Expectations for the 2025 Irish women’s soccer team are higher than they’ve ever been during the Nate Norman era. The Irish return almost 90% of their scoring from a season in which they reached the national quarterfinals. They were accordingly ranked second in the nation — their highest preseason ranking as a program since 2011’s national championship follow-up.
On Thursday night at Alumni Stadium, we got our first meaningful look at Notre Dame under said expectations. The Irish were in for a sneaky test at home in their 2025 opener, facing a Western Michigan side unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play since 2023 began and hungry to build on last November’s NCAA Tournament appearance. The Irish were challenged, alright, but they earned the result they desired in a 2-1 victory.
“We were resilient. We had some good moments,” eighth-year head coach Nate Norman said after the game. “They’re [Western Michigan] a really good team, so they challenged us. They’re physical, they’re athletic and they do some good stuff.”
Notre Dame lacked full strength against the Broncos, most notably missing two projected starters on its back line in sophomore Abby Mills and graduate transfer Carolyn Calzada. Those losses forced several players less experienced on the defensive end to see significant time there, as junior Charlie Codd started at left back and sophomore Ally Pinto finished the night there in her first collegiate game.
The changes put the Irish in a precarious position at times, only for the steady offensive presence of Izzy Engle to help keep them on the right track. Coming off a 19-goal freshman season that earned her ACC Freshman of the Year and Top Drawer Soccer National Freshman of the Year honors, the sophomore forward delivered a brace, accounting for Notre Dame’s only two goals of the night.
For Engle, Thursday’s season-opening showcase was worth the wait.
“I remember after we lost to Stanford last November, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, we have to wait eight months to play again,’” Engle recalled. “And to now be back here under the lights playing with a nice home crowd against a great opponent with my best friends — there’s nothing like it.”
Before she could open the scoring in the 12th minute, the Irish needed a tone-setting stop from their keeper. In the words of Norman, Notre Dame’s “makeshift back line" struggled to connect to the midfield early, and one of its turnovers found Bronco forward Mikayla Coore-Pascal for a great look in the fifth minute. However, sophomore Sonoma Kasica stood tall in tight, diving to her left and knocking the ball away for a Western Michigan corner kick.
Not long after, a Notre Dame corner set up the opening goal. Junior midfielder Morgan Roy’s delivery eventually settled near the top of the box, where junior midfielder Chayse Ying put a shot on Bronco debutant freshman goalkeeper Reagan Sulaver. Playing the ball on a short hop, Sulaver fumbled, and Engle pounced. Though Sulaver turned away Engle’s first touch, the ricochet banged off the forward’s midsection and trickled through for an early Irish lead.
“Right moment, right time, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” Engle summed up.
After a quiet but physical end to the first 45 minutes, Notre Dame came out of halftime flying and nearly doubled its lead in the 55th minute. Sophomore forward Annabelle Chukwu made a sharp change of direction inside the box, forcing experienced Western Michigan defender Heidi Thomasma to haul her down for a penalty kick. Do-it-all senior defender Leah Klenke stepped up to the spot, where she scored her only goal of the 2024 season, but Sulaver had an answer for her. Laying out to her left, the rookie made a monumental save, keeping the visitors squarely in the match.
Sure enough, the Broncos equalized less than eight minutes after the save. A poorly located Irish turnover found the feet of Abby Werthman, Western Michigan’s top returning scorer, at the top of the box. Taking on junior defender Clare Logan, Werthman cut to her left foot, opening up space to nail the upper corner with her shot and level the contest at 1-1.
Notre Dame remained on its heels for about another 90 seconds after losing its lead, and then Engle provided another breath of relief. This time capitalizing on a failed Bronco clearance that hit a defender and remained inside the box, Engle turned, set her feet and ripped a half-volley tight inside the left post. Just like that, after the Broncos had done so much work to pull even with Notre Dame, the Irish had them back to square one. Only 178 seconds separated Western Michigan’s equalizer and Notre Dame’s game-winner.
“She goes and gets goals,” Norman said of Engle. “It’s so valuable.”
Notre Dame nearly scored again several times down the stretch, beginning with a brilliant piece of work from Tessa Knapp. The freshman forward, who posted ridiculous offensive numbers at her Cleveland-area high school, made her first collegiate start on Thursday and looked plenty comfortable, repeatedly beating Bronco defenders wide to set up crosses. She used the same move in the 85th minute, instead electing to shoot and catching the underside of the crossbar near the right post.
A minute later, traffic at the edge of the goal area turned into a prime chance for Chukwu, but Sulaver reacted quickly on her line to put a knee in front of the shot.
Nevertheless, Notre Dame needed no third goal, as its back line played its best soccer of the night down the stretch and sealed a one-goal victory for the Irish.
“Today was a tough game, and I’m happy to get the win,” Norman said. “We’ve just got to get back and roll up our sleeves and get ready for another one on Sunday.”
