NOTRE DAME, Indiana — Fresh off a 4-0 home win over Pittsburgh, the Notre Dame women’s soccer teams hit the road to take on another top-10 opponent this weekend. The Irish head south to Chapel Hill to face off with one of their most frequent foes, the fourth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels.
Know the Opponent: North Carolina Tar Heels
- Two of the most storied programs in women’s soccer will meet for the 29th time in school history Thursday night at Alumni Stadium.
- The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 17-8-3 but the Irish hold a 5-3-1 edge in games played in Chapel Hill.
- The Tar Heels are Notre Dame’s second most common opponent behind UConn but these two teams have met 10 different times in the NCAA Tournament, with a number of those occasions being in the College Cup.
- The Irish and Tar Heels have met five times in the College Cup final and twice in the College Cup semifinal. The Irish knocked off North Carolina 4-1 in the 2010 College Cup semifinal en route to the program’s third national title.
- Last season at Alumni Stadium, the third-ranked Tar Heels edged the Irish 2-1. North Carolina scored the game winning goal in the 86th minute after the match was level for most of the night. Karin Muya scored the equalizer early in the 11th minute to level the score at 1-1 until Otto scored the game-winner.
- Last time the Irish traveled to Chapel Hill, the two teams squared off at WakeMed Soccer Park and played to a 1-1 draw in the ACC regular season finale for both teams. After a scoreless first half, Sandra Yu connected with Jennifer Westendorf for Notre Dame’s goal. Yu played a ball up towards the top of the box where a streaking Westendorf out-ran her defender and beat the goalie to the left side for the goal. The Tar Heels broke through in the final minute for their goal to secure a 1-1 draw.
Irish Facts and Figures
- Notre Dame will hit the road for their third top-10 opponent this season when they face off with No. 4 North Carolina.
- The Irish are in line to play five top-10 teams this season and all five matchups are slated on the road.
- Nine different players have scored so far this season through the first 10 games. Only eight different players scored during the entire 2018 campaign.
- The Irish have four 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. Kiki Van Zanten was the latest Irish to tally a brace in the win over Pitt.
- Eva Hurm scored her team-leading fourth goal in the win over Pitt.
- Luisa Delgado leads the team in points (10) and assists (4). She has started all but one game this season after missing the entire 2018 season due to injury.
Van Zanten’s Brace Leads Irish Over Pitt
- The Irish had another strong offensive performance Thursday night in the 4-0 win over Pitt.
- It was the third game this season with four goals at home and all three games were shutouts.
- The Irish recorded their sixth shutout of the season and have only allowed seven goals in 10 games.
- The Irish defense only allowed one shot on the night and it did not reach frame, the third game this season they have not allowed a shot on goal.
- Brooke Littman was in net and tallied her third shutout of the season. She has only allowed one goal in 360:00 of play.
- Kiki Van Zanten scored twice making the fourth Irish player this season with a brace.
- With the win, the Irish improved to 4-1 at home and have outscored opponents 15-3 in those games.
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