SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The RV/No. 5 Notre Dame men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision at Syracuse on Saturday evening in ACC play at SU Soccer Stadium.
All three goals were scored in the second half. Notre Dame’s goal was registered by Matthew Roou, who leads the country in goals with 11 on the season.
With the defeat, the Fighting Irish fell to 5-2-3 on the season and 2-2-0 in ACC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish nearly scored in the opening seconds, as Roou found himself in space but he couldn’t get the ball on his strong right foot and his left-footed effort went right at the Syracuse keeper.
Notre Dame created another decent chance in attack in the 20th minute, as Roou played Baffour down the right flank but his shot went over the bar.
Neither team was able to find the opening goal in the opening 45 minutes as the match was scoreless at the halftime break.
Syracuse managed to find the breakthrough goal less than 10 minutes into the second half, as Ben Rosenblatt scored in the 54th minute to give the Orange a 1-0 lead.
The Irish immediately responded, leveling the score at 1-1 in the 59th minute. Notre Dame won a free kick that ended up with Roou nodding in his 11th goal of the season at the back post.
Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the Orange reclaimed the lead one minute later, scoring from a Gabe Threadgold goal in the 60th minute to go back up by a score of 2-1.
Notre Dame poured numbers forward, desperately searching to equalize a second time but the Syracuse backline held firm and denied the Irish the tying goal, going on to win by a score of 2-1.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“We are disappointed in the result as the performance was very good for the most part. Syracuse is a good team and they make it tough. But overall I was happy with the performance with the exception of a couple of key moments in each box. The team should be proud of their performance and we will get better from it.”
ND NOTES
- The Irish have scored at least one goal in all 10 games this season
- Roou’s goal gives him 11 on the season and 32 career goals, the most on the active roster
- His 11 goals are a career high for the senior striker
- Roou has now scored in five straight matches, totaling 10 goals over the stretch
UP NEXT
The Irish return to South Bend for a rivalry non-conference match against Michigan at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at Alumni Stadium. The game will be broadcast in English on ACCN and…