SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-3-3, 2-2-0) fell 0-2 to the Cal Golden Bears (4-3-3, 1-2-1) in an ACC matchup at home on Saturday night. While the Irish were persistent in their efforts and generated several scoring opportunities, they were unable to get the result at Alumni Stadium Saturday evening.
Notre Dame had some early chances to start with looks from seniors Nolan Spicer and Jack Flanagan.
Spicer had a shot off the back of his heel in the 13th minute and was followed by Flanagan in the 17th minute, who shot from the top left corner of the box to the far post, but missed just wide.
The Golden Bears would go on to strike first as they scored within the six-yard box to take a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute, taking the one-goal advantage heading into halftime.
Looking to level the score early into the second half, the Irish controlled the run of play and were able to string together several scoring chances.
First, Flanagan would have another look for the Irish on a header in the box, but resulted in a Cal save. Next, Karson Baquero fired a shot from the top of the box in the 57th minute, missing just high. He was followed by a great look from Evan Lim on a set piece, whose right-footed strike from the top of the box would land high of the crossbar.
On the counterattack, Cal would go on to extend their lead to 2-0 in the 62nd minute.
Trying to bridge the gap, Diego Green launched it from the top right corner of the box, but the right-footed shot missed high of the goal.
Persistent in their efforts, the Irish continued to attack – this time, with a look from Luke Burton. The sophomore forward fired it between a pair of Cal defenders from near the penalty spot, but an impressive Golden Bear save kept the Irish scoreless.
Burton would have another chance in the 86th, shooting from the right side of the box, but was unable to put it on target.
In the 89th minute, Ethan Scala fired it from 20 yards out, but the shot would hit off of the the far post. He was followed by another opportunity from Michael Capretto in the final minute to test the Cal keeper, but it resulted in the Golden Bears final save of the night to secure the two-goal win.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“First, credit to Cal. They played well and took their chances. I thought we were good in the first half and were unfortunate to go into halftime down a goal. I was really proud of the way our guys responded after the break. We came out and played maybe our best soccer of the year, but we just couldn’t find the goal. Cal was able to get their second against the run of play, but our guys kept fighting and pushing all the way to the end. We have a tough group of competitors, and I know they’ll respond well. There are a lot of opportunities still ahead of us.”
UP NEXT
The Irish are back on the road as they travel to North Carolina (5-2-3, 1-1-2) on Saturday, Oct. 10 for a 7 PM match on ACCNX.