Memphis women's soccer survived. And advanced.

The Tigers (20-1), behind a career-best six-save performance from goalkeeper Kaylie Bierman, upset No. 3 seed Notre Dame to book their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a 3-2 win Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Freshman Ashley Henderson's goal in the 77th minute proved to be the winner, and sixth-seeded Memphis hung on for the final minutes to withstand a charge from the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish (12-4-4). The Tigers on Sunday will meet No. 7 seed Pittsburgh, which upset No. 2 seed Arkansas 4-3.

"Couldn't be prouder," coach Brooks Monaghan said. "That was a very, very good team that we played, and just delighted for this group of kids."

Memphis struck first in the 16th minute thanks to a vintage play by AAC Offensive Player of the Year Mya Jones. She got to the byline and sent a low cross in front of Atlee Olofson's goal. The ball ended up at the feet of Finley Lavin after the scramble, and she slotted it home from a few yards out for her first career goal.

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Notre Dame still had the majority of the chances and time of possession in the first half. Bierman had to make three saves in the first 25 minutes, just a few days after she had to make only one the entire game in the first-round win over LSU.

Bierman continued to outdo herself throughout the half, including in the 32nd minute, when she had to make a diving stop to deny a long-range shot from Morgan Roy.

"Kaylie makes big saves," Monaghan said. "That's her job. She's been good for us all year."

The Fighting Irish equalized just before the half. Meg Mrowicki found herself alone in front of goal with only Bierman to beat, and she found the back of the net in the 44th minute.

The Tigers had a stretch in the second half when they repeatedly challenged the Notre Dame goal, and freshman Anna Hauer took a shot from just outside the box that beat Olofson but was denied by the crossbar.

Just two minutes later, Olofson made a leaping save to push Anne-Valerie Seto's shot just over the bar. But the Tigers kept pushing, and they finally found the breakthrough with Saorla Miller's free kick that trickled past Olofson.

It looked like Memphis had put things away when Henderson added another goal a minute later, but that seemed to shock the Fighting Irish back to life. Maddie Mercado curled a long-range shot past Bierman in the 79th minute, then hit the crossbar a few minutes later.

"The emotions were going crazy," defender Haylee Spray said. "We kept it calm, we played like ourselves and we just sat there, sacrificed everything for each other and just made sure to keep it out of that net."

Memphis salted away the final minutes and survived the late rally attempt from Notre Dame to come away with the win. It is the first time in program history that the team has made consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

"These kids, they've earned it," Monaghan said. "They work their tails off every single day, and they're all in."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis women's soccer beats Notre Dame, goes to NCAA tourney Sweet 16