SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The No. 11 Fighting Irish men’s soccer team earned a big 1-0 win over No. 14 Duke on Saturday night at Alumni Stadium to remain undefeated in the ACC (4-0-1) and move back to the top of the league table.
The Irish goal was simply sublime, as Ethan O’Brien perfectly placed his right-footed volley from outside the box, which ended up being the difference in the match.
The Irish defense continued its excellent play, recording its fifth clean sheet of the season. Starting goalkeeper Bryan Dowd made three big saves to keep the shutout intact.
Ethan O’Brien, TAKE A BOW!#SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10 #SCTop10
Watch on ACCNX: https://t.co/WcBaTZgICl pic.twitter.com/3AQrxUhu70
— Notre Dame Men’s Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) October 7, 2023
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame has made a habit of jumping out to early leads this season and Saturday was no different, as the Irish scored the opener in the 13th minute to go on top 1-0.
The goal came following a Notre Dame long throw in, which was headed out of the box from a Blue Devil trying to clear his lines. The ball fell to Ethan O’Brien, who put his laces through the ball and found the top left corner of the goal, just over the Duke keeper’s outstretched arms, to score his first goal of the season.
Just minutes after the goal the visitors nearly leveled the match but Dowd was up to the task, diving to his right to make a save from close range to keep the Irish in front.
Notre Dame came close to doubling its advantage before the break, as Paddy Burns fired a shot on target that was saved in the 40th minute. The Irish led by a score of 1-0 into the halftime break.
The Irish came out of the intermission and did a great job of keeping the Duke attack in check but also creating chances and controlling the midfield.
A beautiful quick counter attack from Notre Dame almost resulted in a goal, as Daniel Russo cut back onto his left foot in the box but his shot went just wide of the far post. Then in the 74th minute the Irish earned a free kick at the top of the box and Sebastian Green sent his effort just over the bar.
Dowd was once again called into action in the 85th minute, making a huge save that came from a header off a corner. The Irish then saw the rest of the match out to secure the 1-0 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I am really pleased with the result and proud of the performance. Duke is a very good team, a team that we haven’t really played like them this season. They get the ball forward quickly and have two very good strikers, who are very physical. It took some time for us to adjust. We were good in the first half and scored a world-class goal and were a bit unlucky not to do better with a couple other moments.
“In the second half the team adjusted well and controlled the game. We were unfortunate not to get the second goal and the last five minutes ended up having a bit of chaos but the guys stood strong and Dowd led us through those moments very well.”
On O’Brien’s goal…
“I haven’t seen a one-time finish or many like that. It might be the best goal I’ve ever seen from a team I have coached.”
On the clean sheet…
“Clean sheets are important and they are really hard to get against a team like Duke, which scored five goals in its last ACC game, so to get that is a testament to the team defense.”
On the crowd…
“It was a great crowd. We were happy to have the Junior Irish out here and have such a great crowd on an ACC soccer night.”
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
Notre Dame is off to its best start in ACC play in program history through five matches with a record of 4-0-1. Notre Dame has outscored the opposition 11-5 over the five contests.
ND NOTES
- Notre Dame improves to 11-5-2 against Duke in the all-time series and 7-0-2 against the Blue Devils when playing in South Bend
- The Irish allowed one or no goals in 10 of 11 matches this season
- O’Brien becomes the eighth different Notre Dame player to score a goal this season and now has three in his career
- Dowd’s clean sheet is his fifth of the season and 18th of his career
UP NEXT
The Irish return to Alumni Stadium for a midweek match against Oberlin at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The game will air on ACCNX.
FOLLOW THE IRISH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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