viewpoinT PAGE 6 w soccer PAGE 16 FooTball

The observer | MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

ND WOMEN’s sOCCER

Team advances to Acc semifinals

By J.J. POST

sports Writer

notre dame women’s soccer advanced to the Acc semifinals saturday, downing Pittsburgh on penalty kicks.

The game wasn’t without regular time fireworks, as the Irish accumulated 26 total shots over 110 minutes of open play. notre dame was able to take the lead in the second after senior forward Kiki van Zanten coolly finished a cross from graduate defender brianna martinez. but the lead given by the well-worked goal was short-lived.

Just under fifteen minutes later, the Panthers found an equalizer. The goal was caused by some set piece mayhem, as the Irish failed to clear a dangerous long ball into the box. Goalkeeper mackenzie Wood inadvertently knocked down center back eva Gaetino, and in the commotion Katie Zailski was able to lob a pass to Leah Pais in front of the net. With Wood on the ground, Pais made quick work of the chance, guiding the ball into an empty goal to tie the game at one.

The knotted scoreline would stand until penalties, when Irish head coach nate norman made a bold change. removing Wood in favor of junior Ashley naylor, norman opted to go with the goalkeeper that won notre dame its only shootout of the 2021 season.

And although naylor didn’t make a save, the result validated the decision. After the Panthers’ sarah schupansky and Irish senior midfielder maddie mercado traded converted attempts, Zailski struck the post with her effort. The damage was done. sophomore midfielder Korbin Albert confidently scored her third penalty attempt in as many

see semIFInALs PAGE 14

GAME WRAP FOOTBALL COLUMN

Thomas: Freeman’s offense is nearsighted

SAM GODINEZ | The Observer

Irish junior tight end Michael Mayer runs the ball during Notre Dame’s decisive victory over the No. 16 Syracuse Orange on Oct. 29. Aidan Thomas

sports editor

notre dame scored 44 points last weekend, and they followed it up with 41 points at no. 16 syracuse. That’s certainly an improvement on the last time they scored 40+ points. That came against north carolina, at which point the Irish followed with a combined 42 points against bYU and stanford, two struggling teams with a combined 7-10 record. but is it sustainable? marcus Freeman said some of the right things after the win against syracuse. he wants to establish an offensive identity, and he feels the Irish have done that. certainly, 56 carries for 246 yards feels like an established identity. but when asked about inconsistencies in the passing game, Freeman

see ThomAs PAGE 15

Irish run over and around No. 16 Syracuse, 41-24

By AIDAN THOMAS

sports editor

sYrAcUse, new York — In what is nothing short of an unpredictable season, the notre dame Fighting Irish continue to play their best football against better opponents and away from notre dame stadium. This time it was made evident in the Irish’s commanding 41-24 win over the no. 16 syracuse orange saturday afternoon.

Irish dominance at the close of the first half and opening of the second half helped them establish a 24-7 lead. syracuse’s backup quarterback, carlos del rio-Wilson, forced into the game after an injury to Garrett shrader, sparked the orange to 10 straight points. but, with a chance to drive and tie the game, del rio-Wilson tossed a backbreaking interception. notre dame responded with a touchdown drive to take back its two-score lead. A blocked punt set up a one-play touchdown drive that iced the result, giving notre dame a 38-17 lead. The two teams traded scores, with an Irish field goal marking the final points of the day and making up for the 41-24 final score.

Ultimately, notre dame’s ground game was the storyline. sophomore running backs Audric estime (124 yards) and Logan diggs (87 yards) combined for 40 carries and 211 yards. That came a week after diggs ran for 130 yards against UnLv in his breakout performance of the year. It was estime’s second 100+-yard performance of his season.

“Logan [diggs] is my brother. We’re always trying to push each other every day. We have that bond, it’s unbreakable. We always feed off each other,” estime said. estime scored twice, and diggs added a touchdown of his own. The Irish didn’t need much out of the passing game, completing just nine passes. They did see a small breakout performance from deion colzie who notched three receptions for 44 yards. Junior tight end michael mayer continued his recordsetting career with three catches for 54 yards. The second of those three catches vaulted the junior to no. 1 all-time in notre dame tight end career receiving yards. defensively, the Irish were a dominant force outside a brief stretch in the third quarter. senior transfer safety brandon Joseph and senior linebacker marist Liufau collected interceptions for the Irish, both at key moments. Junior linebacker Jordan botelho had two sacks and a quarterback hit as part of a four-sack defensive effort from the Irish. senior linebacker J.d. bertrand put forth another strong effort, with five tackles, including one for loss, two quarterback hits and a big tipped pass on fourth down.

Irish use defense, ground game to take early lead

notre dame got off to the fastest start imaginable. They