LOUISVILLE, Ky. \u2014 Notre Dame men\u2019s soccer has thrived under pressure all year.
Even with Oregon State throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them, the Fighting Irish withstood the onslaught.
That resilience has Notre Dame on the brink of the program\u2019s second national championship.
The Fighting Irish (13-2-6) defeated Oregon State, 1-0, in a College Cup semifinal game Friday night. They will play ACC rival Clemson in the championship game Monday night (6 p.m., ESPNU). The Tigers defeated West Virginia, 1-0, in the other semifinal contest Friday.
\u201cWe knew it was going to be a hard game,\u201d Notre Dame coach Chad Riley said. \u201cWe\u2019re just super proud of the team and how they handled the 90 minutes.\u201d
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Notre Dame\u2019s mettle was on display at its fullest during a sequence midway through the second half.
Leading by a goal, the Irish defense was put on its heels by an Oregon State rush up the left sideline. After a crossing pass pushed Notre Dame goalkeeper Bryan Dowd out of position, Beavers sophomore Arnau Farnos had a chance to score. Notre Dame defensemen Josh Ramsey was able to get in front of the net, though, using his body to block Farnos\u2019 shot.
The ball ricocheted off Ramsey and back to Farnos. The two both ran toward it and connected at the same time, with the ball bouncing right back in front of the net. Oregon State\u2019s Ellis Spikner ran in to try and score, with Dowd lunging off the ground to get in front of it.
A fourth chance came from the Beavers\u2019 Dante Williams, but the Irish defense recovered in time for Dowd to fall on the ball, ending the wild sequence.
\u201cIt\u2019s just the mentality of this team,\u201d Ramsey said. \u201cWe\u2019ll die out there for each other, and it just happened to be me to make that block. I know every single player on that field would\u2019ve done the same exact thing. That\u2019s the character of our team.\u201d
Oregon State kept the pressure up for the next several minutes, with a header from Turner Humphrey just going over the crossbar with 13 minutes remaining.
Notre Dame\u2019s defense wouldn\u2019t relent, though, as the Irish held on for the victory.
After a first half that saw only a handful of chances from both sides, Notre Dame struck six minutes into the second stanza. Bryce Boneau corralled the ball near midfield and sent a pass to teammate Wyatt Lewis. The sophomore had a seam toward the net, dribbling the ball and drawing the attention of Oregon State defenders.
This setup a passing opportunity for Lewis to Nto, who was wide open in front of the net. The junior played the pass off his right foot, with it slightly popping up off the ground. It was just low enough to where Nto was able to angle his body and slap a right-footed shot past Beavers goalkeeper Luis Castillo.
With 39:35 showing on the clock, the Irish led, 1-0.
\u201cOn the bench, I was actually talking to Wyatt, who assisted me \u2013 I noticed the ball was bouncing a couple of times in the box in the first half, and I said, \u2018I live for those kinds of chances,\u2019\u201d Nto said. \u201cWhen he got me the ball, he\u2019s such a good player that I just had to make sure I was in the right place at the right time. He found me, and I didn\u2019t really think about it to be honest. Just tried to get good connection, and it went in.\u201d
It was Oregon State\u2019s first appearance in the College Cup. The Beavers (11-6-5) were hit with some adversity Thursday when head coach Greg Dalby and captain Javier Armas were suspended four and two games, respectively, for playing Armas illegally in Oregon State\u2019s win over North Carolina in the quarterfinals.
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Armas had picked up his eighth yellow card the game prior against SMU, which should\u2019ve triggered an automatic one game suspension. The senior played, however, prompting an NCAA investigation into the situation.
Assistant coaches Sergi Nus and Jarred Brookins served as interim co-head coaches for Oregon State Friday.
\u201cI think we just tried to keep the routine consistent,\u201d Brookins said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone about things the same way over the course of our tournament run here. \u2026 The only difference (Friday) was that coach wasn\u2019t on the sideline. He was still able to give the pregame talk.\u201d<\/p>\n