2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Offseason, The Shirt 2018 and Blue-Gold Game
The Irish then finished up their winter conditioning program led by Matt Balis, in just his second year on the coaching staff, before heading into spring practices. The annual Blue-Gold Game, a spring exhibition with Notre Dame's offense pitted against its defense, ended the spring football season and was played at Notre Dame Stadium on April 21, 2018, with Blue defeating Gold 47–44.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Offseason, The Shirt 2018 and Blue-Gold Game
A day before the Blue-Gold Game was arguably more exciting for Irish fans and especially Notre Dame students, as the 2018 Notre Dame Football Shirt was revealed in front of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore at the Eck Center. There was much debate as to which color The Shirt would be this year, and Coach Kelly ended the suspense by ripping off his jacket to reveal the Kelly green shirt.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Offseason, The Shirt 2018 and Blue-Gold Game
The front of The Shirt features the iconic image of the top of the outside of the stadium directly above the Knute Rockne Gate, which displays "University of Notre Dame" etched in gold under two flags–one for Notre Dame and the other for the team that the Irish happens to be playing that week. Below this image is "Fighting Irish Football 2018," printed in large gold letters. The back of The Shirt features a portrayal of Notre Dame's defensive line with "No Breaking Point" printed below it, which is a reference to one of late coach Ara Parseghian's famous mottos. The Shirt would then be sold immediately following its reveal, with many cheerful fans and students alike walking out of The Bookstore, proudly donning The Shirt just minutes after it was revealed.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Offseason, 2018 NFL Draft
The following former Notre Dame players were selected in the 2018 NFL Draft:


