Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Match 8 Preview: Wright State

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame is back in action at Alumni Stadium with a midweek, non-conference matchup against Wright State at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Admission to the match is free and the contest will be streamed on ACCNX.

NOTRE DAME vs. WRIGHT STATE
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
Admission: FREE
Stream: ACCNX
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Wright State

THE WRIGHT STATE SERIES

• The Irish and Raiders will meet on the pitch for the seventh time on Tuesday.

• Notre Dame leads the all-time series with a record of 4-1-1.

• The Irish are 1-1 against Wright State when playing at home.

• The last meeting came during the 2019 NCAA Tournament with Wright State pulling off the upset in South Bend by a score of 3-2 in the round of 48.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

• Through seven matches the Irish have allowed just three goals this season, one each against Michigan, Indiana and Omaha.

• Notre Dame posted back-to-back shutouts against IU Indy and No. 14 Oregon State.

• The Irish haven’t allowed a goal in ACC play this season with clean sheets in wins over Pitt and No. 12 Louisville.

• Notre Dame allowed just two shots on target over the 90 minutes of play in the win over Pitt, frustrating the Panther’s attack.

• Blake Kelly made six saves, five coming in the second half, in the shutout over Louisville.

• The Irish enter Tuesday’s matchup ranked second in the ACC in goals allowed and 11th in the country in the statistical category (0.429).

BK THE GK

• Blake Kelly has gotten off to a great start to his sophomore season in goal for the Irish, posting three clean sheets and allowing just three goals over seven matches.

• The shot stopper leads the ACC in saves per game with a mark of 3.71 per outing.

• The sophomore has posted an incredible save percentage of .897 through the first seven matches of the year, ranking second in the ACC and 11th in the country.

• Kelly started 12 matches for the Irish in 2024 and became the first true freshman goalie to start the season opener in the last 30 years for the program.

STRIKE FORCE

• The starting striker tandem of Wyatt Borso and Luke Burton has found its form over the last three matches, as the two have combined for five goals and an assist, leading to three straight victories.

• Borso leads the team in goals with three, scoring one in each of the last three outings.

• Burton has recorded a point in each of the last three matches, scoring in wins over Pitt and Omaha and picking up an assist in the victory over Louisville.

SET-PIECE SUCCESS

• The Fighting Irish have already scored four goals off set pieces to start the 2025 season.

• Two of the goals have come from free kicks, as center backs Mitch Ferguson and Diego Ochoa found the back of the net against Oregon State and Michigan, respectively.

• The third and fourth goals came off a corner as a Nolan Spicer volley was redirected in from Luke Burton for the opening goal in the win over Pitt and Martin Von Thun headed in a Nolan Spicer corner.

BALANCED ATTACK

• Seven players have scored the seven goals for the Irish this season, as Wyatt Borso (3) and Luke Burton (2) have each scored multiple times while Nolan  Spicer, Sylvester Ren, Diego Ochoa, Mitch Ferguson and Martin Vont Thun each found the back of the net once.

• 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.

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 57 games over his Notre Dame career, scoring four 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.

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.