Head coach Randy Waldrum will lead the #8 Fighting Irish into their inaugural ACC regular-season match at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday against North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C.

Notre Dame Women's Soccer Announces 2013 Spring Schedule

March 19, 2013

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Six home matches, including international friendly with the Mexican and Haitian National Teams, spotlight a challenging seven-game training schedule for the Notre Dame women’s soccer team this spring, head coach Randy Waldrum announced Tuesday.

The Fighting Irish will open their spring schedule on Saturday (March 23), traveling to Fort Wayne, Ind., for a 7 p.m. (ET) match against Michigan State as the featured contest in the eighth annual University of Saint Francis Spring Fling at USF’s Bishop D’Arcy Stadium. Admission is a $5 donation to Mad Anthony Lutheran Children’s Hospital Hope House in Fort Wayne, with tickets are available at the stadium on match day.

Notre Dame and Michigan State have met 13 times during the traditional fall season, with the Fighting Irish holding an 11-2 edge in the series. Notre Dame won its most recent match against the Spartans, 1-0 on Nov. 16, 2008, in the second round of the NCAA Championship at Old Alumni Field.

The Fighting Irish then return home April 3 to take on professional club Chicago Red Stars (a member of the newly-formed National Women’s Soccer League) at 7 p.m. (ET) inside Alumni Stadium. That match will be the nightcap in a women’s soccer doubleheader at Alumni Stadium, with Mexico and Haiti tangling in the opener at 4:30 p.m. (ET).

Two nights later on April 5, Notre Dame will get its chance to take on Mexico at Alumni Stadium, also scheduled for a 7 p.m. (ET) kickoff. The Fighting Irish have faced various squads from the Mexican national team program for many years, having posted a 5-2-1 record against Las Tri since 2001. However, Mexico won the most recent match between the clubs, 4-1 on April 23, 2010, at Alumni Stadium.

The next afternoon on April 6, Notre Dame will play host to a pair of “mini-matches” on its practice ground, located on Twyckenham Road on the eastern edge of the Notre Dame campus. The exact pairings have not yet been determined, but Iowa, IPFW, Grand Valley State will be the other participating schools in the four-team event, with matches taking place at 10 a.m. (ET) and 2:30 p.m. (ET).

The following weekend on April 13, Notre Dame returns home to take on Southeastern Conference member Kentucky, with the teams set for a 1 p.m. (ET) contest at the Fighting Irish practice field. Notre Dame won the only time the two schools met in fall competition, taking a 9-0 decision on Oct. 14, 1992, at old Alumni Field. Admission for this year’s contest between the Fighting Irish and Wildcats is free (as are all matches played at the team’s practice field).

The final match of the 2013 Notre Dame spring schedule comes at 5 p.m. (ET) on April 26, when the Fighting Irish play host to the Haitian National Team at Alumni Stadium. Haiti is led by head coach Shek Borkowski, who achieved tremendous success through his leadership at FC Indiana, a professional club that had its roots in nearby Goshen, Ind., through 2006 and now is based in Indianapolis. Last season, Notre Dame and Haiti met at Alumni Stadium, with the Fighting Irish earning a 2-1 victory behind a pair of goals from current sophomore forward Lauren Bohaboy (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita).

The friendly with Haiti on April 26 will be the opener in an international doubleheader at Alumni Stadium, with the Fighting Irish men slated to face one of Mexico’s youth national teams in the nightcap.

Admission ($5 adults, $3 youth/senior, free for children ages three and under) will be charged for all home matches at Alumni Stadium. Groups may also purchase tickets at a discounted rate of $2 each, while Notre Dame soccer season ticket holders, faculty, staff and students, as well as Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross College students are admitted free. The Alumni Stadium gates will open one hour prior to kickoff for all scheduled events, and for the scheduled doubleheader events (April 3 and April 26), one ticket is good for both matches.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Notre Dame’s Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356; UND.com/tickets) during normal business hours.

For more information on the Fighting Irish women’s soccer program, follow Notre Dame on Twitter (@NDsoccer or @NDsoccernews), like the Fighting Irish on Facebook (facebook.com/NDWomenSoccer) or sign up for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the main page at UND.com.

— ND —