Notre Dame men’s soccer extended their winning streak to three on Friday night, rolling past No. 12 Louisville for a 3-0 victory. The Cardinals entered Alumni Stadium boasting a stout defense that had only conceded once this season, but head coach Chad Riley’s Irish found the back of the net three times over the final 45 minutes.
Riley, who is in his eighth season leading Notre Dame, has guided his team through a mix of highs and lows already this year. The Irish won just one of their first four matches, dropping points at home in a disappointing 0-0 draw with IU Indy, as well as a 1-0 rivalry loss to 4th-ranked Indiana. Before beginning ACC play at perennial power Pittsburgh last Friday, Notre Dame’s lone win on the campaign had come against No. 14 Oregon State, despite being outshot 16-3.
After struggling to score in the non-conference, Notre Dame dominated the Panthers offensively to win 2-0. They followed up that result with a 3-1 victory over Omaha last Tuesday, setting up a high stakes duel with Louisville for Friday in primetime.
For the Cardinals, a blazing hot start to 2025, in which they shut out their first five opponents, vaulted them into the top 10 of the national polls. They picked up consecutive 1-0 wins over No. 1 Stanford and 2024 College Cup semifinalist Ohio State before falling 1-0 to Virginia, meaning they entered South Bend at 1-1 in the ACC.
On the pitch, the first 45 minutes came and went without any real threat from either side. Both sides fired five shots, with each goalkeeper, Louisville redshirt junior Alex Svetanoff and Notre Dame sophomore Blake Kelly, having to make two stops. Notre Dame held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 3-2, at the intermission.
The Irish raised the intensity coming out of the break, dominating possession and outshooting the Cardinals 14-9 over the final 45. They first broke through in the 64th minute, as senior forward Wyatt Borso found the back of the net for the third time this season off a double rebound. Freshman forward Luke Burton earned the assist, after his point-blank attempt was deflected right to the foot of Borso, who made no mistake slotting his shot into the top netting. After missing the entirety of his junior season with an injury, Borso has now found the stat sheet in three straight outings.
Notre Dame doubled their advantage a little more than 60 seconds later, thanks to some individual brilliance from junior midfielder Nolan Spicer. The Bay Village, Ohio native collected a loose ball on the right edge of the 18-yard box, before slicing around his defender and rocketing in a left-footed bender to make the lead 2-0 in the 65th minute. The unassisted strike was Spicer’s first goal of the season, and the fifth of his career.
When asked how that goal stacks up with the others in his career, Spicer joked, “I haven’t scored too many for the Irish, so it’s probably up there with one of my best, one of my favorites.” He also broke down what he saw on the play, adding, “It popped out and Sean [McDowd] played it to me. I saw I was one-on-one with the guy so I just squared him up, tried to get it on my left foot and hopefully find the back of the net.”
Kelly made four more impressive saves throughout the second half to preserve the lead, before Notre Dame sealed matters with a third goal in the 88th minute, after junior forward Jack Flanagan forced a turnover in the Cardinals’ defensive midfield. Flanagan fired a shot that was deflected directly to freshman forward Ren Sylvester, who crushed his first career goal past Svetanoff and into the bottom left corner.
“He’s a big-time goalie. I think to do things in our league, in our season, you need a goalie because you play against good players week in and week out. He played another phenomenal game,” Riley said of Kelly.
Riley was also pleased with the development of his attack, saying, “I think we’re starting to create the chances. They’re good defensively, but I do think we created some good moments and put pressure on their goal, and then I think the guys were clinical in their finishing.”
Notre Dame, which should appear in the upcoming rankings for the first time this season, faces another two-match week. The seven-match homestand continues Tuesday, with the Wright State Raiders on tap. After that, the Irish look to hold steady atop the ACC table with the SMU Mustangs coming to South Bend on Saturday evening.
“There will be a little bit of a distraction, and that’s okay, but I think the big thing is they’ll enjoy it for a night, and they know they want to get back to work and ready to compete on Tuesday,” said Riley on the coming week.
Spicer also stated that the team’s approach will stay consistent despite the increase in external noise, saying, “We just got to keep doing exactly what we’re doing. Just show up every day and work hard and stick together.”
The Raiders have struggled mightily thus far in 2025, especially defensively, conceding at least twice in each of their first seven matches. Sitting at 0-6-1, Wright State is still in search of its first win. Against a common opponent, Wright State was beaten 2-1 by IU Indy last Saturday. Tuesday night’s showdown between the Irish and Raiders is set for a 7 p.m. first touch from Alumni Stadium.
