NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame closed out the regular season slate in fashion on Senior Night, defeating Pitt by a score of 1-0 to improve to 9-6-1 on the season.
Sophomore Jack Lynn continued his breakout season, scoring what proved to be the match-winning goal in the 17th minute to give the Irish the 1-0 win.
With the win the Irish earned the No. 8 seed in the ACC Tournament and will host No. 9 Boston College at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Alumni Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish started strong on Friday evening, creating numerous chances in the first half. Notre Dame nearly grabbed an early lead after Aschieris found Dumas with space in the box off a cross but the senior was unable to control his shot, sending an effort over the bar in the 11th minute.
Less than six minutes later Notre Dame claimed the opening goal off a superb through ball and finish. Dumas picked a perfect pass, playing Lynn in on goal. The sophomore made no mistake about the finish, slotting the ball with composure just inside the far post with his left foot to put Notre Dame on top 1-0 in the 17th minute.
Notre Dame nearly doubled its lead before the end of the half. Dumas played a dangerous ball into the area off a corner and Mohamed Omar connected with a powerful header to put a shot on frame that was cleared off the line by the Pitt defense.
The Irish defense buckled down in the second half after Pitt started playing more direct and kept the visitors off the board. The big defensive play in the final 45 minutes came from senior Irish keeper Duncan Turnbull, who came off his line and made a big save on a Pitt breakaway.
Notre Dame went on to win by a final score of 1-0 to record its second straight clean sheet and finish the regular season with back-to-back quality wins.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE MATCH
The Irish have kept two consecutive cleans sheets and have not allowed a goal in open play in any of their last three fixtures.
HEAD COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the team’s performance…
“First off I want to thank the band for coming out and supporting us tonight. They were a huge boost for the team and really added a lot to the atmosphere.
“We started the game well and created a couple of good chances before our goal. Jack Lynn took the goal really well. It was a great through ball from Felicien, a great first touch from Jack and a great finish. We built on our lead and nearly scored a second. Felicien hit a great corner and Mohamed [Omar] had a great header but we didn’t get the second goal.
In the second half we knew they would be a little more direct. I think we could have handled some moments better but for the most part we defended well and kept our composure which was a big key to the victory tonight.
On back-to-back clean sheets to finish the regular season…
“In the run of play we haven’t given up a goal in over three games. You want to be that way in the tournament. Some games may be high scoring but a lot of it is going to be low scoring games so you have to be very tough to beat. I think our team has a great mentality that way right now.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish are now 18-4-3 against the Panthers in the all-time series and have won 17 of the last 18 meetings.
- Notre Dame is just the third team to record a clean sheet against Pitt this season.
- The Irish handed the Panthers their first ACC road defeat of the 2019 season.
- Lynn’s goal was the ninth of the season and 12th of his career.
- The clean sheet was Turnbull’s fourth of the season and 10th of his career.
UP NEXT
The Irish host Boston College in the first round of the ACC Championships at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Alumni Stadium. The match will air live on ACCN and be available to stream on the WatchESPN app (subscription required).
FOLLOW US 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).