The College Cup crown was right there for the taking. A Monday night match against a Clemson side Notre Dame had already beaten in September could have delivered the Irish a second national championship.
But the 2-1 result went the way of the Tigers, leaving Notre Dame men’s soccer in College Cup heartbreak for the second time in three years.
Still, 2023 remained a storybook season for the Irish. Notre Dame rattled off a 13-3-6 record, never losing a match in regular-season ACC play. As a result, the Irish captured the conference’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the NCAA Tournament. And they used that home field advantage for two dramatic, penalty-kick victories that made the College Cup a reality.
Now, seventh-year head coach Chad Riley and the Irish have turned the page to 2024 with a season-opening, 1-1 draw against Akron at home.
“I think right now especially, you’re looking at the performance as much as you can,” Riley said after the Aug. 22 draw. “I think in a lot of ways it feels like we dropped three points because we had some good moments — obviously, we had the lead. You want to see those things out. But I think, overall, there’s a lot more positives than negatives for sure.”
More than anywhere else, Notre Dame has significant positives to replace in goal and up front this season. The Irish graduated a class of ultra-experienced players a year ago, with none more central to team success than goalkeeper Bryan Dowd. The 2023 TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Year joined the Chicago Fire as the sixth overall MLS SuperDraft selection in December.
To supplant Dowd between the posts, the Irish have, initially, made a move foreign to Notre Dame teams for the last three decades. They’ve turned to a true freshman right out of the gate. First-year keeper Blake Kelly, a Real Salt Lake Academy club product, made the start against Akron. The Michigander allowed a goal on the only shot on target faced, but that Zips tally resulted directly from a defensive breakdown.
Fortunately for Kelly, he should expect to see very few mishaps around him as the season continues. Notre Dame’s most significant returns lie on the back line, where junior Mitch Ferguson, senior Kyle Genenbacher and senior Josh Ramsey started a combined 57 games last year. Such veteran presence has the potential to accelerate Kelly’s development in goal. However, whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
Notre Dame has also returned a handful of key midfielders for 2024. Senior Bryce Boneau, who comes off a massive step forward in 2023, leads the list. Boneau, an All-ACC Third Team selection who turned down a third-round SuperDraft pick from Nashville SC, owns the captaincy for the first time in his career. He and another third-year starter, junior KK Baffour, bring stability to the center of Alumni Stadium. On the wings, junior Sebastian Green and sophomore Nolan Spicer will have the immediate chance to jump from depth pieces to regular contributors.
Their contributions, especially in the attack, the Irish would warmly welcome. Notre Dame doesn’t have the problem of replacing a single, all-encompassing scorer this year. Dowd’s loss serves as the equivalent of that in goal. The 2023 Irish attack thrived more on balance, but a definite top trio of goal-scorers emerged in Eno Nto, Matthew Roou and Daniel Russo.
Gone are Nto and Russo, Notre Dame’s premier postseason forwards from a year ago. Roou remains as a senior with 21 collegiate goals under his belt, including 10 from last season’s First Team All-ACC campaign. However, Roou went without a point in five NCAA Tournament games. His season-long consistency and timing will largely determine Notre Dame’s offensive season.
Roou got off to a solid start against Akron, opening his account with a penalty-kick goal in the second half.
“You want strikers to score, and I think that’s a great feeling for him,” Riley said. “You can see it — just the way he’s moving around the field. I think on another night he might have gotten a couple more — he got in some really good spots.”
With the dawn of conference realignment, every power league has strengthened in every sport. Few, if any, have improved the way the ACC has in men’s soccer. Stanford (No. 5) and SMU (No. 10) arrive as preseason top-10 teams in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, joining seven already-ranked sides in the conference. Ranked behind only Clemson, the Irish also slot in at second in the ACC’s preseason poll.
Notre Dame will host Clemson for a marquee championship rematch on Sept. 27. Before that, the Irish will visit No. 24 Louisville (Sept. 6) and welcome Stanford (Sept. 14) to South Bend. In October, they’ll battle No. 25 Syracuse (Oct. 8) and No. 6 North Carolina (Oct. 11) before heading to No. 20 Duke for a pivotal season finale on Nov. 1.
For now, Notre Dame’s largest non-conference test awaits three hours to the south this Thursday. Seventh-ranked Indiana, which battled the Irish to a season-opening draw and penalty kicks in the Elite Eight last year, currently stands as the top program Notre Dame will face away from home this season.
Riley and the Irish look forward to the opportunity a short trip to Bloomington presents them.
“It’s just always a really good game. It’s as healthy as a rivalry can be when you play as often as we do,” Riley said. “And I think it’s one of those games — why you come to Notre Dame is to play in big games. So to go down there, the guys are competitors and they’re excited.”
Notre Dame’s top-10 tilt against the Hoosiers is slated for 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29.