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Offseason, Recruiting, Recruits
Notre Dame signed 21 recruits during college football's second-ever early signing period (December 20–22) before inking an additional six on National Signing Day.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
The #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish took care of business against their bitter rival #14 Michigan Wolverines, 24–17 in perhaps the most raucous atmosphere ever at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame's "Irish Wear Green" initiative really paid off, even selling a green Under Armour shirt with the phrase on it and laying a green towel with the phrase on it on each seat of the Fighting Irish student section, and the Stadium was almost entirely wearing green, including the coaching staff and the Band of the Fighting Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
The Irish got off to the best start possible by scoring on each of their first two drives of the season opener. On their first drive of the game, it only took Irish senior quarterback Brandon Wimbush 7 plays in 1:25 to drive his offense down the field 75 yards for a touchdown. Wimbush made 15+ yard completions on consecutive passes to junior receiver Chase Claypool and senior receiver Miles Boykin, before sophomore running back Jafar Armstrong ran the ball up the middle for 13 yards and the first Notre Dame touchdown of the 2018 season.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
After forcing a Michigan punt, the Irish again drove down the field  in 7 plays, this time covering 96 yards in 3:07. The Irish got the benefit of a couple of third down conversions–one coming from a targeting penalty called against a Michigan defender on senior tight end Alizé Mack that ejected the defender from the game, and the other resulting from a Wimbush 7-yard run.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
The very next play was the signature play of the game, as Wimbush threw up a heave over the middle all the way to the end zone, which senior receiver Chris Finke muscled away from two Michigan defenders to take control of and give the Irish a 14–0 lead, just halfway into the first quarter.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
To start off the second quarter, Michigan got just 3 points off a couple of drives. Most notable from those drives were junior defensive lineman Khalid Kareem's sack of Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson for a 16-yard loss, forcing a punt, as well as senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery's sack when Michigan was deep into the red zone, pushing it back 8 yards and forcing it to settle for a field goal.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
On the ensuing Notre Dame drive, the Irish relied on the run game to get the ball into the end zone again, mostly by way of Wimbush and junior running back Tony Jones Jr. Notre Dame again benefited from a couple of costly Michigan penalties, both on 3rd down, which extended the drive and allowed Armstrong to get into the end zone with his second touchdown run of the game, this one a 4-yard scamper, to extend the Irish lead to 21–3. Michigan did return the following kickoff for a touchdown, but Notre Dame still held a substantial 21–10 lead at the half.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Michigan's started the second half already in desperation mode, as it turned over on downs each of its first two drives (one of which resulted from a botched hold on a field goal attempt by Michigan's Will Hart). Wimbush did throw a long interception in that span, but then he made perhaps the best play of his life when he ran up the middle for 22 yards to keep the chains moving on 3rd and 18. Wimbush also completed a 19-yard pass to Chase Claypool, who tapped his feet in bounds to earn the first down.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Wimbush appeared to have completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Boykin later in the drive, but it was called back due to a Notre Dame penalty, meaning that the Irish would need to settle for a 48-yard field goal by senior kicker Justin Yoon. Junior defensive end Julian Okwara then wreaked havoc by intercepting a Shea Patterson pass in Irish territory, thwarting another Michigan drive.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
The Irish did not do much offensively in the fourth quarter, but the Wolverines again turned the ball over on downs to return possession to Notre Dame.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
The Michigan offense did conjure up a fairly impressive 80-yard touchdown drive in less than 3:00 to put some pressure on the Irish, and the Wolverines indeed had the ball with 1:48 remaining in regulation in a one-possession game, but Tillery made sure that Notre Dame would keep marching onward to victory, sacking Patterson and forcing a fumble that senior linebacker and tackling machine Te'von Coney gobbled up to effectively end the game in the greatest way possible, a 24–17 Irish win.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
After the thrilling win over the Michigan Wolverines, the Fighting Irish moved up to #8 in the AP poll and took on an in-state foe, the Ball State Cardinals out of the MAC, in the first-ever matchup between the teams. It was a somewhat chilly afternoon At Notre Dame, and even though head coach Brian Kelly claimed that there would not be a let-down from the previous week's win, the Irish offense also looked cold this week.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
The game started off in exactly the manner that most expected–with Notre Dame scoring just 1:52 into the game. After a solid kick return by freshman C'Bo Flemister on his first collegiate touch, senior quarterback Brandon Wimbush unleashed a 27-yard completion to senior receiver Chris Finke on the game's first play from scrimmage, which was then followed up by a 42-yard scamper by sophomore running back Jafar Armstrong to set up the Irish with 1st and Goal on the Ball State 5 yard line.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
The Irish continued using Armstrong until he finally busted into the end zone on 3rd and Goal from the 1 (with the handoff, interestingly enough, coming from "1B" senior quarterback Ian Book, who also handed off for two rushing touchdowns against Michigan the prior week), giving the Irish an early 7–0 lead. What happened next was the realization that Ball State, knowing that absolutely no one was giving it a chance to win this game, came to play. The Cardinals pushed through a 19-play, 85-yard drive that took almost 7 minutes and culminated in a field goal by Morgan Hagee, cutting Notre Dame's lead to 7–3, which would hold up until the end of the 1st quarter.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
After two consecutive punts for each team, the Irish offense found some rhythm again going into the second quarter, as Armstrong ran for an 11-yard first down on the first play of the ensuing drive and Wimbush orchestrated lengthy completions to sophomore tight end Cole Kmet and junior receiver Chase Claypool to get the Irish into prime field goal range. On the Ball State 16, however, Wimbush suffered a 10-yard sack, prompting a field goal attempt by senior kicker Justin Yoon, which was pushed wide right. Thus, a promising Notre Dame drive resulted in no points.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
After a Ball State punt, Wimbush rattled off a few other solid passes to Armstrong and Claypool (including 23- and 27-yard completions to Armstrong), although the Irish found themselves in 4th and 8 on the Ball State 26, as they were when Yoon missed the field goal the previous drive. In a decision tough to wrap one's head around, Notre Dame decided to go for it but Wimbush's pass to Claypool was just a bit off target, so yet another Irish drive stalled near the red zone.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
After the Cardinals took over on downs, though, it did not take long for the Irish to get the ball back, as junior safety Jalen Elliot picked off a tipped pass by Ball State quarterback Riley Neal, and on the very next play, junior running back Tony Jones Jr. rushed into the end zone from 31 yards out to extend the Irish lead to 14–3. Ball State then punted the football back to Notre Dame again, but Wimbush returned possession to the Cardinals with his first of three interceptions on the day, this one to Josh Miller.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
Wimbush was heavily pressured on this play and took a questionable hit that led to the interception, prompting both junior left tackle Liam Eichenberg and Wimbush to scuffle with a couple of the Ball State defensive linemen. Ball State only turned this gift into a field goal, though, and the Irish would punt again before the teams hurried to the locker rooms, with Notre Dame up 14–6.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
The third quarter began with some traction on Ball State's opening second-half drive before Neal threw his second interception of the game to Elliot, who returned his pick to almost midfield, starting the Irish drive with solid field position. Said drive then featured a substantial 9-yard run by Wimbush followed up by him firing completions to Finke and senior receiver Miles Boykin, which set up Jones Jr. for his second touchdown run of the game, this one a 1-yard walk-in. This extended Notre Dame's lead to 21–6 early in the third quarter.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
For the remainder of the game, the Irish defense really made its presence felt as Wimbush and the offense struggled mightily, as Ball State was forced to punt on its next 3 drives, which sandwiched Wimbush's second interception of the game, which came off a tipped ball behind his intended receiver that caromed into the hands of Antonio Phillips.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
The Irish also had to punt later in the third quarter but followed it up with a nice 8-play, 33-yard drive that featured senior tight end Alizé Mack as well as Boykin helping Wimbush out by providing some nice catches, when his throwing was inconsistent and spotty at best. Yoon then got back to his converting ways by kicking it through the uprights from 46 yards out, extending the Irish lead to its most at any point in the game at 24–6.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
Although Notre Dame's defense seemed to be handing Ball State opportunities on a silver platter with its inconsistency, it was not until early in the 4th quarter when the Cardinals finally capped off a 13-play, 79-yard drive with a Riley Neal 10-yard touchdown pass to Nolan Givan, putting Ball State within two scores of the Irish at a 24–13 deficit.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
The Irish seemed to potentially be getting something going again offensively, but then Wimbush threw his third interception of the game, this one to Ray Wilborn in Ball State territory, giving Ball State a legitimate chance to put substantial pressure on Notre Dame. Such pressure would not come on this drive, though, as the Cardinals ended a 13-play, 41-yard drive that took almost 4 minutes off the clock with a missed 46-yard field goal by Hagee, giving it right back to the Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
Notre Dame had every opportunity to put this game away throughout but a 3-and-out on its next drive kept Ball State in it, especially when Hagee converted on a 49-yard field goal to bring Ball State to within one possession at 24–16.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Ball State
Fifth-year captain linebacker Drue Tranquill recovered the Cardinals' onside kick attempt, and even though Ball State still had 2 timeouts at its disposal to begin the drive, Wimbush ran for a 5-yard first down that effectively ended the game, with the result being an ugly 24–16 Irish win, in a game that most expected Notre Dame to blow out and put in a good number of its backups and especially freshmen.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
After Notre Dame's close win over Ball State, the Vanderbilt Commodores came to Notre Dame Stadium for the third home game for the Irish in as many weeks. In a game that many fans were hoping would be a bounce-back game for the Irish as a 13.5 point favorite, Vanderbilt held its own and had legitimate opportunities to win one at Notre Dame, although Notre Dame would hang on for a 22–17 victory in conditions of extreme heat and sun.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Yet again, the Irish got off to a red hot start, as their first five plays of the game consisted of junior running back Tony Jones Jr. running for 41 yards and senior quarterback Brandon Wimbush rushing for 9 yards and completing a 17-yard pass to junior receiver Chase Claypool. Notre Dame would get all the way down to the 2-yard line, but Vanderbilt's defense stood tall and the Irish also suffered a false start penalty, prompting senior kicker Justin Yoon to put the ball through the uprights to give the Irish a 3–0 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
The Commodores' first drive of the game was looking promising, but a key tackle by fifth-year captain linebacker Drue Tranquill forced the drive to stall and Vanderbilt to punt the ball to the Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Jones Jr. then got the ensuing Notre Dame drive off on the right foot by scurrying around the left side for a first down and then rushing for 2 more yards on the next play, sophomore running back Jafar Armstrong rushed for 16 yards on 3 carries, and the Irish passing game got going, with Jones Jr. gaining 24 yards on a catch-and-run along the right sideline, which all resulted in a 15 play, 94 yard, 5:21 drive that culminated in Wimbush's first rushing touchdown of the season, from 12 yards out and finishing with a dive into the end zone, allowing the Irish to take a 10–0 lead and keep the Irish faithful fired up. Not much would get going offensively for either team on the next five drives combined, all of which resulting in punts.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Midway through the second quarter, though, Jones Jr. rushed for 30 more yards on 2 carries and Notre Dame reaped the benefit of a 15-yard penalty against Vanderbilt, but the drive again stalled and Justin Yoon tacked on a 33-yard field goal to put the Irish up 13–0. The next drive would provide the crucial play of the game. Ke'Shawn Vaughn would start off the drive with a nice run and Vanderbilt's passing game really got going on this drive, led by NFL prospect Kyle Shurmur's connections with Kalija Lipscomb.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Shurmur then completed a pass to Donaven Tennyson for 20 yards, but junior safety Alohi Gilman stripped the ball out of Tennyson's hands. It was a mad scrum to get on top of the football and the Commodores had a couple of chances to turn this miscue into a touchdown, but eventually junior cornerback Julian Love fell on the football in the end zone for a touchback, bringing the ball out to the 20 yard line and giving possession to Notre Dame.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
The Irish could only turn this gift into another field goal, as Wimbush rushed for 17 more yards and 3 more carries and also benefited from a roughing the passer penalty on the Commodores, but again the Irish could not turn this promising drive into six points as Yoon hit his third field goal of the game, this one from 46 yards out, to give Notre Dame a 16–0 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
The Commodores then marched down the field by way of just 8 plays on 72 yards and 1:15, and Tennyson dropping a pass on the doorstep of the end zone proved costly, as Vanderbilt would settle for a Ryley Guay 21-yard field goal, taking the teams into the halftime locker rooms with the Irish leading 16–3.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Shurmur then led the Commodores with his explosive passing game to another lengthy drive to start the third quarter, but it resulted in no points, as Guay missed a 43-yard field goal. The Irish would then punt the football away each of their next 2 drives, which was sandwiched between an interception in the end zone by junior cornerback Troy Pride to thwart another solid Vanderbilt drive, but Pride took the ball out of the end zone and was tackled at the Notre Dame 1, rather than taking the touchback. Towards the end of the third quarter, the Commodores would finish off a short drive after having the ball past midfield, as Vaughn would waltz into the end zone for a 3-yard score, sending the game into the fourth quarter as a 16–10 contest.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
The Irish came out firing to start the fourth quarter, as Wimbush completed passes to senior receivers Miles Boykin and Chris Finke and tight end Alizé Mack, as well as what was probably his best throw of the day on a fly route that ended up in the hands of Jones Jr. for a 32-yard gain.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
