The second-ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team wrapped up the home portion of its 2025 schedule on Sunday afternoon, defeating SMU 3-0 on Senior Day at Alumni Stadium. The Irish used goals from sophomore forward Annabelle Chukwu, sophomore defender Abby Mills and junior midfielder Morgan Roy to move to 12-0-1 on the year and remain atop the ACC table.
Eighth-year head coach Nate Norman and the program honored six seniors prior to kickoff, recognizing the impact each has made on and off the field throughout their time in South Bend. The class of defenders Carolyn Calzada and Leah Klenke and midfielders Hannah Lemieux, Laney Matriano, Berkley Mensik and Kiki Turner were met with raucous applause by the Irish faithful.
The Irish followed up their huge 4-2 win over No. 5 Florida State on Thursday by jumping all over SMU from the opening whistle. Notre Dame found the back of the net in the sixth minute, with Chukwu converting a perfectly placed corner kick feed from Roy for her 10th goal of the campaign. It also extended Notre Dame’s impressive 54-game unbeaten streak when scoring first.
The Irish would double their advantage just before halftime, as, in the 41st minute, Mills used her head to connect on another corner kick opportunity. Mills’ second goal of the season was assisted by sophomore midfielder Grace Restovich, who leads the team in that category with eight.
Restovich earned that eighth assist in the 81st minute of the match, as her perfectly placed through ball flicked onto the feet of Roy, who blasted it past SMU junior goalkeeper Aubrey Brown for her second goal of the year. Notre Dame dominated in possession and scoring chances from start to finish and nearly found a fourth goal with just six seconds remaining, but junior forward Paige Buchner’s score was taken away due to an offside ruling.
The dominant victory moves Notre Dame’s winning streak to 11 and extends its solo lead atop the ACC table to a nearly insurmountable eight points. After entering the week ranked first in the TopDrawerSoccer poll, the Irish should also move to the pole position in the United Soccer Coaches weekly rankings after previous No. 1 Virginia suffered a draw and a loss over the previous seven days. Additionally, the NCAA Women’s Soccer Selection Committee revealed its current top 16 teams in the country this weekend, with the Irish ranked first.
On the individual level, sophomore Izzy Engle’s 13 goals rank best in the ACC and are third-most nationally. The Edina, Minnesota, native also comfortably leads the league with 31 points, as her goal-scoring prowess is complemented by five assists.
SMU, now squarely on the postseason bubble with an 8-5-2 record, will return home to Dallas for its final home game of the season on Friday. After that showdown with the reigning national champion North Carolina Tar Heels, the Mustangs will face two road battles against No. 3 Stanford and Louisville.
Notre Dame will now have 11 days off before returning to the pitch. Norman’s group will conclude the regular season with three consecutive road tests, traveling to Virginia Tech, No. 13 Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, all within the span of a week. The first of those contests will be on Thursday, Oct. 23, in Blacksburg against the last-place Hokies. The match is set for an 8 p.m. first touch with a national broadcast provided by ACC Network.
