Oct. 10, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame will look to complete a weekend sweep at Alumni Stadium when they welcome Boston College on Sunday. The Irish are aiming to return to .500 in Atlantic Coast Conference play when they take on the Eagles in the afternoon matchup.
WHAT: Match 13
WHO: No. 16/11 Notre Dame (9-3-1, 2-3-0 ACC) vs. Boston College (9-4-1, 3-1-1 ACC)
WHERE: Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
WHEN: 1:00 p.m. (ET) – October 11, 2015
LIVE STREAM: ESPN3
STATS:
TWITTER: @NDSoccer
GAME NOTES
Here are the five things you should know as the Irish get set to tangle with the Eagles:
Scouting Boston College
Though the Eagles give up an average of 15 shots per game, Boston College has held opponents to just 1.07 goals per contest and outscored foes 25-15 so far this season. BC is 3-1-1 since conference play started, with wins over Louisville, NC State and Pittsburgh, a tie with Duke and a loss to North Carolina.
McKenzie Meehan leads the Eagles with 11 goals and 22 points this season, while Hayley Dowd has seven scores. Meehan is tied for the league lead in goals and trails only Notre Dame’s Anna Maria Gilbertson in shots. Alexis Bryant has made the last five starts in goal for the Eagles and has made nine total appearances in the net this season. She has a 1.15 GAA with 46 saves and a 0.821 saves percentage.
Irish In The Series
Notre Dame holds an 11-1-1 record over Boston College, but the Irish will look to get back on the winning track against the Eagles after playing to a 1-1 (2OT) draw last season in Newton, Massachusetts. The Irish have outscored the Eagles 31-7 in the series and have notched seven shutouts in 13 all-time meetings. Four times did Notre Dame and Boston College square off in a BIG EAST Championship semifinal, with the Irish owning a 3-1 advantage in those contests. BC is off to an 9-4-1 start this season, including a 3-1-1 mark in conference play.
The Last Time They Met
The Irish closed out the regular season at Boston College in 2014, playing to a 1-1, double-overtime draw on a cold and rainy afternoon in Newton, Massachusetts. Notre Dame outshot BC 18-9, including a 6-0 edge in overtime, and a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks. The lone Irish goal of the game came off one of those corner kick attempts, when Katie Naughton headed home the service by Brittany Von Rueden in the 63rd minute. BC tied the game on a rebound off the cross bar in the 79th minute. Cari Roccaro nearly won the game with a chance off a through ball, but her streaking shot was saved by BC’s Alex Johnson
Last Time Out: Syracuse
The Irish saw a rhythm return to their offense Thursday as they dominated Syracuse in a 1-0 victory at Alumni Stadium. Despite the one-goal margin, the Irish outshot the Orange by a whopping 18-1 margin, including 6-0 in shots on goal. They got all the offense they needed in the 16th minute when junior Sandra Yu headed home a perfectly placed cross from sophomore Monica Flores off the back post. Senior Anna Maria Gilbertson led all players with seven shots, while sophomore Sabrina Flores set a new career high with five shots on the night.
Next Up: Wake Forest
The Irish will close out their three-game homestand next Friday when they welcome the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest to Alumni Stadium. Notre Dame is 4-0-1 all-time against the Demon Deacons, including a 1-0 Irish win last season in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wake Forest will host Virginia Tech and Virginia this weekend before making the trip to South Bend.
Also taking place next Friday will be the program’s 1995 National Championship reunion. Members of that first Irish championship squad will return to campus for the women’s soccer game against Wake Forest and the football game against USC. The team will be honored on the field at halftime of Friday’s soccer game and during the course of Saturday’s football game. It will be the second time the Irish will honor a member or members of its 1995 team this season, as World Cup Champion Shannon Boxx (’99) was honored at the UMass football game and Florida State women’s soccer game September 26th & 27th.
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Season and single game tickets for Notre Dame women’s soccer are on sale now. Visit UND.com/tickets or call the Murnane Family Ticket Office at 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.
— Joanne Norell, Athletics Communications Assistant
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