On 3rd and 3 on the Vanderbilt 5, junior backup quarterback Ian Book came into the game to deliver a strike to fifth year tight end Nic Weishar, which was ruled short of the line to gain, but Wimbush then took the quarterback dive to give the Irish a fresh set of downs on the 2-yard line. Book then replaced Wimbush again, and Book threw a touchdown pass that Weishar hauled in, putting the Irish up 22–10 after the failed two-point conversion attempt.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
The Commodores would then rattle off an efficient 9-play, 75-yard drive in just 3:42 that resulted in Shurmur connecting with Jared Pinkney, who pushed his way into the end zone to put Vanderbilt within one possession again at 22–17. Sophomore receiver Michael Young Jr. bursted out for a 48-yard kickoff return to the Notre Dame 49, but the drive would consist solely of runs by Wimbush and Jones Jr., and Yoon would uncharacteristically miss a 32-yard field goal to give the Commodores a chance to drive the length of the field to win the game.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt was looking like it might indeed pull off the upset, especially after getting the benefit of a pass interference penalty against the Irish defense on 4th and 10, allowing the Commodores a fresh set of downs. This drive would stall, however, as junior safety Jalen Elliott made an incredible play by taking the ball away from Lipscomb on 4th and 4 on the Notre Dame 31, forcing a turnover on downs that went right back to the Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Notre Dame would simply run out the clock on this drive, and a 63-yard mammoth of a punt by fifth year punter and captain Tyler Newsome, who received the game ball after the game from Coach Kelly for his amazing game, essentially sealed the deal and put this one in the books as the Irish barely eked out a home win against an underrated Vanderbilt squad.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Even though the Irish started off the season 3–0 under the direction of senior quarterback Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made a bold move by turning to junior quarterback Ian Book for the start against Wake Forest, and his decision did not disappoint. Book rushed for 43 yards and threw for 325 yards, more passing yards in a single game than Wimbush could ever boast, and the entire Irish offense had a monstrous performance, blowing out the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 56–27 in Notre Dame's first road game of the season.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Although the game was not in doubt for nearly all of the second half, this contest began fairly rocky for the Irish. Both teams punted on their first possessions of the game, and after having a short field to work with on its second drive, Notre Dame stalled and eventually turned the ball over on downs, as it was unable to convert a 4th and 8 on the Wake Forest 33, just one of many questionable calls by Kelly this season to go for it in such a position.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
The woes continued for the Irish as the Demon Deacons drove down the field, but ultimately they came up empty-handed as kicker Nick Sciba failed to realize that he was supposed to be on the field for his field goal attempt before missing it to preserve the scoreless tie. It seemed to get worse for Notre Dame as sophomore receiver Michael Young Jr. was hit and lost the football after catching a screen pass, giving Wake Forest another prime scoring opportunity in the red zone.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons would only gain one yard on their drive, however, and Sciba eventually got into formation on time and kicked it through the uprights from 30 yards out for an early 3–0 lead. Sciba's field goal was significant because it marked the first time that Notre Dame had trailed this entire season in Week 4, but the Irish would not trail for long.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Such would be the case because "The Book Club" got going, as Book rattled off 3 consecutive strikes to senior tight end Alizé Mack, for gains of 8, 9, and 24 yards, respectively, and sophomore running back Jafar Armstrong topped the drive off by hurrying to the right side of the field en route to a 30-yard touchdown run, putting the Irish up 7–3, in a lead that would only grow.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
On the first play of the second quarter, Sciba converted a 39-yard field goal, his second of the day, to make it a 7–6 game. Such points resulted from another solid Wake Forest drive, but the Demon Deacons defense had no idea what they had coming to them in the form of this potent Notre Dame offense.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Book hit 5 different receivers on the ensuing Irish drive, and Armstrong and fellow sophomore running back Avery Davis contributed sizable runs, leading to a touchdown pass from Book to sophomore tight end Brock Wright, the first touchdown reception of his career, to extend the Irish lead to 14–6. Wake Forest simply would not have an answer for the Notre Dame defense on its next drive, as true freshman quarterback Sam Hartman would be sacked by fifth-year senior and captain Drue Tranquill, giving the Irish the ball back.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Notre Dame was fueled by a rare 52-yard punt return by senior receiver Chris Finke, giving the Irish the ball on the Wake 4-yard line. On 2nd and Goal from that spot, junior running back Tony Jones Jr. ran the ball up the gut, putting the Irish up 21–6. The Demon Deacons showed some more bright spots on its next possession that totaled 10 plays and 75 yards in just 2:53, ending with a Matt Colburn touchdown run, which moved the game back to within one possession.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
When the Irish got the ball back, they were fueled again by a big play, this time by Young Jr. bursting away from defenders for a 66-yard gain off a screen pass, and Book followed up his throw to Young Jr. by running it into the end zone himself for a 2-yard touchdown run, cementing the Irish lead at 28–13 going into halftime.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
While Notre Dame's defense and team as a whole showed a tendency in their first three games of the season to let down a bit in the second half, no such downfall was seen today. The Demon Deacons would get the ball to start the second half but would punt shortly thereafter, overwhelmed by junior defensive end Julian Okwara's 8-yard sack of Hartman on 3rd and 11 from Wake's 33.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
The next Notre Dame drive would begin with Davis rattling off a 12-yard run to move the chains, and it would be continued by Book's 30-yard pass to Jones Jr. to put the Irish on the Wake 8, leading to Book finding junior receiver Chase Claypool on a 7-yard touchdown pass, running up the score to 35–13. The Irish would then force a Wake punt and receive the benefit of a 15-yard penalty against the Demon Deacons.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
On this drive, though, the running game would prove to be the key for the Irish, as Armstrong sprinted into the red zone by way of a 28-yard run and Book added a slick 11-yard waltz to the Wake 3, at which point Armstrong and Notre Dame's offensive line pushed forward for yet another Irish touchdown and a commanding 42–13 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
As if things couldn't get any worse for the Demon Deacons, Hartman would be picked off on the very next play from scrimmage by Notre Dame junior cornerback Troy Pride, his second interception in as many weeks, giving the Irish a short field with the ball on the Wake 47. Book caught even more fire by delivering a 35-yard dime to Claypool, setting up Notre Dame in the red zone again, and after another Davis run and ensuing penalty against the Demon Deacons, Book would run it in from 2 yards out again to put the Irish up 49–13. Wake Forest would respond with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 3:34 of game clock, although it struggled all day to get its star receiver Greg Dortch going, thanks to Notre Dame's defensive scheme under first-year coordinator Clark Lea.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
The Irish would not let up at all to begin the fourth quarter, as Book threw strikes to Austin Jr. on consecutive gains of 6 and 29 yards, respectively, setting up Notre Dame on the doorstep of the red zone yet again. Book then connected with Finke for 12 yards to put the ball at the Wake 1, and on the very next play, Book would waltz in to the end zone again for his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon, giving the Irish a 56–20 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Notre Dame did not have many answers for Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman and his designed quarterback runs late, as he led the Demon Deacons with ease through a 13-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that chewed up 6:34 of game clock, but it would not matter.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
The Irish would use the blowout to their advantage in the form of allotting playing time to some of their freshmen, including running back Jahmir Smith and quarterback Phil Jurkovec, and Notre Dame would be marching onward to victory again and to a 4–0 start, leaving Winston-Salem with smiles on their faces after their 56–27 trouncing of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Junior quarterback Ian Book made his second consecutive start for the Irish and played another sensational game, Dexter Williams rushed for 161 yards including a 45-yard touchdown run in his season debut, and Notre Dame's defense limited the Stanford offense to just 10 total first downs, as the #8 Fighting Irish took down the #7 Cardinal 38–17, in a cool, fall, primetime atmosphere and the first top 10 matchup at Notre Dame Stadium since 2005.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Notre Dame defense took the field first to start off this contest for a change, and it limited the Stanford offense to no yards on a 3-and-out. On Notre Dame's first offensive drive of the game, Book hit senior receiver Miles Boykin on an extremely impressive 11-yard throw for a first down, but the Irish ended up turning the ball over on downs after junior running back Tony Jones, Jr. ran on four consecutive plays but could not convert on 4th and 1 near midfield.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Cardinal would not do anything on its next drive, though, and would punt it back to the Irish. Notre Dame would score on this drive, as Book connected with Boykin for a nice 19-yard completion and Jones, Jr. manufactured a few runs, with senior running back Dexter Williams capping off the drive with a 45-yard touchdown run in his very first carry of the season.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Stanford would then match Notre Dame's touchdown drive with one of its own, as Cardinal running back Bryce Love broke a few tackles to run 39 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 7 apiece. The Irish would then put together another impressive drive, ultimately resulting in another touchdown.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Williams ran for an 18-yard first down early in the drive, but the signature plays of this drive were Book's passes to tight ends Cole Kmet and Nic Weishar, respectively; the former for a 19-yard completion on 4th down, and the latter for a 6-yard touchdown pass on 3rd and 2. The first quarter would end with the Irish having a 14–7 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Cardinal began the second quarter with an 84-yard touchdown drive to knot the game at 14–14, with the culmination of its drive coming on quarterback K.J. Costello's 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver J. J. Arcega-Whiteside, who made a nice play in rather contested coverage in the end zone. The next four drives would all result in punts, the only notable plays from the Irish perspective being three consecutive runs totaling 18 yards, as well as Book running for 10 yards and a first down.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
After Stanford's second consecutive punt, however, Notre Dame conjured up its signature drive of the game. Not only did Book hit Boykin on three consecutive completions of 10, 9, and 33 yards, respectively, but he more impressively got outside of the pocket, escaped a sack, and fired a 10-yard touchdown pass right on the money to junior receiver Chase Claypool as he rolled out to his left. Stanford would then end the first half after a woeful effort at best to get something going in the final 39 seconds, going into the locker rooms with Notre Dame holding a 21–14 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Both teams started relatively static in the second half, each gaining 1 yard and going 3-and-out on their respective first drives of the third quarter. Notre Dame employed a little bit of everything–explosive runs by Williams and Jones, Jr., Book completing a pass to senior receiver Chris Finke for a 16-yard first down, and Book escaping the pocket and running a couple of times himself–on its drive that resulted in a 37-yard field goal by senior kicker Justin Yoon. Stanford would punt on its next drive, as would Notre Dame, keeping the lead at 24–14 for the Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Stanford would convert on a field goal of its own by kicker Jet Toner, from 46 yards out, which was the best that the Cardinal could do after junior defensive end Khalid Kareem unleashed his will on Costello, sacking him for a loss of 6 yards.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Irish responded with a promising drive of their own, highlighted by a solid Book pass to Boykin for 20 yards and a first down as well as a Williams run of 17 yards that also moved the chains, but Notre Dame would come up empty-handed on this drive, suffering some costly penalties that put them in a tough position, resulting in the Cardinal special teams unit tipping Yoon's 50-yard field goal attempt and causing it to wind up no good.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
In the fourth quarter, where the Cardinal has thrived against the Irish in its three consecutive wins in this historic rivalry, Stanford did exactly the opposite. In fact, it managed a mind-boggling −23 yards on its final three drives combined, as its offensive line had absolutely no answers for the relentless Irish front seven. In the midst of this defensive stranglehold that the Irish strengthened on the Cardinal in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's offense also soared and built up a lead that would put the game out of reach.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Notre Dame's fourth touchdown drive of the game was impressive on every front, most notably because of Book's pinpoint accuracy and escapability as a passer. Especially important was when Book completed a 10-yard pass to Boykin on the right sideline for a first down on 3rd and 9, and he also kept the drive going with passes to Finke and Claypool of 14 and 7 yards, respectively. The drive finished with Book throwing a screen pass to Boykin, who proceeded to run it 8 yards into the end zone for a score, putting the Irish up 31–17.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
On the very next play from scrimmage, Costello was picked off by senior linebacker Te'von Coney, as Costello became so flustered by the pressure that the Irish continued to apply up front, allowing Coney to record his first career interception. When Book lined up under center at the Stanford 35, he proceeded to easily senior tight end Alizé Mack, who somehow ended up as wide open as could be, and he marched into the end zone, extending the Irish lead to 38–17.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
