SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 20 Irish men’s soccer team opens ACC play with a weekend showdown against Clemson at Alumni Stadium at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 9. The match will air on ACCNX.
No. 20 NOTRE DAME vs. CLEMSON
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
TV: ACCNX
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Clemson
THE CLEMSON SERIES
• The Irish and Tigers will meet on the pitch for the 14th time on Saturday.
• Notre Dame holds a lead in the all-time series with a record of 6-5-2.
• The Irish and Tigers met in the ACC Tournament last season with Clemson winning by a score of 3-1 at Clemson.
• Saturday’s matchup will be just the fourth in South Bend between the two sides with the Irish holding a 2-1-0 advantage when playing at Alumni.
LAST TIME OUT
• Notre Dame remained unbeaten after defeating Detroit Mercy by a score of 1-0 on Tuesday evening.
• Matthew Roou scored in his third straight game off an assist from Bryce Boneau in the 18th minute, which proved to be the winner.
• The Irish were on the front foot for the majority of play, recording more shots (15-8), corners (10-1) and shots on target (6-1).
• The Notre Dame defense secured its third straight clean sheet in the victory.
STRONG STARTS
• Notre Dame has made it a habit of jumping out to an early lead this season, as the Irish have scored the opening goal in all four matches in 2023.
•All four opening goals have come in the first 25 minutes of play.
•The quickest goal to start a match came from Eno Nto in the 8th minute in the win over IUPUI.
•The Irish have not trailed at any point through four matches this season.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Fighting Irish have allowed just one goal through four matches during the 2023 campaign.
• The 0.25 goals against average ranks tied for first in the ACC and tied for third in the country.
• Since allowing a goal to No. 2 Indiana in the 28th minute in the season opener, the Irish have gone 332 minutes without allowing a score.
• Opponents have registered a combined nine shots on target in 2023, with just four coming over the last three matches.
ROOU’S RUN OF FORM
• Junior Matthew Roou leads the Irish attack through four matches this season, producing 11 points off five goals and an assist.
• All 11 points have come over the last three matches, all victories for the Fighting Irish.
• Roou’s hat trick in the win over IUPUI was the first of his career and the first of the season for the Irish.
• The junior forward finished with seven points off three goals and an assist, becoming the first Notre Dame player to record seven or more points in a match since Dave Donohue also had seven points against Marquette on Sept. 11, 2008.
• Roou currently has 16 career goals to go along with eight career assists, totaling 40 career points for the forward.
EXPERIENCE IN GOAL
• Bryan Dowd is back for his senior season after being the team’s primary goalie for each of the last two seasons.
• The shot stopper has 45 career starts while appearing in 46 matches over his previous three seasons in South Bend.
• Dowd has amassed 108 career saves and has recorded 16 clean sheets over his time in South Bend, including three in the first four matches of the 2023 campaign.