SOUTH BEND, Ind. – RV/17 Notre Dame men’s soccer is back in action on Friday, Sept. 20 in a non-conference matchup against Chicago State at 7 p.m. ET at Alumni Stadium. Admission is free and the match will air on ACCNX.
RV/17 NOTRE DAME vs. CHICAGO STATE
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
Live Stream: ACCNX
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Chicago State
THE CHICAGO STATE SERIES
• The Irish and Cougars will meet on the pitch for the second time in program history on Friday evening.
• Notre Dame controlled play, recording a 4-0 win at Alumni against Chicago State on Sept. 21, 2022.
• The Irish outshot the Cougars by a mark of 17-2 in the contest.
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 five matches 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 twice in regular season matches entering Friday’s matchup.
• The Irish have a record of 15-2-8 over the 25-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 and two assists from the midfield through five 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 six Notre Dame goals through the opening four matches have been scored by six players. (Roou, Flanagan, Genenbacher, Boneau, J. Bartlett, Spicer).
• 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 four assists on the season with Boneau leading the way with two and Baffour 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 logged minutes this 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.