FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The dance continues for the third-seeded Notre Dame women’s soccer squad as they head to Razorback Field this weekend as second-seeded Arkansas hosts a four-team regional for the NCAA Second & Third Rounds. Up first, the Fighting Irish (12-3-4) will look to end Memphis’ 16-match win streak this Friday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m. ET. If victorious, the Irish will play the winner of Pitt vs. Arkansas on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- For the 29th time over the last 31 years, Notre Dame women’s soccer qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
- Notre Dame’s overall postseason record sits at 74-24-4. Their 74 victories are tied for third most with UCLA (74-22-6) and rank only behind Florida State (77-19-4) and UNC (145-18-4).
- Irish are an impressive 51-4-1 at home in the NCAA Tournament after the win over Valpo in the first round.
- That 2-0 Valop win also gave the Irish their 50th all-time clean sheet in the NCAA Tournament.
- Notre Dame earned a third seed or higher for the third consecutive year.
THE FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL
- This weekend, the Irish will experience a first and a lot of deja vu at the same time.
- The first is a matchup with Memphis. The two sides have never met on the pitch before.
- That sense of deja vu – the other two teams in the regional and the location. Just two years ago, Notre Dame traveled to Fayetteville as a three seed and fought its way to the Round of 16 to square off against two-seed Arkansas. The Razorbacks took that one 3-2 to advance.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
For starters, with two wins in Fayetteville, the Irish could qualify for their second straight NCAA Quarterfinal round and 17th overall.
Retribution – I mentioned how Notre Dame has played Pitt and Arkansas already this season – well both those games ended in ties. On Aug 27, the Irish scored first against the Razorbacks but then found themselves trailing 2-1 for a majority of the second half. Ellie Ospeck then scored the equalizer in the 85th minute. Against Pitt, it was the exact opposite. Notre Dame went ahead in the 60th minute off of a Kristina Lynch goal and then Pitt had the equalizer in the 83rd minute.
EYES ON IRISH
- Ranked in the top-10, with an RPI in the top-12, for the latter half of the season, the Irish enter the NCAA Tournament with an 11-3-4 record. Notre Dame finished in second place in the always-tough ACC, producing a record of 7-1-2.
- The Irish recorded a 2-2-1 record against ranked opposition, which included wins…