The Notre Dame women’s soccer team will be looking to win its fourth consecutive game Thursday, hosting Wake Forest. Following a 5-0 season opening defeat on the road to Florida State, the Irish (3-1, 3-1 ACC) have bounced back with three consecutive wins.
However, the three teams the Irish defeated, Miami, Boston College and Syracuse, are a combined 0-11 to start the season. Wake Forest (1-4-1, 1-3-1 ACC) is also near the bottom of the standings, notching just one win thus far. The Irish are ranked 14th in the country, according to the United Soccer Coaches Poll. It is the only poll this season due to the number of universities not playing fall sports.
Including this matchup, Notre Dame has just four games left until the ACC championship tournament, which begins Nov. 10 in Cary, North Carolina. The top eight regular season teams qualify, and with just an eight-game season, each match means a great deal. The Irish have two more home games, before finishing the season with two games on the road. Last year, the Irish were defeated in the first round by eventual conference champions North Carolina.
Notre Dame will likely continue to rely on the production of forwards Kiki Van Zanten and Sammi Fisher. Van Zanten, a sophomore, has played exceptionally through four games, scoring six goals. She scored once in each half in the Irish’s 2-0 win against Syracuse in the Irish’s last time out and scored a hat trick in the Irish’s 6-0 win over Miami. Van Zanten is second in the nation in goals scored.
Fisher, a senior, has also been impressive so far, scoring three times, including a brace in win over Miami. Notre Dame is third in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 2.5 goals per outing. Junior goalkeeper Mattie Interian has played well; since the loss to Florida State, she hasn’t conceded a goal while making five saves.
Wake Forest scored five goals this season while conceding 14. The Demon Deacons are led by senior forward Ryanne Brown, who has scored twice this year. They are 0-2-1 on the road, while the Irish are 2-0 at home. The Irish, who haven’t played since their 2-0 home win over Syracuse on Oct. 4, will be well rested for this game, whereas the Demon Deacons are coming off of a 2-0 road loss to Clemson on Sunday.
The match kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Alumni Stadium. Continuing with University policy, no fans will be permitted, but the game will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
