SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 17 Notre Dame women’s soccer team is looking to make a statement on Sunday when No. 3 Florida State rolls into Alumni Stadium. The big ACC showdown will kick off at Noon ET and air nationally on ESPNU.
If victorious on Sunday, it would mark the first time in program history in which the Irish had knocked off two top-three teams in the regular season. In addition, Notre Dame has never beaten both Virginia and Florida State in the same season since joining the ACC in 2013.
A victory on Sunday would also hand Florida State its first loss in almost a year with their last defeat coming on Oct. 24, 2021, to Duke.
IRISH RESUME
In the updated RPI rankings on Oct. 3, the Irish moved up a spot to No. 3 behind UCLA and Pitt in that order. Notre Dame is 3-1 against the RPI Top-25, 4-2 against the Top-50 and 5-2 against the Top-100. The Irish boast three ranked wins on the season – No. 19 Saint Louis (road game), No. 22 Wisconsin and No. 2 Virginia.
Notre Dame’s strength of schedule ranks 10th in the country this week.
SHOTS ON SHOTS
Notre Dame is averaging 9.6 shots on goal per game, which ranks 6th nationally (1st in ACC). Overall, the Irish are averaging 20.9 shots per game, which ranks 5th nationally (1st in the ACC).
In comparison, Notre Dame is up 251-74 (20.9 vs 6.2) over the opposition in total shots. Shots on goal differential sits at 115-25 (9.6-2.1).
All those shots have led to 29 goals on the year, which ranks 28th in the nation, while the scoring offense (2.4) ranks 23rd.
Notre Dame’s ability to stretch the field has led to a national ranking of 7th in corner kicks (1st in ACC) – 7.6 per game. Notre Dame has scored twice off corners this season: Sept. 11 vs Ohio, a Gaetino header & Sept. 22 vs Virginia, a Mercado goal off a deflection.
Olivia Wingate — 13th in shots per game (4.1) // 3rd in shots on goal per game (2.7) // 10th in shot accuracy (0.653)
Maddie Mercado — 5th in game-winning goals (4) – most in ACC // 17th in shots on goal per game (2.1)
Mackenzie Wood — 10th in goals against average (.429) – 1st in the ACC
NOTABLE NOTES
The importance of scoring first? Well, the Irish are 10-0 when doing so. Both times ND has trailed this season at the half (both 1-0 scores at the time), they’ve suffered a loss.
The Irish backline of Gaetino, Hudson and Klenke have only allowed 25 shots on goal over 12 games – which equates to a stout 2.1 SOG per game. Even shots in…