Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND Sports cases and overthink things." The team's early schedule has put their confidence to the test. The Irish faced No. 3 Auburn, No. 13 Indiana and No. 25 Purdue in their first three meets of the season. Barnes said he intentionally set up difficult opponents early in the year to learn about his team. "We've scheduled tough, which is always good to do. I'm a big believer in it," he said. "It allows us to really get more specific in our practices." Getting used to swimming against unfamiliar competition will be impor- tant for the Irish this year as they begin their first ACC season. Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech are the only two conference opponents on the schedule before the league championships at the end of February. Barnes and Reaney agreed that ideally they'd get a closer look at their new foes earlier this season, but most of the Notre Dame schedule was already in place when they made the jump to the ACC official. Barnes said he plans on adjusting the schedule to include more league opponents during the dual-meet season moving forward. ✦ Irish Roundup Cross Country The Irish men's team claimed third place in its first ACC Championships appearance Nov. 1 in Kernersville, N.C. The women weren't far behind, finishing in fourth when it was their time on the course. Senior Martin Grady was the highest men's finisher, crossing the line in fifth place, followed by fifthyear senior Jeremy Rae (11th). In the women's race, senior Kelly Curran (16th) and junior Hannah Eckstein (20th) were the top two finishers for the Irish. Hockey (6-2, 1-1 in Hockey East) No. 4 Notre Dame split a pair of games at Vermont in its first Hockey East competition. The Irish lost 2-1 in their debut Nov. 1, but followed that with a come-from-behind 3-2 win the following night. Sophomore Sam Herr scored two goals in the third period to lead the Irish to their first league victory. Men's Soccer (10-1-5, 6-1-3 in ACC) Notre Dame rose to No. 1 in the polls for the second year in a row to start the month of November. Goals from Harrison Shipp and Vince Cicciarelli helped the top-ranked Irish beat No. 18 Michigan State 2-0 Nov. 5 to end their non-conference schedule. The Irish will be the ACC's highest seed when the conference tournament begins Nov. 12. Women's Soccer (11-7-1, 7-5-1 in ACC) The Irish bowed out in the opening round of their first ACC Tournament Nov. 3 with a 2-1 loss to Virginia Tech in double overtime. It was their fourth double-overtime loss of the season and their second in a row. Junior Lauren Bohaboy scored for Notre Dame. The team now waits to see if it will earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which starts Nov. 15.