The two-week cycle of huge matches at Alumni Stadium continues for Notre Dame men’s soccer. First, it was a 1-0 loss to Stanford, currently the No. 5 team in the country, on Sept. 14. Then, the Irish toppled No. 12 Clemson, the defending national champion, by a 2-1 score on Sept. 27. Coming up on Friday night, Notre Dame will face another top-tier ACC foe, No. 7 North Carolina.
The Irish enter this match in highly unfamiliar territory, having lost back-to-back games for the first time in nearly two years. Notre Dame dropped a 2-1 result at Syracuse on Saturday before Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Michigan at home dropped the Irish to 5-3-3 overall. Notre Dame’s College Cup teams of 2013, 2021 and 2023 never lost consecutive matches, and the RPI rating of No. 48 currently attached to the Irish suggests they need to make a move if they have any hopes of postseason success.
Right now, it feels like Notre Dame just needs a well-rounded game to restore momentum. Even in their five wins, the Irish did not play a game in the neighborhood of perfect. When the offense surged against Chicago State and Trine, the defense couldn’t uphold clean sheets against inferior opponents. When the defense limited quality adversaries Stanford and Michigan to one goal, Notre Dame couldn’t find the finishing touches to earn draws at worst. Wins aren’t always meant to be pretty, especially in the game of soccer, but the great teams have it all come together now and again. That hasn’t happened yet with Notre Dame.
Last season, it was nearly North Carolina that opposed Notre Dame in the College Cup semifinal. After taking national champion Clemson to penalty kicks in the ACC Championship match, the Tar Heels knocked off Memphis and Hofstra to reach the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round. However, North Carolina failed to protect home field and ended its season on a 1-0 loss to Oregon State, who fell to Notre Dame by the same score one round later.
The postseason run marked North Carolina’s fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and its 23rd in the last 25 years. The Tar Heels have regularly competed for national titles since the late ‘80s, reaching the summit in 2001 and 2011. This year, North Carolina is once again in position to vie for the College Cup crown with a record of 7-1-3. The Tar Heels got off to a tremendous start, going unbeaten through the end of September with a huge win at No. 16 Duke on Sept. 13. They took their first loss of the season on Friday’s 3-2 result at No. 12 Clemson but rebounded nicely with a 3-0 win against the College of Charleston on Tuesday night. At 3-1 in ACC play, North Carolina sits behind only Pittsburgh and Stanford in the conference standings.
Speaking of that trio, only Pitt and Stanford have a lower goals against average than North Carolina among ACC teams. The Tar Heels have conceded only eight times in 11 games this season, presenting as one of the top defensive units in the conference. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Andrew Cordes, who shined last year with an .861 save percentage, leads the ACC with six shutouts.
Up front, Friday’s matchup will feature a duel between two of the ACC’s top five scorers. On the Notre Dame side, senior forward Matthew Roou still leads the conference in goals (11) and points (22). North Carolina graduate forward Martin Vician, a former Harvard talisman from Slovakia, ranks fifth with eight goals and 17 points. Vician has picked up his game lately after a slow stretch to end September, scoring in each of North Carolina’s last two matches.
North Carolina and Notre Dame will begin play inside at Alumni Stadium at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
