The Notre Dame Men’s Club Soccer team played Purdue at home on Sunday. On a day that was supposed to be a double header for the Irish against Purdue and Michigan, the Irish were able to narrow their focus to Purdue after Michigan declared they would be unable to make the trip to South Bend. To begin the game, the Irish displayed hesitance and played at a slow tempo. But early in the first half the Irish overcame their nerves, which enabled them to control possession of the ball and threaten Purdue on the counterattack. Senior Mike O’Brien netted a breakaway goal thanks to a pinpoint through ball from senior captain Brian Roddy around the 15-minute mark. Shortly after, O’Brien scored his second goal off of a corner kick to put the Irish up 2-0. The Irish showed no signs of slowing down for the final portion of the first half. Junior Tommy Flame headed in a third goal thanks to another beautiful corner kick played by Senior Matt Hickey. The remainder of the game was played much more evenly with both teams exchanging chances back and forth. While the Irish were able to score a fourth goal off of a penalty kick by O’Brien, which completed his hat trick, they also allowed Purdue to score three late goals as many of the resting Irish starters watched from the bench. Despite an unnecessarily crazy finish, the final whistle blew, ending the game in a 4-3 Irish victory. Although the second half proved to be alarming and dissatisfying for the Irish, the win was a good result and should serve as a nice start to another Irish Club Soccer season.