Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 OCT. 2, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY DAVID MCKINNEY T hrough 11 matches as of Sept. 20, the Irish had suffered only one loss — a 3-0 defeat at then-No. 24 Ohio State that they avenged the next day with a 3-1 win over the Buckeyes. Perhaps the most impressive part of Notre Dame's 10-1 start is its dom- inant performances in tournament play. The Irish opened the season by hosting and winning the Golden Dome Invitational with a 3-0 record, and then won three of four games in the Bowling Green/Toledo Invi- tational with the win over the Buck- eyes giving them the tournament championship. In the Shamrock Invitational Sept. 15-16, which Notre Dame also hosted, the Irish didn't drop a single set in three matches, sweeping Michi- gan State, Southern Illinois and Cen- tral Michigan on their way to a third tournament championship. After the final match of the week- end, a 3-0 victory over Central Mich- igan, Notre Dame head coach Jim McLaughlin said he was gratified to see the Irish wrap up another tourna- ment with a flourish. "I was a little worried," McLaugh- lin said. "The emotions were higher against Michigan State. … We weren't on our 'A' game, but we played steady and I think that was good for us. "Those matches are hard. There were parts of the match that we can continue to learn from. I think we did some things well, but we also have to clean up some things." With the win, the Irish finished off non-conference play with just one blemish on their record. To continue its early season success, McLaughlin said Notre Dame has to focus on not becoming complacent. "There were lessons along the way in every match," he explained. "We are going to continue to learn. "We did what we were supposed to do in the preseason, and now we have to keep getting better when we start the ACC. "I like where we are at, but we have to rest a little bit." Of the Irish's 10 wins, seven have come at home, giving them their best home start to a season since 2005. In their 10 wins, they've dropped just four sets while posting six sweeps. Notre Dame will open up ACC play with road games at Louisville Sept. 22 and North Carolina State Sept. 24, before returning to South Bend to host Miami in its ACC home opener Sept. 29. ✦ Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY Notre Dame had a strong showing in the National Catholic Invitational Sept. 15, its first home event of the year. The women took first place for the 11th straight year, while the men's team finished in second place. Junior Annie Heffernan placed first overall in the women's five-kilometer race with a time of 17:29.4, trailed closely by runner-up and Irish freshman Anna Sophia Keller (17:31.8). The top finisher for the men was freshman Yared Nugus, who logged a time of 25:00.8 in the five-mile race, putting him in second place overall. MEN'S GOLF The Irish opened the season by participating in the Badger Invitational Sept. 10-12 in Madison, Wis. Notre Dame finished in fourth place as a team, with junior Ben Albin leading the way with a third-place individual finish. Albin shot under par in all three rounds, with his best score — a 6-under 66 — coming in the third and final round. Next up for the Irish was the Shoal Creek Invitational Sept. 25-26 at Shoal Creek, Ala. WOMEN'S GOLF After being tied for seventh place heading into the final round of the Min- nesota Invitational Sept. 11-12 in Woodbury, Minn., the Irish moved up four spots on the final day of competition to take third place. The top finisher for Notre Dame was junior Isabella DiLisio, who carded a 5-under 67 during the final round. Notre Dame was slated to resume competition at the Schooner Fall Classic Sept. 23-25 in Norman, Okla. MEN'S SOCCER (6-0-0, 2-0-0 ACC) Notre Dame has ascended all the way to No. 1 in the national rankings, gaining the top spot in the United Soccer Coaches poll Sept. 19. The Irish celebrated by picking up their sixth win of the season, 2-1 over No. 19 Bowl- ing Green in South Bend later that day. After taking on Virginia Tech Sept. 22 in Blacksburg, Va., the Irish were slated to head to Bloomington, Ind., for a showdown with No. 2 Indiana Sept. 26. WOMEN'S SOCCER (5-3-2, 1-1-0 ACC) After falling out of the top 25, the Irish notched a 4-2 win at No. 11 Clemson Sept. 16, followed by a 3-0 defeat at home to No. 4 Duke Sept. 21. Sophomore Natalie Jacobs led the way for the Irish against the Tigers, tallying one goal and two assists for a career-high four points. After Clemson and Duke, Notre Dame was scheduled to face three more top-25 teams in consecutive games — No. 24 North Carolina State Sept. 24 and No. 18 Wake Forest Sept. 29, both at home, plus No. 11 Virginia Oct. 5 on the road. — David McKinney Junior outside hitter Rebecca Nunge (No. 9) and the Irish won 10 of their first 11 matches this year. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Volleyball Is Off To A Strong Start