SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 22 Notre Dame battled DePaul to a 1-1 draw at Alumni Stadium on Tuesday evening in a non-conference matchup.
Matthew Roou scored the Fighting Irish goal, his first of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Fighting Irish and Blue Demons played to a scoreless standstill over the opening 45 minutes of play, as the score was 0-0 at the halftime intermission.
DePaul struck early in the second half for the game’s opening goal, as Bryan Dowd made a save on an initial shot from Cade Hagan but Jacob Huth fired in the rebound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.
Notre Dame responded by ramping up its attacking pressure in the final third, creating a number of quality chances but couldn’t find the equalizer.
In the 70th minute Bryce Boneau split two defenders in the box and was fouled to give the Irish a penalty. Notre Dame’s effort struck the post and stayed out to keep the DePaul lead intact at 1-1.
Thirteen minutes later all the chances paid for Notre Dame, as Roou leveled the match at 1-1 in the 83rd minute. KK Baffour found Roou, who calmly took a touch to settle the ball before rifling a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
Notre Dame nearly found the winner off a corner in the 89th minute but Kyle Genenbacher’s header went just over the bar and the match ended in a draw.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I’m really proud of the guys’ attitude and the resilience that they showed coming back from a goal down and arguably creating the chances to win the game but we couldn’t quite get the second one over the line.
“Credit to DePaul, we knew they were a good team. This is the first goal they have allowed this season and are a good veteran team. Our second half was our best half of soccer this year and in some ways I think we were unfortunate not to get the second goal and win the game.”
On the team’s resolve…
“The mentality to keep fighting back when you feel sometimes the tide is going against you. We hit the post on the penalty and missed some chances that on other nights would go in but the guys really didn’t stop and that is a huge credit to them. Our mentality really stood out tonight where we didn’t get frustrated and really kept pushing to find the solution together.”
On Matthew Roou scoring his first goal of the season…
“It’s great. Roou can be one of the best attacking players in the country and he has been sniffing around the goals his first couple of games so it is good for him to get that first one and I think we will see plenty more.”
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE MATCH
The Irish outshot DePaul 16-6 on Tuesday evening and have outshot its opponent in all three matches this season.
NOTES
- Notre Dame has combined to outshoot its opponents 57-31 on the season.
- Roou’s goal marks the eighth of his career and first of the season.
- With the assist, Baffour registered the first point of his collegiate career.
- Legendre made his Fighting Irish debut in Tuesday’s match.
UP NEXT
The Irish travel to New York to open up ACC play against Syracuse over the weekend. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET start on Saturday, Sept. 10 and will be streamed on ACCNX via WatchESPN.
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