Tag: eva gaetino

Categories
Sports

Notre Dame women’s soccer advances to ACC semifinals

Notre Dame women’s soccer advanced to the ACC semifinals Saturday, downing Pittsburgh on penalty kicks.

The game wasn’t without regular time fireworks, as the Irish accumulated 26 total shots over 110 minutes of open play. Notre Dame was able to take the lead in the second after senior forward Kiki van Zanten coolly finished a cross from graduate defender Brianna Martinez. But the lead given by the well-worked goal was short-lived.

Just under fifteen minutes later, the Panthers found an equalizer. The goal was caused by some set piece mayhem, as the Irish failed to clear a dangerous long ball into the box. Goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood inadvertently knocked down center back Eva Gaetino, and in the commotion Katie Zailski was able to lob a pass to Leah Pais in front of the net. With Wood on the ground, Pais made quick work of the chance, guiding the ball into an empty goal to tie the game at one.

The knotted scoreline would stand until penalties, when Irish head coach Nate Norman made a bold change. Removing Wood in favor of junior Ashley Naylor, Norman opted to go with the goalkeeper that won Notre Dame its only shootout of the 2021 season.

And although Naylor didn’t make a save, the result validated the decision. After the Panthers’ Sarah Schupansky and Irish senior midfielder Maddie Mercado traded converted attempts, Zailski struck the post with her effort. The damage was done. Sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert confidently scored her third penalty attempt in as many games to give the advantage to the Irish, and Notre Dame didn’t look back. 

Van Zanten, senior defender Waniya Hudson and Martinez all found the back of the net with their efforts, and the Irish advanced to the semifinals. After the match, Norman said he stressed simplicity in how he prepared his team for the shootout.

“I think for us it’s just about having good visualization,” Norman said. “Getting in your routine, making sure they think about each step of the process, not overanalyzing what happens. Just knowing that if you’re the one going up to take the PK, you put the ball where you want it, and that’s all you’ve got to worry about.”

Martinez also credited visualization with aiding her preparation for taking the game-deciding fifth penalty.

“I knew that I was the fifth PK taker, and that I was probably going to take it no matter what,” Martinez said. “So it was just about having the mental imagery of the ball hitting the back of the net before going up.”

Looking ahead, the Irish have now drawn themselves a matchup with defending national champion Florida State in the semifinals. The game is a rematch of one of Notre Dame’s biggest wins this season, a 4-0 triumph in South Bend just weeks ago.

Norman said that he’s looking for his side to attack the rematch with fresh eyes despite the earlier rout.

“I think it’s really about trying to bring energy into the game,” Norman said. “It’s a different game. They’ll come out and they’ll try to press us, and we’ll try to press them. It will be an open game, it’ll be a fun game for us to play, and I think for us it’s just about trying to bring a really hard, tough mentality against one of the very best teams in the country.”

Notre Dame will kick off against Florida State in Cary, North Carolina this Thursday with a trip to the ACC Championship on the line. The game will begin at 8 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the ACC Network.

Categories
Sports

Irish roll No. 3 Seminoles, 4-0 in statement win

Credit: Max Petrosky / Observer

On Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame women’s soccer notched a massive victory in their quest for an ACC title, taking down No. 3 Florida State 4-0 at Alumni Stadium.

The Irish started off hot thanks to sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert, who picked the pocket of a Florida State defender before charging in on net for a clinical one-on-one finish. And then less than five minutes later, Olivia Wingate ripped a shot from just outside the 18 yard box that found the back of the net.

Down 2-0 within the opening ten minutes, Florida State struggled to regroup over the remainder of the first half. The Seminoles earned a penalty three minutes after Wingate’s goal, but Jenna Nighswonger fired wide. Seemingly shaken by the deficit and the missed chance, Florida State struggled to connect in the midfield for large stretches of the first half. Notre Dame entered the break with a two goal advantage that matched their largest halftime lead of the season so far.

Head coach Nate Norman noted the hot start helped the team set the tempo for the rest of the match:

“I think every game we talk about the need to come out with a tremendous amount of energy and get after teams,” said Norman. “We thought that if we can just win the ball then we can go at them as quickly as possible. Obviously getting those two goals was great. It put us on the right foot, and we carried that on the rest of the game. I’m very proud of them.”