To put the icing on the cake in Notre Dame's first win over a Top 10 opponent since 2012, senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery recorded his third and fourth sacks of the game on consecutive plays on Stanford's final offensive drive of the night, resulting in losses of 10 and 8 yards, respectively, and the Irish were able to get true freshman running back Jahmir Smith into the game against the #7 team in the country, as the Irish team was able to face the student section while swaying and signing the alma mater in a feeling of jubilant victory, demolishing the Cardinal 38–17.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The #6 Irish hit a bit of lull in the first half, but they turned it on in the second half, fueled by Dexter Williams' 97-yard touchdown run, and went on to demolish the #24 Virginia Tech Hokies 45–23 on the road, in one of the loudest primetime atmospheres in all of college football at Lane Stadium.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The Irish kept the trend going of starting fast by embarking on a 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, gobbling up the first 5:36 of the game.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Junior quarterback Ian Book put his spectacular passing skills on display again on this night and especially throughout this first drive, putting the pigskin right on the money to senior receiver Miles Boykin and junior receiver Chase Claypool, as well as senior tight end Alizé Mack, setting up Dexter Williams for an easy 1-yard touchdown run the play after Book himself lunged forward for a first down on 4th and 1 at the Virginia Tech 2. The Hokies would go 3-and-out on their first offensive drive of the game, punting the ball back to the Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Book came back right where he left off on the first drive, launching the ball downfield to senior receiver Chris Finke for a 59-yard gain. Notre Dame would stall, however, and settle for a 31-yard field goal by senior kicker Justin Yoon, making it 10–0 Irish. Yoon would become Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer by converting an extra point later in the game, etching his name into the Fighting Irish history books. The next drive would prove to be crucial for the momentum of the game as a whole.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech had something good going and then appeared to have completed a 49-yard touchdown pass play, but it was called back due to an ineligible man downfield on a Hokie offensive lineman. This took much of the life out of Lane Stadium, meaning that Virginia Tech would rely on kicker Brian Johnson to bury one through the uprights from 39 yards out, making it a one-possession game again at 10–3 Irish, which would continue into the second quarter.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Notre Dame started off the second quarter with a promising drive, highlighted by a 13-yard run by senior running back Dexter Williams and a solid 15-yard pass connection from Book to Boykin, although the Irish would be forced to punt at midfield. This is when all hell broke loose for a second–junior long snapper John Shannon bounced the ball to fifth-year captain and punter Tyler Newsome, who appeared baffled by the disarray, being taken down by some Hokie coverage men near midfield, setting up Virginia Tech with prime field position.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The Hokies would not get much on their ensuing drive, however, as junior defensive ends Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem took Hokie freshman quarterback Ryan Willis down for an 11-yard sack, forcing Virginia Tech to settle for another Brian Johnson field goal, this one from 43 yards out. Book completed some nice passes to Claypool and sophomore tight end Cole Kmet on the next drive, but eventually the Irish would punt again.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech would punt quickly on its next drive too, but would get the ball right back on the plus-side of the field by Reggie Floyd intercepting an Ian Book pass. The Hokies seemed to be in perfect position to take the lead, but Virginia Tech running back Steven Peoples was stopped just short of the goal line at the 1 yard line after a speedy 41-yard run, and then the Hokies could not get the ball in the end zone from there, even showing signs of panicking as Willis ran into Peoples on their 3rd down play.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Thus, Johnson would kick a 22-yard field goal to make it 10–9 Irish. Notre Dame was not very impressive on its next drive and would punt, but suddenly the luck of the Irish seemed to take over this game. Kareem almost got to Willis on his initial rush, but after being brought down to the ground, he got back up and stripped the ball from Willis, allowing junior cornerback Julian Love to pick it up and take it to the house for a 42-yard scoop 'n score. The Hokies looked strong offensively on their next drive, with Willis completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Damon Hazelton, making it a one-point contest at 17–16 going into the half.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The second half was a completely different story. The Hokies eventually punted to open up the second half and pinned the Irish down at their own 5. This would not matter, though, as Williams showed his second-level speed by running through the hole and bursting all the way to the end zone for a 97-yard touchdown run, putting the Irish up 24–16. Virginia Tech had an offensive response on its next drive, but said drive ended up producing no points as Johnson missed a 47-yard field goal.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Notre Dame's offense then slowly chipped away at this Hokie defense on its next drive by employing many short passes, with the exception being Book's completion to Finke for 10 yards and a first down. Later in the drive, Book found Boykin all alone for an easy pass down the left sideline, which he easily ran to the house, totaling 40-yard touchdown play and a 31–16 Notre Dame lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
It would get even worse for the Hokies. After both teams traded punts, Virginia Tech got some momentum going offensive but then Johnson missed his second field goal of the night, this one from 52 yards out. Notre Dame took over by officially putting this game away, as Book had a couple of nice completions to Boykin before firing to him for a 5-yard touchdown pass, causing many in the Virginia Tech faithful to head for the exits at Lane Stadium, as the game became out of hand at 38–16 Irish.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The Hokies would respond with a touchdown drive of their own, capped off by Willis' pass to Eric Kumah from 15 yards out, but the Irish would not let up at all, showing the focus and tenacity to put this Virginia Tech team away, as Coach Kelly had been preaching all season long, recovering the onside kick and then giving it to Williams, who covered 13 yards on his first run and then 31 yards on his second run of the drive, catapulting Notre Dame to the end zone and a 45–23 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Just for good measure, Love picked off Willis with less than four minutes remaining to seal the deal, getting true freshman running back C'Bo Flemister and former starting quarterback senior Brandon Wimbush into the game for a bit, as the Irish picked up a huge win against a ranked opponent in a primetime road atmosphere, improving to 6–0 and a #5 AP rank on the season.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Panthers are the ultimate "trap game" opponent, which was apparent from the get-go at Notre Dame Stadium on this chilly but sunny fall afternoon. Though trailing for most of the game, the #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish were able to find its rhythm offensively late in the game, ultimately pulling out a close 19–14 victory to send Notre Dame students off to fall break on the right note.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The Irish started off the first quarter against Pitt with a tough drive to swallow, as though junior quarterback Ian Book completed short-mid length passes to senior tight end Alizé Mack and senior receiver Chris Finke, Book also took a devastating 16-yard sack, forcing Notre Dame to punt on its first possession. Pitt's first drive would prove to be essentially all of the offense that it would get on the day, as the Panthers embarked on a 17-play, 88-yard drive that spanned 9:43 and resulted in a Qadree Ollison 9-yard touchdown run. When the Irish took over on their next drive, Book scrambled for a remarkable 22-yard first down on 3rd and 5, but he threw an interception to Jason Pinnock on a bad decision on the very next play, ending the first quarter with Pitt holding a 7–0 lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Pitt would not do anything with this interception, punting the ball back to the Irish. Book made a nice completion to sophomore tight end Cole Kmet on Notre Dame's drive, but this drive would also result in a punt. Pitt would end up being even less effective than the Irish on its next drive, punting the ball away again. At this point the Irish offense would start to show some life, and they also benefitted from starting their ensuing drive on the Pitt 49.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Specifically, junior running back Tony Jones Jr. got going early in the drive, and then the Irish would earn 15 yards on a roughing the passer penalty against the Panthers, setting up the Irish just outside of the red zone. Book completed nice passes to Finke and Mack again, but the Irish drive eventually stalled, resulting in senior kicker Justin Yoon making a 22-yard field goal to close the deficit to 7–3. Pitt again would have next to nothing offensively, giving the ball back to the Irish with just over 3:30 remaining in the first half.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
On this final drive of the half, Book really got it going with his arm, as he completed passes of 13 and 30 yards, respectively, to true freshman receiver Kevin Austin Jr. and senior receiver Miles Boykin, as well as a couple of other short passes to 3 other receivers, but he would end up taking 2 sacks that stifled the drive and forced another field goal from Yoon, this one from 41 yards out, making it a 7–6 game at halftime.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Notre Dame was hoping to start off the second half strong, but what happened was the exact opposite–Maurice Ffrench took the opening kickoff 99 yards to the house, extending Pitt's lead to 14–6.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Once Book got the ball back, though, he seemed to be in true form again in all respects, as he started off the drive with an impressive 15-yard run and then followed it up with more passes right on the money to his usual targets, most notably to junior receiver Chase Claypool on an 8-yard completion, that would have been taken all the way to the end zone if not for a shoestring tackle by a Pitt defender.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Senior running back Dexter Williams also got into the act a bit with some short runs, but ultimately what looked to be a drive that would result in a touchdown ended in Book being hit as he threw, leading to his second interception of the game, this one caught by Jazzee Stocker near the goal line, as Notre Dame was almost into the red zone at that point in the drive.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Pitt moved the ball considerably well after this interception, but ultimately its drive stalled and they needed Alex Kessman to make a 47-yard field goal, which he was not able to do. Picking up where he left off, Book made some magical throws again, starting off the drive with a solid 21-yard completion to Claypool. Then, after a 10-yard holding penalty on senior left guard Trevor Ruhland, filling in for injured fifth-year captain Alex Bars, Book wasted no time getting all of these lost yards by firing a dime to Finke for 26 yards and a first down.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Book later kept the drive alive on 3rd and 6 by finding Finke over the middle for 15 yards, and on the very next play, he completed a 16-yard strike to Claypool for the first Irish touchdown of the day, cutting Pitt's lead to 14–12. Notre Dame decided to try to tie the game then and there by going for two, but Book's pass to Boykin in the end zone was just out of reach, keeping the score exactly where it was. The Irish would trail going into the fourth quarter for the first time this season.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Pitt started off the fourth quarter by getting a nice drive going and even getting into the red zone, but that drive again resulted in no points as Kessman missed his second field goal of the game, this one from 36 yards out, to keep the Irish within a field goal.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The next Irish drive was not promising, though, so they had to give the ball back to the Panthers, still trailing by 2. Pitt had yet another opportunity to make it much tougher for the Irish in the fourth quarter, but it could not do it and had to punt yet again. When Notre Dame got the ball back, it wasted no time in taking the lead for good. The Irish started out with an automatic first down after a pass interference call on a Pitt defender who was covering Claypool, and the Irish offense caught fire at this point.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Williams rattled off an explosive 13-yard run, and then Book found Boykin on two consecutive plays–the first being a pivotal 12-yard completion with Boykin making a solid catch near the sidelines for a first down on 3rd and 5, and the second being what very well may have been the best throw that Book has made thus far in his Notre Dame career, as one could not have placed it in Boykin's hands in a better spot than Book threw it to him for a 35-yard touchdown reception and a 19–14 Irish lead.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
When Pitt got the ball back, its offense continued to perform so woefully that the Panthers needed to rely on some trickery via a fake punt, but it looked like one of the intended targets fell down during the play and, at any rate, the pass by Jeff George was incomplete and Notre Dame would take over on downs near midfield.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The Irish would not fare much better on their ensuing offensive possession, though, as their attempts to run out the clock to a victory would not work, forcing a 4th and 1 that Notre Dame would go for, but Book's roll out did not work, giving the ball back to the Panthers with a chance to drive downfield to win the game.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
If the Panthers could manufacture  a semblance of an offense, then they might have had a chance to win the game, but junior defensive end Khalid Kareem sacked Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett for a 14-yard loss, and then Pitt suffered a penalty before Pickett's intended receiver caught the ball well out of bounds on 4th and 29 from the Pitt 19, effectively ending the game, allowing the Irish to march out of Notre Dame Stadium with a 19–14 win in what ended up being a much closer game than many predicted.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Navy
Previous meetings between the Irish and Navy have been back and forth, along with being competitive. This game had a different story line. Notre Dame would fumble the ball on the first offensive play of the game, setting Navy up at the Irish 36 yard line. Notre Dame would then stop Navy on 4th and 2, forcing a turnover on downs, and not giving up any points on the turnover. From there, the Irish would dominate the 1st half, scoring four straight touchdowns to take a commanding 27-0 lead at halftime, while forcing Navy to punt on 4 straight possessions.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Navy
Navy would score 22 2nd half point, but would never get closer than 15 points. The Irish would finish with 584 yards of offense, including 28 first downs, while holding Navy to 384 yards and just 14 first downs. This is the biggest win by the Irish over Navy since 2012, when Notre Dame won 50-10. The win would push the Irish record to 8-0.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team
The 2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team represented University of Notre Dame during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the program's 41st season. It was the program's 6th season competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish were be led by head coach Chad Riley, in his first year.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team, Background
The 2017 Notre Dame men's soccer team finished the season with an 11–7–2 overall record and a 3–3–2 ACC record. The Fighting Irish were seeded seventh–overall in the 2017 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament, where they lost to Virginia in the semifinals. The Fighting Irish earned an at-large bid into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament for the fifth season in a row. As the twelfth–overall seed in the tournament, Notre Dame hosted Wisconsin. Notre Dame was upset 0–1 in overtime to end their season.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team, Background
At the end of the season, one Fighting Irish men's soccer player was selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft: Jon Gallagher.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team, Background
During the offseason, Bobby Clark retired as head coach and was replaced by Chad Riely.


