BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – No. 7 Notre Dame (11-7-3) men’s soccer season came to a close on Friday evening in the NCAA Championships quarterfinals, as the Irish suffered a 1-0 defeat to No. 2 Indiana (20-2-1) at Armstrong Stadium..
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish were on the front foot for the opening 45 minutes of play. Notre Dame had the majority of possession and created the best goal-scoring opportunity. In the 27th minute a cross into the box fell found Sean McLeod’s head, who forced a diving save from Indiana keeper Trey Muse. Aiden McFadden found the rebound, but his shot was blocked out of bounds by the Indiana defense.
The Hoosiers started to take control of the game in the second half and took the lead in the 64th minute. Andrew Gutman connected with Austin Panchot, who was waiting two yards from goal. Panchot took his opportunity well, sending his header into the roof of the net.
After the opening goal, the Irish pushed numbers forward for the remainder of the match but the Indiana defense held up and claimed the 1-0 victory.
HEAD COACH CHAD RILEY’S THOUGHTS
“Congrats to Indiana, I thought they played an excellent match. We wish them the best moving forward. I couldn’t be more proud of my team tonight. I thought we were excellent. We were unfortunate not to convert a couple of chances and we overall limited Indiana to a few chances and obviously they converted one. There is nothing our team should hang their head about. It was a good performance and a very strong season. I would like to thank the entire team, especially all of the seniors, who put so much into the season. They should be proud of it.”
NOTES OF THE MATCH
- The Irish are now 19-19-3 in the NCAA Championships in program history.
- Notre Dame held the opposition to one or no goals in 17 of 21 matches.
- After holding Indiana scoreless in the first half, the Irish have now shut out the opposition in 20 of 21 first halves this season.
- The Irish reached the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals for the fourth time in program history and first since 2013.
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