| 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. – A new week, a new ranking and a new Atlantic Coast Conference season awaits. The now No. 6 Notre Dame women’s soccer team (7-0-0) looks to continue its hot streak when they take their undefeated record into ACC play starting with a matchup at No. 24 Clemson (4-1-2). First touch is scheduled at 8 p.m. ET and will air live on the ACC Network with Jenn Hildreth on the call.
A 7-0 START
The Irish are 1-of-4 remaining undefeated teams in the country alongside Harvard, Rutgers and UCLA. With the 7-0-0 record, the Irish posted a perfect non-conference slate for the first time since 2008 –> that same year the Irish went 26-1 and made the NCAA title game.
The Irish already have two ranked wins on the season and have an opportunity for a third on Thursday. Prior, they knocked off No. 19 Saint Louis 2-0 on the road and then No. 22 Wisconsin 4-1 at home.
OFFENSIVE FLURRY
Notre Dame has tallied a 21-3 goal aggregate during the 7-0 record. Ironically enough, the last time ND tallied 21 goals through seven games was also back in 2008 (21-3 aggregate as well). Even more impressive is the fact that Notre Dame has scored multiple goals in all seven matches this season.
Out of the 21 goals – it’s come from nine different players: Wingate (6), Mercado (5), Klenke (2), Albert (2), Van Zanten (2), Fisher, Ospeck, Coyle and Gaetino.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
The Irish continue to climb the United Soccer Coaches weekly polls, going from No. 16 to No. 12 to now No. 6 in the week 4 poll. The last time ND was as high as No. 6 (and the last time they climbed as high as a single-digit ranking) was the 2016 season. The last time ND boasted a single-digit ranking for multiple weeks in a season – the start of the 2015 campaign.
In addition, Notre Dame’s strength of schedule ranks 10th in the country.
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 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. All-in-all, they’ve only allowed three goals through seven games, as their 0.429 GAA ranks 17th in the country.
The ND backline has been stout, only allowing 13 total shots on net, which equates to less than two per game. On the season, ND owns an 82-13 SOG advantage.
Total shots-wise, they’re up 175-31 over the opposition.
NOTABLE NOTES
Notre Dame is averaging 11.7 shots on goal, which ranks 3rd nationally. Overall, the Irish are averaging 25.0 shots per game, which ranks 2nd nationally. Those shots have led to a scoring offense that ranks 13th (3.0) with a total goals ranking of 20th (21).
Also, how about tops in the country – 1st nationally in corner kicks per game – 9.9. Notre Dame finally got its first goal off a corner kick on Sept. 11 vs Ohio when Albert delivered a perfect ball to a flying Gaetino whose header found the back of the net.
Olivia Wingate — 24th in game winning goals (2) // 13th in goals per game (0.86) // 21st in points per game (1.86) // 26th in shot accuracy (0.69) // 26th in shots per game (4.14) // 3rd in shots on goal per game (2.86) // 7th in total goals (6) // 17th in total points (13).
Maddie Mercado — 24th in game-winning goals (2) // 5th in shots per game (4.57) // 3rd in shots on goal per game (2.86) // 24th in total goals (5).
THREE ACC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
There have been four weeks of ACC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week announcements and there’s been a Notre Dame honoree in three of them.
In her second week into collegiate soccer, Leah Klenke was named the 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.
A week later on Sept. 6, Olivia Wingate took home the offensive honor after registering her first career hat trick in a dominant 4-1 win over a ranked Wisconsin squad.
A week later on Sept. 13, it was Kiki Van Zanten who earned the offensive ACC nod. The senior scored in back-to-back games in wins over Purdue and Ohio, including a three-point performance against the latter.
RUBBER MATCH FROM 2021
Notre Dame and Clemson squared off twice in October in 2021 and split the matchups, which both took place in South Bend. The first one went to the Irish via a golden goal in double overtime. In the 107th-minute, Sammi Fisher placed a perfect free kick in the middle of Clemson’s box, where Eva Gaetino went full superman dive and headed the ball into the back of the net. It was Gaetino’s first career goal.
The second matchup was an ACC Tournament Quarterfinal. ND found itself in an early 2-0 hole and did its best to rally, pulling within one on two occasions, but the Tigers escaped with the 3-2 victory. Korbin Albert and Sammi Fisher tallied goals.
— ND —