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Match 2 Preview: Michigan State

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame hits the road for the first time this season, making the short drive north to take on Big Ten foe Michigan State in East Lansing at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 29. The game will be streamed on B1G+.

NOTRE DAME vs. MICHIGAN STATE
Location: East Lansing, Michigan | DeMartin Soccer Stadium
Live Stream: B1G+
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Michigan State

THE MICHIGAN STATE SERIES

• The Irish and Spartans will meet on the pitch for the 32nd time on Monday evening.

• Notre Dame leads Michigan State in the all-time series at 17-8-6

• Notre Dame fell to Michigan State in the most recent matchup, dropping a contest by a score of 4-3 at Alumni Stadium on Sept. 14, 2021.

• In the last meeting at Michigan State, Michael Pellegrino scored the game-winning goal in the 80th, which was also the first goal of his career, on Sept. 24, 2019.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Irish lost its season opener on Thursday evening to Seattle by a score of 3-1 at Alumni Stadium.

• Despite the defeat Notre Dame outshot the visitors 19-10 and registered 10 corners to Seattle’s five.

• Sophomore right back Kyle Genenbacher scored his first career goal while Daniel Russo and Eno Nto picked up assists.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

• Notre Dame started six sophomores or freshmen during the season-opening match against Seattle.

• Six Irish players made their collegiate debuts in the contest.

• Of the 16 players that saw the pitch, nine were either sophomores or freshmen.

2021 REWIND

• The Irish are coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history.

• The 2021 squad advanced to the College Cup for the second time in history and captured the program’s first ACC Tournament title.

• Notre Dame finished the season on an eight-game unbeaten streak, going 5-0-3 during that span, all coming in postseason play.

• The Irish allowed just two goals over the final eight matches of the year.

• Notre Dame defeated Duke in the ACC Tournament final to capture the crown. The Irish didn’t allow a single goal over four matches of ACC Tournament play.

• The season came to an end in the College Cup semifinals, as the Irish fell to Clemson in penalties (5-3) in Cary, N.C.

KEEP IT CLEAN

• The Notre Dame defense returns starting goalkeeper Bryan Dowd along with three of four starters from the 2021 backline, including CB Josh Ramsey, LB Paddy Burns and RB Ben Giacobello.

The Irish closed the 2021 season with 10 clean sheets in its last 14 matches.

• The Irish totaled 13 shutouts on the season, with Bryan Dowd in goal for 10.

• The 13 clean sheets were tied for third most in program history and the most since recording 13 during the 2006 season.

• Notre Dame had eight clean sheets against ACC opponents, the most by any team in the conference last season (Pitt x2, Duke, Clemson, Wake Forest, Louisville, NC State x2)

• Opponents scored multiple goals in just four of 24 matches in 2021.

• Despite playing some of the top teams in the country, the Irish allowed just seven goals over the final 16 matches.

• Bryan Dowd tied the program record for consecutive clean sheets with six straight, all coming in postseason play.

BALANCED ATTACK

• Fourteen returning Irish players registered at least one point last season, as the team returns 86 points from last year.

• Ten players scored a goal through during the 2021 campaign, with six scoring multiple goals.

• Sophomore Matthew Roou is the top returning goal scorer on the 2022 squad after firing in seven goals during his debut season.

#3 RANKED FRESHMAN CLASS IN THE COUNTRY

• The Irish welcome a seven-man freshman class to South Bend which was ranked as the No. 3 class in the country by TopDrawerSoccer.

• The class features four players ranked in IMG’s top 200 rankings, each ranking in the top 100.

• The seven players come from a combined five states and one foreign country (Ghana).

• Kelvin Baffour (M), Daniel Boateng (M), Wyatt Borso (F), Owen Cornell (GK), Mitchell Ferguson (D), Sebastian Green (M) and Nicholas Legendre (F) make up the class.

• Notre Dame also welcomes Mo Williams to the team, a grad transfer defender from Seton Hall.