Tri-Campus Sports Fall Break Preview

With the campuses of the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College empty this weekend for fall break, each institution’s athletic programs are continuing at full speed. Here’s a look at what each team has in store for the next week and a half.

Notre Dame

football

Much to the delight of Notre Dame students, the 5-1 Irish will end fall break with two games outside of South Bend. They will face Georgia Tech this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta before facing Navy next Saturday at noon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Georgia Tech, an 11.5-point underdog against the Irish this weekend, comes into the game at 5-2 after defeating North Carolina with a 41-34 road win last week. Quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes showed off their one-two punch, combining for 277 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Navy is now 5-0 and ranked No. 25 in the nation. The Midshipmen picked up a bye last week after scoring a season-low 34 points at Air Force to start October. Led by multi-dimensional quarterback Blake Horvath and running back Eli Heidenreich, Navy has a very real passing attack this year.

Ice hockey

After a 2-0 start, the 18th-ranked Irish will play their home opener against Alaska this weekend. The Nanooks are 0-4 but have played three one-goal games this season, including two last weekend at Michigan Tech. They will have the challenge of defending second-year center Cole Knuble, the reigning Big Ten First Star of the Week, on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Irish play another home series next weekend against Long Island, which parted ways with Augustana last week.

Men’s football

Only four games remain in Notre Dame’s regular season, and the Irish are winless in their last three games. They are currently in ninth place in the ACC standings and have a series of winnable games ahead of them, starting with a 7 p.m. matchup against Boston College on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles have the worst conference (0-4-2) and overall record (3-4-5) in the ACC.

Next week the Irish will stay at home and face UIC on Tuesday in the final non-conference game of the season. Then, in two Sundays, they head west to visit Cal, which has the second-worst overall record in the ACC at 4-5-2.

Women’s football

No. 12 Notre Dame currently has three straight Top 25 matchups lined up, starting with Thursday’s 7 p.m. clash against No. 25 Cal. After that, the Irish travel to No. 25 Cal on Thursday at 7 p.m. 1 Duke to a huge postseason litmus test. At 11-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, the Blue Devils lead the ACC standings and, like the Irish, have not lost since August 15th.

In another rankings showdown, the Irish return home to face No. 18 Virginia Tech on October 27. The Hokies, currently in third place in the ACC standings, have been doing well of late and on October 6 Defeated No. 22 Florida State.

volleyball

The 9-6 Irish have four games in the next 10 days, starting with a 6:30 p.m. home game against NC State on Friday. Notre Dame will then host Wake Forest in a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m

While the Irish, who have played excellent volleyball at home this year, could realistically come out on top this weekend, next week will be as tough as it gets. Notre Dame travels to No. 12 SMU and No. 1 Pittsburgh, two teams with a combined record of 28-5.

Cross country

After a third-place women’s finish and a men’s championship at the Joe Piane Invite on Oct. 4, Notre Dame travels to Madison this weekend. The Irish will compete in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Men’s golf

The 23rd-ranked Irish will conclude their fall season Sunday through Tuesday at the Williams Cup in Wilmington, North Carolina. Last time out, Notre Dame won the Fighting Irish Classic with a team score of 5 under par.

Women’s golf

The rest of Notre Dame’s golfers will travel to Wilmington just days later to participate in the Landfall Tradition, hosted by UNC Wilmington Oct. 25-27. The Irish women delivered their strongest performance of the season with a fifth-place finish at the Evie Odom Invitational in early October.

Swimming and diving

After a 180-82 loss to Miami (Ohio), the Irish travel to Ann Arbor this weekend to face Michigan and Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday. They remain in Big Ten country and visit Indiana for a matchup on Wednesday, October 23rd.

St. Mary’s

At Saint Mary’s College, four of their sports compete during break, including basketball, cross country, soccer and volleyball.

basketball

The Belles basketball team begins the 2024-2025 season with a home opener against Lake Michigan College on October 25 starting at 6:00 p.m. This game overbreak marks the first game of the season for the Belles basketball team. The team finished the 2023-2024 season with a record of 5-20 overall and 2-14 in the conference. This year the team is hoping for a strong season with new head coach Rob Hoffman.

Cross country

During the break, the Belles cross country team will compete at the Augustana Interregional Invitational on October 25th.

football

Belles Soccer is currently 6-4 overall on the season and 1-1 in the MIAA heading into fall break. The Belles will play three games before the break.

The first game the Belles face is October 19th against Alma. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m. This game will also be the Belles’ senior day. This year, the Belles have five seniors on the team, including Riley Lindsey, Grace Barresi, Mary Kaczynski, Katie Harrington and Izzi Linus.

The Belles will face Albion on October 22nd at 7:00 p.m. The third and final game will be at home again as the Belles take on Trine on October 26th starting at 1 p.m

volleyball

The Saint Mary’s volleyball team is 8-11 overall on the season so far and 0-4 in the MIAA and will play in one game over fall break. The Belles will face Adrian College on October 23rd starting at 7 p.m

Holy Cross

The Holy Cross Saints also offers sports competitions during fall break, including men’s and women’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s tennis.

Women’s football

The women’s soccer team is 5-7-1 overall and 3-2-1 in conference play so far this season. The team plays two games during the break.

The Saints will face Saint Xavier in their first game on October 19th at 6:00 p.m. Their second game is Oct. 23 against Judson, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m

Men’s football

The Holy Cross College men’s soccer team is currently 4-6-4 on the season so far and 1-2-3 in conference play. The Saints will also play three games during fall break.

The Saints will kick off their first game against Saint Xavier on October 19th at 8:30 p.m., following the women’s soccer game. Their second game is scheduled for Oct. 22 at 3:30 p.m. when they face Judson. The Saints will conclude their series on October 26 with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against Trinity Christian.

Women’s basketball

The women’s basketball team plays a game during fall break. They face Taylor University.

Men’s tennis

The men’s tennis team during the break will be the final Saints team to compete in the Cleveland State Fall Tournament, a three-day event Oct. 25-27.