Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Match 1 Preview: Kentucky

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame gets the 2020 season underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 17, as the Irish open the season at Alumni Stadium against the Kentucky Wildcats. The match will be available to stream live on ACCNX.

NOTRE DAME vs. KENTUCKY
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
Live Stream: ACCNX
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Kentucky

2020 ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR HOME MATCHES

• Until further notice, while the University is in session during the fall semester, spectators will not be allowed at home sporting events unless otherwise specified.

• The University will monitor the health and safety of the campus and local community throughout the fall semester – working closely with health officials in formulating policies and procedures.

• All home games for men’s soccer will air on ACCN or ACCNX.

THE KENTUCKY SERIES

• The Irish and Wildcats will meet on the pitch for the sixth time on Thursday evening.

• The Irish lead the Widlcats in the all-time series at 4-1-0.

• Notre Dame and Kentucky played twice in the 1980s, twice in the 1990s and once in the 2010s.

• The Irish are 2-1-0 against Kentucky when playing at home, however, Notre Dame dropped a 1-0 decision in the most recent matchup on Sept. 8, 2014 at Alumni Stadium.

OWNING THE OPENERS

• Notre Dame has historically gotten off to a good start to its season, posting a record of 26-9-8.

• The Irish are unbeaten in their last nine openers to a season, going 5-0-4. Notre Dame has outscored the opposition by a combined score of 14-5 over that stretch.

• Notre Dame has been even better in home openers, recording a mark of 31-8-4.

• Last season the Irish won the season-opener on the road, posting a 3-2 victory over Saint Louis before returning home to defeat Seattle by a 4-2 margin.

LYNN LEADING THE LINE

• Junior striker Jack Lynn enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, scoring a team-high 10 goals to lead the Irish attack.

• Lynn finished his sophomore campaign strong,, scoring six goals in the last nine games.

• After scoring goals in wins over Seattle and Denver the sophomore was named the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament MVP.

• The striker recorded the first brace of his career with two goals in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

• Lynn scored the match winners to beat No. 21 Duke in the 65th minute on Oct. 11 and to defeat Pitt in the 17th minute on Nov. 1.

• The sophomore ranked 12th nationally in game-winning goals on the season with five.

• Lynn has 13 goals over his first two seasons with the Irish.

CHALLENGING SLATE AHEAD

• The Irish have never shied away from playing a challenging slate of opponents and the 2020 schedule looks to be no different.

• Notre Dame is set to play eight regular-season matches in the fall, six counting as ACC play.

• All eight matches will feature teams that played in last season’s NCAA Tournament.

• The only team the Irish are set to face from outside the ACC is Kentucky in the season-opener.

• The Irish also technically play another non-conference match against Pitt on Saturday, Sept. 26.

RILEY ENTERS YEAR THREE AT NOTRE DAME

• Head Coach Chad Riley enters his third season at the helm of his alma mater.

• Riley has led the Irish to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since taking the reins of the program.

• The Irish have a record of 21-15-4 during Riley’s tenure.

• Riley became the first head coach in program history to reach the NCAA quarterfinals in his debut season after earning the No. 7 overall seed in the tournament.