all six wins were shutout victories. Six shutout victories in 13 contests (.462) – that ratio was the best since the 2016 Irish – who posted 11 shutout victories in 21 games (.524).
Senior Mattie Interian started nine games in net for the Irish. She allowed just 12 goals for a 1.35 goals-against average. She ultimately made 28 saves (.700) and notched three of the shutouts.
LET’S HAVE A KIKI
Kiki Van Zanten led the team in scoring last season with seven goals, and more impressively, she did so coming off the bench. The now junior played in 12 of the 13 games, with three starts.
Van Zanten made the most of her opportunities, putting 12 of her 16 total shots on goal. Her 0.58 goals per game ranked 55th in the nation and 5th in the ACC.
Van Zanten’s best game last year was at Miami, where she tallied her first career hat trick on just four shots. She later posted another multi-goal performance (2) vs Syracuse on Oct. 4.
EXPERIENCE RETURNING
The Irish scored 18 goals in the abbreviated last season and 17 of those goals are back this year, led by the above-mentioned Kiki Van Zanten who earned Third Team All-ACC honors. She’ll be flanked by 2020 Second Team All-ACC selection Sammi Fisher.
Fisher netted three goals and one assist in 2020. In the fall of 2019, Fisher led the Irish in all three categories, tallying six goals, five assists and 17 points on the year.
Also scoring for the Irish last season: Maddie Mercado (2), Brooke VanDyck, Camryn Dyke, Olivia Wingate, Kati Druzina and Ellie Ospeck.
All-in-all, 39 of the team’s 46 points (.848) are back.
PLUS A YOUTH INFUSION
The Irish still will get a youthful boost of energy in the form of eight freshmen, which includes Sophie Fisher who has been with the team since the spring as an early enrollee.
Fisher hails from Scottsdale, Arizona and has made a number of appearances with the US Women’s National youth teams. In fact, she played for the U-17 team in 2019 along with the U15 team in 2017 and 2018 and the U14 in 2016. She was named the 2019 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Best XI and the 2018 Girls Development Academy Playoff Best XI.
Korbin Albert was club teammates with current Irish forward Kiki Van Zanten. She has a number of years of experience in the US Youth National Team Pool from 2015 to 2019. In 2019, she was called up to the U-17 WNT as they traveled to the Czech Republic for a four-team UEFA Development Tournament. There, she played alongside Sophia Fisher and Maddie Mooney.
In addition, Mooney participated in the U-17 WNT training camps from Nov. 2019-Jan. 2020. She was also club teammates with current Irish player Aly Akers.
JULIA WARE – VET EXPERIENCE INJECTED TO BACKLINE
Back in May, Coach Norman announced the addition of Purdue transfer Julia Ware. The graduate student out of Frisco, Texas, played in 49 games through her three seasons with the Boilermakers and made 46 starts on the backline.
“I chose Notre Dame because I know it’s a place where I can not only compete at the highest level athletically, but one where I will be pushed to grow personally, intellectually, and spiritually,” said Ware. “The tradition of Notre Dame is based in a community rooted in service and high standards of excellence and I can’t wait to be a part of that.”
During the 2020 campaign, Ware was one of two players to play every minute. She anchored the defense that allowed just 10 goals in 12 games and had four shutouts.
— ND —