2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team, Squad, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Nottingham Open
The 2018 Nottingham Open (also known as the Nature Valley Open for sponsorship purposes) was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 11th edition of the event for women and the 23rd edition for men. It was classified as a WTA International tournament on the 2018 WTA Tour for the women, and as an ATP Challenger Tour event for the men. The event took place at the Nottingham Tennis Centre in Nottingham, United Kingdom from 11 through 17 June 2018.


2018 Nottingham Open, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as special exempts:


2018 Nottingham Open, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw using a protected ranking:


2018 Nottingham Open, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received a wildcard into the doubles main draw:


2018 Nottingham Open – Men's Doubles
Ken and Neal Skupski were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Frederik Nielsen and Joe Salisbury.


2018 Nottingham Open – Men's Doubles
Nielsen and Salisbury won the title after defeating Austin Krajicek and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 7–6(7–5), 6–1 in the final.


2018 Nottingham Open – Men's Singles
Dudi Sela was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Nottingham Open – Men's Singles
Alex de Minaur won the title after defeating Dan Evans 7–6(7–4), 7–5 in the final.


2018 Nottingham Open – Women's Doubles
Monique Adamczak and Storm Sanders were the defending champions, but both players chose not to participate.


2018 Nottingham Open – Women's Doubles
Alicja Rosolska and Abigail Spears won the title, defeating Mihaela Buzărnescu and Heather Watson in the final, 6–3, 7–6(7–5).


2018 Nottingham Open – Women's Singles
Donna Vekić was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Johanna Konta in a rematch of the previous year's final.


2018 Nottingham Open – Women's Singles
Ashleigh Barty won the title, defeating Konta in the final, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4.


