CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Clemson, North Carolina and Notre Dame moved into the quarterfinals of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship on Sunday during third-round play. No. 9 seed Clemson prevailed at No. 8 seed New Hampshire, 1-0, while No. 2 seed Notre Dame and No. 3 seed North Carolina advanced following penalty-kick shootout wins over Western Michigan and No. 14 seed Hofstra, respectively.
This marks the fifth straight season in which three ACC programs reached the quarterfinal round.
The ACC’s three remaining teams also will host three of the four NCAA quarterfinal matches next Saturday. Notre Dame plays host to Indiana, while North Carolina welcomes Oregon State, with both matches beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday. Following its road win Sunday, Clemson now has the opportunity to return home to take on No. 16 seed Stanford at 6 p.m. Saturday. The quarterfinal matches will stream on ESPN+.
The four advancing teams on Saturday move on to the NCAA Men’s College Cup, which will be played Dec. 8 and 11 at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
No. 7 seed Virginia concluded its season Sunday with a 1-0 loss to Indiana.
An ACC team has won the men’s national soccer championship 19 times – most of any conference – including Clemson in 2021 and Syracuse in 2022. At least one ACC squad has reached the College Cup in 21 of the last 22 seasons, with 11 different league programs reaching the sport’s highest stage.
No. 2 Notre Dame 0, Western Michigan 0 (OT; ND advances 4-2 on PK)
Following 110 scoreless minutes and shorthanded for much of the contest, Notre Dame (12-2-5) outlasted Western Michigan (17-1-4), 4-2, in the penalty-kick shootout in snowy South Bend, Indiana. After taking a red card in the 27th minute, the Fighting Irish were down a man through the final 84 minutes before forcing penalties. Goalie Bryan Dowd was strong once again with seven saves and also made a save on WMU’s first penalty attempt.
No. 3 North Carolina 2, No. 14 Hofstra 2 (OT; UNC advances 5-3 on PK)
Trailing for 60 minutes of game time, North Carolina (11-3-7) rallied to force extra time before prevailing on penalties to oust Hofstra (14-3-5) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Martin Vician netted the equalizer in the 86th minute, getting his head on the end of a Quenzi…
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