No. 23 Notre Dame men’s soccer played conference foe Virginia Tech to a 1-1 draw at Alumni Stadium on Friday evening, moving to 5-2-2 on its homestand. The Irish found the scoreboard first through a 21st-minute corner kick. The in-swinging service from junior midfielder Nolan Spicer found senior forward Wyatt Borso unchecked at the back post, and the Aurora, Illinois native made no mistake for his team-leading fourth goal of the campaign. Virginia Tech would find a corner kick header goal of their own in the 83rd-minute to split the spoils.
Summing up his thoughts post-game, eighth-year Irish head coach Chad Riley said, “I’m really proud of the group. I told them they can be disappointed with the result, but I think the performance was good.” Riley was particularly impressed with his team’s ability to create set piece opportunities, as well as defend pressure from a big, attack-focused Virginia Tech side.
Borso’s goal was Notre Dame’s 17th this season, 10 of which have now come from set pieces, including six from the corner spot. The Irish have been less direct in their attack this season in the absence of Matthew Roou, leading the program to prioritize converting outside the run of play. Riley noted the efficacy of both aspects of those plays, saying, “The deliveries have been consistent and the guys have done a good job with their runs and creating those little spaces. When those two things go together, you know they’re taking [set pieces] seriously.”
The Irish rode the momentum of set piece goal number 10 towards controlling the middle hour of the match, building up nicely to orchestrate numerous chances on goal. “We came out in the second half and really did create some great opportunities and on another day, maybe you get that second goal and see the victory through,” Riley said.
With the Hokies threatening, twice hitting the crossbar and forcing Irish sophomore goalkeeper Blake Kelly to bat a potential own goal off his endline, Notre Dame decided to sit back and try to defend their way to three points. Over the final 20 minutes, Virginia Tech sent waves of crosses into the Notre Dame box, eventually capitalizing on their sixth corner kick of the match. “They’ve got a big team. They’re just going to dump everything in the box and so at some point they might get one on a set piece,” Riley said.
Virginia Tech nearly added another in the waning minutes of the match, but Kelly stretched to full extension for his second save of the evening to secure the draw. All told, it was a relatively even match with Virginia Tech outshooting Notre Dame 14-8. The Hokies moved to 3-2-4 overall and 0-2-2 in league play, while the Irish now sit at 6-2-3 overall with a 2-1-1 conference mark, good for sixth in the ACC.
The Hokies are back in action on Tuesday evening as they prepare to host in-state opponent Longwood for a non-conference clash. They will continue their ACC slate next Saturday by welcoming Louisville to Blacksburg for senior day.
Notre Dame will conclude its seven-game homestand on Tuesday when they play host to the Green Bay Phoenix. The Irish will then endure a crucial two-game stretch of talented ACC opponents, first traveling to Raleigh to battle No. 2 NC State and then returning home to South Bend to duel No. 16 Virginia. Commenting on his team’s approach heading into a critical month of October, Riley said, “We’ve talked about being gritty and being tough. At Notre Dame, you’ve just got to be tough. And I think this is a tough group.”
Tuesday’s match against Green Bay is set for a 7 p.m. kick with streaming available on ACCNX.
