Indiana to Host No. 16 Notre Dame

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana women's soccer team (1-0-3) will look for its second-straight victory of the program's 30th season with a third-straight in-state matchup against No. 16 Notre Dame (5-0-0) on Sept. 4 at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Jerry Yeagley Field in Bloomington. First kick between the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish is set for 6 p.m. ET.

BTN+ will provide a stream of the match with Austin Platt (PxP) and Ben Haller (Analyst) on the call. Anna Winterhalder is slated to provide sideline reports. Live stats of the match can be tracked on IUHoosiers.com.

ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, led by head coach Nate Norman, enter Sunday as the 16th-ranked team in the country according to the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 poll. The Irish have ripped off six-straight regular season wins and have won 14-of-17 regular season matches dating back to 2021.
• The Irish have tallied at least two goals in each contest this season and are out-scoring their opponents by a count of 15-1 through five matches. The game on Sunday will mark the third-straight for ND against a Big Ten opponent after topping Illinois (4-0) and Wisconsin (4-1) in the last week.
• Graduate forward Olivia Wingate leads Notre Dame in goals (5), including a hat trick in ND's 4-1 triumph over Wisconsin on Thursday night, and total points scored (11).
• Senior midfielder Maddie Mercado is just off the pace for the team lead in goals with four. Freshman defender Leah Klenke has contributed five total points (2G, 1A) to the season box score.
• Graduate transfer keeper Mackenzie Wood has started three matches for the Irish in net and conceded just one tally while making three saves across 270 minutes of play. She previously played at Northwestern.

SERIES HISTORY
• For the first time in the 12-match history between the two sides, Indiana walked away with a result against Notre Dame in a 0-0 draw on Aug. 22, 2021 in South Bend. Indiana had dropped the previous 11 matchups in the series.
• Then freshman keeper Jamie Gerstenberg recorded three saves to salvage the result for the Hoosiers.
• Notre Dame represents the first of six opponents remaining on Indiana's schedule to be ranked in the coaches poll.
• Indiana is 4-23-3 all time against schools currently in the Atlantic Coast Conference after a 0-0 draw at Virginia Tech in the early stages of the 2021.

LAST TIME OUT
• Indiana found the net three times in a 3-0 victory over the Indiana State Sycamores (0-3-1) under the lights on Thursday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
• Senior forward Paige Webber broke the seal on the Hoosier scoring with a header in the 56th minute off an assist from senior defender Alaina Kalin.
• Junior forward Jen Blitchok doubled the Hoosier lead after collecting a throw in from Kalin. She took three touches towards the top of the box and launched a right-footed shot into the back of the net in the 61st minute.
• Junior forward Anna Bennett capped the scoring in the 76th minute. Freshman midfielder Jaelyn Pallas redirected a crosser from freshman forward Sarah Sirdah to Bennett's frame. She hooked in a right-footed attempt.
• Indiana outshot Indiana State by a count of 24-3. The Hoosiers attempted 12 shots in each half.
• Blitchok tallied her seventh-career goal, while both Webber and Bennett recorded their sixth career goals.
• Freshmen Olivia Smith and Sarah Sirdah each made their first career starts in the match, while junior Anna Bennett made her debut start of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg made her 20th career start for the Hoosiers in the match.

@IndianaWSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University women's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaWSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

#GoIU

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Anna Bennett

Jen Blitchok

Jamie Gerstenberg

Alaina Kalin

Jaelyn Pallas

Sarah Sirdah

Olivia Smith

Paige Webber

Indiana University Athletics