# 2021 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team

The 2021 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the program's 44th season. It was the program's ninth season competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish were led by head coach Chad Riley, in his fourth year and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
The Fighting Irish finished the season 14–5–5 overall and 4–2–2 in ACC play to finish in third place in the Coastal Division. As the fifth overall seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated NC State in the First Round, Louisville on penalties in the Second Round, Pittsburgh in the Semifinals, and Duke in the Final to win the tournament. This was their first tournament title after moving to the ACC in 2013. As tournament champions, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the fourth overall seed. After a First Round bye, they defeated Villanova in the Second Round, Wake Forest in the Third Round, and Pittsburgh in the Quarterfianls via penalty shootout before losing to Clemson in the Semifinals again via penalty shootout to end their season.

## Background

The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.
The Fighting Irish finished the fall season 5–4–0 and 3–2–0 in ACC play to finish in third place in the North Division. In the ACC Tournament they defeated North Carolina in the Quarterfinals before losing to Pittsburgh in the Semifinals. They finished the spring season 3–5–0 and 1–5–0 in ACC play, to finish in sixth place in the Coastal Division. They were not invited to the NCAA Tournament.
In the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, the Fighting Irish had one player drafted: Aiden McFadden.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Keagan McLaughlin | 1 | GK | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | Zanesville, OH | Graduated |
| Mohammad Abualnadi | 5 | DF | 6'1" | 165 | Sophomore | Leawood, KS | — |
| Aiden McFadden | 10 | MF | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | West Chester, PA | Graduated; Drafted 59th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Atlanta United |
| Simon Roennecke | 11 | FW | 6'0" | 165 | Senior | Pleasant Ridge, MI | Graduated |
| Patrick Coleman | 13 | MF | 5'11" | 155 | Junior | Antioch, IL | — |
| Senan Farrelly | 17 | DF | 6'1" | 196 | Graduate Student | Havertown, PA | Graduated |
| Townsend Meyer | 18 | MF | 6'0" | 169 | Senior | San Diego, CA | Graduated |
| Jacob Huber | 24 | DF | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Lebanon, OH | Graduated |
| Zach Dedrick | 25 | DF | 6'3" | 180 | Sophomore | Wilton, CT | — |
| Sam Guinane | 30 | GK | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | San Juan Capistrano, CA | — |

