SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Matthew Roou accomplished a feat that had not been achieved by a Notre Dame men’s soccer player in 45 years on Tuesday evening in Notre Dame’s 3-1 win over Detroit Mercy.
The senior recorded his second hat trick in as many matches, becoming the second player in program history to record two hat tricks in a single season, as Kevin Lovejoy accomplished recorded three hat tricks during the 1979 season.
The win moves Notre Dame’s record to 3-1-3 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish picked up right where they left off. After scoring six goals the last time out against Chicago State, Notre Dame scored twice in the opening 12 minutes, both courtesy of Roou.
The opening goal came in the ninth minute when Bryce Boneau slipped a pass to Roou into the area, who calmly placed his shot just inside the near post to put Notre Dame on top 1-0.
Just three minutes later Roou struck again after forcing a turnover in the final third and quickly converting it to a goal. Kyle Genenbacher intercepted a pass out of the back and quickly found Jack Flanagan on the flank. The forward centered a pass to Roou, who poked the ball past the Titans’ keeper to double the lead at 2-0.
Notre Dame controlled play for the remainder of the first half and held the two goal lead after the first 45 minutes of action.
The Titans came out of the break and cut the Irish lead in half within the first two minutes of play off just their second shot of the match.
The Irish limited Detroit Mercy’s chances the rest of the way, holding the visitors to just one shot for the remaining 43 minutes while creating chances at the other end.
Notre Dame’s pressure paid off in the final moments of the match, as Roou was brought down in the box to earn the penalty and set up his hat trick. The senior sent the keeper the wrong way and converted from the spot for his third goal and to deliver the Irish the 3-1 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“Credit to Detroit Mercy, they are a good team and well coached and I can see the progress they are making. We are happy to get the win and I think we had some great moments of quality tonight.”
On Roou’s back-to-back hat tricks…
“It’s awesome. He’s our goal scorer. We want more people to score but we want Roou hitting the back of the net. He’s playing really well and scoring goals but he’s also doing a lot of other things so we are really pleased with his performance.”
ND NOTES
- With the win, the Irish improve to 13-2-0 against Detroit Mercy in the all-time series
- The Irish are now unbeaten in their last 40 matches when scoring first, improving to 35-0-5 during the run
- Roou’s hat trick gives him 28 career goals, the most on the active roster
- The hat trick is the third in Roou’s career, as he previously accomplished the feat in a win over IUPUI on August 27, 2023 and in a victory over Chicago State on Sept. 20, 2024
- Boneau’s assist gives him 14 in his Notre Dame career, tied with Baffour for most on the active roster
- Flanagan picked up the first assist of his young career and now has seven on the year
- Genenbacher registered his first assist of the year and now has five points on the season and 10 assists in his career
UP NEXT
The Irish have a big ACC showdown at Alumni Stadium at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 24, as No. 12 Clemson comes to town for a rematch of the 2023 NCAA College Cup final. Admission to the match is free and the game will air on ESPNU.
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