The second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team came from behind to beat No. 23 Louisville 3-1 at Alumni Stadium on Friday night, extending its winning streak to nine games. The Cardinals, who entered play at 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC, opened the scoring in the 18th minute behind defender Hadley Snyder. The Irish equalized through sophomore forward Annabelle Chukwu in the 26th minute, before sophomore midfielder Ally Pinto and sophomore forward Izzy Engle both scored just two minutes apart on the other side of halftime to secure the victory.
Heading into the match, both sides sat within the ACC’s top six of the table, and also constituted two of the league’s eight nationally ranked teams. Coming off a disappointing 2024, Louisville opened the campaign with an impressive road triumph at Auburn, before rolling through their non-conference home slate and picking up conference wins over Virginia Tech, Clemson and Miami. Veteran head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes’ Cardinals employ a balanced offensive attack with four players eclipsing double-digit points. The leader is midfielder Amelia Swinarski, who has found the back of the net seven times and assisted on nine more for a total of 23 points.
For eighth-year head coach Nate Norman and the Irish, 2025 has also been headlined by a potent sophomore class. Engle leads the nation’s second-best scoring offense at 3.6 goals per game, as she ranks tops nationally, averaging 2.5 points per game. The Edina, Minnesota native is just one of seven sophomores in Norman’s regular starting eleven, as she and fellow Friday goal-scorers Chukwu and Pinto are complemented by forward Lily Joseph, defender Abby Mills, midfielder Grace Restovich, and goalkeeper Sonoma Kasica.
On the pitch, the Irish came out sluggish, with Louisville dominating possession over the first quarter of an hour en route to creating multiple prime opportunities. Snyder’s breakthrough came off a Kasica save that the Notre Dame backline failed to clear, with the Kentucky native calmly slotting the ball into the top netting from just six yards out. Defender Ella Bard was credited with an assist on the play.
That seemed to wake the Irish up, as Chukwu’s leveler came less than eight minutes later, cleaning up in front of a barren net on a ball over the top from Mills that Engle touched past Cardinals senior netminder Erynn Floyd. The remainder of the first half was relatively even, with both sides creating opportunities before the intermission came with the score still knotted at one.
The Irish would dominate the final 45 minutes from start to finish, converting on two of their foremost chances of the frame. The lead was doubled when junior midfielder Morgan Roy found Pinto unmarked at the back post for a free header. The corner kick goal was Pinto’s second of the campaign.
Shortly thereafter, Engle extended the lead again, this time via the penalty spot. She was brought down inside the box by Floyd, before smoothly sliding a right-footed spot kick into the side netting to make it 3-1.
All told, Notre Dame outshot the Cardinals 22-11, cruising to their ninth consecutive victory and maintaining their unblemished record.
Notre Dame’s gauntlet continues this Thursday, as they welcome the sixth-ranked Florida State Seminoles to South Bend for yet another top-10 matchup. Both teams have yet to be beaten, but Notre Dame currently sits alone atop the conference standings by virtue of being unbeaten and untied in ACC play. Thursday’s critical conference test is set for a 7 p.m. first touch and will be broadcast nationally on the ACC Network.
