Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2019 75 ND SPORTS can achieve the same success they enjoyed last season. "Our goal will be to steadily get better," Sparks said. "I expect there will be some growing pains but I believe with the maturity Anna is showing, she'll be able to lift up this group. She is really the catalyst to this team." Sparks will especially need to fill the void left by the graduation of Jes- sica Harris (37th nationally). In all, Notre Dame lost three of its top five runners from last season. Top Runner: Rohrer is not only the top runner for the Irish, she has a chance to become the top runner in the country. After sitting out her junior year with injury, Rohrer re- turned last season — though admit- tedly still not 100 percent — and se- cured a third-place ACC finish and a 10th-place showing at the NCAA Championships. Athlete To Watch: As a freshman last season, Jackie Gaughan scored third for the Irish with a 64th-place finish at nationals to go along with her seventh-place showing at the ACC Championships. Much will be asked of Gaughan this season to work alongside Rohrer to make up a viable and valuable one-two punch at the front of the Irish pack. Don't Miss: While the second- place finish at the 2018 ACC Cham- pionships was solid, the celebration was anything but jubilant after a late pass on the homestretch of the race allowed North Carolina State to claim the title by one point over the Irish. Redemption awaits Nov. 1, at Virginia Tech, in the 2019 ACC Championships. MEN'S SOCCER First Event: Aug. 31 at Saint Louis ACC Predicted Finish: 2nd-4th Preseason National Ranking: No. 9 NCAA Best-Case Scenario: Final Four Coach's Expectations: An 11-7-3 record in 2018 might indicate to some that Notre Dame's then-rookie head coach Chad Riley didn't exactly reach the high bar set by legendary men's soccer coach Bobby Clark, who re- tired before last season after a 17-year tenure that included 216 wins and a national title while leading the Irish. But a closer look into what Riley did as a first-year coach, and the mo- mentum this team has in place for his second go-around in 2019, suggests otherwise. In fact, if not for a spectacular save by the Indiana goalkeeper during a 1-0 loss to the Hoosiers in the Elite Eight, Notre Dame stood a good chance of landing in the Final Four, even after navigating arguably the most difficult schedule in the coun- try. "We were really close to getting to that last weekend," Riley recalled of the painstaking quarterfinal loss. Expectations for a national title re- main in place this season, but tem- pered. With five ACC soccer teams ranked in the preseason top 10 and eight in the top 25 — all within the top 16 — surviving this brutal league presents a challenge, opportunity and the chance to get better. "Putting together a 20-win season in the ACC is very difficult," Riley said. "But that doesn't mean you can't win a national championship even if you don't win 20 games, and this team has that mentality." Top Players: Riley said losing his top two scorers and three of his top four is "typical turnover" at an elite program such as Notre Dame. With 11 points — and five goals, which ranked second on the team — fifth- year senior forward Ian Aschieris is Notre Dame's top returning scorer. Sophomore forward Jack Lynn added nine points last season on three goals and three assists. Athlete To Watch: Senior goal- keeper Duncan Turnbull took over the starting role later last season and gave up only four goals in 10 games, surrendering just 0.39 goals per game during his time in net. Expect him to give the Irish a valuable asset on their last line of defense. Fifth-year senior forward Ian Aschieris returns as preseason No. 9 Notre Dame's leading scorer after contributing 11 points — including five goals — last season. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA