Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 SEPT. 9, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE E va Gaetino was minding her own business, simply going about her work as a soccer star and a gifted stu- dent at Dexter (Mich.) High School near Ann Arbor, when she received an un- expected phone call that changed her future course and college life, big time. On the other line was Notre Dame women's soccer head coach Nate Nor- man with a request that the then-high school junior never saw coming. Gaetino committed to Norman to play soccer at Notre Dame all the way back when she was a first-semester fresh- man at Dexter in 2017. And now, she was being summoned by the Irish coach to graduate from high school after her ju- nior year, skip her senior year, and get to Notre Dame a year earlier than expected. "I had heard of athletes graduating a semester early," Gaetino recalled. "But I never heard of anyone graduating a full year early." Gaetino obliged and did what her fu- ture coach asked, dutifully arriving at Notre Dame before the 2020-21 school year, but not without some reluctance. "I knew I was ready athletically in terms of soccer. I was ready academi- cally. I had all my credits," Gaetino re- called. "But the question was emotion- ally. Was I ready to close this chapter of high school? Was I ready to grow up? Was I ready to leave my family?" On top of the unknown challenges that awaited Gaetino in college, her early graduation brought some more immediate consequences. "The one thing I struggled with was that I didn't know it was going to be my last year of high school," she added. "My last football game, my last picture day, the senior prom, senior homecoming, they're small things but they are meaningful. That was tough, but it was all worth it and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat." A 2022 first-team All-American, the 2022 ACC Defender of the Year, a two- time Mac Hermann Trophy Semifinalist (top 15), a two-time ACC All-Academic team selection, the Irish senior center back has started in every game since she arrived in South Bend in 2020. And through the first four games of this sea- son, Gaetino led the Irish with 3 goals and 6 points. All of it sounds like a dream college experience, right? For the most part it has been, Gaetino admitted, but she was warned during her recruitment that nothing comes easy at Notre Dame. Gaetino, an elite athlete and a pre- med science business major, has learned that lesson over and over again. The ac- ademics are "brutal," she said. Then, on Oct. 27 of last season, she fractured her back in a game against Duke and played the entire postseason with the injury. "That was so painful," she said. "I'm not sure how I even played through it … just believe in myself and just grow into the challenges." The fourth-year anchor of the Irish backline, Gaetino led a Notre Dame de- fensive effort last season that included 14 shutouts and held opponents to only 14 goals total. A senior team captain, a 2023 Pre- season All-ACC selection, and a candi- date for National Defender of the Year, Gaetino still believes there is plenty of room for improvement. "Just focus more on the details of ev- erything I'm doing," she said. Even as a fourth-year starter, Gaetino will still have a bonus year of eligibility remaining in 2024 because of COVID. But she's not yet tipping her hand on that decision just yet. "I'm going to keep all of my options open," she said, "and just enjoy my se- nior year of college since I didn't have a senior year of high school." ✦ Gaetino, a first-team All-American and the 2022 ACC Defender of the Year, led the Fighting Irish with 3 goals and 6 points through four games this season. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Soccer's Eva Gaetino Embraces The Challenges Irish Roundup MEN'S SOCCER (1-0-1) Notre Dame picked up its first win of the sea- son with a 5-0 home victory over IUPUI Aug. 27 … The Irish hosted Northern Illinois Sept. 1 and will also face Detroit Mercy at home Sept. 5. WOMEN'S SOCCER (2-0-2) The No. 12-ranked Fighting Irish played to a 2-2 draw versus No. 10 Arkansas at home Aug. 27 … Notre Dame was next slated to play at No. 14 Michigan State Sept. 3 and return home to host Michigan Sept. 7. VOLLEYBALL (1-1) Notre Dame split its two matches in the Un- der Armour Challenge Aug. 25-26 at Lubbock, Texas, edging Wichita State 3-2 and falling 3-1 to host Texas Tech … The Irish faced Vil- lanova and Santa Clara in the Catholic Chal- lenge Sept. 1-2 in Philadelphia and will host Illinois Sept. 7.