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Game 13 Preview: #3 Florida State

#17 Irish vs #3 Seminoles | Sunday, Oct. 9 | Noon ET | Alumni Stadium | ESPNU

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
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 17 Notre Dame women’s soccer team is looking to make a statement on Sunday when No. 3 Florida State rolls into Alumni Stadium. The big ACC showdown will kick off at Noon ET and air nationally on ESPNU.

If victorious on Sunday, it would mark the first time in program history in which the Irish had knocked off two top-three teams in the regular season. In addition, Notre Dame has never beaten both Virginia and Florida State in the same season since joining the ACC in 2013.

A victory on Sunday would also hand Florida State its first loss in almost a year with their last defeat coming on Oct. 24, 2021, to Duke.

IRISH RESUME

In the updated RPI rankings on Oct. 3, the Irish moved up a spot to No. 3 behind UCLA and Pitt in that order. Notre Dame is 3-1 against the RPI Top-25, 4-2 against the Top-50 and 5-2 against the Top-100. The Irish boast three ranked wins on the season – No. 19 Saint Louis (road game), No. 22 Wisconsin and No. 2 Virginia.

Notre Dame’s strength of schedule ranks 10th in the country this week. 

SHOTS ON SHOTS

Notre Dame is averaging 9.6 shots on goal per game, which ranks 6th  nationally (1st in ACC). Overall, the Irish are averaging 20.9 shots per game, which ranks 5th nationally (1st in the ACC).

In comparison, Notre Dame is up 251-74 (20.9 vs 6.2) over the opposition in total shots. Shots on goal differential sits at 115-25 (9.6-2.1). 

All those shots have led to 29 goals on the year, which ranks 28th in the nation, while the scoring offense (2.4) ranks 23rd.  

Notre Dame’s ability to stretch the field has led to a national ranking of 7th in corner kicks (1st in ACC) – 7.6 per game. Notre Dame has scored twice off corners this season: Sept. 11 vs Ohio, a Gaetino header & Sept. 22 vs Virginia, a Mercado goal off a deflection. 

Olivia Wingate  13th in shots per game (4.1) // 3rd in shots on goal per game (2.7) // 10th in shot accuracy (0.653)

Maddie Mercado 5th in game-winning goals (4) – most in ACC // 17th in shots on goal per game (2.1) 

Mackenzie Wood10th in goals against average (.429) – 1st in the ACC

NOTABLE NOTES

The importance of scoring first? Well, the Irish are 10-0 when doing so. Both times ND has trailed this season at the half (both 1-0 scores at the time), they’ve suffered a loss. 

The Irish backline of Gaetino, Hudson and Klenke have only allowed 25 shots on goal over 12 games – which equates to a stout 2.1 SOG per game. Even shots in general, opponents are averaging just 6.2 against the Irish. 

Six games, including two in a row, the Irish backline has only allowed 1 SOG or fewer: NC State (Oct. 6), Boston College (9/30), Virginia (9/22), Saint Louis (8/25), Western Michigan (8/21) and Marquette (8/18).

Notre Dame’s defensive/goalie crew boasts 7 shutouts on the year. Mackenzie Wood in particular has been stellar in net, as her 0.429 GAA ranks 10th in the country, allowing three goals in seven games. Furthermore, she has collected five shutouts, including her last 3 starts – Virginia, Boston College and NC State.  

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 115-28-6, good for a .792 winning percentage. 

This year the Irish are off to a 7-1-0 start inside Alumni. Last season, Notre Dame went 10-1-1 with its lone loss being a 3-2 decision to Clemson in the ACC Tournament. Therefore,  Notre Dame is 17-2-1 at home over its past two seasons. Since the start of the 2019 season, the Irish are 29-5-2 at home. 

ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS LIST

Goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood ranks 23rd on the active career leader list in saves, collecting 266 over her career. In addition, Wood ranks 13th on the active career leader list in shutouts with 25.

OFFENSIVE SPARKPLUGS 

Notre Dame has tallied a 29-8 goal aggregate over the 2022 season. Out of the 29 goals – it’s come from 9 different players: Wingate (7), Mercado (7), Van Zanten (4), Albert (4), Klenke (2), Ospeck (2), Coyle, Fisher and Gaetino. 

Mercado and Wingate are having career years up top, much like how Sammi Fisher did a year ago. Mercado has already scored a career high in goals with 7 (previous was 5) and boasts 4 game-winners to boot (previous career best was 3). Mercado’s 4 game-winners is the most in the ACC and ranks 5th in the country. Meanwhile, Wingate has now tied her career best of seven goals set a a season ago in 2021. 

The duo has combined for 34 of the team’s 80 points, so nearly half (42.5 percent). 

Kiki Van Zanten has scored 4 times over the last 7 games and reached double-digit points on the season. 

Korbin Albert collected her first brace of the season against NC State on Oct. 6. She too moved into double-digit points with 10. 

BEST WINGMAN

Senior left-wing midfielder Kati Druzina is once again lending a helping hand, or should I say foot, in the assist department. During the 2021 campaign, Druzina tied for second on the team in assists with five, which included her first career multi-assist game (tallied 2) against Brown.

This season, Druzina ranks second again, this time behind Wingate. Druzina boasts three assists – against Marquette, Illinois and Ohio.

— ND —