| 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. – The road to the 2022 College Cup runs through South Bend and that road starts this Saturday when No. 1 seed Notre Dame (14-2-3) hosts Omaha (7-8-6). The Fighting Irish can host up to four games inside the friendly confines of Alumni Stadium where they have only dropped five matches since the start of the 2019 season. First touch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, with the game being streamed on ESPN+.
Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time by clicking here.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
For the 28th time over the last 30 years, Notre Dame women’s soccer is dancing in the NCAA Tourney. Notre Dame earned a No. 1 national seed for the first time since 2008.
Notre Dame’s overall postseason record sits at 70-23-4, which ranks as the third most wins behind UNC (139-17-4) and Florida State (72-18-4). UCLA is right behind with 69-21-5.
The Irish boast three NCAA championships, which is tied for second most – 1995, 2004, 2010 – and five runner-up finishes (1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008).
All-in-all, they’ve qualified for 12 College Cups and boast an 8-4 record in the Final Four round.
They have made a total of 15 appearances in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tourney. Thus, they are an impressive 12-3 in that round. However, the last time they made it to the quarters was 2012.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD ALSO …
mark Coach Norman’s best year at the helm, surpassing last year’s win total of 14.
ALBERT SAYS HI TO HERMANN TROPHY COMMITTEE
Korbin Albert has been a highlight reel down the stretch and she got everyone’s attention in the Florida State matchup on Nov. 3 in what was one of the best individual performances of the season of any player. Albert recorded her first career hat trick and the way she did it, you just need to see to believe:
To the @HermannTrophy committee members, @Korbinalbert2 says hi 👋. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/b4ZjuF6jAi
— ND Women's Soccer (@NDSoccer) November 4, 2022
Albert has scored an impressive 11 goals over the last eight games and earned her ACC Midfielder of the Year Award.
She boasts a team best 30 points on 13 goals and four assists.
Albert has scored in a variety of ways with many coming from outside the box. Speaking of which, she has three free-kick goals on the year.
Albert enters the tourney ranked 11th in the country in total goals and goals per game (both rank 1st in the ACC). She ranks 15th in the country in both toal points and points per game.
Albert also boasts four game-winning goals, which leads all ACC players
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Irish have made major statements all season long to boost their resume. Take this stat — 4-1-3 against the top-25.
Notre Dame defeated then No. 2 Virginia 1-0, No. 3 Florida State 4-0 and tied No. 11 Duke, No. 19 Pitt and No. 5 Florida State in the rematch.
Notre Dame has not lost a match since Sept. 25.
ND’s RPI was rated No. 4 entering the Tourney. They went 3-2-3 against the current RPI Top-25 and 7-2-3 against the Top-50.
Notre Dame earned two top-three wins during the regular season for the first time in program history.
The victory over FSU was its largest win against a top-3 program since Sept. 8, 2000 (6-1 win over #2 Santa Clara). Furthermore, the last time Florida State lost by 4 goals in an ACC matchup was on Oct. 15, 2002 against #2 UNC by a score of 5-1.
IRISH DOMINATE ACC AWARDS
The culmination of a fantastic regular season has led to not only the Irish claiming their first “of the Year” award in the program’s ACC era, but in fact several.
ACC Coach of the Year: Nate Norman
ACC Midfielder of the Year: Korbin Albert
ACC Defender of the Year: Eva Gaetino
Notre Dame also tied its most ever All-Conference selections (five prior in 2016 as well):
First Team: Olivia Wingate, Korbin Albert, Eva Gaetino
Third Team: Maddie Mercado, Mackenzie Wood
All-Freshman Team: Leah Klenke
HOLD THE LINE
The Irish backline of Hudson, Klenke and ACC Defender of the Year Eva Gaetino have only allowed 58 shots on goal over 19 games – which equates to a stout 3.1 SOG per game.
Six games this season the Irish backline has only allowed 1 SOG or fewer: NC State (Oct. 6), Boston College (9/30), Virginia (9/22), Saint Louis (8/25), Western Michigan (8/21) and Marquette (8/18).
Notre Dame’s defensive/goalie crew boasts 11 shutouts on the year. Their shutout percentage of 0.579 ranks 16th in the country.
Mackenzie Wood won the starting role and has been solid in net – her 0.623 GAA ranks 29th in the nation, 2nd in the ACC. Furthermore, she has collected 9 shutouts, which rank 21st in the nation and lead the ACC.
BREAKAWAY NUMBERS
The importance of scoring first? Well, the Irish are 14-0-1 and undefeated when doing so. Irish are also 9-0-1 when leading at the half.
Notre Dame is averaging 9.1 shots on goal per game, which ranks 7th nationally (1st in ACC). Overall, the Irish are averaging 19.8 shots per game, which ranks 7th nationally (1st in the ACC).
In comparison, shots on goal differential sit at 172-58.
All those shots have led to 45 goals on the year and a scoring offense (2.4) that ranks 13th in the nation (2nd in ACC).
Olivia Wingate — 4th in SOG per game, 1st in ACC (2.4) // 25th in total points, 3rd in ACC (27).
Maddie Mercado — 29th in game-winning goals, 1st in ACC (4).
Korbin Albert — 29th in game-winning goals, 1st in ACC (4) // 11th in total goals, 1st in ACC (13) // 15th in total points, 2nd in ACC (30)
HOME SWEET HOME
The Irish have made Alumni Stadium a difficult venue for opposing programs to succeed in. Since its creation in 2009, Notre Dame has gone 116-28-8.
This year the Irish have gone 8-1-2 inside Alumni. Last season, Notre Dame went 10-1-1. Therefore, Notre Dame is 18-2-3 at home over its past two seasons. Since the start of the 2019 season, the Irish are 30-5-4 at home!
— ND —