April 20, 2016

By Joanne Norell

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In what has become a near-annual tradition, the University of Notre Dame soccer programs will play host to Mexico national teams in a twin bill Friday at Alumni Stadium.

Both the Fighting Irish men and women will compete in spring friendlies with the Mexico’s respective U-20 squads, with the women’s match slated for 5 p.m. ET, followed by the men’s match at 7:30 p.m. ET. Both contests will stream live on ESPN3.

The match will close out the spring slate for the Irish women, who have compiled a 4-1-0 record to this point, with their only loss coming to the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL.

Irish sophomore Monica Flores played for the Mexico Women's National Team this winter and will meet her national team on the field Friday when the Irish host the U-20 squad at Alumni Stadium.

Irish sophomore Monica Flores played for the Mexico Women’s National Team this winter and will meet her national team on the field Friday when the Irish host the U-20 squad at Alumni Stadium.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our team to finish our spring with a game against Mexico,” Irish head coach Theresa Romagnolo said. “They have a long tradition of coming to Notre Dame each spring and it’s a wonderful event for our soccer fans to be a part of. Our team is growing with each opportunity and we are excited to finish the spring with this challenge.”

This year’s women’s match will reunite Irish sophomore Monica Flores with her national team teammates, as the Livingston, New Jersey, native was a key cog for the Mexico U-20s this winter at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, in which the team placed third. The finish earned Mexico a spot at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea.

Flores went on to receive a call-up from the full Mexico Women’s National Team, with which she trained and competed throughout the Olympic qualifying cycle. Mexico ultimately missed the cut.

General admission tickets are available for $5 for youth/seniors and $8 for adults. Reserved seating may be purchased for an additional $5/seat while supplies last. For tickets, visit the Murnane Family Ticket Office, purchase online, or call (574)-631-7356.

For the latest Fighting Irish women’s soccer coverage, be sure log on to UND.com, follow @NDSoccer on Twitter and like Notre Dame Women’s Soccer on Facebook.

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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.