The No. 4 Irish picked up their first ACC victory with a 3-0 shutout of No. 25 Syracuse at a packed SU Soccer Stadium on Friday.
Notre Dame (2-0-2, 1-0-1) overcame the wet weather and rowdy crowd on the road in order to remain undefeated on the season. Despite the rain, there were more than 1,500 in attendance, which made for an electric atmosphere, Irish coach Bobby Clark said.
"I thought the team played very well," Clark said. "It wasn't an easy night to play. It was very wet, slippery and we were away from home. There was a very good crowd ... with a good atmosphere, so Syracuse opened strongly, but we got a grip of the game and had a lot of opportunities."
The Irish had many scoring opportunities on the night, outshooting the Orange (3-2-0, 0-2-0) 17-4, and converted two of the team's 11 corner kicks. Sophomore midfielder Evan Panken and senior defender and captain Andrew O'Malley both picked up their first career goals on the corners.
"It was funny in a way," Clark said. "We had some very, very good chances, and their keeper [freshman Alex Bono] had some very good saves, but it came down to Panken on the near post and O'Malley at the far post. One corner from the right side and the next from the left."
