# 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team

The 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the program's 46th season. It was the program's eleventh season competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish were led by head coach Chad Riley, in his sixth year and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
The Fighting Irish finished the season 13–3–6 overall and 6–0–2 in ACC play to finish in first place in the Coastal Division. As the first overall seed in the ACC Tournament and received a First Round bye. They were defeated by Louisville in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the second overall seed. After a First Round bye, they defeated Kentucky in the Second Round, Western Michigan on penalties in the Third Round, and Indiana in the Quarterfinals to qualify for their third College Cup in program history. They defeated Oregon State to reach the final where they lost 2–1 to Clemson.

## Background

The Fighting Irish finished the season 8–7–2 overall and 3–4–1 in ACC play to finish in fifth place in the Coastal Division. As the ninth overall seed in the ACC Tournament they were defeated by Clemson in the First Round. They were not invited to the NCAA Tournament.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Reese Mayer | 3 | DF | 6'2" | 175 | Senior | Baltimore, Maryland | Graduated |
| Aaron Hill | 4 | DF | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Albuquerque, NM | Graduated |
| PJ Bujouves | 22 | MF | 5'8" | 155 | Senior | Toronto, Ontario | Graduated |
| Ben Giacobello | 26 | MF | 5'9" | 145 | Graduate Student | San Clemente, California | Graduated |