2018 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2018 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the provincial women's curling championship of Nova Scotia, was held from January 9 to 14 at the Dartmouth Curling Club in Dartmouth. The winning Mary-Anne Arsenault team represented Nova Scotia at the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Penticton, British Columbia. At the National tournament, they finished tied for 2nd in Pool A, 3rd in the Championship pool, but lost the semi-final match.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season
The 2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season started with the Tie Break Tens event in Melbourne, Australia.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Early Hard Court Season, Tie Break Tens
Djokovic returned from his six month injury hiatus since 2017 Wimbledon Championships at the Tie Break Tens event where he played a tune-up for the 2018 Australian Open. He was defeated by Lleyton Hewitt in his first match, 10–6.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Early Hard Court Season, Australian Open
Djokovic played his first official match since Wimbledon at the Australian Open. After defeating Donald Young in straight sets, he defeated Gaël Monfils in the second round after dropping the first set, with Monfils succumbing to extreme heat in the latter stages of the match. With a victory over Albert Ramos Viñolas in third round, Djokovic set up a meeting with Korean Chung Hyeon. In a match of constant breaks of serve, Djokovic eventually lost in straight sets due to relentless backcourt defense from Chung and copious unforced errors on critical points. After his loss, Djokovic decided to undergo a surgery on his right elbow, which he claimed was affecting him from previous two years.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Early Hard Court Season, Indian Wells Masters
Djokovic surprisingly returned to tour since his surgery at the Indian Wells Masters. After receiving a first round bye, he was upset in the second round by World No. 109 Taro Daniel in three sets.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Early Hard Court Season, Miami Open
Djokovic's next event was at the Miami Open, where his spring slump continued as he lost to Benoît Paire in straight sets.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Clay Court Season, Monte Carlo Masters
Hoping to regain form at the clay court events, Djokovic played at the Monte Carlo Masters. He won his first two matches in straight sets, defeating Dušan Lajović and Borna Ćorić in first and second rounds respectively. His 6–0, 6–1 win over Lajović was particularly dominant and suggested significant improvements in form. In the third round, he lost to World No. 7 and clay court specialist Dominic Thiem. After the match, Djokovic stated : "After two years finally I can play without pain".


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Clay Court Season, Barcelona Open
Inspired by his improvement, Djokovic took a wildcard to play at Barcelona Open He was unable to carry on his run there, and lost to Martin Klizan in his opening round match.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Clay Court Season, Madrid Open
Djokovic next competed at the Madrid Open. In his first victory over a top-20 opponent in over eight months, he defeated former World No. 5 Kei Nishikori in the first round, before falling to Briton Kyle Edmund. As a result of the loss and failing to defend his semifinals position at the event, Djokovic fell to No. 18, his lowest ranking in twelve years.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Clay Court Season, Italian Open
Djokovic's next event was the Italian Open, where he has previously won four times and was the defending finalist. He progressed to his first quarterfinals appearance since 2017 Wimbledon, defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Albert Ramos in straight sets. He would go on to beat Kei Nishikori, but lose to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinal.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Clay Court Season, French Open
In Roland Garros, Djokovic beat Roberto Bautista Agut and Fernando Verdasco en route to the quarterfinals, where he suffered a shocking defeat to Marco Cecchinato in four sets.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grass Court Season, Queen's Club
Djokovic took a wildcard to play at Queen's Club for the first time since 2010. He beat second seed Grigor Dimitrov, Adrian Mannarino, and Jérémy Chardy to reach the final. In the final, he lost to Marin Čilić in three sets, despite holding a match point.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grass Court Season, Wimbledon
Showing further improvement in form, Djokovic beat Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren, British number one Kyle Edmund, and Kei Nishikori to set up a semifinal against Rafael Nadal. In the second longest Wimbledon semifinal to date, Djokovic beat Nadal in five sets played over two days.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grass Court Season, Wimbledon
He then defeated Kevin Anderson in the final in straight sets to win his fourth Wimbledon title and 13th overall Grand Slam title. This was his first title of the season, which catapulted him from 21st back into the 10th spot in the rankings. He also became the lowest ranked male player to win a Wimbledon title since Goran Ivanišević won it in 2001 as a wildcard.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, US Open Series, Canadian Open
Djokovic started his US Open series campaign with straightforward wins against Mirza Bašić and Peter Polansky in Toronto, but fell in the third round to Stefanos Tsitsipas.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, US Open Series, Cincinnati Masters
Next for Djokovic was the Cincinnati Masters, the only Masters 1000 tournament he hadn't won. After beating Steve Johnson in straight sets, Djokovic faced several difficult matches in a row. He had to come back from a one-set deficit against Adrian Mannarino and ATP number 5 Grigor Dimitrov, and needed three sets to beat Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals and Marin Čilić in the semifinals.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, US Open Series, Cincinnati Masters
Djokovic then beat top-seeded and number 2 ranked Roger Federer in straight sets in the final. It was their first match since their semifinal match at the 2016 Australian Open. With this win, Djokovic became the first singles player to complete the Career Golden Masters.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, US Open Series, US Open
Struggling with the heat and humidity, Djokovic survived an upset scare and beat Márton Fucsovics in four sets in the first round. He would again need four sets to overcome Tennys Sandgren in the second round. With cooler conditions, the next rounds proved to be easier: Richard Gasquet in the third round, João Sousa, and John Millman in the quarterfinal were all defeated in straight sets.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, US Open Series, US Open
He would then face Kei Nishikori in their first match at the US Open since Nishikori's upset over Djokovic in 2014. This time Djokovic prevailed in straight sets to set up a final against Juan Martín del Potro. In the final, Djokovic took control of the match early, winning the first set and securing a break early in the second. However, a spirited comeback from del Potro prolonged the second set, with Djokovic winning in a tiebreaker after a 95 minute set. Djokovic eventually closed out the match in straight sets.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, US Open Series, US Open
The victory earned Djokovic his third US Open and 14th Grand Slam title overall, tying Pete Sampras. He also climbed back to number 3 in the ATP rankings and qualified for the ATP Finals.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Fall hard court season, Shanghai Masters
Seeded second at the Shanghai Masters, he defeated Jérémy Chardy, 16th seed Marco Cecchinato, 7th seed Kevin Anderson, 4th seed Alexander Zverev, and 13th seed Borna Ćorić in a decisive run. He did not drop a set nor have his serve broken during the tournament. This was his fourth title in Shanghai and second Masters title of the year. With this win, he overtook Roger Federer and returned to the #2 ranking for the first time since the 2017 French Open.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Fall hard court season, Paris Masters
Djokovic defeated João Sousa, Damir Džumhur, Marin Čilić, and his rival Roger Federer en route to the final, where he lost in straight sets to Karen Khachanov.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Fall hard court season, Paris Masters
However, with Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the tournament, Djokovic regained the No. 1 ranking after the tournament concluded. It was exactly two years ago when he lost the No. 1 ranking in Paris, following a quarterfinals exit.


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, All matches
This table lists all the matches of Djokovic this year, including walkovers W/O (they are marked ND for non-decision)


2018 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly records, Head-to-head matchups
Novak Djokovic has a 53–13 (80.3% of wins) ATP match win-loss record in the 2018 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP Rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is 15–5 (75.0% of wins). Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:


2018 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election
The 2018 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election was held on 3 May 2018, as part of 2018 United Kingdom local elections. Half of the council was up for election and the Labour Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.


2018 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, Election results, Council make up
Total number of seats on the Council after the elections:


2018 Nyköping municipal election
Nyköping Municipality  held a municipal election on 9 September 2018, on the same day as the general and regional elections.


2018 Nyköping municipal election, Results
The number of seats remained at 61 with the Social Democrats winning the most at 20, a drop of two from 2014.


2018 Nyköping municipal election, Electoral wards
There were three constituencies, the Eastern, Northern and Western. The number of late-incoming postal ballots were 704 or 1.9 % of the total ballots cast.


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup
The 2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 6th edition of the tournament, and part of the 2018 WTA Tour. It took place in Nuremberg, Germany, between 21 and 26 May 2018.


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players using a protected ranking into the singles main draw:


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup – Doubles
Nicole Melichar and Anna Smith were the defending champions, but Smith chose to compete in Strasbourg instead. Melichar played alongside Květa Peschke, but lost in the semifinals to Demi Schuurs and Katarina Srebotnik.


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup – Doubles
Schuurs and Srebotnik went on to win the title, defeating Kirsten Flipkens and Johanna Larsson in the final, 3–6, 6–3, [10–7].


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup – Singles
Kiki Bertens was the two-time defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Kirsten Flipkens.


2018 Nürnberger Versicherungscup – Singles
Johanna Larsson won her second WTA title, defeating Alison Riske in the final, 7–6(7–4), 6–4.


2018 O'Byrne Cup
The 2018 O'Byrne Cup was played by county teams of Leinster GAA. It began in December 2017 and ended in May 2018.


2018 O'Byrne Cup
On 14 January 2018, the result of the Meath versus Longford semi-final was determined by a free-taking competition, as the score was level at the end of both normal time and extra time. Each side took five free kicks from the forty five metre line and Meath won 2-1. This was the first inter-county Gaelic match to be decided in this way (previously the match would have been replayed).


2018 O'Byrne Cup
The final was delayed on multiple occasions due to bad weather; it was finally played in May, with Meath the winners.


2018 O'Byrne Cup, Format
There are 11 teams, in three groups of three teams and one group two teams. In the three-team groups, each team plays the other teams once; in the two-team group, the teams play each other in two games. Two group points are awarded for a win and one for a draw.


