In reply to: Well, for national teams iirc we have her, Gaetino on posted by Grace91
Both played two years at ND and both moved on to professional programs, Albert to PSG while Leon went to the SEC in Florida, where she only played 1 year. Her WIkipedia page certainly talks more about her ND career than Florida.
Leon abandoned ND for another college program. Albert went pro.
It’s Kennedy Urlacher v. Joe Alt.
have elite players give ND two years (or more like Liv gave us 4.5 yrs) then have them not come and stay loyal to our program. I will never vilify a college student for choosing to go to another school after they gave at least a year to ND.
Players leave for legitimate reasons that fit their personal plans. Leon is certainly a top notch player (still world class) who gave ND two great years which is exactly what Korbin gave us. Adriana decided to go to Florida to help grow up, expand her horizons, and became a better soccer player which is exactly what she did. She went from not getting many minutes, often coming off the bench, those two years for Waldrum to starting for Florida. Just for the facts Adiana started half the games and was 11th on the team in minutes both as a Freshman and Sophomore. By her Sophomore year 3 Freshman and 3 Sophomores played more minutes than her in 2011, the year after she scored the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over the Stanford Cardinal in the NC game and was named to the All-Tournament Team. My guess at 5'3", one of the shortest on the team, did not help her get PT. Also remember back then there was no development for women's professional soccer players at the same level as NCAA women's soccer so she decided to try a different school. She only stayed there one year and then went pro to play for the Boston Breakers.
Korbin who started from day 1 at ND did exactly the same thing by going to Paris for PSG. She could have stayed for two more years at ND but would not have grown to the talent she has become if she hadn't had her 3 years at PSG. I love Korbin but she certainly isn't loyal as a pro since she signed after that 3 year contract to PSG's arch nemesis, Lyon as she continues to develop as a pro. One other thing Adriana and Korbin have in common is both are in the "Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer" Wikipedia page under "Notable alumni" and "Current Professionals As of January 28, 2025". Adriana is listed as the oldest playing professional from ND (2010-11) while Korbin is the youngest playing professional from ND (2021-22). My guess if ND is willing to live with Adriana as being affiliated with ND so should we.
The transfer has diminished my affection for Miles. But at least she graduated from Notre Dame. She’s an alum.
Did Leon get her degree before she discarded us for another school? It’s a genuine question. It’s always been my understanding that she didn’t, but I would soften my position if she were an alum.
But I’m sorry. If you see no difference between leaving ND to go pro and leaving ND to go to another school, I don’t know what to tell you.
competing as a professional over the years, both in the NWSL and Europe as well as being a key member of the Canadian national team. Still Adriana did not get that degree from ND, but from Florida (per Google AI). Still the most recent famous (or infamous) ND women athletes who left for another school either got their degree from ND before leaving (like Liv to TCU-with 2 ND degrees, Kylee to Villanova, Nat to Miami, Sam to UVA) or as non ND grad xfr (Emma Risch to FSU, Kate Koval to LSU, & Abby Gemma to Florida from our ND women's soccer team) we will see if will they finish their degrees at their new school.
Still I would say the top 3 most infamous ND Women xfrs (far more than Leon) were Erin Boley to Oregon in WBB, Morgan Andrews to U$C in soccer, and that 1st evil NDWBB transfer, Michelle Marciniak to Tennessee, back in 1993. The last two not only got their degrees with their new school they also got National Championships at their new school. I would also argue Erin would have got an NC with the Ducks if the 2020 NCAA tourney wasn't cancelled playing with Ionescu, Sabally, & Hebard. What I can say, despite their infamy to many ND fans, all 3 may not be ND grads but they all are fine women who excelled in their sports and finished with their degrees.
The fact is the 3 most famous ND women athletes who left early to go pro (Jewell Loyd, Jackie Young, & Korbin), none at this point have finished their ND undergrad degree (at least per Google's AI). Jewel & Jackie are both a few credits short and supposedly are trying to finish on line and Korbin is still young so we will see if she keeps at it. It would be nice if they get their ND degrees but noone can argue they haven't been successful pros and US National team members getting Olympic Golds and we are glad they are still connected to ND. I would also argue Leon has had also been a successful pro and Canadian National team member (also with an Olympic Gold medal) and I think it is great the ND women's soccer Wikipedia page connects her to ND even if she got her degree from another school.
I am not sorry that I don't see much difference between Korbin and Adriana as reps of ND women soccer given they both gave the same amount of years to ND women's soccer before going pro. I do hope Korbin's career, both as a pro and on our national team, lasts as long as Adriana's. It would be nice if she gets her degree from ND but I'd support her even if she gets it from another school or doesn't ever get one like I also support Jewell & Jackie, whether they finish their degree or not.
The Gators can have her.
during the Women's World Cup you were posting Korbin as the next ND USWNT player and in the post you didn't respond to GK's comment about Leon being ND. I remember that since I follow the Thorns I forgot she was ND & thought she was Florida given that is how they referenced her and that is what I posted. Still the more I've followed her I appreciate her ND connection. Also as NIL is affecting movement the "Alum" side of the connection for me is starting to fall off as value. Then to add to my understanding how the 3 most famous ND women athletes stars who left early to go straight to pro never graduated from ND including Korbin cements the deal for me that it matters more that the player gave some important years to ND even if it wasn't their last or whether their an ND alum. Olivia Miles to me will always be ND even if she succeeds at TCU. I saw it as a smart move for her to extend her college career vs going pro and that really wasn't going to make sense to stay at ND given how things ended with her on the team this past season. I also didn't see how Hannah & Liv could coexist another year at ND anyways. My hope with her given her 4.5 seasons at ND she gets known as an ND Alum vs TCU player. I am more ND with my 4 years vs my 2 years as a Duck for Grad school, though I own both, so maybe Liv will as well.
Leon isn't much different than Liv since her NCAA contribution was better at ND given her tourney success her Freshman year. The fact that GK's NCAA.com July 19, 2023 article he linked said she was from ND vs Florida was a good thing because if they had called her a "proud UF alum" ND would have only had 1 WC player (KiKi van Santen) while Florida would be up to 5 players joining FSU, UNC, Stanford, & PSU as the top colleges. ND would not have even been mentioned since only those 22 colleges with 2 or more players were called out. For me the "aha" about Adriana leaving was really that it started ND's downfall in women's soccer which got worse when we lost Morgan Andrews a few years later. Korbin has been the best ND player we have had since then and we only had her also for 2 years. Adriana was lucky that that 2010 team was full of so much talent to win it all and she made a difference.
a bummer re Leon. We have a lot of talented players coming through the pipeline that will be interesting to watch over the years.