Match report (PDF)
LOUISVILLE – The Fighting Irish men’s soccer team handed Louisville its first loss of the season on Friday night, defeating the Cardinals 2-1 in the ACC road opener at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
The Irish goals were scored by Bryce Boneau and Jacob Bartlett, the first of the season for both players.
New goalkeeper Blake Kelly recorded the first win of his career, saving two shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish struck first, scoring in the seventh minute to take an early 1-0 lead. Nolan Spicer outmaneuvered his marker, got to the byline and then crossed through the box. Jack Flanagan feinted perfectly and Boneau was able to give Notre Dame the win with a perfectly placed shot into the bottom left corner.
However, the Irish lead did not last long as Louisville’s Ethan Subachan equalized to make it 1-1 in the 14th minute.
Notre Dame fought back and took the lead again on a goal from Bartlett. KK Baffour’s cross into the box found the freshman, who fired the ball into the top half of the net with his left foot to give the Irish a 2-1 lead in the 29th minute.
This score remained the same for the first 45 minutes of play and the Irish led 2-1 at half-time.
In the 62nd minute, the Irish almost doubled their lead when Ian Shaul played a perfect pass to Matthew Rouu, whose shot went just wide of the far post.
In the last 20 minutes of the game, the defense secured the last third of the field and delivered the 2-1 away win with all its might.
CHAD RILEY, HEAD COACH OF THE McFARLAND FAMILY
To the game…
“Overall, I’m happy with the win. I’m really happy for the guys. They fought hard and definitely deserved the result. We had some incredibly good moments in the game against a very good Louisville team. We know that every ACC game, and especially against this Louisville team, is a very good away win.”
To victory on the way to the opening game of the ACC …
“It’s huge. Those points are hard to come by, especially when you’re playing against a top team like Louisville. To play away and start the ACC with a win is huge.”
Go on the attack…
“We created some really good chances and on another night we might have created a few more. But I think it’s really promising to create so many good chances against a good Louisville team.”
On the ability of the defense to achieve victory…
“We did a good job as a group and implemented the tactical adjustment pretty well. Blake (Kelly) looks like a veteran. He had to deal with a lot of difficult balls in the penalty area, but he made them look easy.”
ND STATISTICS OF THE NIGHT
All five of Ireland’s goals this season have been scored by five different players: Rouu, Flanagan, Genenbacher, Boneau and Bartlett each found the net.
ND NOTES
- The Irish improve to 14-10-2 in the all-time series with the Cardinals
- With the win, Notre Dame is 7-3-2 in ACC opening games
- Boneau’s goal is his first of the season and his fifth of his career
- Three of Boneau’s five goals came in his last two games against Louisville.
- Bartlett’s goal was the first of his career in just his third college game
- Spicer’s assist is the fifth of his career and the first of the season
- The start of the game was delayed by 55 minutes due to weather conditions
Next
The Irish return to Alumni Stadium for a nonconference game against Duquesne on Tuesday, September 10th at 8:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on ACCNX.
FOLLOW THE IRISH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Notre Dame men’s soccer program, follow the Irish on Twitter (@NDMenSoccer), Instagram (@ndmensoccer), Facebook (/NDMenFootball) and TikTok (@ndmensoccer).