### Players arriving

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating |
| Mateo Acosta DF | USA | Skokie, IL | Chicago Fire | |
| Bryce Boneau MF | USA | Keller, TX | FC Dallas | |
| Liam Egan GK | USA | Louisville, KY | Bridgton Academy | |
| Kyle Genenbacher DF | USA | Farmington, MO | St. Louis FC U17 | |
| Eno Nto FW | ENG | Derby, England | Derby County FC | N/A |
| Joshua Ramsey DF | USA | Plano, TX | FC Dallas Academy | |
| Matthew Roou FW | USA | Germantown, WI | Indiana Fire Academy | |
| Michael Rossi FW | USA | Glen Ellyn, IL | Sockers FC | |
| Cleveland Sellers IV DF | USA | Charlotte, NC | Charlotte Independence SC | |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of February 10, 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Thomas Deslongchamps |
| 2 | DF | USA | Philip Quinton |
| 3 | DF | USA | Reese Mayer |
| 4 | DF | USA | Aaron Hill |
| 5 | MF | USA | Bryce Boneau |
| 6 | MF | USA | Michael Pellegrino |
| 7 | MF | USA | Ethan O'Brien |
| 8 | MF | CAN | Matthew Radivojsa |
| 9 | FW | USA | Tyler Shea |
| 10 | MF | USA | Matthew McLaughlin |
| 11 | FW | USA | Daniel Russo |
| 12 | MF | USA | Bryan Silver |
| 13 | DF | USA | Cleveland Sellers IV |
| 14 | MF | USA | Michael Lynch |
| 15 | DF | NIR | Paddy Burns |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Eno Nto |
| 17 | DF | USA | Mateo Acosta |
| 18 | DF | USA | Josh Ramsey |
| 19 | FW | USA | Michael Rossi |
| 21 | FW | USA | Matthew Roou |
| 22 | MF | CAN | PJ Bujouves |
| 23 | FW | USA | Alex Salvino |
| 24 | DF | USA | Kyle Genenbacher |
| 26 | MF | USA | Ben Giacobello |
| 27 | FW | USA | Jack Lynn |
| 28 | FW | USA | Dawson McCartney |
| 29 | MF | CAN | Mohamed Omar |
| 30 | GK | USA | Liam Egan |
| 31 | GK | USA | Bryan Dowd |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | Jack Swarbrick |
| Head Coach | Chad Riely |
| 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 18* 7:00 p.m. | | Butler | | — | Alumni Stadium Notre Dame, IN |
| August 23* 7:00 p.m. | | St. Thomas | | — | Alumni Stadium Notre Dame, IN |
| Regular Season ||||||
| August 27* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 2 Indiana | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 0–1–0 | Alumni Stadium (2,347) Notre Dame, IN |
| August 30* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | NIU | W 2–0 | 1–1–0 | Alumni Stadium (456) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 3* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 21 Kentucky | L 0–1 | 1–2–0 | Bell Soccer Complex (1,589) Lexington, KY |
| September 10 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Boston College | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 1–2–1 (0–0–1) | Newton Soccer Complex (927) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| September 14* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Michigan State | L 3–4 | 1–3–1 | Alumni Stadium (351) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 17 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | NC State | W 1–0 | 2–3–1 (1–0–1) | Alumni Stadium (1,001) Notre Dame, IN |
| September 21* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Michigan | W 3–1 | 3–3–1 | U-M Soccer Stadium (317) Ann Arbor, MI |
| September 24 7:00 p.m. | | at No. 12 Virginia Tech | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 3–4–1 (1–1–1) | Thompson Field (1,423) Blacksburg, VA |
| September 28* 7:00 p.m. | | Trine | W 13–0 | 4–4–1 | Alumni Stadium (318) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 1 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Virginia | W 2–1 | 5–4–1 (2–1–1) | Alumni Stadium (1,213) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 5* 7:00 p.m. | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 4–0 | 6–4–1 | Alumni Stadium (403) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 9 7:00 p.m. | | at No. 21 Clemson | W 2–0 | 7–4–1 (3–1–1) | Riggs Field (1,500) Clemson, SC |
| October 16 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 7 Pittsburgh | W 1–0 $^{2OT}$ | 8–4–1 (4–1–1) | Alumni Stadium (385) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 19* 7:00 p.m. | No. 20 | UIC | W 3–0 | 9–4–1 | Alumni Stadium (259) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 22 7:00 p.m. | No. 20 | No. 18 Duke | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 9–4–2 (4–1–2) | Alumni Stadium (1,037) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 29 4:30 p.m., ESPNU | No. 11 | at North Carolina | L 1–3 | 9–5–2 (4–2–2) | Dorrance Field (1,481) Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 3 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | (5) No. 23 | (12) NC State First Round | W 1–0 | 10–5–2 | Alumni Stadium (174) South Bend, IN |
| November 7 6:00 p.m., ACCN | (5) No. 23 | at (4) Louisville Quarterfinals | T 0–0 (3–0 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 10–5–3 | Lynn Stadium (582) Louisville, KY |
| November 10 5:00 p.m., ACCN | (5) No. 20 | at (1) No. 5 Pittsburgh Semifinals | W 2–0 | 11–5–3 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,626) Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 14 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | (5) No. 20 | vs. (3) No. 11 Duke Final | W 2–0 | 12–5–3 | WakeMed Soccer Park (2,737) Cary, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 21 5:00 p.m. | (4) No. 20 | Villanova Second Round | W 3–0 | 13–5–3 | Alumni Stadium (891) South Bend, IN |
| November 28 5:00 p.m. | (4) No. 20 | Wake Forest Third Round | W 2–0 | 14–5–3 | Alumni Stadium (481) South Bend, IN |
| December 4 5:00 p.m. | (4) No. 20 | (5) No. 5 Pittsburgh Quarterfinals | T 1–1 (4–2 PKs) | 14–5–4 | Alumni Stadium (1,303) South Bend, IN |
| December 10 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | (4) No. 20 | vs. (8) No. 9 Clemson Semifinals | T 1–1 (4–5 PKs) | 14–5–5 | WakeMed Soccer Park (10,132) Cary, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Jack Lynn | Preseason All-ACC Watchlist | August 18 |
| Daniel Russo | Co-Offensive Player of the Week | October 13 |
| Philip Quinton | Defensive Player of the Week | October 13 |
| Paddy Burns | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | October 19 |
| Trace Alphin | ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week | November 2 |
| Jack Lynn | All-ACC First Team | November 10 |
| Philip Quinton | All-ACC Third Team | November 10 |
| Josh Ramsey | ACC All-Freshman Team | November 10 |
| Matthew Roou | ACC All-Freshman Team | November 10 |
| Bryan Dowd | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 15 |
| Jack Lynn | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 15 |
| Dawson McCartney | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 15 |
| Philip Quinton | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 15 |
| Dawson McCartney | ACC Tournament MVP | November 15 |

## 2022 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Jack Lynn | Orlando City | 1 | 18 | FW |
| Mohamed Omar | Colorado Rapids | 1 | 23 | MF |
| Philip Quinton | Columbus Crew | 1 | 25 | DF |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received 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 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 20 | 11 | 23 | 20 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 4 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 4 |