Irish stay in NCAA pursuit, draw No. 7 North Carolina 1-1

The Notre Dame men’s soccer team returned to Alumni Stadium on Friday night, welcoming the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels to South Bend for a pivotal ACC clash. Coming off back-to-back defeats, first at Syracuse and most recently at home against Michigan, the Irish entered Friday’s match much in need of a marquee victory to climb the conference table and boost their at-large resume.

Sitting at third in the ACC, Carolina looked to regain separation from Clemson following its 3-2 defeat to the Tigers a week prior. The Heels conceded twice late to drop that match, despite playing with a man advantage for the majority of the second half. North Carolina was able to right the ship on Tuesday, as a 3-0 home victory over Charleston moved it to 7-1-3 on the season. The Tar Heels entered Friday night five spots better than the 5-3-3, eighth-placed Irish.

Roou plays the hero again

The first 45 minutes of the match came and went without any real flare, as the teams combined to manage just one shot on goal, a Carolina header which was easily reeled in by Notre Dame freshman goalkeeper Blake Kelly. The Irish were able to draw three corner kicks in the opening frame, but redshirt junior netminder Andrew Cordes was never tested.

Notre Dame controlled possession throughout the foremost quarter of an hour to begin the second half, but it was North Carolina senior midfielder Juan Caffaro whose redirection seemed to catch the arm of Irish senior defender Josh Ramsey in the 61st minute. A lengthy VAR check eventually overturned the handball ruling, and the Irish nearly capitalized on the manufactured momentum just half a minute later. The ensuing buildup ended with the ball at junior midfielder KK Baffour’s feet, and his curling shot from 12 yards out was remarkably deflected by the outstretched paws of Cordes.

Notre Dame was finally able to break the ice in the 66th minute through who else but Matthew Roou. The senior forward’s NCAA-best 12th goal was perhaps his most creative, as he snuck behind the Tar Heel backline to toe-poke Wyatt Lewis’ pass over Cordes, dropping the volley perfectly into the corner of the net. 

Lewis collected his first assist of the season after an exquisite individual run from Baffour led to an attempted scissor kick from sophomore forward Jack Flanagan, before being temporarily cleared. The sophomore midfielder from Missouri did well to win it back for the Irish before playing it forward for Roou.

Speaking postgame of the goal, Roou detailed his positioning and preparation.

“I think that goal falls under the category of always being ready," he said. “I just trusted Lew to make a header, and I was ready to spring on it. You have to be optimistic as a forward, and I was able to convert that moment into a goal and end up feeling good about my night.”

Head coach Chad Riley echoed the sentiment of his senior star.

“Strikers always have to be switched on, and he scored a similar goal last year against NC State,” Riley said of Roou after the game. “For all the times keepers have made good saves against him, he deserved to have a moment of magic there.”

North Carolina responded with a flurry, pushing numbers forward in pursuit of the equalizer. It finally came in the 83rd minute with senior midfielder Matthew Acosta’s 25-yard boot twirling around the diving Kelly. The leveler was true freshman defender Tate Johnson’s second career assist and Acosta’s first goal in the Carolina Blue, as he transferred from Rutgers in the offseason.

The 1-1 scoreline would hold, and each side received a share of the spoils in front of a sellout crowd of over 3,000 at Alumni Stadium. Commenting on the Irish faithful, Riley said, “The fans were incredible with the energy and noise tonight. They played a big part in helping us have a good performance.”

What’s next for the Irish men’s soccer

After three grueling matches in just six days, Notre Dame will get a well-deserved week of absence from competition before hosting Boston College next Saturday in a must-win affair that also serves as the ACC home finale. The Irish will then play twice more over fall break, first welcoming the University of Illinois Chicago Flames to Alumni Stadium for Senior Night on Oct. 22 before making the cross-country flight to Berkeley to do battle with the Golden Bears of California on Oct. 27.

Boston College was bested 1-0 by Virginia on Friday night in Chestnut Hill and will also face Division-III Suffolk University before heading to South Bend next Saturday. With the Irish still aiming to gain ground in the ACC table, a home match with the 14th-placed, 3-4-5 Eagles could be the perfect opportunity to pick up their first conference win since the 2-1 defeat of Clemson on Sept. 27. Saturday’s match is set for a 7 p.m. first touch at Alumni Stadium and can be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.