Irish soccer hosted No. 2 Indiana on Friday to kick off their regular season campaign in Alumni Stadium. The Notre Dame men fought hard to take an early lead, but ultimately lost 3-2 in overtime.
Notre Dame struck first in an action-packed sequence beginning when Tyler Shea found an opening from the right side of the box and snuck a crossing pass through the Hoosier defense. A diving Dawson McCartney was on the receiving end of the ball and was able to push a header towards the net, only to be reflected by Indiana’s goalie. Jack Lynn stepped up and netted the rebound to put the Irish up 1-0 in the 10th minute.
Indiana’s Tommy Mihalic evened the score in the 34th minute, leaving the game balanced at 1-1 going into the second half.
The Irish took the lead for the second time in the 57th minute with a goal from McCartney. McCartney gained control of the ball in the crowded Indiana box and finished the goal with a hard, low shot that found the back left of the net and set the score at 2-1.
After a Notre Dame handball, the Hoosiers found themselves with a penalty kick in the last minutes of regular time. Irish goalie Bryan Dowd rejected the Indiana penalty shot but the Hoosiers cleaned up the rebound to send the game into overtime.
The matchup ended when Ben Yeagley, the son of Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley, found the back of the net from beyond the box in the 3rd minute of overtime.
Notre Dame had more shots in the matchup (16-10) and should feel optimistic about their Monday matchup with Northern Illinois University. Notre Dame has not taken the pitch with NIU since 2007 but will be looking to earn their first win of the season against the Huskies.
NIU won their season opener against Purdue-Fort Wayne last Thursday and will be entering Notre Dame’s Alumni Stadium undefeated with a 1 – 0 record.
Coming off an impressive performance against the No. 2 team in the nation, the Irish should be optimistic entering this Monday’s game. The Notre Dame defense allowed only four shots on goal against Indiana including one resulting from a penalty kick. The Irish defensemen will have to continue building chemistry and clamping down the way they did in the second half of their game against Indiana. It will be important for their senior captains to continue making an impact on the defensive end and keeping the Fighting Irish on track for a winning season.
On attack, Notre Dame will continue to rely on the consistency of senior forward Jack Lynn who recorded his 22nd career goal on Friday.
Dawson McCartney, a graduate transfer from Dartmouth who made an enormous impact throughout the Indiana game, will also look to enter the mix alongside promising freshmen such as Eno Nto and Matthew Roou. This Irish offense had no issue creating shots against the Hoosiers but will have to work together to create space and deliver higher quality opportunities in the box against NIU.
The Irish will take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in Alumni Stadium at 7:00 PM and will be streamed on ACCNX.
