The second-ranked Notre Dame will look to stay undefeated this weekend against Boston College on Saturday. The Irish (5-0, 1-0 ACC) are coming off of their first ACC win of the season Sunday against Duke, who they beat by a score of 13-9.
Despite looking like one of the top teams in the country so far this season, head coach Christine Halfpenny is aware that her team still needs to improve some aspects of their game.
“There are areas that we definitely want to sharpen up,” Halfpenny said. “A lot of things are coming together, but we want to keep doubling down on a lot of aspects whether it be the draw, our transition game, whether it be offensively or defensively, and our offense just continuing to find ways to score points no matter what defense we are up against.”
Halfpenny also acknowledged that every defense her team has faced this season has been different in the way they play, making it very important to prepare for each team differently.
“Being flexible and preparing for anything that comes up is really important for this week,” Halfpenny said.
Halfpenny said Boston College (3-2) is a solid team and will definitely give it their all in Saturday’s game.
“They’re very gritty, and their effort will never go away. They’ve got chemistry up and down the field,” Halfpenny said. “They have a lot of talent on their offense with multiple scoring threats.”
One of the main scoring threats for Boston College will be junior Charlotte North, who transferred from Duke after last season. Halfpenny is happy that her team has prepared to face North from past matchups against Duke.
“Boston College’s leading scorer is someone that we have played against. She is not a totally brand new player,” Halfpenny said.
Halfpenny said she expects Saturday’s game to be a highly contested battle.
“They’re solid everywhere,” she said. “You are talking about a program that has just been to three national championship games. They’re well coached, and the ACC is so great top to bottom, so we know it is going to be a 60 minute battle.”
If the Irish can play to the level they have to this point in the season, Saturday’s game should not be an issue. So far this season, Halfpenny said she has been happy to have a plethora of players who receive quality playing time.
“I think we have a fortunate situation where we have so many players that can play at a really high level,” she said.
Halfpenny also acknowledged the leadership of her veteran players in junior midfielder Andie Aldave, junior attack Maddie Howe, senior defender Kathleen Roe, senior midfielder Savannah Buchanan and graduate student attack Samantha Lynch.
“I think it goes without saying that the players that have been around for awhile here have stepped into a leadership role, and I have seen more confidence in them this year,” Halfpenny said.
Halfpenny also praised the play of junior goalkeeper Bridget Deehan. Halfpenny stressed that Deehan is an amazing goalkeeper in her own right and doesn’t need to be compared to previous goalkeepers.
“I don’t want to hear her name in the same sentence as any other goalkeeper. We’re done with that. We are ready to move on because this is 2020 and this is what we look like,” Halfpenny said. “Bridget is a special goalie in her own right, and I think she is making a massive impact on what we are doing. She had two huge 12-save games in the top matchups that we have had so far this season.”
Multiple freshmen have also had a huge impact on the team’s success so far this season.
“Stepping into big roles and competing like veterans are freshmen [midfielder] Kasey Choma and [attack] Madison Ahern. They’ve just been fantastic for us,” Halfpenny said.
Saturday’s game against Boston College will begin at 3 p.m. in Arlotta Stadium and can be viewed on ACC Network Extra.
