Notre Dame women’s soccer hosts Louisville in an ACC matchup Saturday night. The Fighting Irish are 6-1-3 on the season, with their only loss coming against Michigan in a heartbreaker earlier this month.
Most recently, the Irish traveled to Pittsburgh, where they tied Pitt 1-1. Like in the game against Michigan, the Irish put up more shots than their opponent but were not able to capitalize on those extra chances. They controlled the ball for most of the game, especially the first half, but just could not put the ball into the back of the net. The Irish finally scored in the 60th minute but gave up an equalizer after a Panther corner kick with eight minutes remaining. Despite the game ending in a tie, the Irish sit at No. 10 in the national rankings. They are fourth-highest in the ACC, as No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Florida State and No. 8 Clemson have all had great starts as well.
Louisville has had a difficult season so far. They lost to Miami 1-0 in their most recent game, giving them a record of 2-5-4 on the season. Three days before that game, they beat Pitt 3-2. They have been outscored 14-11 this season but have led opponents 158-102 on shots and 65-57 on shots on goal.
The Cardinals could pose an interesting challenge for Irish freshman goalkeeper Atlee Olofson. Normally, more shots equal more goals. So whether Louisville has had accuracy issues this year or has just been unlucky, it could be a very aggressive opponent arriving to South Bend Saturday. Either way, the Notre Dame offense will have to be just as aggressive going forward. Louisville has also picked up more fouls than their opponents and their goalkeeper has only managed to save one of three penalty kicks.
Statistically, this should be a very good matchup for Notre Dame. Their strengths - on-field discipline and good shot selection - are their opponent's biggest weaknesses. Regardless of the result, with these two offense-driven teams facing each other, it should be an exciting game to watch.
With only seven games left in the regular season, the Irish will want to continue building their resume as much as possible as the ACC and NCAA tournaments approach.
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Irish women's soccer prepares for Louisville
The Notre Dame women's soccer team celebrates a goal during a 3-1 defeat of Wake Forest at Alumni Stadium on Sep. 15, 2023.
