November 22, 1998

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The fourth-seeded Notre Dame women’s soccer team learned its NCAA championship quarterfinal opponent on Sunday when fifth-seeded Portland blanked unseeded San Diego State 5-0. If the Irish are named the host of the game as expected, Notre Dame and Portland will square off on Sat., Nov. 28, at noon at Alumni Field. After beating Nebraska 2-1 on Friday in the NCAA third round, the Irish will be playing for a spot in their fifth consecutive NCAA semifinal. Notre Dame enters with a 21-2-1 record while Portland is 18-2-2.

Notre Dame and Portland have played six times, all one-goal games, and the Irish have won last five games. The Pilots’ only win came in the only time they have played Notre Dame at Alumni Field, a 2-1 game in 1992. Three of the meetings came in the NCAA championships. Notre Dame won 1-0 in the semifinals at Portland in 1994, 1-0 in triple overtime in the championship game in 1995 at North Carolina and 3-2 in the semifinals in 1996 at Santa Clara. The last meeting came on Sept. 7, 1997, when Notre Dame won 1-0 at Portland.