SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Irish scored twice in the first half en route to a 2-1 win over Boston College to improve to 5-3-1 on the season and 2-2 in ACC play.
Wyatt Borso and Eno Nto both found the back of the net for the second time in as many outings to help Notre Dame secure the victory.
The Irish received a great performance from Bryan Dowd in goal, making four saves to keep the Eagles attack in check, including a pair of acrobatic stops in the 74th minute.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish were on the front foot early, controlling the beginning stages of the match. The early pressure paid off, as Borso produced a beautiful goal with a left-footed strike from the edge of the area to put Notre Dame on top 1-0 in the 17th minute.
Notre Dame doubled its lead right before the break. Dowd’s goal kick was flicked on by Daniel Russo to send Nto in on goal. The sophomore made no mistake with the finish, placing the shot inside the near post to make the score 2-0 in the 41st minute.
Dowd was called into action just before the break, making a diving stop to steer a Boston College just wide of the post and keep the 2-0 lead intact heading into the halftime intermission.
Boston College managed to cut the Irish lead in half in the 54th minute, as an attempted cross snuck just inside the far post to make it a 2-1 match.
The Irish nearly went back on top by two, as a KK Baffour effort off a corner required a sprawling stop by the Boston College keeper in the 68th minute.
Just six minutes later Dowd made the defensive play of the evening. The Eagles had a great look at goal but the junior made a kick save to keep the initial effort out. The visitors immediately fired a rebound attempt goalward but Dowd managed to get up and make a spectacular right-handed save to help the Irish hold on to the 2-1 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I’m really proud of the guys. For moments in the first and second half we played some of our best soccer of the year so that was nice to see. Credit to BC, they are always going to be dangerous and they made it really interesting in the second half for us. For the most part our guys stood up well to the test and capped off the performance with a great double save from Bryan Dowd.”
On Borso and Nto scoring in consecutive matches…
“They have had great training sessions and have both played well in the last couple games. Eno has really been pushing hard and we know he’s close to having a breakout performance this year so it was nice to see him get on the scoresheet. Same thing with Wyatt, he’s been training really well and what a great finish he had.”
On Bryan Dowd’s performance…
“He was excellent. Even his distribution decisions were great. Obviously that’s why you have great keepers because they help you win games like that. He did his job really well tonight.”
ND NOTES
- The Irish improved to 11-4-2 against Boston College in the all-time series and are now 4-0-1 in the last five matchups.
- Notre Dame is unbeaten when scoring the opening goal, posting a record of 5-0-0.
- Borso has two goals on the season, both coming in the last two matches.
- Nto scored the seventh goal of his Notre Dame career and second goal of the season in the win.
- To go along with four saves, Dowd also picked up the first assist of his career.
UP NEXT
The Irish hit the road for the first time in two weeks, taking on intrastate rival Indiana in Bloomington at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The match will air on B1G+.
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