SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Irish turned in a complete performance at Alumni Stadium on Friday evening with a clean sheet win by a final score of 1-0.
Notre Dame found the winner late, as Dawson McCartney’s goal in the 84th minute delivered the Irish the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Wolfpack battled to a scoreless standstill over the first 45 minutes of play. Notre Dame outshot NC State 5-4 in the first half and corners were even at 3-3 but neither team managed to put a shot on frame.
The second half was evenly contested, as both sides created chances and searched for the opening goal. Notre Dame forced NC State to make a save off a shot from Tyler Shea in the 60th minute.
The visitors nearly drew first blood in the 72nd minute off a corner, as a headed effort caromed off the bar, keeping the contest scoreless.
The Irish found the winner late, as Daniel Russo picked a perfect pass to Dawson McCartney in the box, who slotted his effort past the diving Wolfpact keeper to put the Irish on top in the 84th minute.
Notre Dame kept NC State off the scoreboard for the remaining six minutes of play to secure the 1-0 clean sheet victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I thought overall the performance was great. NC State is an unbelievably good team so we are really pleased with the result. We challenged the group to say how do you respond to disappointment and you have to respond like competitors and they did tonight.”
On the clean sheet…
“The win and the clean sheet go hand in hand. We haven’t had issues scoring goals but to get another shutout is a big step for us and the way we managed the game was so much better than what we had been doing.”
On the play of Daniel Russo…
“He was great. He has been pushing and training well and he has been playing well. He did the most with his time tonight which was great. What a great ball across to Dawson [McCartney] on the goal. It’s hectic in the box and he had an unbelievable amount of composure to make that pass.”
NOTES
- Notre Dame improves to 3-2-1 against NC State in the all-time series.
- The clean sheet was the second of the season for the Irish.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Dowd now has three clean sheets in his career.
- McCartney scored his second goal of the season and third goal in an Irish uniform. The grad student has 11 goals in his collegiate career.
- Russo notched the first assist of his career in the winning effort.
UP NEXT
The Irish travel north for a non-conference matchup with Michigan in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The game will air on ESPNU.
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) and Facebook (/NDMenSoccer).
NOTES
- Notre Dame improves to 3-2-1 against NC State in the all-time series.
- The clean sheet was the second of the season for the Irish.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Dowd now has three clean sheets in his career.
- McCartney scored his second goal of the season and third goal in an Irish uniform. The grad student has 11 goals in his collegiate career.
- Russo notched the first assist of his career in the winning effort.
UP NEXT
The Irish travel north for a non-conference matchup with Michigan in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The game will air on ESPNU.
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) and Facebook (/NDMenSoccer).