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Game 6 Preview: At Indiana

#16 Irish vs Hoosiers | Sunday, Sept. 4 | BTN+ | Bloomington, IN

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

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The 16th nationally ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team (5-0-0) takes its undefeated record down state for a battle against the Indiana Hoosiers (1-0-3). First touch is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 4, at 6 pm ET, streaming live on BTN+. The Irish look to rewrite a little history from a year ago when the Hoosiers traveled to South Bend and Notre Dame had to settle for the 0-0 tie. The Irish have dominated the series against IU with a 13-1-1 mark, including a 5-1 record in Bloomington.

A 5-0 START

It’s been a great start to the 2022 season for the Irish, firing off an unbeaten 5-0-0 record. More impressive is the 15-1 goal aggregate. Out of the 15 goals – it’s come from seven different players: Wingate (2), Mercado (3), Klenke (2), Fisher, Albert, Ospeck and Coyle. In addition, the 15 goals are the most through five games since the 2015 season. 

Furthermore, the Irish already have two ranked wins on the season, knocking off No. 19 Saint Louis 2-0 on the road then No. 22 Wisconsin 4-1 at home.   

CLEAN SLATE NON-CON?

If the Irish were to run the table during non-conference play and win every game heading into Clemson, it would mark the first since 2008. Even if Notre Dame incurred a tie along the way, it would still mark the first unbeaten non-conference since 2015. 

DOMINANT DEFENSIVE START

Notre Dame’s four shutout victories to start the year tied its second best shutout victory streak to start a season. The other instances and the streaks included: 1995 (8), 2008 (4), 2010 (4). 

The Irish defense surrendered its first goal of the season after 439 minutes of play in game five vs. Wisconsin. The ND backline has been stout, only allowing seven total shots on net in five games.

On the season, ND owns a 65-7 SOG advantage. Total shots-wise, they’re up 118-17 over the opposition. 

NOTABLE NOTES

Notre Dame is averaging 10.2 shots on goal, which ranks 10th nationally. Overall, the Irish are averaging 19.0 shots per game, which ranks 25th nationally. 

Another notable ranking for the Irish – 6th nationally in corner kicks per game – 9.2

Both Maddie Mercado and Olivia Wingate rank 8th nationally in shots on goal per game, averaging 2.75. In addition, Mercado ranks 16th in shot accuracy with 0.786. 

JUST A FRESHMAN

In her second week into collegiate soccer, Leah Klenke already garnered a lot of attention. The freshman was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 30 in her efforts in the wins over No. 19 Saint Louis and Illinois. Klenke started at left back in both shutout victories. She also led to Sophia Fisher’s second half goal against Saint Louis, then recorded a beautiful goal against Illinois in which she floated a ball from outside the box on the left side, over the keeper and into the far post of the net. 

Klenke now ranks third on the team in points with five, boasting two goals and one assist. 

B1G CHALLENGE

The Aug. 28 matchup versus Illinois kicked off a stretch in which the Irish take on four consecutive Big Ten teams. It started with a 4-0 win over the Illini and then a 4-1 victory over No. 22 Wisconsin. Up next, Notre Dame has two straight road games, starting with Indiana then Purdue.

MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST

A big reason for the backline’s success is center back Eva Gaetino. Now her success hasn’t gone unnoticed for she was named to the Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List. On August 18, the United Soccer Coaches announced its 61 players up for soccer’s most prestigious award. The list gets narrowed down to 15 players on Nov. 30.  

— ND —