EAST LANSING, Mich. — Notre Dame pulled out a 3-2 road victory for its first win of the season on Monday evening against Michigan State at DeMartin Stadium.
Paddy Burns and Sebastian Green each scored in the win with the third score coming via a Michigan State own goal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Fighting Irish were on the front foot from the opening whistle, controlling play and creating opportunities. The early pressure paid off in the 19th minute, as Boneau recycled a ball back into the box off a free kick and Burns nodded it into the far bottom corner to give Notre Dame a 1-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later the Irish struck again to double their lead to 2-0 in the 22nd minute. Boneau played Kyle Genenbacher down the right, whose cross connected with Green and he powered a header past the Spartan keeper.
The Irish took the 2-0 lead into the half. Notre Dame dominated the chances, holding a 14-3 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes.
Michigan State nearly cut the Irish lead in half in the 51st minute, as Bryan Dowd made an acrobatic save, pushing a Spartan shot onto the crossbar to keep the two-goal advantage intact.
Notre Dame tacked on another goal in the 54th off a corner. Genenbacher headed a ball down and a Michigan State defender flicked it up and over the goalkeeper to make it 3-0.
The hosts managed to get one back in the 75th minute after they were awarded a penalty and converted from the spot.
Ten minutes later the Spartans struck again to cut the Notre Dame lead to 3-2 with five minutes left to play.
The Irish managed to stave off the comeback attempt and left East Lansing with a hard-fought 3-2 win.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“Large portions of it was a really good performance. Michigan State is a good team and they were going to test us. We were happy with the way we played but knew they were going to fight to the end and they certainly did.
“The first win of the year is really hard to get so I’m very proud of the group for that. We are going to enjoy it but there will be a lot to learn from it.”
On the importance of scoring the opening goal on the road…
“It’s huge, especially when you have a weather delay to start the game, just to start out aggressive and that is going to be one of the identities of our team is we have to come out aggressive or we won’t be like ourselves.”
On the takeaways from the win heading into the match at Indiana…
“We’ll have to watch the film but their was a great crowd here. Michigan State is a great team so coming and playing in this environment will certainly help us to go play IU in Bloomington.”
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE MATCH
The Irish have now won five straight matches at Michigan State, dating back to the 2011 season.
NOTES
- Green’s goal marks the first of his collegiate career.
- Burns scored his first goal of the season and fourth of his career.
- Boneau assisted on the first two goals, his first two assists of his Notre Dame career.
- Green made the first start of his career on Monday.
UP NEXT
The Irish remain on the road against another Big Ten opponent, as they travel to Bloomington to take on intrastate rival Indiana at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 3 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The match will be broadcast on BTN+.
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