### Players arriving
#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Nicholas Bartlett MF | USA | Bloomingdale, Illinois | Sockers FC Chicago |
| Jack Flanagan FW | USA | Rancho Palos Verdes, California | Pateadores |
| Lukas Kamrath DF | USA | Longboat Key, Florida | Tampa Bay United |
| Sean McDowd DF | USA | Lake Oswego, Oregon | Portland Timbers Academy |
| Jack Ross DF | USA | Naples, Florida | Shattuck St. Mary’s Academy |
| Nolan Spicer MF | USA | Bay Village, Ohio | Team Challenger FC |
| Nate Zimmermann FW | USA | Mendham, New Jersey | Players Development Academy |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 24, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | ITA | Simone Baravelli |
| 1 | GK | USA | Owen Cornell |
| 2 | DF | USA | Mitch Ferguson |
| 3 | DF | USA | Sean McDowd |
| 4 | DF | USA | Jack Ross |
| 5 | DF | USA | Kyle Genenbacher |
| 6 | MF | USA | Wyatt Lewis |
| 7 | MF | USA | Ethan O'Brien |
| 8 | MF | CAN | Matthew Radivojsa |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Eno Nto |
| 10 | MF | USA | Matthew McLaughlin |
| 11 | FW | USA | Daniel Russo |
| 12 | MF | GHA | Daniel Boateng |
| 13 | MF | USA | Bryce Boneau |
| 14 | DF | USA | Mo Williams |
| 15 | DF | NIR | Paddy Burns |
| 16 | MF | GHA | KK Baffour |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | USA | Mateo Acosta |
| 18 | DF | USA | Josh Ramsey |
| 19 | FW | USA | Michael Rossi |
| 20 | FW | USA | Nate Zimmermann |
| 21 | FW | USA | Matthew Roou |
| 22 | MF | USA | Nolan Spicer |
| 23 | FW | USA | Alex Salvino |
| 24 | MF | USA | Sebastian Green |
| 25 | MF | USA | Nico Bartlett |
| 26 | FW | USA | Jack Flanagan |
| 27 | FW | USA | Wyatt Borso |
| 28 | FW | USA | Nicholas Legendre |
| 29 | DF | USA | Cleveland Sellers IV |
| 30 | GK | USA | Liam Egan |
| 31 | GK | USA | Bryan Dowd |
| 32 | DF | USA | Lukas Kamrath |
| 33 | MF | USA | Michael Pellegrino |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | Jack Swarbrick |
| Head Coach | Chad Riley |
| Assistant Coach | Mike Graczyk |
| Assistant Coach | Jeff Rowland |
| Director of Operations | Chris Rolfe |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 13* 1:00 p.m. | | at No. 24 Saint Louis | | – | Hermann Stadium St. Louis, MO |
| August 16* 7:00 p.m. | | Holy Cross | | – | Alumni Stadium Notre Dame, IN |
| August 19* 7:00 p.m. | | Butler | | – | Alumni Stadium Notre Dame, IN |
| Regular Season ||||||
| August 24* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 2 Indiana | T 1–1 | 0–0–1 | Alumni Stadium (2,092) Notre Dame, IN |
| August 27* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | IUPUI | W 5–0 | 1–0–1 | Alumni Stadium (512) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 1* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | NIU | W 1–0 | 2–0–1 | Alumni Stadium (1,301) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 5* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 20 | Detroit Mercy | W 1–0 | 3–0–1 | Alumni Stadium (204) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 9 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 21 | Clemson | W 3–2 | 4–0–1 (1–0–0) | Alumni Stadium (1,703) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 12* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 10 | Michigan State | L 0–1 | 4–1–1 | Alumni Stadium (532) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 15 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 10 | at North Carolina | T 1–1 | 4–1–2 (1–0–1) | Dorrance Field (4,298) Chapel Hill, NC |
| September 19* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 15 | at No. 4 Akron | T 0–0 | 4–1–3 | FirstEnergy Stadium (2,535) Akron, OH |
| September 22 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 15 | Virginia | W 3–1 | 5–1–3 (2–0–1) | Alumni Stadium (1,710) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 1 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 13 | at NC State | W 3–1 | 6–1–3 (3–0–1) | Dail Soccer Field (1,615) Raleigh, NC |
| October 7 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 11 | No. 14 Duke | W 1–0 | 7–1–3 (4–0–1) | Alumni Stadium (1,451) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 10* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 8 | Oberlin | W 6–0 | 8–1–3 | Alumni Stadium (229) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 13 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 8 | at Virginia Tech | W 1–0 | 9–1–3 (5–0–1) | Thompson Field (2,115) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 17* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 6 | at Michigan | W 3–0 | 10–1–3 | Alumni Stadium (1,893) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 20 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 6 | at No. 3 Wake Forest | T 1–1 | 10–1–4 (5–0–2) | Spry Stadium (2,261) Winston-Salem, NC |
| October 27 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 5 | No. 20 Pittsburgh | W 6–0 | 11–1–4 (6–0–2) | Alumni Stadium (2,224) Notre Dame, IN |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 5 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (1) No. 2 | (9) Louisville Quarterfinals | L 3–4 | 11–2–4 | Alumni Stadium (794) Notre Dame, IN |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 19 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) No. 4 | Kentucky Second Round | W 2–0 | 12–2–4 | Alumni Stadium (1,243) Notre Dame, IN |
| November 26 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) No. 4 | No. 16 Western Michigan Third Round | T 0–0 (4–2 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 12–2–5 | Alumni Stadium (1,768) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 2 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) No. 4 | Indiana Quarterfinals | T 1–1 (5–4 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 12–2–6 | Alumni Stadium (3,108) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 8 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) No. 4 | vs. Oregon State Semifinals | W 1–0 | 13–2–6 | Lynn Family Stadium (3,853) Louisville, KY |
| December 11 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | (2) No. 4 | vs. (9) No. 14 Clemson Final | L 1–2 | 13–3–6 | Lynn Family Stadium (4,449) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Paddy Burns | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 26, 2023 |
| Matthew Roou | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | August 29 |
| Bryan Dowd | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | September 26 |
| Eno Nto | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | October 31 |
| Chad Riley | ACC Coach of the Year | November 8, 2023 |
| Bryan Dowd | ACC Goalkeeper of the Year | November 8, 2023 |
| Matthew Roou | All-ACC First Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Bryan Dowd | All-ACC First Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Eno Nto | All-ACC Second Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Bryce Boneau | All-ACC Third Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Kyle Genenbacher | All-ACC Third Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Nolan Spicer | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 8, 2023 |

## 2024 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Bryan Dowd | Chicago Fire | 1 | 6 | GK |
| Bryce Boneau | Nashville SC | 3 | 75 | MF |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | — | — | 20 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 2 (1) |
| TopDrawer Soccer | — | — | — | 20 | — | 22 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 |