This season Notre Dame women’s soccer will look to build off its best season yet under head coach Nate Norman with a largely retained core and some key transfer additions.
The Irish’ resurgence will likely begin at the back, as all three starting center backs from the 2021 campaign return. The Irish enjoyed one of the ACC’s best goals-against records last season, allowing more than one goal in a game just three times all year (with only one of those games coming in regular season play). Junior midfielder Eva Gaetino should anchor the unit, directing traffic as the central defender in the trio and a common starting hub for the long switching balls Notre Dame likes to send forward. She’ll be flanked by senior defender Waniya Hudson and junior defender Eva Wirtz, both of whom have established themselves as consistent forces along the backline.
Supplementing a well-stocked center back depth chart even further is sophomore KJ Ronan, who emerged in 2021 as Norman’s preferred substitute. Typically, Norman would look to Ronan as an additional defensive steel to late games or when his traditional three starters needed a rest.
Behind that rock-solid backline, however, is one of the first major decisions Norman must make before conference play starts. Currently, the Irish don’t have an established starter at goalkeeper, with junior Ashley Naylor and graduate transfer Mackenzie Wood each earning one start in the team’s first two games.
It’s not for a lack of confidence in either option. Naylor proved one of the conference’s better keepers over the back half of the 2021 season after she stepped in for an injured Mattie Interian, and Wood started for four years at Northwestern. But through just two games, with the pair having faced a combined zero shots on target, there’s no clear indicator of who the better option is.
“I think the reality is at this point, we can’t come to that conclusion yet,” Norman said. “We need some games where maybe they get tested a little bit more. But there’s probably not a lot we can tell from these first two games.”
One area where Notre Dame has been able to make some evaluations about where they stand heading into 2022 has been the midfield. The loose alignment of five players that make up the most crucial element of Norman’s preferred 3-5-2 formation is made up of a unique mix of experienced veterans and young talent.
Generally starting at the base of the midfield in most games has been freshman Leah Klenke, who exploded onto the scene with a goal and an assist in her first two games with the Irish. Though it's unclear whether her long-term home is at the “6” position, with Norman having also given her stints at center back as well as further up the pitch, the rookie seems a natural replacement for now-graduated defensive midfielder Camryn Dyke.
“She’s just an ultra-talented player,” said Norman. “She can get the ball, she’s a great defender, she covers area, she moves [the ball], she can run at people, she can play on the back line. She’s just been tremendous from the start. She came in and earned it and I’m happy to give her that time.”
Aside from Klenke, much of the midfield for the Irish remains consistent from last season. Graduate student Brianna Martinez and senior Kati Druzina are both multi-year starters who have earned the trust of the Irish staff to have a large amount of creativity and responsibility in wingback roles. And with both sophomore Katie Coyle and freshman Berkley Mensik looking like promising options off the bench, Notre Dame should be able to rotate with confidence out wide.
At the tip of the spear for the midfield will be sophomore Korbin Albert. Perhaps the most dynamic attacking midfielder in the ACC, Albert has started to put together a very real case to be the top pick in the 2025 NWSL draft. The sophomore can do it all for the Irish, an excellent dribbler and passer with perhaps the best shooting range on the team, Albert is the obvious choice to be the focal point of the Notre Dame attack.
The question the Irish must now answer is: Who partners her? Her fellow attacking midfielder in 2021, Maddie Mercado, is now playing center forward (more on that in a bit). Laney Matriano started in her absence and looked solid, but she lacks top-level experience as a freshman. Kiki van Zanten is coming off a summer to remember — with the senior scoring the goal at CONCACAF championships that helped send Jamaica to the Olympics — but struggled for consistent minutes in 2021. It would seem, however, that her experience gives her the inside track for the job.
“I think Kiki had a fantastic spring and a great summer,” Norman said. “She does so much work defensively, she covers so much area. Pressing, winning second balls and obviously, we know what she can do going forward. I just think right now she’s playing with a ton of confidence and it's been great to see.”
Rounding out the Notre Dame lineup is the strike partnership of graduate student Olivia Wingate and senior Maddie Mercado. Wingate’s return for a graduate year has immediately proven to be a major boost for the Irish attack, and the early returns on her new partnership have been promising.
Wingate excels at stretching defenses, getting in behind slower center backs with well-timed runs and quick combination play. Mercado’s attacking midfield bonafides play into both those strengths nicely. It will obviously take some time for the pairing’s chemistry to reach the near-instinctive levels of Wingate and Sammi Fisher’s 2021 partnership, but it's clear the potential is there.
If both Wingate and Mercado can get firing, Notre Dame could crack the shortlist of serious ACC contenders. The defense proved last year that it can be on the same level as the conference’s (and nation’s) best. But the retooled attack, fueled by Albert, Wingate and Mercado, will need to kick the Irish offense up a notch to create a more balanced (and competitive) side. If nothing changes from 2021, and even if things regress a bit, Notre Dame should be a solid outfit who qualify for the ACC tournament and make a decent NCAA tournament run. But if the attack finds a second gear to complement existing defensive strength, the Irish could find themselves in discussion with College Cup contenders once again.
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