SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 2 overall seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish welcome Western Michigan to Alumni Stadium for a 5 p.m. match on Sunday, Nov. 26 with a trip to the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals on the line. The match will air on ESPN+.
No. 2 NOTRE DAME vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Western Michigan
Tickets: Click Here
THE IRISH IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
• Notre Dame is playing in its 24th NCAA Championship in 2023 and have played in the tourney in 20 of the last 23 seasons.
• The Irish have an overall record of 22-20-5 in the NCAA Championships.
• Notre Dame is 16-8-4 when playing at home in NCAA Tournament play in program history and has advanced to the next round 19 times.
• With the win over Kentucky on Nov. 19, the Irish are 13-8-2 in their opening NCAA Tournament matches in program history and have advanced to the next round 15 times.
• The Irish have advanced to the round of 16 on 12 occasions and have made five quarterfinals.
• Notre Dame’s No. 2 national seed is the highest the program has earned since being the top-seed during the 2014 season.
• The last time the Irish were in the NCAA Tournament they advanced to the College Cup for the second time in program history, coming in the 2021 season.
• Notre Dame won the College Cup in 2013, defeating Maryland by a score of 2-1 to capture the title. It was the program’s only trip to the College Cup.
THE WESTERN MICHIGAN SERIES
• The Irish and Wildcats will meet on the pitch for the eighth time on Sunday evening.
• The Irish lead the Broncos in the all-time series at 8-3-2.
• Notre Dame and Western Michigan haven’t played in a regular season or postseason match since the 1999 season.
•The Irish are 6-1-1 against the Broncos when playing in South Bend.
• Sunday will mark the first time the two teams meet in an NCAA Championship match.
LAST TIME OUT
• Notre Dame defeated Kentucky by a score of 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Alumni Stadium to open NCAA postseason play for the Irish.
• The dominated possession and the run of play for large spells of the match and scored the opener in the 49th minute off a goal from Bryce Boneau.
• The Irish tacked on another goal when Nolan Spicer rounded the keeper and finished into an empty net in the 79th minute to secure the victory.
ATTACKING CLINIC
• Notre Dame’s attack has been one of the best in the country and also one of the best in program history during the 2023 season.
• The Irish rank ninth in the country in goals (2.28), seventh in assists per game (2.56) and seventh in goal differential (+29).
• The 2.28 goals per match are the most for a Notre Dame teams since averaging (2.36) during the 2012 season.
• Sixteen different Irish players have scored a goal this season and 22 have recorded at least one point.
• Notre Dame has been shutout just twice this season and has scored 11 goals over its last three matches.
STRONG STARTS
• Notre Dame has made it a habit of jumping out to an early lead this season, as the Irish have scored the opening goal in 12 of 18 matches in 2023.
• Ten of the 12 opening goals have come in the first 45 minutes of play.
•The quickest goal to start a match came from Matthew Roou in the 4th minute in the win over Clemson.
• The Fighting Irish are unbeaten when scoring the opening goal over the last 32 occurrences, posting a record of 31-0-1 spanning back to the early stages of the 2021 season.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
• As good as the Irish have been at the beginning of matches, they have been even better in the final 45 minutes of play.
• Notre Dame has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 25-5 in second halves this season.
•The Irish have allowed second half goals in just three matches this season while having scored in the final 45 minutes of play in 12 outings.
SET-PIECE SUCCESS
• ND has excelled on both ends of the field on set pieces during the 2023 season.
•The Irish defense has allowed four goals off set pieces all season while in attack 15 of the team’s 41 goals have come via a set piece.
• Notre Dame has scored off five free kicks, five corners, three penalty kicks and two from throw-ins.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Fighting Irish have allowed just 12 goals through 18 matches during the 2023 campaign.
• The 0.667 goals against average ranks second in the ACC and fifth in the country.
• With 10 shutouts over 18 matches, the Irish are fourth in the country in shutout percentage with a mark 55.6.
• Notre Dame has given up just one or no goals in 16 of 18 matches this season.
•The nine shutouts are the most the Irish have recorded in a regular season since posting nine during the 2007 season.
• Notre Dame’s eight goals allowed in the regular season are the fewest the Irish have given up since the 2004 season in which they allowed seven goals.
DOWD DELIVERS
• Bryan Dowd has been masterful in goal this season for the Irish, making a claim as one of the top goalies in the country despite playing some of the best attacking units in the nation.
• The senior ranks fifth in the country in shutouts (9) and eighth in save percentage (.821).
• The shot stopper has 58 career starts while appearing in 59 matches over his previous three seasons in South Bend.
• Dowd has amassed 155 career saves and has recorded 22 clean sheets over his time in South Bend.
•The senior produced his best performance of his career in the 0-0 draw at Akron, making a career-high 12 saves to keep the clean sheet intact.
• The 12 saves are the most by an ACC goalkeeper in the regular season and the third most of any goalie at the DI level.
TOP OF THE TABLE
• The Irish captured their second ACC Coastal Division title in program history after the draw against No. 3 Wake Forest. The program now has three ACC regular season titles, also winning in 2014 and 2013.
• Notre Dame is coming off its best regular season in ACC play, finishing with its first undefeated year in league action with a record of 6-0-2.
• This marked Notre Dame’s first undefeated regular-season conference record since going 7-0-4 in the Big East in 2011.
• Notre Dame scored 19 goals in regular season ACC play, which were the most of any team in the ACC over the eight matches.
• The Irish posted a +13 goal differential over the eight ACC matches, which ranked first in the conference.
ROOU’S RUN OF FORM
• Junior Matthew Roou is a prominent force in the Irish attack through this season, producing 23 points off 10 goals and three assists.
• The junior ranks second in the ACC in goals per game (.63) and third in total goals (10).
• Roou’s hat trick in the win over IUPUI was the first of his career and the first of the season for the Irish.
• The junior forward finished with seven points off three goals and an assist, becoming the first Notre Dame player to record seven or more points in a match since Dave Donohue also had seven points against Marquette on Sept. 11, 2008.
• Roou currently has 21 career goals to go along with 10 career assists, totaling 52 career points for the forward.
NTO’S HISTORIC NIGHT
• Eno Nto scored a career-high four goals in the 6-0 victory over No. 20 Pitt in the season finale.
• The four-goal performance represented the most goals from an Irish player in a match since Joseph Lapira scored four against Indiana on Sept. 3, 2006.
• Nto’s four goals are the most any player in the ACC has scored in a match this season and the forward is one of three players at the men’s DI level to score four goals in a game this season.
• Nto was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week, College Soccer News National Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week after the performance.
• The junior is now tied for the team lead for goals on the season with 10 and has 17 goals in his Notre Dame career.