Things have started to come together for the Notre Dame men’s soccer team as they settle into conference play and the second half of the season. The 6-1-3 Fighting Irish won their last two games against Virginia and NC State. But they'll have a bigger challenge on Saturday, when they welcome in the No. 14 Duke Blue Devils on Thursday.
Duke has had a bit of success of their own recently. In their last game, No. 7 Syracuse came down to Durham last Friday, but the Orange were blown away by an energized Blue Devils offense that won a 5-3 shootout. High-scoring games have been pretty common for Duke so far this season. They scored six on Furman and have doubled up their opponents in the goal department this season.
Nick Pariano was a standout once again in the Syracuse game for the Blue Devils. He scored twice, including tallying Duke's first goal of the game and also the game-winner. It was an effort good enough to earn him ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Duke actually doesn't take a ton of shots, but they turn shots on goal to goals at an efficient 38% clip. Considering their frequent success Notre Dame will have to be quick on defense to keep the Duke forwards from getting too confident with their shots.
Junior forward Matthew Roou has been leading Notre Dame’s offensive efforts so far this season with seven goals. Fellow junior forward Eno Nto is behind him with four. While Duke’s offensive efforts have made them successful this year, Notre Dame’s balanced attack has led to strong wins. Notre Dame has only been scoring 1.8 goals per game (tied for seventh in the ACC), but has been keeping their opponents to 0.7 (second), as senior goalkeeper Brian Dowd has only allowed seven in 900 minutes of play.
With Notre Dame ranked No. 11 in the country, Duke will be their second big test of the season as they try to impress the tournament committee. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium. It is available to watch on ACC Network Extra.
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Irish prepare for big home match against No. 14 Duke
Irish senior goalkeeper Bryan Dowd rises to punch a ball in a contest against No. 2 Indiana. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
