SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 8 Fighting Irish men’s soccer team returns home to open a six-game homestand at Alumni Stadium against Duquesne at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The match will air on ACCNX.
#8 NOTRE DAME vs. #22 DUQUESNE
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
Live Stream: ACCNX
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Duquesne
THE DUQUESNE SERIES
• The Irish and Dukes will meet on the pitch for the first time in program history on Tuesday evening.
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.
BK THE GK
• Blake Kelly has already made an impact just two three into his freshman season as the goalkeeper of the Fighting Irish.
• Kelly made eight saves in the draw at Indiana, the most of any ACC keeper this season.
• The freshman followed it up with his first career win in the ACC opener against Louisville, making four saves while allowing just one goal.
• The goalie started the season opener, marking the first time a true freshman goalie has started an opener for the Irish in over 30 seasons.
REGULAR SEASON DOMINANCE
• Dating back to a match on Oct. 18, 2022, Notre Dame has lost just once in regular season matches entering Tuesday’s matchup.
• The Irish have a record of 15-1-7 over the 23-match span.
• During the impressive run, Notre Dame has recorded 10 clean sheets.
• Notre Dame is unbeaten in road games over the stretch with a record of 5-0-5.
2024 CAPTAIN
• Bryce Boneau is 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.
• The skipper is off to a fast start this season, recording a goal and an assist from the midfield through three matches.
• Boneau scored four goals and added seven assists last season as a center midfielder and has four goals and 11 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.
BALANCED ATTACK
• All five Notre Dame goals through the opening three matches have been scored by five players. (Roou, Flanagan, Genenbacher, Boneau, J. Bartlett).
• 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.
• The Irish have three assists on the season with Baffour, Boneau and Spicer each tallying one this season.
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.
• Five of the six freshman have already logged minutes over the first three games of the season.
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.