Oct. 8, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team looks to return to the win column when the No. 16/11 Irish welcome Syracuse to Alumni Stadium on Thursday. The game will be the first of a three-game homestand for the Irish, who have played three of their last four games on the road.
WHAT: Match 12
WHO: No. 16/11 Notre Dame (8-3-1, 1-3-0 ACC) vs. Syracuse (4-8-1, 0-4-0 ACC)
WHERE: Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
WHEN: 7:00 p.m. (ET) – October 8, 2015
LIVE STREAM: ESPN3
STATS:
TWITTER: @NDSoccer
GAME NOTES
Below, find the five things you should know as the Irish and Orange clash later this evening:
Scouting Syracuse
The Orange have struggled defensively this season, particularly in during their current four-game losing streak. In that stretch, Syracuse has been outscored 12-2, with three losses coming against ranked opponents. The Orange are also 1-6-0 away from home this season.
Syracuse boasts four top scorers, with Alexis Koval, Maya Pitts, Alex Lamontagne and Stephanie Skilton registering three goals each. Koval leads the bunch with 10 points on the season.
Courtney Brosnan has started all 13 matches in goal for Syracuse and has a GAA of 1.49 with 51 saves and a .718 saves percentage.
Irish In The Series
The Irish have never dropped a game to the Orange in 11 contests and have notched eight shutouts in the series history, including in the last four straight meetings. Notre Dame has allowed just three goals in the history of the series, owning a whopping 41-3 scoring edge. Today’s match will be the fourth in five meetings contested on Notre Dame’s home field.
The Last Time They Met
It took a second-half breakthrough for the Irish to get past Syracuse in last season’s 2-0 road victory, but the Irish had the pressure on the Orange all afternoon at the SU Soccer Stadium. Notre Dame outshot Syracuse 30-2, including 19-1 in the second half. Current senior Cari Roccaro delivered the game-winner in the 69th minute for the Irish, while current junior Kaleigh Olmsted added an insurance goal 10 minutes later.
Last Time Out: Miami
The Irish went into Coral Gables with hopes to return to .500 in ACC play against the Hurricanes, but were instead reminded of the rigors of the nation’s best soccer conference as Miami came away with a 1-0 victory in double overtime.
The Irish had controlled the tempo of the game throughout, particularly in the second half and both overtime periods. Notre Dame outshot Miami 16-6, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal, but couldn’t find the back of the net despite numerous good-looking chances. Miami broke through on the counterattack in the 106th minute when junior forward Gracie Lachowecki sprang free and poked a through ball past goalkeeper Kaela Little. Irish senior Anna Maria Gilbertson led all players with seven shots.
Stacking Up
At No. 16, the Irish are one of six Atlantic Coast Conference teams to appear in the NSCAA Division I Women’s Soccer poll, along with No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Virginia, No. 7 Clemson and No. 9 Virginia Tech. They rank near the top of the ACC in most defensive categories, including third place in goals against average (0.55), fourth place in goals allowed (7) and a fourth-place tie in shutouts (6).
Individually, Anna Maria Gilbertson leads the league in shots (63) and shots per game (5.25), while ranking third in goals (7) and tying for fourth in points (16). Natalie Jacobs ranks sixth in shots (41) and seventh in shots per game (3.42). Kaela Little is sixth in the league in goals against average (0.58) (all stats as of 10/7/15).
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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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