RALEIGH, N.C. — The No. 15 Fighting Irish men’s soccer team turned in arguably its best half of the season over the final 45 minutes of action at NC State, scoring three goals en route to a 3-1 win over the Wolf Pack to remain unbeaten in ACC play at 3-0-1.
All three goals were scored by different Irish players, as Matthew Roou, Paddy Burns and Eno Nto each found the back of the net in the win.
On the other end Bryan Dowd made four saves in goal for the Irish, who outshot the hosts 20-10 on the evening.
The Notre Dame victory marked the first home defeat for NC State this season at Dail Soccer Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame controlled the opening phases of play, having the lion’s share of possession to begin the match.
The Irish nearly scored the first goal of the contest in the 18th minute off a moment of individual brilliance from Ethan O’Brien. The graduate student collected the ball on the edge of the area and spun through two defenders before placing a low-driving effort on frame that was palmed just wide of the far post from the Wolfpack keeper.
However, the hosts managed to strike first, as the Wolfpack scored off a header directly from a corner in the 35th minute to take a 1-0 lead, which was the score going into halftime.
The Irish came out of the intermission on the front foot and it didn’t take long for them to find the equalizer. In the 50th minute KK Baffour found Roou, who flicked his shot past the on-rushing goalie to level the match at 1-1.
Notre Dame continued to dictate play and took the lead in the 65th minute. A long ball from Burns connected with Michael Rossi, whose masterful first touch carried him into the box. An NC State defender brought down the forward, earning the Irish a penalty. Burns confidently sent the Wolfpack keeper the wrong way with a clinical finish to put Notre Dame on top at 2-1.
The Irish added a big insurance goal to put an exclamation mark on their performance with a goal from Nto in the 84th minute. Genenbacher burst into the box along the right flank and squared a pass to Nto, who put a clinical finish just inside the far post to make it 3-1.
The Irish were never threatened over the final five minutes of action, as they went on to win by a final score of 3-1.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I am really proud of the team. We knew it would be a tough match as NC State is a very good team and winning on the road in the ACC is tough. I thought we played well from the start and were a little unfortunate to be down a goal in the first half but I loved the team’s response in the second half. We played with intensity, quality, and focus. Overall I am very happy with the performance and the leadership our older guys provided.”
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
Notre Dame has scored a combined 10 goals over its four ACC matches this season, recording three goals in three of the four contests.
ND NOTES
- Notre Dame improves to 5-2-1 against NC State in the all-time series
- The Irish win marked the first defeat at home for NC State during the 2023 season
- Notre Dame has allowed one or no goals in nine of 10 matches this season
- Roou scored his team-best seventh goal of the season, which matches his career high from his freshman campaign in 2021
- Roou now has 18 career goals
- Nto has now scored three goals in ACC play and has four on the season and 11 in his three years in South Bend
- Burns scored his second goal of the season and 10th of his career
- Baffour picked up his team-leading fourth assist, which is his career high
- Genenbacher dished out his second assist of the year and sixth of his career
UP NEXT
The Irish return to Alumni Stadium next weekend, as they take on No. 21 Duke in a pivotal ACC matchup at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 7. The game will air 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 (/NDMenSoccer) and TikTok (@ndmensoccer).