SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Fighting Irish picked up a non-conference win on Tuesday evening at Alumni Stadium, defeating Omaha by a score of 3-1 to improve to 3-1-2 on the season.
Notre Dame had its best attacking output of the season in the victory, scoring a season-high three goals from three different players.
The striker tandem of Wyatt Borso and Luke Burton each scored a goal for the second consecutive outing and graduate transfer Martin von Thun opened his Fighting Irish account with his first of the season.
In his first career start, freshman Alex Rosin played the role of creator for Notre Dame, dishing out his first two assists of his career on the first two Irish goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish controlled the run of play from the opening whistle, owning the majority of possession in the early stages.
Notre Dame capitalized by striking first, courtesy of a left-footed strike from Borso. Baffour played a ball to Rosin down the left flank, who centered a low cross into the box which found its way to Borso. The senior settled the ball before calmly slotting his shot into the bottom left corner for the opening goal.
The Irish pushed forward in search of a second goal, nearly scoring off a Burton header and then from a Zimmermann free kick but neither managed to find the back of the net. Notre Dame took its one-goal advantage into the halftime break.
Notre Dame came out of the locker room and doubled its lead within the first 15 minutes of the second half. Rosin did a great job to shake free along the endline before connecting with Burton on his cross, who nodded in to put the Irish up 2-0.
The Mavericks managed to pull a goal back against the run of play, scoring in the 67th minute off a long ball over the top to cut the Irish lead to 2-1.
Eighteen minutes later the Irish slammed the door on the match off the goal from Von Thun. Nolan Spicer put the ball on a platter off a corner and Von Thun made no mistake with his header for his first Notre Dame goal to give the Irish the 3-1 win in the 85th minute.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“Overall a good victory. Omaha’s record doesn’t reflect the quality that they have. We knew it would be a tough contest and they made it very interesting with their goal in transition. I was really proud of our response to get the third goal but overall I’m proud of the group. It’s always hard to turn things around after a big win on a Friday and they figured out a way.”
On Borso and Burton scoring for the second-straight match…
“They are creating chances and looking more and more confident in front of goal so we are really excited about them hitting the back of the net. It’s also a testament to their overall play, their holdup play, their pressing, defending and running. They are doing it all right now and once you do all the little things well the goals come.”
On Rosin’s performance in his first start…
“He looked good. He grew into the game. I thought he looked a little nervy to start but then he really grew into it. He’s a phenomenal player and is going to be a really big player for us.”
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
Through six matches the Fighting Irish have scored four goals off set pieces, including one from Tuesday’s victory. Three of the four goals have come from defenders as Von Thun, Mitch Ferguson and Diego Ochoa have each found the back of the net.
ND NOTES
- The three goals mark a season high for the Fighting Irish during the 2025 campaign
- Borso now has two goals on the season and five in his Fighting Irish career
- Baffour recorded his second assist of the season and 17th of his career, the most by an active Irish player
- Rosin made the first start of his collegiate career and also recorded his first points, picking up assists on the first two goals of the evening
- Von Thun becomes the third Notre Dame player this year to score their first career Irish goal, joining Ochoa and Burton
- The Irish have now scored four goals on set pieces this season, two from free kicks and two from corners
- Spicer’s assist was his third of the season, all coming in the last two matches, and he now has nine in his career
UP NEXT
The Irish will take on Louisville in their second match of the week at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 19 at Alumni Stadium. Admission to the match is free and it will be streamed 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).