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.
