
The primary of two School Soccer Playoff semifinal video games kicks off on Thursday night with the Orange Bowl between sixth-seeded Penn State and seventh-seeded Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
It marks the twentieth all-time assembly (9-9-1) and first between the 2 packages since 2007. It’s additionally their second postseason matchup, because the Combating Irish knocked off the Nittany Lions, 20-9, within the 1976 Gator Bowl.
Penn State might be thought-about the house group by advantage of being the upper seed, and can put on its normal house uniforms of white helmets, navy blue jerseys and white pants in South Florida.
The Nittany Lions have worn navy blue jerseys in three of their 5 earlier Orange Bowl appearances (1969-70, 1974), going undefeated in these contests however 1-1 whereas sporting white jerseys (1986 and 2006).
Notre Dame, in the meantime, will put on its normal street uniforms of gold helmets, white jerseys and gold pants after upsetting second-seeded Georgia within the quarterfinals on this precise mixture.
The Combating Irish are additionally making their sixth look within the Orange Bowl, going 2-1 of their street uniforms with wins in 1975 and 1990 and a loss in 1991. They’re 0-2 of their navy blue jerseys, in the meantime (1973 and 1996).
That mentioned, Notre Dame made a refined replace to its uniforms for the postseason, including every participant’s final identify to the again of their jerseys and small gold patch above that with a blue “ND” monogram flanked by the Nos. 24 and 25, clearly noting the years.
That’s created a singular state of affairs for walk-on cornerback Charles Du, who’s from Beijing and has his final identify written in Chinese language characters, following the lead of former Arizona State running back Jackson He, who made historical past as first Chinese language-born participant to attain a landing in 2020.
As for Thursday’s area design, it options the Orange Bowl emblem on the 50-yard line of Arduous Rock Stadium, with a Capital One commercial and a School Soccer Playoff semifinal wordmark on the 25-yard strains.
Each finish zones are navy blue, with a white Penn State wordmark or gold Notre Dame wordmark to the suitable of the School Soccer Playoff emblem, which sits in opposing corners of the sphere.
Make certain to test again on Friday for a preview of the opposite School Soccer Playoff semifinal matchup, which pits fifth-seeded Texas towards eight-seeded Ohio State within the Cotton Bowl.
Header picture courtesy of @OrangeBowl on X/Twitter.