| 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 |
WEST LAYAFETTE, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s soccer team may have had to wait a few extra days to play game No. 6 of the season, but they’ll finally get that opportunity against another Big Ten team on Thursday, Sept. 8. The now 12th nationally ranked Fighting Irish squad will take its undefeated 5-0-0 record to Purdue (3-3), with first touch scheduled for 7 pm ET on BTN+
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
The Irish continue to climb the United Soccer Coaches weekly polls, going from No. 16 to No. 12 on Sept. 6. Now the last time ND was as high as No. 12 (and the last time they climbed as high as a single-digit ranking) was the 2016 season.
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.
More impressively, 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.
A 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 three 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, a road contest at 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 —