SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Pull out the Thanksgiving leftovers, cozy up on the couch and get ready for some high-stakes Notre Dame women’s soccer. The fourth-seeded Fighting Irish will be competing for a spot in the 2024 College Cup on Friday. In order to book their first ticket to the Final Four since 2010 they’ll have to take down Stanford on the Cardinal’s pitch. That match will kick off at 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 29 on ESPN+.
One last tune-up in the Bend. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/HYJdzl3CdI
— Notre Dame Women’s Soccer (@NDSoccer) November 27, 2024
REMATCH WITH STANFORD
Both groups on Friday are different teams than what they were on Oct. 20; but on that faithful day, the Irish came out flying against the Cardinal and shut them out 3-0 in South Bend.
Izzy Engle drew a penalty kick in the 50th minute in which Leah Klenke converted. Then Engle scored off a cross from Morgan Roy in the 66th minute. Just 2.5 minutes later, Ellie Hodsden put the exclamation mark on the game. Lily Joseph and Ellie Ospeck connected on a great passing combo on the left side, as the latter crossed into Hodsden who tucked it away from the six-yard box.
With that win, the Irish took an 8-7-3 lead in the series. However, Notre Dame has never won at Stanford – 0-4-2 to be exact.
This will mark the fourth time the two have squared off in the NCAA Tournament. 2010 was also the last time Notre Dame faced Stanford in the NCAA Tournament and it was a 1-0 Irish victory to win the national title.
BY THE NUMBERS – IRISH NCAA HISTORY
- For the 30th time over the last 32 years, Notre Dame women’s soccer qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
- Notre Dame’s overall postseason record sits at 77-25-4. Their 77 victories passed UCLA (75) for the third most and rank only behind Florida State (78) and UNC (148).
- Notre Dame is a seeded team for the fourth consecutive year, earning the four-seed in the bottom-right quadrant. The past four seasons under Doug & Lisa Jones Head Coach Nate Norman: Sweet 16 in 2021, Elite Eight in 2022, 2nd Round in 2023 and now at least an Elite Eight in 2024.
- The Irish will be making their 17th all-time appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They are an impressive 12-4 in that round.
- Thus, they’ve qualified for 12 College Cups with their last being in 2010. They are 8-4 in the Semifinal round.
- The Irish boast three NCAA championships, which is tied for second most – 1995, 2004, 2010 – and five runner-up finishes (1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008).