SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A Daniel Russo hat trick propelled the Fighting Irish to a thrilling 3-2 win over Michigan at Alumni Stadium on Tuesday evening to close out the home portion of the regular season schedule.
The Irish had to come back twice on the evening to secure the victory, as they scored all three of their goals in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish created early scoring chances in the opening stages of the match but were unable to find the back of the net.
In the 35th minute Michigan’s Nicholas Kaloukian scored the opener to give the guests a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime intermission.
Notre Dame came out of the break firing and scored the equalizer off a sublime strike from outside the box off the foot of Russo to level the contest at 1-1 in the 62nd minute.
Just one minute later the Wolverines managed to reclaim the lead, as Christian Pulselli put the visitors back in front at 2-1.
The Irish continued to push forward, dictating the run of play with possession in Michigan’s final third.
The pressure paid off in the 84th minute. Paddy Burns had a shot blocked and Matthew Roou headed a follow-up effort towards the far post, forcing the Michigan goalie to make a diving stop. The parried effort fell to Russo, whose lunged effort found the back of the net to level the match at 2-2.
Less than two minutes later the Irish found the winner, again coming from Russo. Eno Nto started the buildup with a ball in from the right flank that connected with Roou, who had a sliding shot saved. Russo ran in and poked the ball into the net to complete the comeback and deliver the Irish the 3-2 win.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I’m really proud of the guys. We knew Michigan was a quality opponent who has probably been unfortunate with their results this season so we knew it was going to be a great match. We were disappointed with ourselves in the first half going into halftime down a goal.
“Credit to the team, they came out and started the half really aggressively. They created a lot of chances and got the goal back. Then, kind of against the run of play, they got a goal off their one shot in the second half. Credit to the team they didn’t stop. Going down 2-1 we had plenty of time to keep going. We talked about being relentless and they turned the word in the action in the second half and did an amazing job to get the result.”
On the team’s resilience…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Men’s Soccer – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website…