SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Fighting Irish and IU Indy men’s soccer teams battled to a 0-0 draw at Alumni Stadium on Sunday evening in Notre Dame’s home opener.
The Irish controlled possession throughout and outshot the visitors by a mark of 15-4 but were unable to unlock the Jaguar’s defense over the 90 minutes of action.
Blake Kelly finished the evening with four saves while picking up the first clean sheet of his collegiate career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish controlled the pace of play from the opening whistle, having the lion’s share of possession over the opening 45 minutes. However, the Jaguars defended admirably and nearly scored the opener in the 32nd minute off a counter but Kelly was up to the task and made a big save to keep the score at 0-0.
Eight minutes later the Irish had their best look at goal in the first half. Jack Flanagan earned a free kick on the right edge of the area and Diego Ochoa fired a shot on frame at the bottom of the near post but the IU Indy goalie was able to make the save to send the match to halftime with neither side able to find the decisive breakthrough.
Notre Dame came out of the second half and was more decisive with their possession but were still held at bay by the Jaguars.
The Irish nearly scored in the 56th minute off a free kick from Mitch Ferguson but his attempt went just over the crossbar.
Then in the 72nd minute Nolan Spicer laid off a pass in the area to Flanagan, who struck a low drive on frame but the IU Indy keeper managed to parry it away.
The Irish kept throwing numbers forward over the final 15 minutes of play but were unable to produce the key final ball to score the game winner, resulting in the scoreless draw.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“IU Indy did an excellent job tonight. They really kept us kind of under wraps in the first half. They hit one great counter and Blake [Kelly] had a good save.
“Then in the second half our guys upped the pressure and started playing quicker and carved out quite a few good chances. With that said, IU Indy always looked dangerous on the counter. We hoped to get more from the game but we have to learn from it and get better.”
UP NEXT
The Irish are back in action at home later this week, as they take on Oregon State at Alumni Stadium. The match is slated to start at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 28 as the second match of a doubleheader following the women’s contest at 6 p.m. Admission to the match is free and the game will be streamed on ACCNX.
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