Irish senior goalkeeper Bryan Dowd looks ahead during Notre Dame's 1-1 draw with Indiana at Alumni Stadium on Aug. 24, 2023.
Off to a 2-0-1 start in ACC play, Notre Dame men’s soccer heads to Raleigh this weekend. The No. 15 Irish, at 5-1-3 overall, will face NC State (6-4, 1-2) on Sunday to open October. Most recently ousting the Wolfpack from the 2021 ACC Tournament, Notre Dame has a 4-1-1 all-time record against NC State.
Dowd earns ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors
In a week that saw him start his 50th career game, Irish senior goalkeeper Bryan Dowd turned in a magnificent performance. He first shattered his career high with 12 saves on the road against No. 4 Akron last Tuesday night. That effort, which brought Dowd his fourth clean sheet of the year, carried Notre Dame to a crucial draw against an elite Zips side. Additionally, Dowd became the first Irish player since Greg Velho in 1998 to make 10-plus saves in a game. Three nights later, he made five stops in a 3-1 home win over Virginia.Nine games into his senior campaign, Dowd statistically projects as the ACC’s top keeper. He leads the conference in saves (34), saves per game (3.78) and save percentage (.850). Dowd’s four shutouts also tie with Louisville’s Alex Svetanoff atop the list, while his .667 goals against average ranks second. The standout stopper now turns his attention to NC State, a team that has historically struggled to beat him. Dowd stared down the Wolfpack twice in 2021, making four total saves in a pair of clean-sheet victories.
Inconsistent Wolfpack hunting extension of home win streak
The breakdown of NC State’s 6-4 record is simple: six wins at home and four losses on the road. Dating back to the end of last season, the Pack holds an 11-match unbeaten streak at Dail Soccer Field. This season, NC State has faced lighter competition at home and more difficult challengers away from it. The Wolfpack surrendered eight combined goals on the road against top-10 opponents UCF and Louisville, also losing to Stetson and Virginia. But a home date with the ranked Irish might be just what NC State needs to get on track.It’s no secret that the Wolfpack haven’t protected the goal well this season. Junior goalkeeper Lucas Hatsios has taken a step back after a solid 2022, with his save percentage dipping from .727 to .560. As a result, NC State has allowed an ACC-high 16 goals in 10 games, drastically more than Notre Dame’s six in nine matches. And when teams score on the Wolfpack, they tend to do so in bunches. Louisville and UCF each potted three goals in 15-minute spans, while Virginia collected a pair less than eight minutes apart.
For NC State, the attack runs through forward Luke Hille. The junior has far surpassed his next-best teammates with six goals, 12 points, 26 shots and 12 shots on goal. Hille has done his best work at home, scoring in four of the Pack’s six games in Raleigh. Will Buete and Junior Nare, who shined in NC State’s other home conference game against Boston College, have contributed three goals each. Not much scoring has gone on beyond those three. But NC State did flash its depth recently, recording two freshman goals in its 3-1 takedown of Gardner-Webb on Wednesday.
Sunday’s game will kick off at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Field in Raleigh. ACC Network Extra will carry the match.
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