Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Match 2 Preview: NIU

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame is back in action at Alumni Stadium with a match against NIU at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 30 after opening the 2021 campaign on Friday evening. The contest will air on ACCNX.

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

THE NIU SERIES

• Notre Dame and Northern Illinois will face each other for the fourth time in program history on Monday.

• The Irish are 0-1-2 against the Huskies in the all-time series.

• Notre Dame and NIU haven’t played since the 2007 season, when the two sides battled to a 1-1 standstill.

LAST TIME OUT

• Notre Dame suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime defeat against No. 2 Indiana in the season opener on Friday evening at Alumni Stadium.

• The Irish controlled the majority of the match and never trailed until the Hoosiers scored the overtime winner.

• Jack Lynn scored the opening goal in the 10th minute and Dawson McCartney put the Irish back in front with his first goal of the year in the 57th minute.

• Notre Dame recorded more corners (8-1) and shots (16-10) in the opener against Indiana.

LYNN LEADS THE LINE

• Lynn was Notre Dame’s representative on the ACC Preseason Watch List.

• Lynn paces all active Irish players in career goals with 22 in his Notre Dame career.

• The senior scored a goal in the 2021 opener against Indiana and has now scored in two of four season openers in his career.

• In the final match of the 2020 fall regular season, Lynn recorded the first hat trick of his career, scoring three times in the first half in the 4-1 win over Louisville.

• The forward enjoyed a breakout 2019 campaign, scoring a career-high 10 goals to lead the Irish attack.

• Lynn has led the Irish in goals and points in each of the last two seasons.

McCARTNEY MAKES AN INSTANT IMPACT

• Dawson McCartney joined Notre Dame for the 2021 spring semester, transferring from Dartmouth.

• McCartney has registered six points in his first seven appearances for the Irish off two goals and two assists.

• The grad student scored in Friday’s season opener against Indiana.

• McCartney now has 10 goals in his collegiate career.

2021 CAPTAINS

• Mohamed Omar and Philip Quinton will share the skipper role for the Fighting Irish for the 2021 season.

• Omar has been a staple as a central defensive midfielder over the past three seasons. His 2020-21 campaign was cut short due to an injury that sidelined him for almost all of the spring.

• Omar has racked up 46 appearances for the Irish over the past three seasons, scoring two goals and adding two assists in his career.

• Quinton has been a mainstay in Notre Dame’s defense over the past three seasons at the center back position.

• The 6-foot-6 defender has anchored the Irish back line the last two seasons. Quinton has also managed to record two assists in his collegiate career.

#5 RANKED FRESHMAN CLASS IN THE COUNTRY

• The Irish welcome a nine-man freshman class to South Bend which was ranked as the No. 5 class in the country by TopDrawerSoccer.

• The class features four players ranked in IMG’s top 200 rankings.

• The nine players come from a combined six states and one foreign country (England).

• Mateo Acosta (D), Bryce Boneau (M), Liam Egan (GK), Kyle Genenbacher (D), Eno Nto (F), Josh Ramsey (D), Matthew Roou (F), Michael Rossi (F) and Cleveland Sellers IV (D) make up the class.

• Five freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the opener against Indiana, as Josh Ramsey, Matthew Roou, Eno Nto, Kyle Genenbacher and Michael Rossi each earned their first cap.