After a pair of losses the week before, the Falcons soccer team made the trip to South Bend, Indiana to face the number one squad in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, on Tuesday night.
The Falcons gave it everything that had in this one, as they were in the game the whole way until at the very end when the Fighting Irish pulled away.
“We had a good plan to get into their box,” Falcons head coach Eric Nichols said.
The Falcons got the first shot of the game at the seven minute mark as junior midfielder Peter Pugliese got a pass from Junior Tate Robertson and fired it on cage only to be blocked.
At the 16 minute mark sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia got to show off as Notre Dame got back-to-back corner kicks. Each one was fended off by Mwembia.
“We certainly conceded some possession tonight,” Nichols said. “They were getting a lot of corners, which they are dangerous on, but we defended those well.”
Then the boys from South Bend got the opening salvo at the 21 minute mark as Jon Gallagher got the ball past Mwembia.
At the 29 minute mark of the game, the Falcons got a familiar face back as key cog on the back line as junior defender Moe Mustafa checked in for the first time in three matches while being caught by injury.
Three minutes before the first half ended, Notre Dame ripped a shot that was saved by a goaltenders best friend, the goalpost.
Finally, at the 51 minute mark sophomore forward Chris Brennan put the biscuit in the basket. The ball was played up by Mwembia to senior forward Keaton Reynolds to Brennan. Brennan ran the ball up field before depositing it into the right side of the net. “I don’t usually do a player of the match, but if I did it would be Keaton tonight,” Coach Nichols said.
The Falcons have relied on a few freshmen to relieve the starters at times, but freshman midfielder Zach Buescher has been a staple in the lineup. At the 73 minute mark Buescher got a pass from fellow freshman Chris Sullivan, and got a tough shot off that just sailed wide.
The Falcons’ hearts were broken at the 77 minute mark as Notre Dame retook the lead to make the score the 2-1 that it would finish at.
The Falcons tried to knot the score up at the 86 minute mark at Pugliese got the ball and found Reynolds who then got the ball to Brennan who then got called for a foul.
“Notre Dame is number one in the country for a reason,” Nichols said. “We went toe-to-toe with them… I’m definitely pleased with the demeanor we took on this game.”
The Falcons next take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday at 7 p.m. in Columbus.
