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The Week in Notre Dame Athletics: Let the Tournaments Begin

The Fighting Irish earned wins this past week in men’s soccer, hockey, and men’s basketball.

With the fall comes tournament season for many Irish sports.
With the fall comes tournament season for many Irish sports.
fishoutofwater

Without further ado, we bring you the results of the last week's Irish match-ups.

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No. 5 men's soccer (10-4-3, 6-1-2) earned a draw at home against Michigan State, 1-1, before winning on the road vs. Pitt, 4-1, this past week. With that, the Irish claim their 2nd consecutive ACC regular-season championship. Against the Spartans, midfielder Evan Panken scored the lone Notre Dame goal in the 56th minute off of a rebound following a blocked shot on goal. The Irish led in shots on goal (10-6) and corner kicks (12-8). Despite several good chances, the team wasn't able to put another in the back of the net, and Michigan State equalized in the 80th minute on a corner.

The Irish claimed a big 4-1 win over Pitt behind 2 goals from forward Leon Brown and additional goals from Panken (1g, 2a) and midfielder Patrick Hodan. Pitt's lone goal came in the 81st minute when Notre Dame was up, 3-0, and had been since the end of the 1st half. The Irish led in shots on goal (8-2) but lagged behind in corners (1-5).

The Irish host their ACC Quarterfinals match against either Virginia or Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. ET).

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No. 9/7 women's soccer (12-4-2, 7-2-1) finished their regular season with a rainy 1-1 draw on the road against Boston College over the weekend. Katie Naughton notched the lone Irish goal on a header off of Brittany Von Rueden's attempt into the box in the 63rd minute. Notre Dame led in shots (18-9), shots on goal (8-3), and corner kicks (10-3), but the Eagles snagged the equalizer in the 79th minute on a rebound off the cross bar. Despite Irish control of the ball and tempo, no one could net a goal during the overtime periods. The team finished unbeaten on the road this season (6-0-2) and now looks ahead to the ACC tournament.

This Friday, the Irish face Florida State in Greensboro, NC (5:30 p.m. ET), as the ACC tournament commences. Depending on how they fare, they could compete in the ACC final on Sunday.

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Irish hockey (5-2-1) earned a 3-2 win and a 2-2 overtime tie over Vermont in their weekend series. Cal Peterson manned the goal for Notre Dame both nights. On Friday, Thomas DiPauli netted 2 of the Irish goals, with the 3rd coming from Mario Lucia. Both Vermont goals came in the 2nd period after the Irish had gone up, 2-0. DiPauli earned his 2nd in the closing stanza with assists from Anders Bjork and Robbie Russo. Vermont led in shots on goal, 36-23, and both teams failed to score on power plays (ND went 0-for-3).

Saturday night, the Irish had goals from Jake Evans and Mario Lucia, both in the 2nd period. Vermont's 2 goals both came in the 3rd, with the equalizer coming with just 41 seconds left in regulation. Vermont led in shots on goal again, 44-28, and the teams again were scoreless on power plays (ND was 0-for-2). Look for more coverage of the series from us later this week.

The Irish next travel to no. 1 Minnesota this Friday (8:00 p.m. ET, Big 10 Network, WatchND) and Sunday (5:00 p.m. ET, WatchND, ESPNU).

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Volleyball (5-18) again lost their two weekend matches, first falling to Georgia Tech in a chaotic 5 sets (17-25, 25-12, 11-25, 25-23, 15-11) at home and then fighting to another tough 3-2 loss at Boston College (25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 23-25, 15-6).

The Irish host Louisville this Sunday (1:00 p.m. ET, WatchND, ESPN3).

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Both men's and women's swimming and diving faced tough Purdue squads this past weekend. The men's team (1-1) fell, 161-139, though they claimed a number of first-place finishes and hung with the Boilermakers right up to the end. The women's team (2-4) also fell to Purdue's no. 24-ranked squad, 170-128, but picked up their own 6 first-place finishes, including in the 3-meter dive and 3 events featuring American record-holder Emma Reaney.

This weekend, both the men's and women's squads hosts Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.

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Notre Dame cross country competed in the ACC Championships this past weekend in Charlottesville, VA. The women's squad finished 5th overall in a field of 15 teams and 140 runners and the men's squad finished 7th in a field of 15 teams and 137 runners. The Irish had top performances from Molly Seidel (5th), Danielle Aragon (19th), Michael Clevenger (21st), and Timothy Ball (24th).

Up next for the Irish is the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in Madison, WI, in mid-November.

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Men's tennis was idle this past week and next heads to the ITA National Indoor Championships in Flushing, NY, beginning at the end of this week.

Women's tennis was also idle this past week. Next up for the squad are the ITA National Indoor Championships and the Western Michigan Invitational beginning at the end of this week.

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Fencing was idle this past week, but gets back to it this Friday at the North American Cup - Juniors in Louisville, KY.

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After a bit of time away, rowing hits the water again this weekend against Ohio State, Indiana, and Michigan in Columbus, OH.

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Men's basketball opened exhibition play with a match vs. Minnesota Duluth at home on Saturday afternoon. The Irish won out, 88-71, behind Pat Connaughton's double-double and Demetrius Jackson's 20 points. Look for our awesome basketball coverage to pick up as the games begin.

The team plays Lewis this Friday evening at home in their exhibition finale (7:00 p.m. ET, WatchND).

Women's basketball gets things started with their first exhibition match this Wednesday evening at home (7:00 p.m. ET, WatchND).

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We'll bring you updates next week on Notre Dame's Olympic sports. For now, go Irish. Beat Arizona State and everybody else.