Notre Dame gets the 2019 season underway at 8 p.m. ET on August 31, as the Irish travel down to Saint Louis to take on the Billikens. The match will be available to stream live on ESPN+.
No. 9 NOTRE DAME vs. SAINT LOUIS
Location: St. Louis, Missouri | Hermann Stadium
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Saint Louis
OWNING THE OPENERS
• Notre Dame has historically gotten off to a good start to its season, posting a record of 25-9-8.
• The Irish are unbeaten in their last eight openers to a season, going 4-0-4. Notre Dame has outscored the oppositiong by a combined score of 11-3 over that stretch.
• Notre Dame has been even better in home openers, recording a mark of 30-8-3.
• Last season the Irish earned a draw with Saint Louis, finishing with a score of 1-1 after 110 minutes of play.
THE SAINT LOUIS SERIES
• Saturday will be the 14th meeting between the the Irish and Bilikins in the series history.
• Notre Dame trails Saint Louis 3-8-2 in the series
• The last four meetings between the two sides have gone to double overtime, with Notre Dame going 1-1-2.
RILEY MAKES INSTANT IMPACT
• In head coach Chad Riley’s first season the Irish reached their first NCAA quarterfinal since 2013, finishing the season with a record of 11-7-3, defeating six ranked opponents.
• 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.
ASCHIERIS, CASEY & DUMAS NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
• Graduate students Ian Aschieris and Felicien Dumas along with senior Jack Casey will wear the captains armbands for the Irish in 2019.
• The trio of captains played a large role in Notre Dame’s success last season. The three players combined to play in 61 matches during the 2018 campaign, earning 54 starts.
DUMAS PLACED ON ACC PRESEASON WATCH LIST
• Graduate student Felicien Dumas was one of 12 players named to the ACC Preseason Watch List in August.
• The midfielder paced the Irish in assists in 2018 with six and scored a remarkable free-kick goal to finish with eight points.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE COUNTRY
• The Irish have never shied away from playing a challenging slate of opponents and the 2019 schedule looks to be no different.
• Notre Dame is set to face five of the top 10 ranked teams in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll in No. 2 Indiana, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 Michigan State and No. 10 Duke.
• Nine of the 16 teams on Notre Dame’s regular-season schedule enter the 2019 year in the national rankings.
• Ten of the sides the Irish are scheduled to face qualified for the 2018 NCAA tourney.
#englaNDabroad
• The program spent the 2019 spring break in England, touring the country.
• The 10-day trip consisted of three matches against formidable club teams, attending three matches, touring stadiums and training facilities and learning about the English culture.
• The Irish went an unbeaten 1-0-2 on the trip, defeating a strong Brentford Reserve side and earned draws against Derby County U-18s and Players Centre.
• The team attended matches at Southampton, Mancherster City and West Ham.