A month ago the Irish were challenged in the early going by then No. 13 Arizona State, who took a 1-0 lead early in the game. It was the first time in the young season that the Irish had faced a deficit.
Now through their first thirteen games, there has not been a second time. The Irish rallied quickly against the Sun Devils, winning 3-1. Furthermore, they have not allowed more than two shots on goal in a game since, a stretch of ten games. In those ten games, the opposition has managed only a meager 13 shots, while the Irish have scored 31 goals.
The No. 2 Irish will look to continue that streak and their overall dominance as Georgetown and Miami pay visits to Alumni Field this weekend.
The Irish, now 12-0-1, will have revenge on their minds against the Hoyas, as they dropped a 4-3 decision last year despite current senior Amy Warner's second career hat-trick.
Based on past history, the Hoyas do not stand a good chance of duplicating their upset, with Notre Dame having won its past 46 home games against Big East opponents. Before last year, the Irish had won the first seven games in the series by a combined score of 55-1.
"Our mindset in all our Big East games is really to pound the opposition," midfielder Annie Schefter said. "Notre Dame has slipped in its dominance the past couple years and we want to show everyone that we're back. I think everyone who played [in the loss last year] remembered how terrible the game was. No one forgot that feeling."
The Hoyas, who ended up tied with Notre Dame in the Mid-Atlantic Division last season, stand at 0-3 in the Big East and 4-8 overall coming into their game against the Irish, which will be at 7 p.m. tonight.
The Irish will then play their seventh game in 15 days when they take on Miami on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Due to their depth, the Irish have been very strong when playing only two days after a previous game, going 7-0 while outscoring their opponents 22-2.
"Our depth plays a huge part in getting through this stretch," Schefter said. "By being able to play more people it helps keep everyone's legs fresh and the team's energy up. It's important mentally to with school being near midterms. It takes a toll dealing with the mental aspects of the game plus school."
The Irish rank fourth in the nation offensively and defensively, scoring an average of 3.54 goals per game while only giving up 0.33 on average in each contest. The Irish have only allowed two goals in their last 905 minutes of action, beginning with their game against Oklahoma.
Notes:
- Goalkeeper Erika Bohn's 0.33 goals-against average ranks fourth in the country
- Warner ranks fourth in the nation with 8 assists.
- Junior Mary Boland is fourteenth in goals (10) and tenth in points (24).
- Notre Dame's success comes despite seven Irish players having already missed a total of 70 games this season due to injury.
- Notre Dame has been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 at some point in nine of the last 11 seasons.