The Irish kept the momentum rolling in the second half. Racking up eight shots to Florida State’s five coming out of the break, Notre Dame finally cashed in after 25 minutes thanks to Maddie Mercado. Though she was kept out of the starting lineup by injury, the senior made her mark on the game off the bench, firing home a Wingate cutback. Wingate would go on to add a second goal to her tally to cap off the rout ten minutes before the final whistle, racing behind the defense and confidently slotting home a close range finish. 

The win was a crucial triumph in both a short and long view for the program. For one, the victory represented a historic level of dominance for Notre Dame. The Irish hadn’t beaten a top-three opponent by a margin of four or more goals since 2000.  

But in the context of this season, the Irish now own a pair of victories over top three opponents at home. As a result, Norman and co. find themselves in the thick of an ACC title race despite a pair of tough losses to Pitt and Clemson. 

Junior centerback Eva Gaetino, who leads a defense that hasn’t conceded a goal since Sept. 25th, noted that the team has undergone a mentality shift since the 2021 season where Notre Dame was defeated three times in overtime by opponents ranked in the top ten.

“There is 100% a mentality difference,” Gaetino said. “Going into some of those games, it felt like everything would have to go perfectly and then we’d need a little bit of luck to win. But going into these games, if we do what we do and we do it right, we will win these games. And that’s what I think we showed today.”

Gaetino also noted that going forward the team would need to continue to hold firm mentally with their big win emboldening Notre Dame’s opponents as much as the team:

“[We have] more confidence. But I also think there’s a beaming red target on our backs now that we have beat these top three teams. I think [for some teams], we’re going to be their biggest game of the year, when previously we might not have been. I think we just need to have the humility to know that every game from here on out is going to be a battle, and we’re going to have to bring it every single game.” 

Notre Dame women’s soccer will now enter a three game road gauntlet over the next two weeks, traveling to Louisville, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. If the Irish can make it through those next three games unscathed, they could play for an ACC title in their final game of the season against No. 7 Duke.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu.

Categories
Sports

Irish face off against Wolfpack, look to stay in playoff contention

Irish sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert dribbles down the field in their match against Virginia. The Irish won 1-0 against the Cavaliers.

Notre Dame women’s soccer hosts NC State this Thursday in their fifth conference game of the season. The sixteenth-ranked Irish take on the Wolfpack one week after a win against Boston College. Notre Dame dominated Boston College last week, winning three to nothing and leading the Eagles sixteen to seven in shots and six to two in corner kicks. Junior midfielder Eva Gaetino returned to play against BC after exiting early with a head injury in the game against Pitt.

Now 2-2 in the ACC, the Irish are looking to dominate in their next six games leading up to the ACC tournament at the end of the month. 

The game against NC State will test Notre Dame’s ability to perform consistently against ACC competition. The Irish have had trouble performing consistently in ACC play so far, alternating wins and loses across their four conference games. The team hopes that last week’s strong performance against Boston College will set the tone for the rest of conference play. NC State is currently ranked 9th in the ACC, three spots behind the 6th-ranked Irish.

Notre Dame averages 2.36 goals per game compared to NC State’s 1.38. Notre Dame also only gives up an average of .73 goals per game, while NC State gives up an average of 1.23. 

Also 2-2 in the ACC, the Wolfpack has had similar struggles with consistency as the Irish have. NC State recently suffered a crushing 6-0 loss against Duke, but rebounded last Thursday to beat Clemson, who beat Notre Dame 2-1 earlier in the season. Their performance against Clemson proves that the Wolfpack can’t be overlooked. That being said, NC State has yet to beat a nationally ranked team, going 0-1-2 against ranked opponents. It seems NC State has been unable to deliver in tough games so far. This bodes well for the sixteenth-ranked Irish, especially on their home pitch. 

At this point in the season, both teams are competing to earn a spot in the ACC tournament.. The top six teams in the ACC qualify for conference playoffs. Currently Notre Dame is sixth in the ACC, so from here on out every game is important for keeping the Irish in playoff contention. The Irish face two more nationally ranked opponents in their final six games of the regular season. Given this challenging schedule, the Irish will look to earn a win while they can.

