ND Women’s Soccer
Irish lace up to continue stellar season against Miami
Madeline Ladd | Thursday, September 23, 2021
The Notre Dame women’s soccer team will make their way down to Coral Gables, Florida this Thursday for a match against the Miami Hurricanes.
The Fighting Irish women escape the South Bend weather and enter sunny Florida off the back of a win against the Syracuse Orange this past weekend. A strong way to start off their first ACC Opener, the Irish claimed a Saturday night victory via a 4-0 shutout in Alumni Stadium. Notre Dame has a 10-0-0 all-time against Syracuse at home, and a 17-0-1 against the Orange overall.
The freshman class had a strong showing this past Saturday against Syracuse and are starting to make some waves. Freshman defender Katie Coyle stood out under the lights with her first career goal and assist of the season. Coyle has started in place of injured senior defender Brianna Martinez but has been able to deliver for the Irish. Fellow freshman midfielder Sophia Fisher has also been making a name for herself in the game, capturing a goal against the Orange. Fisher scored her first goal and game-winning point at Marquette, and now has five points on the sheet with two goals and one assist.
Graduate student midfielder Sammi Fisher also lived up to her title as the leading goal scorer for the Irish by drawing first blood in the game. Fisher has been a key player for Notre Dame with her seven total goals throughout the season. Four of these goals were game-winners against Syracuse, Brown, Wisconsin and Bowling Green, ranking her first in the nation. She will certainly be one to watch as the Irish look to continue their three-game win streak on Thursday.
This will be the 10th game played this season for the Fighting Irish women as they fight to improve in the ranks. After heading into ACC play with a top-25 ranking from Top Drawer Soccer, the Irish have moved up two spots to No. 22 heading into their match against Miami. The Irish’s record of 7-1-1, falling only to Missouri earlier this month, has made it Coach Nate Norman’s best start to the season since his time at Notre Dame. In 2019, the Irish started out 6-0-0 but quickly broke the streak right after.
The last time the Hurricanes and the Irish faced off was last September, with Notre Dame claiming the victory in a 6-0 blowout. This was the biggest conference win since the Irish joined the ACC in 2013.
Notre Dame will face off with Miami tomorrow night at 5 p.m. E.T. at Cobb Stadium. The game will be broadcasted on RSN, specifically the Marquee Network for local South Bend viewers.