2018 O'Byrne Cup, Format
The four group winners play in the semi-finals and final. If a game is level after the normal seventy minutes, two ten minute periods of extra time are played each way. If the score is still level after extra time, a free-taking competition is held to determine the result.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
The 2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 8, 2018, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) intermediate quad-oval, it was the seventh race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Report, Background
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedways, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, First practice
Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.523 seconds and a speed of 196.200 mph (315.753 km/h).


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Qualifying
Kurt Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.360 and a speed of 197.368 mph (317.633 km/h) after only one round of qualifying was completed due to lightning in the area.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Practice (post-qualifying), Second practice
Daniel Suárez was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 27.136 seconds and a speed of 198.998 mph (320.256 km/h).


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Practice (post-qualifying), Final practice
Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 27.253 seconds and a speed of 198.143 mph (318.880 km/h).


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, First stage
Kurt Busch led the field to green at 2:10 p.m., and the first caution flew on lap 4 when Austin Dillon, Daniel Suárez, Paul Menard and Alex Bowman were involved in an accident in turn four.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, First stage
The race restarted on lap 7, The second caution of the race flew on lap 82 when  Martin Truex, Jr. spun out, Truex was running second to Harvick when his right front tire blew entering Turn 4.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Second stage
The race restarted on lap 91 and stayed green for the start of stage 2, Kyle Larson was making up for a bad start after having to start the race at the back of the field after failing pre-race inspection. That all changed on Lap 128 with Larson running second. He blew a right front tire and crashed hard into the Turn 2 wall, bringing out the third caution of the race.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Second stage
The race restarted on lap 135, Kyle Busch passed his brother Kurt Busch  to win his second stage of the season. Kurt Busch finished second followed by Joey Logano, Jones, Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott, Keselowski, Stenhouse, Hamlin and Almirola, The fourth caution flew again for the conclusion of the second stage


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Final stage
The race restarted on lap 178 and the fifth caution flew for a seven-car wreck, The final stage got off to a rough start as Hamlin and Aric Almirola made contact  which sent Hamlin spinning back and collecting both Keselowski and Johnson.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Final stage
The seven-car incident, which also collected Austin Dillon, brought out a red flag that stopped the race for more than 11 minutes with Jones leading the race.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Final stage
The seventh caution flew when Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne were involved in an accident in turn four.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Final stage
The race restarted on lap 258, Busch and Harvick wenth side-by-side with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Darrell Wallace, Jr. behind them, and the eighth caution flew when Ryan Newman hit the wall in turn 1.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Final stage
Kyle Busch edging Kevin Harvick for his first victory of the season.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Final stage
Harvick, gunning for his fourth victory of 2018, finished three-tenths of a second behind. Busch, who won the second stage, led for 116 laps, while Harvick, who dominated the first stage, led 87.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Post-race, Driver comments
“(Harvick) was probably just a tick faster overall, but I just had to make sure I did everything I could to hit all my marks and everything, and did the right things to block his air and everything, but this Camry was really awesome today," Busch said in victory lane.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Race, Post-race, Driver comments
"This has been a trying couple of months, you know? After Daytona, we’ve just been on a roll of finishing real good and been really pumped and excited about that and the momentum we were able to carry, but frustrated at the same time trying to get to victory lane," added Busch, who finished second in three of the first six races of 2018.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Media, Television
Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Joy, 2009 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.


2018 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, Media, Radio
The race was broadcast on radio by the Performance Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.


2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup
The 2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament and was part of the 2018 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Khimki, Russia, on 30 April–5 May 2018.


2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received a wildcard into the singles main draw:


2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup – Doubles
Olesya Pervushina and Anastasia Potapova were the defending champions, but Pervushina chose not to participate. Potapova partnered Galina Voskoboeva, but lost in the first round to Natela Dzalamidze and Nina Stojanović.


2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup – Doubles
Olga Doroshina and Anastasiya Komardina won the title, defeating Veronika Pepelyaeva and Anastasia Tikhonova in the final, 6–1, 6–2.


2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup – Singles
Dejana Radanović was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Ivana Jorović.


2018 O1 Properties Ladies Cup – Singles
Vera Lapko won the title, defeating Anastasia Potapova in the final, 6–1, 6–3.


2018 OEC Kaohsiung
The 2018 OEC Kaohsiung was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the seventh edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan between 17 and 23 September 2018.


2018 OEC Kaohsiung, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 OEC Kaohsiung, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as special exempts:


2018 OEC Kaohsiung – Doubles
Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Hsieh Cheng-peng and Yang Tsung-hua.


2018 OEC Kaohsiung – Doubles
Hsieh and Yang won the title after defeating Hsu Yu-hsiou and Jimmy Wang 6–7(3–7), 6–2, [10–8] in the final.


2018 OEC Kaohsiung – Singles
Evgeny Donskoy was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 OEC Kaohsiung – Singles
Gaël Monfils won the title after defeating Kwon Soon-woo 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 in the final.


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger
The 2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 11th edition of the tournament and part of the 2018 WTA 125K series, offering a total of $125,000 in prize money. It took place in Taipei, Taiwan, on 12–18 November 2018.


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger, Doubles entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received a wildcard into the doubles main draw:


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger – Doubles
Veronika Kudermetova and Aryna Sabalenka were the defending champions, but chose not to participate this year.


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger – Doubles
Ankita Raina and Karman Thandi won the title against Olga Doroshina and Natela Dzalamidze, when their opponents retired in the match tiebreak because of a hamstring injury suffered by Dzalamidze.


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger – Singles
Belinda Bencic was the defending champion, but chose to compete in Houston instead.


2018 OEC Taipei WTA Challenger – Singles
Luksika Kumkhum won the title, defeating Sabine Lisicki 6–1, 6–3 in the final.


2018 OFC Champions League
The 2018 OFC Champions League was the 17th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the 12th season under the current OFC Champions League name.


2018 OFC Champions League
In the final, Team Wellington defeated Lautoka 10–3 on aggregate and qualified as the OFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Auckland City are the defending champions, having won the last seven titles straight, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals.


2018 OFC Champions League, Format change
For this season, the top two teams of each group (instead of only the group winners) in the group stage advanced to the knockout stage, which included a quarter-final round played as a single match hosted by the group winners.


2018 OFC Champions League, Teams
A total of 18 teams from all 11 OFC member associations enter the competition.


2018 OFC Champions League, Qualifying stage
The draw for the qualifying stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The champions of the four developing associations were drawn from Pot A into each of the four positions 1–4 to determine the fixtures. The four teams in the qualifying stage played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up advanced to the group stage to join the 14 direct entrants. Matches were played between 20–26 January 2018 in Pago Pago, American Samoa.


2018 OFC Champions League, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The 16 teams (14 teams entering the group stage and two teams advancing from the qualifying stage) were drawn into four groups of four, with each group containing two teams from Pot B (which were drawn into positions 1–2 to determine the fixtures) and two teams from Pot C (which were drawn into positions 3–4 to determine the fixtures). Teams from the same association, as well as the two teams advancing from the qualifying stage, could not be drawn into the same group. The teams were seeded based on the following:


2018 OFC Champions League, Group stage
The four teams in each group played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage. The hosts of each group were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.


2018 OFC Champions League, Knockout stage
The eight teams in the knockout stage played on a single-elimination basis. In the quarter-finals, each tie was played as a single match, while in the semi-finals and final, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.


2018 OFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final) was held on 5 March 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 OFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group cannot play each other), with the group winners hosting the match, and the matchups decided by draw.


2018 OFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.


2018 OFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw.


2018 OFC Champions League, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2018 OFC Champions League, Awards
Note: Although Angus Kilkolly and Emiliano Tade both scored eight goals in the competition, Kilkolly won the Golden Boot as he played less minutes than Tade.


2018 OFC Champions League Final
The 2018 OFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2018 OFC Champions League, the 17th edition of the Oceania Cup, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 12th season under the current OFC Champions League name.


2018 OFC Champions League Final
The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Team Wellington from New Zealand and Lautoka from Fiji. The first leg was hosted by Team Wellington at David Farrington Park in Wellington on 13 May, while the second leg was hosted by Lautoka FC at Churchill Park in Lautoka on 20 May 2018.


2018 OFC Champions League Final
Team Wellington won the tie 10–3 on aggregate for their first OFC Champions League title. As winners, Team Wellington earned the right to represent the OFC at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the first round.


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Teams
In the following table, finals until 2006 were in the Oceania Club Championship era, since 2007 were in the OFC Champions League era.


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Teams
This was Team Wellington's fourth consecutive and overall final appearance. However, they have yet to win the OFC Champions League, having lost to Auckland City in all three of their previous final appearances. This was the first final for Lautoka in their third season in the OFC Champions League.


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; N: neutral).


