BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Fighting Irish men’s soccer team renewed its intrastate rivalry with Indiana on Thursday evening, playing the Hoosiers to a 2-2 standstill at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
The Irish goals came from Jack Flanagan and Kyle Genenbacher. On the other end Blake Kelly put in a great performance in goal, making eight saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sides grew into the match with neither side creating chances in the opening stages of play. Freshman goalkeeper Blake Kelly was called into action in the 16th minute, making a diving save off an Indiana header for his first career save to keep the match scoreless at 0-0.
The Irish then tested the Hoosiers in the 22nd minute, as Matthew Roou fired a shot from just inside the box but the keeper made a diving stop to keep the Irish off the board.
With just minutes left in the first half, Bryce Boneau spring a counter by playing Flanagan into space. The sophomore’s strike from the right side of the top of the box rocketed inside the far post to give Notre Dame the 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute, which they took into the halftime break.
The hosts threatened to level in the first 15 minutes of the second half and then managed to score two goals in the span of less than a minute in the 68th and 69th minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
Notre Dame showed its resiliency and instantly responded. The Irish won a free kick in the final third and Genenbacher rose up to nod in the delivery from KK Baffour to even the scoreline at 2-2 in the 70th minute.
The Irish created a couple of quality looks in the final 10 minutes of play but neither effort found the back of the net, resulting in a 2-2 draw on the evening.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“There were some good moments and also some moments we could have handled better but credit to IU, playing down here is always going to be tough. They made it difficult. I love the team’s response after going down a goal to get one back and then showing the grit and determination to grind it out. In the last 10 minutes we had two really good looks at goal that we didn’t score on.
“All in all I think it was a decent performance. I’m happy with the result. Indiana is always going to be a tough game and a tough place to play so I think we are proud of the group. I think the young guys that came in were fantastic tonight.”
On the team’s resiliency…
“Hopefully it means you aren’t going to be rattled easily. But again, you would always like to get the second goal when you are in the lead instead of responding.”
On Blake Kelly’s performance…
“I thought he was great. He made a couple of really big saves from distance and then also some from close and around him. Even outside of that his command and control of taking crosses and set pieces was excellent. He looked like a veteran out there.”
ND NOTES
- Flanagan’s goal was the first of his career in only his second collegiate match
- Genenbacher now has four career goals from the right back position
- Baffour and Boneau each picked up the 11th assist of their career, as the two were tied for the team lead last season with seven apiece
- Kelly’s eight saves represent a career high in his young college career
- Ian Shaul made his collegiate debut, earning the start as a forward
UP NEXT
The Irish remain on the road, traveling to Louisville to open up ACC play against the Cardinals at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 6. The match will be streamed on ACCX.
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