May 10, 2017
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team will look to replicate the regular-season success it enjoyed in 2016 against one of the nation’s toughest schedules when the Fighting Irish kick off the 2017 season this fall.
The Irish announced the 2017 schedule Thursday, highlighted by 10-of-18 opponents who finished last season ranked within the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Top 25 or were receiving votes, and nine that qualified for last year’s NCAA Championship.
The Irish earned a share of the 2016 regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title, posting a 7-1-2 record in league play. They captured the No. 1 overall seed in the ACC Championships, advancing to the semifinals at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, and finishing the year with a No. 21 national ranking.
The 2017 slate includes nine regular-season match-ups at Alumni Stadium, while the Irish will travel to eight different campuses to take on nine opponents.
Notre Dame will get its first taste of competition with exhibitions matches against Purdue and Northwestern. The Irish will welcome the Boilermakers on August 9 and close out the exhibition slate at Evanston against a Wildcat team coming off a 16-3-4 season and NCAA Round of 16 appearance.
The regular season will commence at home against a pair of in-state opponents as the Irish welcomes Butler on August 18 and Ball State on August 20. Notre Dame will then travel to Iowa to take on a Minnesota team that finished the 2016 season ranked 15th nationally on August 25, as well as the host Hawkeyes on August 27.
The Irish will open September against South Carolina (Sept. 1) and Santa Clara (Sept. 3) at Alumni Stadium. The Gamecocks posted a 21-1-1 record in 2016, reached the NCAA quarterfinals and finished the season with a No. 5 record. The Broncos were also national quarterfinalists and wrapped up the season ranked No. 17.
Notre Dame will then hit the road for three games – at Ohio State (Sept. 8), at Toledo (Sept. 10) and at Clemson (2016 No. 12; Sept. 16) for the Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Matches against Duke (2016 No. 7; Sept. 21), NC State (2016 No. 24; Sept. 24) and Wake Forest (Sept. 29) will wrap up the month of September at home.
The Irish will open October on the road at Virginia (Oct. 5), the Cavaliers having earned a No. 11 ranking to close the 2016 season. Notre Dame will return home that Sunday to face Syracuse (Oct. 8), and then wrap up the home slate the next Saturday against Virginia Tech (Oct. 14).
The season will close out over the next two weeks on the road, when the Irish travel to Florida State (Oct. 19), Miami (Oct. 22) and North Carolina (Oct. 26). The Seminoles earned a season-ending No. 14 ranking, while the Tar Heels were 2016 NCAA semifinalists and are the highest ranking to end 2016 of any of Notre Dame’s 2017 opponents at No. 4.
The top eight ACC teams will once again compete for the conference championship, wrapping up the first weekend of November. The NCAA Championship will commence the following weekend, culminating in the 2017 Women’s College Cup at Orlando City Soccer Stadium, Dec. 1 and 3.
Season tickets for the 2017 season are now available, with an early bird rate available through July 31. Ticket packages are available at a 25 percent discount: $30 for adults, $22 for youth and seniors and $75 for a pack of four.
To buy tickets, contact the Murnane Family Ticket Office at 574-631-7356 or visit UND.com/buytickets.
2017 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer Schedule
All Times ET
August
9 — Purdue (Exhibition), 4 p.m.
13 — @ Northwestern (Exhibition), 1 p.m.
18 — Butler, 7 p.m.
20 — Ball State, 1:30 p.m.
25 — vs. Minnesota (@ Iowa), 5 p.m.
27 — @ Iowa, 2 p.m.
September
1 — South Carolina, 7 p.m.
3 — Santa Clara, Noon
8 — @ Ohio State, 7 p.m.
10 — @ Toledo, 1 p.m.
16 — @ Clemson*, 7 p.m.
21 — Duke*, 7 p.m.
24 — NC State*, 1 p.m.
29 — Wake Forest*, 5 p.m.
October
5 — @ Virginia*, 7 p.m.
8 — Syracuse*, 1 p.m.
14 — Virginia Tech*, 7 p.m.
19 — @ Florida State*, 7 p.m.
22 — @ Miami*, Noon
26 — @ North Carolina*, 6 p.m.
October 29-November 5 — ACC Championship
Opponents’ 2016 NSCAA Postseason Rankings
No. 4 North Carolina
No. 5 South Carolina
No. 7 Duke
No. 11 Virginia
No. 12 Clemson
No. 14 Florida State
No. 15 Minnesota
No. 17 Santa Clara
No. 18 Northwestern
No. 21 Notre Dame
No. 24 NC State
RV Ohio State
—
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.
–ND–
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.