NC State is currently ranked ninth, but the sixth through ninth-ranked teams all have the same ACC record. A few wins could easily put NC State in the running for the playoffs as well. 

This match up kicks off on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Alumni Stadium. It will also be streamed on the ACC Network.

Contact Sammie McCarthy at smccart9@nd.edu

Categories
Sports

Irish women’s soccer looks to rebound against Eagles

Credit: Max Petrosky / Observer

Notre Dame women’s soccer takes on Boston College Thursday for its third ACC conference game of the season. The Irish are seeking to balance their ACC record after a loss to Pitt at home left them 1-2 in ACC play. After going 7-0 in non-conference play, the Irish have faced more difficulty against ACC teams. The game against Boston College is a chance for the team to redeem its record after the disappointing 3-1 loss to Pitt last Sunday.

At its best, the women’s soccer team is certainly capable of competing with the nation’s best talent; just last week the Irish beat the University of Virginia, at the time the second-ranked team in the country. However, the team has struggled to keep up this quality of play against other high-level opponents. The Irish have performed inconsistently in ACC play thus far, losing to Clemson in their first conference game of the season in addition to the recent loss against Pitt. Notre Dame head coach Nate Norman acknowledged this inconsistency when he said, “Some days are not your best and you figure out ways to grind it out.” 

The ACC is arguably the best conference in women’s soccer, boasting seven teams ranked in the top twenty-five by ESPN. As a result, conference play will not get any easier for Notre Dame. The Irish need to figure out how to consistently compete at a high level as they start to face tougher opponents if they want to maintain their spot in the national rankings.

The game against Boston College should provide Notre Dame with an opportunity to score a conference win. Boston College is currently 4-4-3, and have lost all three of their ACC games so far. And, Notre Dame will be their fourth ranked opponent in a row. The Irish will try to take advantage of the Eagle’s exhaustion after their recent tough schedule to pick up another conference win. Boston College does have the home advantage, but so far they haven’t had much luck on their own pitch. The Eagles are currently 2-2-2 at home, including a dramatic 0-6 loss to Florida State. Conversely, Notre Dame has yet to lose an away game against an unranked opponent. 

However, Notre Dame may be at a disadvantage this Thursday depending on the injury status of junior center back Eva Gaetino. Gaetino missed the second half of the game against Pitt due to a head injury, and it is unclear when she will return to play. Norman said after the game that he doesn’t have a timeline of her recovery yet. Losing Gaetino mid-game hurt Notre Dame’s performance in the second half against Pitt. Norman stated that losing Gaetino forced him to “really shuffle things around.” The Irish were unable to hit their stride again after she unexpectedly exited the game.

The Irish travel to Boston for the game, which starts Thursday at 6 p.m. EST. It will be broadcasted on the ACC network.

Contact Sammie McCarthy at smccart9@nd.edu.

Categories
Sports

Late goal leads Irish to crucial victory over No. 2 Virginia

Junior midfielder Maddie Mercado celebrates her game-winning goal in No. 17 Notre Dame's 1-0 victory over No. 2 Virginia on September 22, 2022, at Alumni Stadium. Max Petrosky | Observer

Notre Dame took home a landmark win Thursday night, dispatching No. 2 Virginia 1-0 in South Bend.

The win cements the Irish as one of the favorites in a competitive race for an ACC title. It comes against a Cavaliers team that had just defeated previous conference top dog North Carolina. The victory was Nate Norman’s first victory over a top-ten team in twenty one tries as Notre Dame’s head coach.

The pregame rankings couldn’t have been less indicative of how the game played out. Notre Dame asserted themselves early, showing complete comfort in their preferred 3-5-2 formation that struggled the game prior in Clemson. A couple of early chances fell to forward Olivia Wingate. But the graduate student was unable to convert and the teams entered the half tied.

In the second half, the Irish ramped up their pressure and got a goal to show for it. Outshooting the Cavaliers 11-5, Notre Dame seemed emboldened by their strong first half and continually threatened Cayla White in net. 

