Notre Dame’s women’s soccer team is a tough opponent to play, and for those teams in the Big… Notre Dame’s women’s soccer team is a tough opponent to play, and for those teams in the Big East that have to face the Fighting Irish every year, it’s even worse.

Last year, the Irish (25-1-1) defeated UCLA’s soccer team to claim the national championship, defeating the Panthers 3-1 in Big East play along the way.

But Pitt is tapping into Notre Dame’s past to help its own future.

Panthers’ head coach Sue-Moy Chin, who coached at Notre Dame from 1997 to ’99, announced Friday that former Fighting Irish defender Lindsey Jones will join the program as her assistant coach.

In the Notre Dame backfield, Jones started as a freshman defender and played four years, from 1998 to 2001. She was a key defender and helped the Irish to an NCAA-best 0.39 goals against average in 2000. Notre Dame was a semi-finalist in the NCAA tournament that year.

She also helped the Irish in 1999 to become the runner-up in the NCAA tournament. They never claimed the national championship during her stay in South Bend, Ind., but Jones left her mark.

Jones, who graduated with a 3.33 GPA as a sociology and psychology major, was a member of a senior class that went 82-11-4 (.866). She scored only two goals from her defensive position in her career, but she added 19 assists in 70 starts.

One of her assists is written down in Notre Dame’s record books, as it was part of the second fastest goal in Irish history. The goal she assisted on was scored just 27 seconds in.

A native of South Bend, she joins Pitt after it went 2-7-1 in Big East play last season, 6-10-1 overall.

Entering her third season, Chin, with Jones at her side, hopes to bring the Panthers into competition in the Big East.

“We are extremely excited to add a coach of Lindsey’s stature to our staff,” Chin said on PittsburghPanthers.com, adding, “I’ve known Lindsey for a long time, having coached her for two years. She is a great person and a great soccer player who has played at a very high level. Lindsey will bring a lot of passion and enthusiasm to our coaching staff and program.”