Oct. 22, 2015
DATE: Oct. 23, 2015
TIME: 7 p.m. (ET)
LOCATION: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Spry Stadium — cap. 3,000)
LAST MEETING: ND, 4-2 (12/1/13 at ND)
LIVE STATS:
BROADCAST: WatchESPN
TWITTER: @NDMenSoccer
TICKETS: Wakeforestsports.com
In a challenging season that has already seen the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team face eight ranked opponents, this weekend’s showdown in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, might be the toughest Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) test yet of 2015 for the Irish. No. 8/4 Notre Dame (8-2-5, 3-1-2 ACC) travels to Spry Stadium to face No. 2/3 Wake Forest (11-1-2, 4-0-2 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. (ET). Match coverage will be available on the Regional Sports Network (RSN) and ESPN3.
Notre Dame brings an eight-match unbeaten streak into its matchup with Wake Forest, who enters Friday’s match with its own eight-contest result string. The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series against the Irish 4-2-1, although Notre Dame won the two most recent games between the teams that were contested during the 2013 season.
Scouting Wake Forest
Wake Forest enters Friday’s match with an 11-1-2 record after shutting out Georgia State 5-0 in nonconference play on Tuesday. The Demon Deacons downed ACC Coastal leader North Carolina 1-0 on Oct. 17 to remain unbeaten in ACC play at 4-0-2.
Head coach Bobby Muuss is in his first season at the helm of the Wake Forest program after spending the previous eight years at Denver. Muuss has an all-time record of 85-57-26 (.583) in nine seasons as a head coach.
Shot Total Best In The BE/ACC Era
On the strength of 24 total shots in the second half and overtime sessions alone, Notre Dame finished Tuesday’s match with a 39-7 shot advantage over Northwestern.
The 39 shot attempts by the Irish were the most in a single game for Notre Dame since joining the BIG EAST Conference prior to the 1995 season. The program standard bearer continues to be the 65 registered attempts by Notre Dame in a 1979 game against St. Joseph’s (Ind.).
Hodan Outshoots The ‘Cats
Of Notre Dame’s 39 total shots on Tuesday against Northwestern, senior midfielder/tri-captain Patrick Hodan notched 11 tries on his own to tie Richard Herdegen (Bethel, 1983) and Joseph Lapira (West Virginia and Syracuse, 2005) for the Irish individual shot record.
Irish Remain Unbeaten In Extra Time
The 1-1 draw against Northwestern at Toyota Park on Tuesday was the 19th straight result earned by the Irish in a match that went to extra time since an NCAA Round of 16 match against Indiana in 2012.
Notre Dame is now 2-0-5 in overtime matches in 2015, securing wins over both Indiana (1-0 on Aug. 30 in 2OT) and Duke (3-2 on Oct. 10 in OT) during extra time.
Gallagher Sits Atop ACC Goal Chart
Sophomore forward Jon Gallagher retook the ACC goals lead outright after 15 starts, scoring his eighth goal of the season on Tuesday against Northwestern at Toyota Park.
Gallagher leads all Notre Dame players in goals, points (18) and shots (54) thus far in 2015.
Irish Against The ACC
Notre Dame enters Friday’s contest against Wake Forest with a 63-28-14 (.667) record all-time against the current ACC membership, including a 16-3-6 (.760) regular season mark in league play since joining the conference in 2013. The Irish were the outright regular season champions of the ACC that year before claiming the ACC Coastal Division title in the first season of the conference’s two-division structure in 2014.
Notre Dame previously defeated No. 9 Clemson (1-0 on Sept. 12), No. 4 Virginia (3-1 on Sept. 25) and Duke (3-2 in OT on Oct. 10) in ACC matchups earlier this season, while also playing to a 1-1 draw at North Carolina State on Oct. 4 and a scoreless tie at Virginia Tech on Oct. 16.
–ND–
— Tony Jones, Athletics Communications Assistant