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 Quarterfinals 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 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 Skokie, IL Chicago Fire Keller, TX FC Dallas Louisville, KY Bridgton Academy Farmington, MO St. Louis FC U17 Derby, England Derby County FC N/A Plano, TX FC Dallas Academy Germantown, WI Indiana Fire Academy Glen Ellyn, IL Sockers FC Charlotte, NC Charlotte Independence SC
Squad
Roster
Team management Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick Head coach Chad Riely Assistant Coach Mike Graczyk Assistant Coach Jeff Rowland Director of Operations Chris Rolfe
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!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=6 style=""| Regular Season
!colspan=6 style=";"| ACC tournament
!colspan=6 style=";"| NCAA tournament
Awards and honors 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 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 Josh Ramsey ACC All-Freshman Team Matthew Roou Bryan Dowd ACC All-Tournament Team November 15 Jack Lynn Dawson McCartney Philip Quinton Dawson McCartney ACC Tournament MVP
2022 MLS Super Draft
Jack Lynn Orlando City 1 18 FW Mohamed Omar Colorado Rapids 1 23 MF Philip Quinton Columbus Crew 1 25 DF
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Rankings
References