And while White held her ground for 75 minutes, the Irish eventually broke through on a set piece scramble in front of the goal. A corner kick by sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert found the head of junior midfielder Eva Gaetino, whose deflected header fell perfectly for senior forward Maddie Mercado. Mercado acted quickly, swiping the ball past White and into the back of the net with her first touch.

The final 15 minutes produced plenty of stressful moments for Notre Dame. Head coach Nate Norman made a slew of changes to add defensive stability and fresh legs to the field. But ultimately, the Irish held strong to close out the win. In a mark of an excellent defensive showing, graduate student goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood was only forced to make one save all game, notching her first career ACC clean sheet.

Despite being the lone goal scorer on the night, Mercado was quick to spread the praise for the teams overall performance.

“This team deserves all the recognition,” Mercado said. “One thing we said in the locker room was we wanted to go out like we were possessed, and I think we did that and more. I was there to finish but our team got us there, got us the corner, Gaetino got the header, and I turned and finished. So just a great team win.”

Coach Norman also gave credit to the team’s mentality, as the Irish rallied to the win within a week of a disappointing loss to Clemson in their ACC opener.

“We asked the team before the game to value certain things … I just felt like our energy levels and passion today was such a stark contrast from Thursday to now,” said Norman. “I’m just so proud of how [the team] fought and competed. We needed a game like that to prove to ourselves that we could compete with anyone and tonight was a really good night for us to do that.”

Looking ahead, Notre Dame’s ACC slate seems much more manageable with a win over Virginia under their belt. Tests against Florida State and Duke still loom. But Norman expressed excitement that Thursday’s win could be something of a statement of intent to opposing teams.

“We have a really simple goal,” Norman said. We want to win a national championship. And hopefully a win like this puts us in the conversation, puts us in the group that can do that. We just have to continue on and have some consistency.”

Notre Dame will look to build off their major win with another home clash against Pittsburgh looming Sunday. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. at Alumni Stadium. It will be broadcasted on the ACC Network.

Categories
Sports

Irish women’s soccer looks to build on perfect start, heads into ACC play

Irish sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert dribbles downfield in winning match against Ohio on Sept. 11. / Credit: Monu Agarwal

After finishing off a perfect non-conference schedule this weekend, the Notre Dame women’s soccer team will look to build on their momentum as they travel to Clemson Thursday night. 

“We have high hopes for this season, we have a really talented team,” head coach Nate Norman said after Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Ohio. “We’re clicking, we can do some major damage.”

The Irish (7-0-0), winners of their first seven games of the year, moved up to sixth in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Irish are now one of just four undefeated teams, alongside Harvard, Rutgers and UCLA.

The matchup with the Tigers (4-1-2), ranked No. 24, will be the first ACC contest of the year for both sides. Notre Dame will be seeking revenge after the Tigers knocked them out of the ACC tournament quarterfinals last year in a nail biting 3-2 defeat. 

Notre Dame has been dominant through their first seven games — their first perfect non-conference slate in nearly 15 years. The last time this occurred in 2008, the team went 27-1 and advanced to the national championship game. The Irish have been outstanding on both sides of the pitch this year, notching 175 shots against just 31 from their opponents. 

“I’m really proud of us, we’re doing something that’s very special that we set a goal for ourselves and we were able to accomplish,” said junior center back Eva Gaetino. “We have to stay humble, we have to have humility and we have to understand that these games are going to be hard, but I also think that these wins have given us momentum going into these tougher games.”

Offensively, graduate student Olivia Wingate will continue to be crucial to the team’s success — she has already notched six goals on the year, one away from her career high. Senior midfielder Maddie Mercado has also performed extremely well, scoring five goals thus far. 

The Irish have had nine different players score a goal, and depth could prove important in what will be a grueling ACC schedule. “We have a really deep team,” Norman said. “It’s hard, there’s only so many minutes in games, so we’re trying to allow players, even some of our younger players, to develop and get time.” 

On the defensive side of the pitch, Gaetino has been a standout performer. She was recently named to the Mac Hermann Trophy watch list, which honors the top mens’ and womens’ college soccer players. 

“It’s details, details, details,” Gaetino said as to what sets the Irish defense apart. “Never turning off, always staying focused.”

While the Irish have more than risen to the occasion thus far, the real challenge is only just beginning. The ACC is perennially one of the top conferences in college soccer, and currently boasts six teams in the top-25 — including four within the top seven spots. 

