Notre Dame men’s soccer set for College Cup semifinal
With seven straight wins and an ACC championship in hand, and now one of only four NCAA men’s soccer teams still standing, No. 4 Notre Dame (14-5-4) will open College Cup play Friday in a national semifinal match against No. 8 Clemson (15-5-1) at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The match starts at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPNU.
This is the 23rd NCAA Championship appearance for Notre Dame, but only the second time in program history it has reached the College Cup.
The Irish won the 2013 national championship in their other College Cup appearance, defeating Maryland 2-1 in the championship game.
Led by red-hot goalkeeper Bryan Dowd, Notre Dame pitched six shutouts during its seven-game winning streak and outscored those opponents 11-1.
In all, the Irish pitched 13 shutouts this season, with Dowd in net for 10 of those.
The winner of Notre Dame and Clemson will play Friday’s other semifinal winner (8:30 p.m., ESPNU) between No. 2 Washington (17-1-2) and No. 3 Georgetown (18-2-1).
Irish head coach Chad Riley said his team was relaxed and ready as it prepared to leave town after classes on Thursday.
“The team is excited to keep competing,” Riley said. “They love being together and competing and they’re excited to get back after it.”
This will be the 12th meeting between Notre Dame and Clemson in a series where the Irish hold a 6-4-1 advantage, including a 2-0 Irish win at Clemson on Oct. 9.
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