SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame travels down to Bloomington for the latest chapter in the intrastate rivalry with Indiana after facing the Hoosiers twice during the 2023 season. The match is slated to start at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 29 and will air on B1G+.
NOTRE DAME vs. INDIANA
Location: Bloomington, Indiana | Bill Armstrong Stadium
Live Stream ($): B1G+
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Indiana
THE INDIANA SERIES
• Notre Dame and Indiana will face each other on Thursday evening for the 47th time in series history.
• The Irish are 10-31-5 against the Hoosiers in the all-time series.
• Despite trailing in the series, the rivalry has been much more even as of late, as the Irish have recorded a mark of 5-7-4 in the last 16 meetings dating back to the 2010 season.
• Ten of the last 11 matches have either ended in a draw or a one-goal decision.
• The two sides met twice last season, both resulting in 1-1 draws.
• The Irish and Hoosiers opened the season at Alumni Stadium and then also played the final game of the year in South Bend in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
• Notre Dame outlasted Indiana in penalties by a result of 5-4 to advance to the College Cup for the second time in three seasons.
• Two returning players on the ND roster scored penalties in the match, as Matthew Roou and Mitch Ferguson converted from the spot.
ROOU LEADS THE LINE
• Senior forward Matthew Roou picked up right where he left off, scoring the first goal of the season for Notre Dame in the opener against Akron.
• Roou converted a penalty drawn by Bryce Boneau in the 51st minute.
• The talisman now has 54 career points off 22 goals and 10 assists.
• Last season Roou was elite in attack, scoring 10 goals and registering three assists, marking his best year in an Irish jersey.
2023 SEASON REWIND
• Notre Dame had one of its most successful seasons in program history last year, finishing with an appearance in the College Cup Final.
• The Irish were dominant in the ACC, claiming the Coastal Division crown and earning the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament after going undefeated in regular season conference play with a record of 6-0-2.
• Notre Dame finished the season with a record of 13-3-6 but two of the draws resulted in the Irish advancing in the NCAA Tournament in shootouts.
• The Fighting Irish defeated Kentucky (2-0) in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament before moving past Western Michigan (0-0) and Indiana (1-1) to make the College Cup.
• Notre Dame then defeated Oregon State (1-0) in the semifinal before falling to Clemson (1-2) in the final.
2024 CAPTAIN
• Bryce Boneau will serve as the captain for this year’s Fighting Irish team.
• Boneau is a senior midfielder from Texas and was selected to the 2024 ACC Preseason Watch List.
• Boneau scored four goals and added seven assists last season as a center midfielder and has four goals and 10 assists in his Notre Dame career.
• Boneau was selected by Nashville SC in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft with the 75th overall pick.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Fighting Irish return three of the four members from their starting back line from 2023 to this year’s squad, as Josh Ramsey, Kyle Genenbacher and Mitch Ferguson are back.
• Notre Dame ranked fifth in the country last season in goals against average, allowing just 0.668 goals per match.
• The Irish finished the season with 12 shutouts, ranking sixth in the nation for shutout percentage with a mark of .545.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Fourteen returning Irish players registered at least one point in their Notre Dame career, as the team returns 85 points from last year.
• Ten players that scored a goal during the 2023 campaign are back on this year’s team.
• Senior Matthew Roou is the top returning goal scorer on the 2024 squad after firing in a career-high 10 goals during his junior campaign.
HERE TO ASSIST
• The Irish dished out 48 assists last season, ranking sixth in the country for total assists.
• The 48 assists were the most an Irish team has produced in a season since the turn of the century.
• KK Baffour and Bryce Boneau led the squad in assists with seven each. Both return to the 2024 roster for the Irish.
FRESH FACES
• Notre Dame’s incoming freshman class is ranked No. 3 nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.
• The Irish welcome six freshman to the 2024 squad, totaling a 30-man roster.
• The six freshman are Jacob Bartlett (M), Stevie Dunphy (F), Brady Hilden (M), Blake Kelly (GK), Will Schroeder (M) and Ian Shaul (M).
• Also joining the team is goalkeeper Collin Travasos, who is a grad transfer. Travasos spent last season at UNC and prior to that completed his undergrad at Cal.