“We set ourselves up really well,” Norman said. “Our conference is a beast of a conference, we’ve just got to really refocus ourselves and go into every game and try to be ourselves and have that attacking mindset and that identity to just go after teams and have that hunger.”

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu.

Categories
Sports

Irish beat Ohio, remain undefeated ahead of ACC opener

Irish sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert dribbles the ball during Sunday’s 3-1 win over Ohio at Alumni Stadium.

Notre Dame women’s soccer beat the Ohio University Bobcats 3-1 Sunday afternoon in a rain-soaked affair at home to remain a perfect 7-0 on the season. It is the team’s first perfect run in nonconference play since 2008 when they went 27-2 and made an appearance in the NCAA title game.

The weather conditions were a concern on Saturday afternoon with a steady downpour throughout the match, especially during the first half. Head coach Nate Norman spoke about how the conditions impacted his team.

“It wasn’t ideal, but today we went out trying to do what we always do,” said Norman. “It made the field very fast and slick, so if your passes aren’t perfect or if your first touch isn’t great then the ball slips away from you, but overall we just tried to stay with what we do.”

The game got off to a fast start when Notre Dame used some clever passing to break through the Ohio backline, graduate student striker Olivia Wingate scored her team-leading sixth goal of the year. Senior Kiki Van Zanten collected her second assist of the year on the opener.

Wingate has found extraordinary success at Alumni Stadium this year with all six of her goals coming at home this year, including the hat-trick performance against then-No. 22 Wisconsin on September 1 that earned her ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

In the 21st minute, Bobcats star forward Abby Townsend stepped up and buried a free kick from just a few yards outside the box to tie up the game on Ohio’s second shot of the game. Townsend’s strike came from the right side of the goal and curled perfectly around the Irish wall and to find the top corner and beat goalkeeper Ashley Naylor.

Norman emphasized the importance of sticking to the game plan and executing it following Ohio’s equalizer.

“I think it’s always about us being able to focus and that’s what we told them at halftime,” said Norman. “There’s nothing really we need to do differently. We just need to keep the tempo high, keep moving the ball, keep finding those pockets of space in their backline, driving at them and getting our chances.”

That is exactly what the Irish did in the second half as they found two more goals to put the contest to bed.

The first came from Van Zanten shortly after halftime. The goal came from a Kati Druzina cross that Ohio keeper Sam Wexell deflected into the middle of the box where Van Zanten was able to finish it into the bottom corner of the goal. The game-winner was Van Zanten’s second goal of the year after she also scored against Purdue last time out.

After the game, Coach Norman spoke glowingly about Van Zanten’s performance on the day and throughout the season.

“Kiki is fantastic. She’s been unbelievable this whole season. Her defensive work rate is second to none, she covers so much ground, winning second balls,” said Norman. “And some of the stuff she does going forward is fantastic. She’s got two goals in the last two games so she’s in a really good place right now. I’m super, super happy and proud of her.”

Throughout the game, junior midfielder Eva Gaetino looked dangerous on corners with a few efforts just missing the Ohio goal, but four minutes after Van Zanten’s goal she made one count. Coming off a Korbin Albert corner, Gaetino rose highest of all to head it home making it 3-1.

Gaetino said after the game that the goal was the result of many hours of practice.

“These past three weeks [we]…have been working on it just over and over and over again, every single day, just getting the timing down. That’s been a huge help and I feel like I’m finally getting the momentum to get that going every single game,” said Gaetino.

Outside of the set-piece hiccup, the Irish dominated proceedings, controlling the game for long spells of play. In the end, they out-possessed the Bobcats 69%-31% and outshot them 28-8, forcing 7 seven saves from their goalkeepers.

Gaetino spoke about the importance of humility for Notre Dame as they start conference play on the road against the Clemson Tigers this Thursday.

“I’m really proud of us, we’re doing something very special. We set a goal for ourselves and so far, we’ve been able to accomplish it. But going 7-0, we also have to stay humble and we have to understand that these [conference] games are going to be hard. But I also think that these wins have given us momentum going into these tougher games, which I think will be really good for us,” said Gaetino.