CHICAGO, Ill. – The No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2-3-, 2-1-0) finished with a 1-1 draw against the UIC Flames (3-4-2, 1-0-0) in a midweek matchup on the road in Chicago on Tuesday evening.
Freshman Michael Capretto scored his third goal of the season in the draw. He was assisted by fifth year Vlad Walent, who has now recorded a team-high eight points so far this season.
Junior goalkeeper Blake Kelly recorded eight saves, leading the ACC with 49 saves this season and 4.9 saves per game.
The Irish struck in the 11th minute as they posted a 1-0 lead on a banger from Capretto. On a throw-in from Walent, Capretto immediately cut up the middle as he fired it from just outside the penalty arc to put the Irish on the board.
CAPRETTO FROM DISTANCE🎯
— Notre Dame Men's Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) September 30, 2026
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Staying aggressive on the attack, the Irish had another opportunity in the 25th minute – this time from Jack Flanagan. Looking to score in transition, the Irish caught the UIC goalkeeper out of his box as he blundered the clearance attempt. This allowed Flanagan to have a quick look from distance, but the shot would land just high of the crossbar.
Leading by one at the half, the Irish outshot the Flames 8-7 after 45 minutes of play.
The Flames continued to challenge the Irish as they held possession, finding the back of the net in the 61st minute to level the score at 1-all.
Notre Dame countered with their first shot of the second half as Sean McDowd launched it from 30 yards out, but the shot was high and resulted in a UIC goal kick.
UIC had another great look deep in the box in the 65th minute, but the big save from Kelly and clearance from Diego Green kept it an even 1-1.
In the 74th minute, the Irish were looking for a go-ahead goal as they had a shot from Nolan Spicer that was saved, but the rebound fell to the feet of Walent. Walent’s left-footed chip missed left of the cage to remain level with the Flames.
The Irish had another chance in the 75th minute as Tristan Tropeano attacked up the right flank, delivering a cutback to Nate Zimmermann, whose shot went wide right. Zimmermann followed with another shot in the 77th, but resulted in a UIC save.
Notre Dame would look to score on back-to-back corner kicks in the 83rd minute, but with both header attempts too high, they ultimately lead to another UIC goal kick.
The Flames final chance came in the 86th minute as their shot missed just wide of the near post.
On the counter attack, Tropeano remained aggressive as he looked for an opportunity into the left side of the box, but was swarmed by the UIC defenders and was unable to get the shot off.
Michael Capretto would have the final look of the night as his bicycle kick with four seconds remaining would go wide.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“Credit to UIC. They’re a good team and they tested us tonight. We had some good moments in the game and created some chances to win it at the end, but we just couldn’t find the finishing touch. I’m proud of the guys for dealing with some adversity this week and continuing to compete. Now we recover, learn from tonight, and get ready for the next one.”
UP NEXT
The Irish will resume ACC play this weekend as they host Cal for their Senior Night match on Saturday, Oct.3 at 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.