NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team heads off for its toughest challenge of the season when the Irish square off with No. 7 South Carolina Thursday night. Both the Irish (6-0) and the seventh-ranked Gamecocks (5-0) are undefeated through the first three weeks of the season and both have had strong defensive efforts early in the 2019 campaign. Both teams enter the matchup conceding just one goal and the Gamecocks have had four straight shutouts while the Irish have had three consecutive shutouts.
Know the Opponent: South Carolina Gamecocks
- Notre Dame and South Carolina will meet for just the second time in school history Thursday night at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.
- In the only previous matchup between the two teams, the Gamecocks edged the Irish, 1-0 in 2OT, on Sept. 1, 2017 at Alumni Stadium.
- Four current Irish played in the previous meeting against the Gamecocks, Brooke Littman got the start in net and Shannon Hendricks also played all 101 minutes. Eva Hurm and Sammi Fisher both got the start as well and played 89 and 86 minutes, respectively.
- The Irish are 7-2-2 all-time against the SEC and this will be the first time they have faced off against an SEC opponent since the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
- The Irish tied No. 2 seed Texas A&M and advanced on PK’s (4-1) in the second round of the tournament in College Station on Nov. 17, 2017.
- The win snapped the Aggies 14-game winning streak and advanced the Irish to the third round of the tournament for the first time since 2014.
Irish Facts and Figures
- Notre Dame heads into Thursday’s matchup with a six-game winning streak to begin the season for the first time since 2008.
- Notre Dame ranks in the top-10 nationally in two categories after the first three weeks of play, third in goals against average (0.167) and seventh in save percentage (0.929).
- The Irish have only allowed one goal through the first six games, the fewest since 2008.
- With a win against South Carolina, the Irish will pick up their first top-10 road win since Sept. 24, 2015 when they defeated No. 1 Virginia 2-1 in Charlottesville.
- Eight different players have scored so far this season for the Irish which ties the number of goal scorers from the entire 2018 season.
- The Irish have only allowed one goal through the first six games, the fewest since 2008.
- The Irish have a trio of players that have tallied a brace so far this season. Eva Hurm and Luisa Delgado scored twice against Northwestern and Autumn Smithers scored both goals against Western Michigan. Hurm currently leads the team with three goals.
Hurm’s Volley Pushes Irish Past Golden Grizzlies
- The Irish closed out their Michigan road swing with a 1-0 win Sunday over Oakland at Oakland Soccer Field.
- In the first meeting between the two schools in Rochester, Eva Hurm’s tally in the 31st minute was the only score from either team as both defenses get opportunities at a minimum.
- The Irish held the Golden Grizzlies without a shot for the entire game to pick up their third shutout in a row and fifth of the season.
- It is the fewest shots in a game since the Irish allowed just one in a 1-0 win over Syracuse on Oct. 8, 2015.
- It is the second game this season that the Irish have not allowed a shot on goal. In the 4-0 win over St. John’s, they allowed three shots but none of them reached target.
Van Zanten’s Late Goal Lifts Irish Over Wolverines
- The Irish faced off with one of their fiercest rivals Friday night in Ann Arbor when they took on the Wolverines for the first time since 2016.
- It was a back and forth affair for most of the match as both teams had sustained runs with a number of chances.
- Mattie Interian made two crucial stops in the first half to keep the score level after the Wolverines mounted a strong counter-attack.
- In the second half, the Irish had sustained more pressure and it paid off in the final minutes.
- Luisa Delgado contained the throw in and sent a pass up towards Jenna Winebrenner. The pass set up Winebrenner for the cross towards the far post in the box where Kiki Van Zanten lost her defender and headed the ball into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
- It was Van Zanten’s first career goal and she was the eighth different Irish athlete to score this season.
- Interian finished the night with a season-high four saves and the sophomore keeper has not allowed a goal in 270:00 of play this season.
—ND—