The 2021 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team represented the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

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 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. The Fighting Irish were led by head coach Chad Riley, in his fourth year and played their home games at

Alumni Stadium Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the lower campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately west of downtown Boston. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles. Its present seating capacity is 44,500. Offic ...

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Coll ...

. 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 North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

in the First Round,

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

in the Second Round,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in the Semifinals, and

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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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, 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 North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the Quarterfinals before losing to

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 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call and ...

, the Fighting Irish had one player drafted: Aiden McFadden.

Player movement

Players leaving

Players arriving

Squad

Roster

Team management

Source:

Schedule

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Awards and honors

2022 MLS Super Draft

Source:

Rankings

References

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer team represents the University of Notre Dame in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's soccer. The team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is currently coached by Chad Rile ...

Notre Dame NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament College Cup seasons