Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 31, 2026 49 BY TODD D. BURLAGE B orn in London, raised in Canada and currently studying pre-med at Notre Dame in the United States, An- nabelle Chukwu's journey has already provided her with countless memories. That's without even mentioning the 19-year-old's soccer pursuits with the Canadian national youth teams that have taken her to Costa Rica, Colom- bia, Brazil and elsewhere, with many more destinations to come for the Notre Dame junior forward. For background, Chukwu was born in London to an English-born mother and a Nigerian-born father, before Annabelle and her twin sister, Isabelle, moved with their family to Ottawa, Ontario, in 2016 at the age of 9. Never previously interested or involved in competitive sports, both girls began playing soccer during grade-school recess at their new school in Canada. And the rest, as they say, is history. Following terrific high school and club soccer careers up north, both quick studies chose to relocate and play col- lege soccer in the U.S. Isabelle began her career at Brown University and trans- ferred to Villanova in 2025, while Anna- belle arrived at Notre Dame in 2024 and has been an Irish star ever since. "I wanted to be able to take my soccer to the next level," Annabelle said. "And moving to Notre Dame felt like the right step for me." So how did the sisters handle part- ing ways to pursue different college and career paths? "We're really close, so it was hard," An- nabelle shared. "We had always been on the same teams together since we started playing soccer. … Just having someone to train with, to push me was huge. I credit a lot of where I am today to my sister." Chukwu admitted to some anxiety when relocating from Ottawa to Notre Dame, but the homesickness or ner- vousness she felt was never evident. As an Irish freshman in 2024, Chukwu became a third-team All-ACC selection and was named to the ACC All-Freshman team after recording 8 points on 3 goals and 2 assists in 16 games, even after miss- ing six games that season while competing for Team Canada in the U20 World Cup. As a sophomore last season, Chukwu earned first-team All-ACC honors and second-team All-America recognition af- ter tallying 12 goals and 27 points, all while also collecting many academic honors. "I'm thankful for how hard the schoolwork is [at Notre Dame] and I think it's helping a lot in my growth," Chukwu shared. Despite playing competitive soccer for only about 10 years, Chukwu still makes her craft look more like art than sport when moving across the pitch. When previously asked about her "overnight" success, Chukwu often at- tributes some of her quick development to her time on Team Canada with head coach Casey Stoney. "[Annabelle] is definitely a rare tal- ent, she just has a special quality," Stoney said in a story for The Canadian Press. "If you're a fan, you'd pay to come and watch her play." Sometimes pulled in different direc- tions between her Team Canada and Team Irish pursuits, Chukwu missed seven games with Notre Dame earlier this season while playing for Canada at the 2026 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in Poland. It's an important time-share that could earn Chukwu a place on Canada's roster for the 2027 Women's World Cup. But at least for now, this soft-spoken rising star is back for Notre Dame's 2026 season homestretch, and ready to help the Irish make a strong late-season push for both an ACC championship and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. In her first five games back since return- ing to Notre Dame, Chukwu had already recorded 14 shots and 5 shots on goal, but had yet to record a goal or an assist. But season stats aside, Chukwu said that the opportunities Notre Dame pro- vides validate her relocation decision more every day. "For me, going to Notre Dame was about choosing the best place to foster my growth both in the classroom and on the field," she said. "And I've been tested in both of those areas a lot. But it's also helped me become the person and the player that I am today." ✦ Soccer Star Annabelle Chukwu Is Covering A Lot Of Ground N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S As a sophomore last season, Chukwu earned first- team All-ACC honors and second-team All-America recognition after tallying 12 goals and 27 points. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY Both teams competed in the Pre-Nationals Oct. 16 at Terre Haute, Ind. … The No. 7-ranked women finished third, behind only BYU and North Carolina State, while the No. 15 men also came in third, behind Syracuse and Villanova. HOCKEY (2-0 OVERALL, 0-0 BIG TEN) Opened the season with a pair of victories at Compton Family Ice Arena, beating Niagara 3-1 Oct. 8 and 4-0 Oct. 9 … Played a home-and- home with No. 6 Western Michigan Oct. 16-17. MEN'S SOCCER (5-4-3 OVERALL, 2-3-0 ACC) Suffered a 7-1 setback at North Carolina Oct. 10 … Hosted Boston College Oct. 17 at Alumni Stadium. WOMEN'S SOCCER (6-1-6 OVERALL, 4-1-1 ACC) The No. 17 Irish defeated Pitt 4-1 Oct. 15 at Alumni Stadium. VOLLEYBALL (4-11 OVERALL, 1-5 ACC) Dropped a pair of matches at Purcell Pavil- ion, losing 3-1 to No. 14 Stanford Oct. 9 and 3-0 to Cal Oct. 11 … Hosted No. 23 North Carolina Oct. 16 and Duke Oct. 18.