SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame opens the 2025 season on the road, traveling up to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan in a rivalry match at U-M Soccer Stadium. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 21 and will air on B1G+.
NOTRE DAME vs. MICHIGAN
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan | U-M Soccer Stadium
Live Stream: B1G+
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Michigan
THE MICHIGAN SERIES
• The Irish and Wolverines will meet on the pitch for the 25th time on Thursday evening.
• Notre Dame holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with a record of 16-4-4 against Michigan.
• The Irish fell to the Wolverines last season by a score of 1-0 at Alumni Stadium on Oct. 8, 2024.
• Notre Dame has a record of 6-1-1 when playing the Wolverines in Ann Arbor and has won four straight at U-M Soccer Stadium.
• The Fighting Irish have scored multiple goals in each of the last four meetings with Michigan when playing in Ann Arbor.
2025 CAPTAINS
• Mitch Ferguson and Wyatt Lewis will serve as the captains for this year’s Fighting Irish team and Blake Kelly will take on the role of assistant captain.
• Ferguson has appeared in 50 games over his Notre Dame career, scoring three goals and adding seven assists from the center back position.
• Lewis enters his third season with the Fighting Irish and has three goals and four assists as a holding midfielder.
• Kelly started 12 matches as a freshman in 2024, posting a record of 4-3-5 while recording 26 saves.
OWNING THE OPENERS
• Notre Dame has historically gotten off to a good start to its seasons, posting a record of 27-11-10 in its season openers.
• The Irish have lost just twice in their last 14 openers to a season, going 6-2-6.
• Notre Dame has outscored the opposition by a combined score of 20-13 over that stretch.
• Notre Dame has been even better in home openers, recording a mark of 32-10-6.
• The Irish are 2-2-3 under Chad Riley in both home openers and season openers.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Ten returning Irish players registered at least one point in their Notre Dame career, as the team returns 54 points from last year.
• Nine players that scored a goal during the 2024 campaign are back on this year’s team.
• Junior Jack Flanagan is the top returning goal scorer on the 2025 squad after firing in a career-high four goals during his sophomore campaign.
FRESH FACES
• The Irish welcome six freshman to the 2025 squad, totaling a 27-man roster.
• The six freshman are Karson Baquero (M), Luke Burton (F), Diego Green (M), Cole Kowalski (GK), Alex Rosin (D) and Ren Sylvester (F).
• Also joining the team are grad transfers Diego Ochoa (D) and Martin Von Thun (D). Ochoa joins the Irish from Boston College and Von Thun spent the last four seasons at Holy Cross (Ind.).
THE CHAD RILEY ERA
• McFarland Family Head Men’s Soccer Coach Chad Riley is in his eighth season in charge of the Notre Dame men’s soccer program in 2025.
• Riley became the first head coach in program history to lead the Fighting Irish to two College Cup appearances, coming during the 2021 and 2023 seasons.
• Notre Dame has captured both an ACC regular season and tournament title under his direction, both firsts in program history.