Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 13, 2021 49 BY TODD D. BURLAGE I f there were ever a perfect case study of a Notre Dame student- athlete squeezing every drop out of their university experience, women's soccer star Sammi Fisher might be it. An accomplished fifth-year gradu- ate student, a two-time team captain, the Irish leading scorer, a caring soul, the definition of teammate, commu- nity entrenched, campus involved, and fiercely loyal to her school … Fisher made her relocation from Los Angeles to Notre Dame after high school seamless and rewarding. "And that's the reason I chose to come here," she said. "The lifelong impact that goes much further than your four years here, and I'm really ex- cited to see how that plays out." Aspirations aside, Fisher's most press- ing issue is to finish her soccer career at Notre Dame with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. And the Irish (13-5-1 over- all, 7-3 ACC) are well equipped for one. The 64-team NCAA Tournament selec- tion show aired Nov. 8, with first-round matches scheduled for Nov. 12-14. First- and second-round matches are played at campus sites, meaning Notre Dame is a likely candidate to host a first- round game and potentially a second. The Irish are 9-1-1 at home this season. The championship finishes the week- end of Dec. 3-5 with the four-team College Cup in Santa Clara, Calif. Heading into selection Monday, the Fighting Irish — which finished fourth in the ACC this season — still ranked 14th nationally in the all-important NCAA RPI rankings because of its strength of schedule. The mighty ACC features four teams (No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Florida State, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 6 Virginia) ranked in the top 10 of the latest RPI ratings. And while losing three consecutive games is rarely an ingredient for a suc- cessful season, the lessons and confi- dence Notre Dame took away from an eight-day, three-game road trip last month might count for something. From Oct. 17-24, Notre Dame lost 2-1 at No. 2 Virginia in the closing minutes; four days later, it lost 1-0 in overtime at No. 6 Duke; then four days after that, it lost 2-1 in double overtime at No. 7 UNC. Plenty of heartbreak indeed, but Fisher even relishes the disappointments. "I've loved every moment of this sea- son," said Fisher, who earned first-team All-ACC honors after pacing the Irish with 12 goals and 29 points. "Even the tough losses and obviously the great wins. It's all part of the journey." Fisher's journey includes when she accepted an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA after the 2020 season became disjointed because of COVID-19. "I was looking forward to ending my soccer career on more normal terms [free of pandemic restrictions], being able to dance in the locker room and everything like that, things that you took for granted before," she said. Thankful — no, actually ecstatic — with her chance to return for another scholastic year and sports season, Fisher will leave Notre Dame in the spring with degrees in both market- ing and non-profit administration, and with a desire to play professional soccer for at least a couple of years. After that, plans are to build enough business savvy and capital through her marketing skills to someday launch a non- profit organization back in Los Angeles to help address the city's homeless problem. "I'm so glad I was able to spend another year here," Fisher said. "There have been so many opportunities that have come from being at Notre Dame that I can't even put into words how much it has meant." ✦ Sammi Fisher Savoring Her Final Notre Dame Moments Fisher, a two-time captain and fifth-year graduate student, paced the Irish women's soccer team with 12 goals and 29 points en route to earning first-team All-ACC accolades. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS ND SPORTS Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY Notre Dame hosted the ACC Championships Oct. 29, and the men's team captured its second straight league crown by totaling 32 points … Syracuse finished a distant second with 84 points, followed by Wake Forest (104), North Carolina (110) and Florida State (134) … The Irish women's squad notched a fifth-place finish with 114 points, just nine behind fourth-place Syracuse … NC State won the women's crown with 20 points, and North Carolina (87) and Florida State (87) rounded out the top three. HOCKEY (5-3-0 OVERALL, 0-2-0 BIG TEN) The No. 17-ranked Irish began Big Ten play by losing a pair of games at Minnesota (4-1 and 3-2) Oct. 29-30 … Notre Dame rebounded with a 5-2 home win over Holy Cross Nov. 4. MEN'S SOCCER (10-5-2 OVERALL, 4-2-2 ACC) No. 23 Notre Dame earned the fifth seed in the ACC Championship and defeated 12th-seeded NC State 1-0 in the first round Nov. 3 … The Irish will play at fourth-seeded Louisville Nov. 7 in the quarterfinals. WOMEN'S SOCCER (13-5-1 OVERALL, 7-3-0 ACC) The Irish earned the fourth seed in the ACC Championship, but fell 3-2 to fifth-seeded Clemson Oct. 31 … Notre Dame is expected to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament's 64-team field, which will be announced Nov. 8. VOLLEYBALL (9-12 OVERALL, 6-5 ACC) The Irish suffered a 3-2 loss at Duke Oct. 29 … Notre Dame continued its Tobacco Road swing at North Carolina Nov. 6 and at NC State Nov. 7. — Steve Downey