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Format
The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs decided by the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 5 March 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Format
The away goals rule, extra time and a penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary.


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Matches, First leg
Assistant referees:Tevita Makasini (Tonga)Bernard Mutukera (Solomon Islands)Fourth official:Mederic Lacour (New Caledonia)


2018 OFC Champions League Final, Matches, Second leg
Assistant referees:Philippe Revel (Tahiti)Bertrand Brial (New Caledonia)Fourth official:David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)


2018 OFC Champions League group stage
The 2018 OFC Champions League group stage was played from 10 February to 3 March 2018. A total of 16 teams competed in the group stage to decide the eight places in the knockout stage of the 2018 OFC Champions League.


2018 OFC Champions League group stage, Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The 16 teams (14 teams entering the group stage and two teams advancing from the qualifying stage) were drawn into four groups of four, with each group containing two teams from Pot B (which were drawn into positions 1–2 to determine the fixtures) and two teams from Pot C (which were drawn into positions 3–4 to determine the fixtures). Teams from the same association, as well as the two teams advancing from the qualifying stage, could not be drawn into the same group. The teams were seeded based on the following:


2018 OFC Champions League group stage, Draw
The following were the winners and runners-up of the qualifying stage which join the 14 direct entrants in the group stage.


2018 OFC Champions League group stage, Format
The four teams in each group played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.


2018 OFC Champions League group stage, Schedule
The hosts of each group were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage
The 2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 7 April to 20 May 2018. A total of eight teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2018 OFC Champions League.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage, Qualified teams
The winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage advanced to the quarter-finals.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage, Format
The eight teams in the knockout stage played on a single-elimination basis. In the quarter-finals, each tie was played as a single match, while in the semi-finals and final, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final) was held on 5 March 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage, Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group cannot play each other), with the group winners hosting the match, and the matchups decided by draw.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage, Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.


2018 OFC Champions League knockout stage, Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw.


2018 OFC Champions League qualifying stage
The 2018 OFC Champions League qualifying stage was played from 20 to 26 January 2018. A total of four teams competed in the qualifying stage to decide two of the 16 places in the group stage of the 2018 OFC Champions League.


2018 OFC Champions League qualifying stage, Draw
The draw for the qualifying stage was held on 15 September 2017 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The champions of the four developing associations were drawn from Pot A into each of the four positions 1–4 to determine the fixtures.


2018 OFC Champions League qualifying stage, Format
The four teams in the qualifying stage played each other on a round-robin basis at a centralised venue. The winners and runners-up advanced to the group stage to join the 14 direct entrants.


2018 OFC Champions League qualifying stage, Schedule
Matches were played between 20 and 26 January 2018 in Pago Pago, American Samoa.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship
The 2018 OFC U-16 Championship was the 18th edition of the OFC U-16/U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-16/under-17 national teams of Oceania. The qualifying stage was held in Tonga between 14 and 20 July 2018, and the final tournament was held in the Solomon Islands between 9–22 September 2018.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship
Before the last tournament the age limit was reduced by a year to 16 years of age. However the last tournament remained the name U-17 Championship. For this tournament, the name has changed to U-16 Championship. So players who want to participate in the tournament needed to be born on or after 1 January 2002. At an OFC Executive Committee meeting held at its Auckland headquarters in November 2013 the competition format was modified. The competition was brought forward a year and the age limit was lowered to 16 years of age. The changes were made in order to allow the winner of the competition plenty of time for preparation and player development for upcoming World Cups at Under 17 level.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship
In March 2015, FIFA decided that the OFC gets two slots at every FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cup. So the top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil as the OFC representatives. New Zealand, the defending champions, won the title for the eighth time, and qualified together with runners-up Solomon Islands.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Format
The draw for the tournament was held on 2 February 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. In both the qualifying stage and the final tournament, the hosts (Tonga and Solomon Islands) were assigned to position A1 in the draw, while the remaining teams were drawn into the other positions without any seeding.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Teams
All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered the tournament.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Teams
Note: All appearance statistics include those in the qualifying stage (since 2017).


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Venues
The hosts of the qualifying stage and final tournament were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 2002 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team can name a maximum of 20 players.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Goalscorers
In the qualifying stage, there were 33 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 5.5 goals per match.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Goalscorers
In the final tournament, there were 67 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 4.19 goals per match.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Goalscorers
In total, there were 100 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 4.55 goals per match.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Awards
The Golden Ball Award is awarded to the most outstanding player of the tournament. The Golden Glove Award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The Golden Boot Award is awarded to the top scorer of the tournament. The Fair Play Award is awarded to the team with the best disciplinary record at the tournament.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 World Cup
The following two teams from OFC qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Age fraud controversy
The Solomon Islands, which originally finished second, were found by the OFC to have deliberately fielded overage player Chris Satu during the tournament and would forfeit all results and their place in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The decision was reviewed under appeal from the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The OFC Executive Committee announced on 3 May 2019 that Solomon Islands would keep their spot for the FIFA U-17 World Cup on the grounds that the federation had not knowingly broken the rules as Satu had a government issued passport showing his eligibility.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship, Age fraud controversy
On 11 December 2019, it was found that Solomon Islands' player Maxwell Keana played in five games with a "false birth certificate and passport to improperly seek eligibility" for the competition. As a result, the Solomon Islands Football Federation was sanctioned and the Oceania Football Confederation banned the Solomon Islands from entering a team in the 2020 OFC U-16 Championship.


2018 OFC U-16 Championship squads
The teams of the preliminary stage were announced two days before the kick off, so on July 12. The caps and goals are as of 1 August 2018, after the preliminary stage and before the main tournament.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship
The 2018 OFC U-19 Championship was the 22nd edition of the OFC U-19/U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-19/under-20 national teams of Oceania. The qualifying stage was held in the Cook Islands between 26 May – 1 June 2018, and the final tournament was held in Tahiti between 5–18 August 2018.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship
Before the tournament in 2016, the age limit was reduced by a year to 19 years of age. However, the last tournament remained the name U-20 Championship. For this tournament, the name has changed to U-19 Championship. So, players who wanted to participate in the tournament needed to be born on or after 1 January 1999. At an OFC Executive Committee meeting held at its Auckland headquarters in November 2013 the competition format was modified. The competition was brought forward a year and the age limit was lowered to 19 years of age. The changes were made in order to allow the winner of the competition plenty of time for preparation and player development for upcoming World Cups at Under 20 level.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship
In March 2015, FIFA decided that the OFC gets two slots at every FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cup. So, the top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland as the OFC representatives. New Zealand, the defending champions, won the title for the seventh time, and qualified together with runners-up Tahiti.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Format
The draw for the tournament was held on 2 February 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. In both the qualifying stage and the final tournament, the hosts (Cook Islands and Tahiti) were assigned to position A1 in the draw, while the remaining teams were drawn into the other positions without any seeding.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Teams
All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered the tournament.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Teams
Note: All appearance statistics include those in the qualifying stage (since 2016).


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Venues
The hosts of the qualifying stage and final tournament were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Venues
After two Group B matches were played at Stade Fautaua on 6 August, it was announced on 8 August that the remaining Group B matches would be moved to Stade Pater due to the floodlights being deemed less than optimal. However, it was announced on 10 August 2018 that after heavy rain caused the pitch of Stade Pater to deteriorate, the last two Group A and Group B matches on 11 and 12 August would be moved to Stade Fautaua with earlier kick-off times (12:00 and 15:00 instead of 15:00 and 18:00).


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team can name a maximum of 20 players.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Goalscorers
In the qualifying stage there were 14 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 2.33 goals per match.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Goalscorers
In the final tournament there were 68 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 4.25 goals per match.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Goalscorers
In total, there were 82 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 3.73 goals per match.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Awards
The Golden Ball Award was awarded to the most outstanding player of the tournament. The Golden Glove Award was awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The Golden Boot Award was awarded to the top scorer of the tournament. The Fair Play Award was awarded to the team with the best disciplinary record at the tournament.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship, Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup
The following two teams from OFC qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.


2018 OFC U-19 Championship squads
The 2018 OFC U-19 Championship was the 22nd edition of the OFC U-19/U-20 Championship. Before the tournament in 2016, the age limit was reduced by a year to 19 years of age. However, the last tournament remained the name U-20 Championship. For this tournament, the name has changed to U-19 Championship. So, players who wanted to participate in the tournament needed to be born on or after 1 January 1999.


2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup
The 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup was the 11th edition of the OFC Women's Nations Cup (also known as the OFC Women's Championship), the quadrennial international football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the women's national teams of the Oceanian region. The tournament was held in New Caledonia between 18 November – 1 December 2018.