SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish completed a second-half comeback 2-1 win over No. 12 Clemson in front of an electric Alumni Stadium crowd to come away with a signature victory.
Stevie Dunphy and Matthew Roou provided the goals for the Irish, with Roou’s coming in the 86th minute to win the match.
Notre Dame has now won three straight and improves to 4-1-3 on the season and 2-1-0 in ACC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Tigers played a fairly even opening 45 minutes of action, as the match was a scoreless deadlock at the break.
The second half came to life quickly, as the visitors scored the opener just over 10 minutes into the period, as Antonio Illuminato scored on a glancing header that Notre Dame keeper Blake Kelly got his hands to but couldn’t keep out of the net.
Notre Dame wasted no time with its response. Less than three minutes later Josh Ramsey launched a ball upfield that Dunphy chased down, beating the Clemson defender to win possession. The freshman looked like a seasoned veteran on the finish, calmly finishing off the far post and into the goal to level the score at 1-1 in the 59th minute.
The match completely changed one minute later, as Clemson’s Adam Lundegard was sent off for a reckless challenge in the midfield, earning a straight red and giving the Irish a man advantage for the final 30 minutes of play.
The Irish controlled possession the rest of the way but were unable to unlock the Tigers’ defense until the 86th minute. Bryce Boneau won a header off a Clemson goal kick, sending Roou in on goal with one defender to beat. The senior’s shot deflected off the leg of the defender and just inside the far corner to deliver the Irish the 2-1 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“I’m really pleased with the win. I thought the performance was quite good as well. I thought we were playing well in the first half and then in the second half they scored off a good set piece.
“Then I thought we responded very well with Stevie Dunphy getting his first goal and then the red card changed the game. I think it shook us up a little bit with the way the challenge came in. The guys responded really well. We talk about being tough and they kept pushing and Roou found the winner so I was really pleased with the result.”
On Roou’s form…
“Once strikers find their form they just want to keep scoring, they just need to get the first few to go in and he has. He’s playing great.”
On the crowd…
“The guys were inspired to compete in front of such an amazing crowd.”
ND NOTES
- With the win, the Irish improve to 8-6-2 against Clemson in the all-time series
- Notre Dame has outscored the opposition by a combined 11-3 over the last three matches
- Notre Dame improves to 18-2-8 over its last 28 regular season matches
- Roou’s goal gives him eight on the season and 29 career goals, the most on the active roster
- Roou has been on fire recently, scoring seven goals over the last three matches
- Dunphy’s goal is the first of his career
- Dunphy becomes the seventh Notre Dame goal scorer on the season
- Boneau’s assist gives him 15 in his Notre Dame career, the most on the active roster
- Ramsey picked up his first assist of the season and now has three in his career
UP NEXT
The Irish remain at home, as they welcome Trine to Alumni Stadium for a 7 p.m. ET start on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The match will air on ACCNX.
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