CARY, N.C. – The time is now for the Notre Dame women’s soccer team. Postseason play is upon us and the Irish have earned the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. As a result, they jumped straight to the semifinal round at WakeMed Stadium Thursday night. The opponent – none other than the team they played just this past week in the regular-season finale – Clemson. The Irish claimed that initial encounter, 2-0.
Thursday’s match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. If the Irish win, it would mark their first appearance in an ACC Tournament championship match.
IRISH A NO. 2 SEED
- This marks the third straight year Notre Dame achieved seven wins in ACC play and sixth time overall. It also tied their league-high win mark.
- It’s the first time they’ve been the No. 2 seed and it’s their highest seeding since 2016, when they had their lone No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
- The Irish are 1-7-2 all-time in the ACC Tournament. They’ve appeared in the semis three times (2014, 2016, 2022) and its lone win was a quarterfinal matchup in 2016.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE
- Notre Dame joined the league back in 2013 and are searching for its first appearance in the ACC Tournament Championship game.
- Also, looking at the bigger picture that is the NCAA Tournament, if the Irish can knock off Clemson again, it would almost guarantee Notre Dame being a top-8 team and earning a No. 2 seed. Therefore, that means the Irish will host three games in South Bend until the quarterfinal round. The NCAA Tournament seeding committee had the Irish at No. 9 and the Tigers at No. 8 before the last week of the regular season when ND beat Clemson 2-0.
GOAL SCORERS FROM ALL OVER
- Last season, 47 of the team’s 56 goals came from Korbin Albert, Olivia Wingate, Mercado and Van Zanten.
- This season’s stats allude to the depth and balanced attack Coach Norman has at his disposal. Currently, six players boast four goals or more. All-in-all there have been 11 different goal scorers for the Irish — four of which have been freshmen — all equating for 40 goals.
- It is three grad players who lead the way –> Mercado (7), Van Zanten (6) and Lynch (6). Ellie Ospeck, Meg Mrowicki and All-American defender Eva Gaetino follow right behind them with four goals.
POINTS SPREAD
- Heading into this week’s game, seven players now boast 11 points or more– Mercado, Ospeck, Mrowicki, Van Zanten, Lynch, Gaetino, Klenke. It marks a career high for everyone except Mercado and Van…