Not only is the Notre Dame soccer team getting a big boost with the addition of Oak Park (Ill) Fenwick high school goalkeeper Bryan Dowd, but the Fighting Irish football team could very well benefit from this pickup as well.

The 6-3, 180-pounder committed to and signed with Notre Dame over scholarship offers from Michigan, Northwestern and Virginia, just to name a few. This is a huge pickup for the Fighting Irish men’s soccer team. Widely regarded as the No. 1 soccer scouting service nationally, Top Drawer Soccer ranks Dowd as the No. 1 goalkeeper in the entire country and No. 11 overall player heading to play at the collegiate level from the class of 2020. This is a young man that plays for the FC United club team, as well as the U-17 US National Team, which is the best of the best at this level. On the football field, he was a First-Team All-Conference specialist after registering touchbacks on 39 of his 45 kickoffs, converting all 29 PATs and four of five field goals on the year. In addition, he averaged over 40 yards per punt this season and successfully connected on both of his onside kick opportunities.

"So, I've been on the United States U-17 national team over the past year. I've been called into multiple camps and have been able to compete most recently in the Nike friendlies at IMG Academy, which has been great,” said Dowd. “In terms of my national ranking, which is done by Top Drawer Soccer, I'm the No. 1 ranked goalie in the country that is heading to college. I'm also the No. 11 overall player for guys heading to play at the collegiate level. On this national team, I'm playing with kids from all over the world, some professional players, some heading to college as well, it's all a really high level of play."

For Dowd, playing at the collegiate level is something he’s always wanted to do and he couldn’t be more excited. However, knowing that he’ll be playing for the University of Notre Dame, well, that adds a whole new level of excitement for him and his family.

"First of all, obviously it's an amazing athletic program. Success with pretty much every single team. The other two big factors were academics and faith,” said Dowd, when asked what went into his decision to attend Notre Dame. “I go to a private school now, which is pretty rigorous, and my mom's a high school teacher, so has always stressed the importance of getting a degree and getting a good degree, one that will set you up for life. Then with faith, I've always been a faith-driven person, so I just felt connected to God while in South Bend. That's pretty much it."

As a child, Dowd watched Notre Dame football on the television and has been around the program and campus for years. His parents are grandparents are big Notre Dame fans as well, so all of this is a big deal to those closest to him.

“I was a pretty big fan,” said Dowd of Notre Dame. “I remember my parents taking me to visit from when I was quite young. There's a few pictures of me standing in front of the dome for a few visits. I was definitely familiar with Notre Dame and pretty much fell in love with it from a young age.

"My grandparents and parents are kind of big-time Notre Dame fans, so I remember watching them on the TV,” he continued. “I don't really have a crystal clear memory of my first time there or my first game. They are definitely always on the TV on Saturdays. That I remember a lot."

Dowd doesn’t remember the first time he was in Notre Dame Stadium, but he does remember having a great time on campus watching an NBA game inside the Joyce. Older and more appreciative to everything he saw on campus that day, it was clear then that Notre Dame was going to be tough to beat if he had the chance to go to school there.

"So, the first time that I can remember was when the Chicago Bulls actually played against the Indiana Pacers in a preseason game at Notre Dame in 2012,” said Dowd. “I headed up there with my dad and I checked out the game and checked out the campus. I was there younger, but that's the trip that I really remember the most. I loved it there.

With a strong interest in Notre Dame and the fact that the Fighting Irish extended a scholarship offer to play soccer, attending school in South Bend was essentially a no-brainer.

"So, I had just got home from school and coach Riley, the head coach, he had texted me earlier that day and said, 'Bryan, give me a call whenever you have a chance in the afternoon.' So, I was definitely excited because I kind of got a few senses that it was coming,” said Dowd, as he thought back to the moment he landed the offer. “I got home, immediately went upstairs to go call him, and I got the great news of getting an offer. This one, it was definitely different from all the other ones. The feeling I got afterwards was just indescribable. After that conversation, I immediately called my mom, then my dad, then my grandparents, and pretty much told everyone I could."

"Yeah, I knew that I wanted to go to the school, pretty much no matter what,” continued Dowd, with a laugh. “Obviously, I still had to keep things open for a little bit, just in case, but I told my parents that there's no other offer I want. This is where I want to be."

Things with Notre Dame didn’t stop there. With his decision to play soccer out of the way, Dowd eventually started hearing from the football coaches about potentially playing both sports for the Fighting Irish. Initially thinking it was all some joke with his high school football coach, it turns out Notre Dame football is very serious about him.

"So, my high school football coach would always joke around with me and say, 'I'm going to get you to play football in college' and he knew Notre Dame was my No. 1,” said Dowd. “At the beginning of my junior year, it changed to, 'I'm going to get you to play Notre Dame football,' and I'd always joke around and say, 'Let me know when you talk to Brian Kelly.' Then one day, it was right before lunch, he pulls me aside and said, 'Bryan, I'm not kidding around. I talked to Notre Dame football about you.' I thought he was joking, but after talking with him, he said he had reached out to a few people and had gotten me on their radar. So, that's pretty much where it started.

"In the beginning, I was talking with Dave Peloquin. Then after that, it was Brian Polian,” Dowd added. “So, at first, they said that they had interest in me and they liked my film and they said that my coach had told them that I had never had a kicking session in my life. They said I was an unfinished, raw product and they really liked that. The fact that I'm able to get this far without any coaching or any instruction, I guess it showed my athleticism and my natural ability. They also said that they were interested in me since I was already committed to Notre Dame soccer. Plus, they had never dealt with a soccer / football player before, so there were a lot of conversations and things that we both needed to figure out. Is the soccer team okay with this? What's your schedule like now at home when you're in two seasons at once? So, just kind of figuring things out and throwing out some ideas of how things would work in the future if I was lucky enough to play both."

Since that point, Dowd and Notre Dame Special Teams Coordinator Brian Polian have developed a close relationship and talk regularly. It also meant a great deal to him to see the Fighting Irish assistant show up at the high school to spend some time with him.

"He's been great. He's a great guy,” said Dowd of Polian. “You can tell that not only is he a good coach, but he really cares about his players and the recruits and people he deals with. Some of the things we've talked about how my season went. He has even showed interest in soccer, which really struck me and showed that he's not just football-oriented, but actually cares about me. A lot of the things we talked about were related to my form in kicking and punting, who I'd be working with, and the next steps we are going to take in the process."

"It meant a lot to me,” continued Dowd, when asked about Polian visiting him at school this offseason. “The fact that he would take time out of his extremely busy schedule to come visit me and my coach, it really meant a lot. I know there are four and five-star recruits all across the country that they could have been with, but the fact that they chose to be with me and have the Notre Dame staff in the building, it really meant a lot and showed that they cared."

In time, Dowd will suit up for Notre Dame soccer and essentially walk-on to the football team. If all goes well and things pan out, don’t be surprised to one day see Dowd both on scholarship for Notre Dame football, as well as helping the Fighting Irish win games inside Notre Dame Stadium.