Written by Jude Martin
On July 11th, Write on Sports interviewed Sammi Fisher and Kate O’Connor at Notre Dame. Both moved all the way from southern California to South Bend because of Notre Dame’s reputation for “great academics and athletics” programs, and now play on Notre Dame’s womens’ soccer team together. Surprisingly, these two friends “used to hate each other,” says Fisher. They played on rival club teams in California, and clashed in many games; O’Connor usually defended Fisher when they played each other. However, now that they are teammates, they are great friends and are working hard together to make the Fighting Irish team as good as it can be, with a 4-2 win against 11th ranked Clemson, and a 2-2 tie against 6th ranked Texas Tech last year.
Both O’Connor and Fisher started playing soccer at age 5, and eventually joined the So Cal Blues and Real So Cal, respectively. Both of these teams achieved impressive accomplishments while Fisher and O’Connor were there; O’Connor’s team was ranked No.1 nationally in 2015, and Fisher’s team won the 2016 Cal South ODP National Championship. Both players are going into their junior year at Notre Dame, and have decided to go to the Mendoza College of Business together after their senior year. Even though they used to be rivals, the Notre Dame soccer team has brought them together, as teammates and as friends.