By John Brice
Special Contributor
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The one-year anniversary just passed.
For Bryan Dowd and his Notre Dame soccer teammates, the seared-in memory might as well have developed last week.
On the heels of their scintillating 2021 run to the NCAA Semifinals, the Fighting Irish never got consistently untracked in a topsy-turvy 2022 campaign that was halted in the ACC Tournament.
Yet along the way, through frustration and pain, Dowd recalled the moment that Notre Dame charted what has become a captivating run of dominance thus far this season for the No. 5-ranked Irish (11-1-4), who closed out their regular season on Friday with a 6-0 drubbing of No. 20 Pittsburgh.
“I vividly remember the moment after playing Duke away, they were ranked top-three, and our team got together, just players, on the field right after the game,” said Dowd, the sublime Irish goalkeeper who in four years, across nearly 5,100 minutes of service, has yielded a scant 54 goals. “We said to each other, ‘This can’t happen. What can we do to buy in?’ We talked it out a little bit, asked each other what can we do to make the most of this year and how do we start preparing for next year.
“It took a lot of tough conversations from guys, asking more of each other, putting in more work, a lot of determination.”
Irish coach Chad Riley is an realist; he doesn’t hide from Duke’s skill last season, but similarly he acknowledges the response of his Notre Dame team henceforth.
“I think that was a really disappointing moment in our season,” Riley said, “And even more so, we actually played pretty well in the game, gave up two goals, but good teams have the ability to score on you.
“I felt like it was a real kind of gut-punch, but we responded really well. I don’t think guys were necessarily playing poorly, but we weren’t getting things to go our way. Instead of splintering in that moment, we came together and recommitted to ourselves.”
Dowd’s dedication is a constant, his eight shutouts in 15 matches turning him into one of his sport’s top shields.
As selfless as his position dictates, Dowd points, yes, to his own work but more importantly to the roles of his coaches and teammates.
“I appreciate you asking this question, because part of the reason why I felt really good in my game, personally, is because I have been lucky enough to train with some MLS teams this summer,” said Dowd, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Willow Springs, Illinois, native. “It helped me get and take my game to the next level. Really, it’s kind of the culmination of 20 years’ hard work. But to be honest, the main reason is because our entire team has bought in. I can’t tell you how many times I see a forward sprint back to the top of the box or a defender put his body on the line to block a shot. From our starting 11 to the end of the bench, every single person has bought in to this brotherhood and are fighting for each other.”
The fight, for Dowd, for Notre Dame, for this season, actually borrows from that other futbol – American football.
So much so, in fact, that Dowd has inscribed his gloves with the mantra of Notre Dame’s other coach of the Irish’s starting 11 – football coach Marcus Freeman.
“To be honest, I try to take a page out of Coach Freeman’s book, one play one life,” said Dowd, his experience aside from Notre Dame to include professional and international exposure. “I’ve got it written on the back of my gloves, and it’s always a great reminder.”
Turns out, Dowd’s approach actually is a reminder for Freeman, the Elvis-like popular coach steering the school’s flagship football program.
”I think it’s reaffirming as a head coach or as a leader that the culture you’re trying to permeate through your team is continuing to work,” Freeman said of Dowd’s homage. “We always say it goes from paper to head to heart. What we say on the walls, ‘One Play, One Life,’ it goes from the walls to your head to your heart.
“For Bryan to use that in the sport of soccer, it truly tells me he believes in that culture. He believes in that saying. It really pleases me to hear that.”