CHICAGO — Sophomore forward Matthew Roou scored the first brace of his career, scoring twice in the 4-2 win over UIC at Flames Field on Tuesday evening.
Roou was joined by Kyle Genenbacher and Mitch Ferguson as Fighting Irish players that found the back of the net on the evening in the Notre Dame victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish couldn’t have asked for a better opening five minutes of play, as they stuck in the fifth minute for the opening goal. Roou pounced on a loose ball after a miscommunication between a defender and the goalie and slotted his shot into the net to make it 1-0 early.
The Notre Dame lead was short lived, as the Flames leveled the match off a corner just three minutes later to make the score 1-1.
The Irish had a couple looks to retake the lead midway through the first half but weren’t able to finish the buildup.
In the 44th minute Notre Dame regained the lead off a strike from Genenbacher. Bryce Boneau laid off a pass at the top of the box and the sophomore made no mistake with the finish, blasting the ball into the back of the net to put the Irish on top 2-1 going into the half.
The Irish doubled their lead in the 57th minute off a beautiful team goal. Ferguson flicked a pass to Daniel Russo, who looped a ball into the path of Roou. The sophomore striker wrapped his left foot around the ball and tucked his effort inside the far post to make the score 3-1.
Notre Dame’s attack continued to click, as Ferguson opened his Fighting Irish account with his first career goal in the 73rd minute. His initial effort was saved off the line but he collected the rebound and fired it past the UIC keeper to increase the lead to 4-1.
The hosts managed to pull one back in the 80th minute, scoring their second goal of the evening off a corner to make the score 4-2.
The Irish saw out the rest of the game to come away with the 4-2 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“Obviously pleased with the result. When you feel like things are going against you a little bit it is hard to turn it around and the guys fought really hard and earned a well-deserved result in a tough place to play against a good UIC team.”
On the attack scoring four goals…
“It feels great, especially when your strikers and midfielders are scoring it’s always nice. It is something that is a big part of their job and it is hard to do so it was nice for them to get that reward of some good play that maybe they haven’t gotten over the last couple of games.”
On Roou’s first career brace…
“I thought he was great. He has been so determined to score. He brings so much to the team but obviously goals are a big part of what we hope to get from him and it was nice to see him get two tonight.”
ND NOTES
- The Irish remain unbeaten in the series against UIC, improving to 5-0-0 in the matchup.
- Roou’s brace was the first of his career and he now has four goals on the year and 11 in his career.
- Genenbacher scored his second goal of the season and his career.
- Ferguson made his first career start and also registered his first goal and assist in his collegiate career.
- Boneau picked up his third assist of the season
- Russo dished out his team-high fourth assist of the year.
UP NEXT
The Irish return to Alumni Stadium for a 7 p.m. ET start against Virginia Tech in an ACC matchup on Friday, Oct. 21. The game will be streamed on ACCNX.
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