Blake Townes vs. Virginia Tech

#23 Irish Wrap Up Regular Season At Pitt On Saturday

The Irish finish the regular season at Pitt at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 in an ACC matchup. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra via the WatchESPN app.

No. 23 NOTRE DAME AT PITT
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. | Ambrose Urbanic Field
Live Stream: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Pitt

THE PITT SERIES
• The Irish and Panthers will meet on the pitch for the 24th time on Saturday evening.
• The Irish hold a commanding lead in the series with a mark of 16-4-3.
• Notre Dame has played at Pitt 10 times, posting a record of 7-1-2.
• The Irish have won 15 of the last 16 meetings in the matchup.
• The most recent matchup in the series came last season at Notre Dame on Nov. 1, resulting in a 5-0 victory for the Irish.

ROAD WARRIORS
• The Irish have played some of their best soccer of the 2018 season in matches away from Alumni Stadium.
• Notre Dame is 5-1-1 in matches away from home, posting a record of 3-1-1 in road matches and 2-0 when playing at a neutral site.
• The Irish have scored at least two goals in six of seven matches, while also staying tidy at the back with four clean sheets.
• Notre Dame has outscored the opposition by a combined score of 15-6 in matches away from home, including wins against then No. 18 UConn, then No. 22 Dartmouth and then No. 18 Michigan.

QUICK OUT OF THE GATE
• The Irish have been excellent in the first 45 minutes of matches this season, as the team is not trailed in any of its 15 matches at the halftime break.
• Notre Dame has outscored the opposition by a combined mark of 10-2 in the first halves of matches.
• The Irish have kept a clean sheet in the first half in 14 of 15 matches in 2018, with the only blemish coming at Duke in a match that was level at 2-2 at the break.

THE SKIPPER DOES IT ALL
• Senior center back Patrick Berneski has had an impressive senior season after earning the captain armband prior to the 2018 campaign.
• Berneski has scored in six of 15 matches this season, leading the team with six goals.
• The senior’s six goals are the most scored this season by any ACC defender in 2018.

SET-PIECE SCORING
• Twelve of the 26 Irish goals scored this season have come from set pieces.
• Patrick Berneski has done the bulk of the damage, scoring six set-piece goals, five of which were headers.
• Another notable set-piece goal came from a sublime Felicien Dumas free kick that proved to be the game winner against Syracuse.
• Senior Sean MacLeod is 2-for-2 in scoring from the spot this season for the Irish.
• Dumas has supplied the assist in five of the set-piece goals in 2018.

Macleod makes his mark
• Senior forward Sean MacLeod has been in form over the last few weeks, scoring the first four goals in his collegiate career this season, all coming in the last six matches.
• MacLeod netted his first score in the 3-0 win over Northwestern and then scored from the spot in overtime to defeat then No. 6 Louisville.
• In Notre Dame’s match at Michigan, the senior scored from the spot in what proved to be the match winner in the 68th minute.
• The senior is third on the team in goals (4) and points (10) this season.

BENCH IMPACT
• A key to the recent Irish success has been the spark the subs have given the Irish, particularly in the attack.
• Six of Notre Dame’s 16 goals in the last eight outings have come off the bench.
• Thomas Ueland, Jack Lynn, Aiden McFadden, Paul Rothrock and Sean MacLeod (2x) have each found the back of the net in the stretch.
• The goals from McFadden (vs. Boston College), Rothrock (at Northwestern)  and MacLeod (Louisville & Michigan) proved to be the match winners.