A converted penalty kick from Brandon Aubrey in stoppage time gave the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team a 2-1 win over the Mexico Under-17 national team on Friday evening in front of 3,292 fans at Alumni Stadium.
Notre Dame went up 1-0 in the 66th minute when Farina played the ball ahead to Jon Gallagher and he dribbled to just inside the penalty box and hammered home the goal.
The match was Notre Dame’s final contest of the spring exhibition season. This marked the 10th time in the last 11 years that the Fighting Irish have played host to a Mexican national team (either U20 or U17). Notre Dame is 7-2-1 in those affairs, including three straight victories.
“This is a great event,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “It’s always a fun way to finish your spring season. I thought we played well in pockets. We opened the game well and had good spells.”
Notre Dame controlled much of the possession in the first half of Friday’s match and had a few good looks early on. In the fourth minute, forward Jeffrey Farina worked his way deep into the box and fired off a shot that was deflected over the crossbar. In the 18th minute Jon Gallagher crossed the ball to Farina who had his shot from eight yards out tipped over the crossbar.