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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Irish dominate Purdue Ft. Wayne in memorable victory

The Irish defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday 8-0. It was a memorable match considering the last time eight points were scored by the Irish (6-4-1, 0-4 ACC) was Sept. 3, 1995 against DePaul. Right from the start, the Irish dominated possession of the ball, totaling 29 shots on goal and 15 corner kicks. 

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Junya Kanemitsu
Irish sophomore forward Jack Lynn dribbles the ball downfield during Notre Dame's 4-2 win over Seattle on September 6th.


Within the first minute of play, sophomore forward Jack Lynn gave the Irish an early lead, assisted by graduate student forward Ian Aschieris. This was Lynn’s fifth goal of the season, leading the team into a strong start. Following two corner kicks for the Irish, junior midfielder Aiden McFadden found Lynn, who shot yet another goal in the top-left post, upping the score to 2-0 for the Irish. 

Following a substitution — sophomore midfielder Ben Giacobello in for Lynn — Giacobello pounded the ball into the goal off the assist from senior forward John Rea, making it the third goal for the Irish, and his second goal of the season. Minutes later, Rea scored the first goal of his career, securing a four-goal lead for the Irish against the Mastodons (3-8-0) in the first half of the match. 

Notre Dame head coach Chad Riley highlighted the team effort of all the players and their strong perseverance throughout the game, especially those with first-season and career goals.

“I think overall [the win] was part of the group. I think it’s nice for guys to open their account to and scoring goals. I do think a lot of the guys that came in as substitutes really brought a good level and a good attitude in the game and so it was nice to see them rewarded with goals,” he said.

The team’s dominance continued into the second half as the Irish added another four goals to the score. Following a shot attempt by sophomore defender Patrick Coleman, sophomore midfielder Mohamed Omar handed the Irish a 5-0 lead in the 51st minute through the legs of Purdue Ft. Wayne goalkeeper Tor Erik Larsen. After a strong attempt by Lynn to head the ball into the goal, Rea scored his second goal of the match, and second goal of his career in the 72nd minute. 

Riley highlighted the team’s attitude and approach to the game.

“I think every chance you get to compete as a group, as a team, you don’t take that moment for granted and I think they did a good job at competing tonight. he said.

Following a strong save by Irish junior goalkeeper Keagan McLaughlin, senior defender Spencer Farina joined the offensive campaign, scoring his first goal of the season and powering the Irish to a 7-0 lead over the Mastadons. 

Minutes later, sophomore forward Tyler Shea was able to score the first goal of his career in the top-right corner of the net. It was a rewarding shot that handed the Irish an 8-0 victory. Riley was impressed with the way the team handled its opponent and continued to bring the pressure for the entirety of the game.

“They kept focus and what I like is we competed for 90 minutes. Sometimes when you score, maybe you’re up 2-0 and it’s easy to lose focus, but I think they kept playing the game we know how to play,” he said.

Hoping to continue this strong play and in need of a conference win, the Irish will be competing against Duke at home on Friday at 6 pm. 

“I think it’s just a different game,” Riley said. “So I think we should take each game as its own. But I think from this, we just enjoy it for the night and get back to work for Duke tomorrow”.