Oct. 3, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Boston College’s Isaac Normesinu scored in the 15th minute and the Eagles withstood strong second-half pressure from top-ranked Notre Dame to capture a 1-0 win in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer action on Friday evening at a windy and rainy Alumni Stadium.
The goal came on the third and final shot of the match for Boston College (4-4-1, 1-3-0). Notre Dame outshot the Eagles 19-3, but the Irish could only put three attempts on frame.
“The second half was one-way traffic,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “We outshot them 19-3, but lost 1-0. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but that’s soccer sometimes. You have to move on. I thought the team played well in many facets of the game, but the score was very disappointing.”
Notre Dame (5-2-2, 2-1-1) goalkeeper Patrick Wall made his only two saves of the night in the fourth minute. The first attempt came off the foot of Zeiko Lewis and a diving Wall pushed the ball out of bounds. After the ensuing corner kick, Giuliano Frano directed a shot right at the Irish goalkeeper.
Notre Dame’s first chance of the evening came a minute later when forward Vince Cicciarelli placed a shot just wide of the far post from 10 yards away.
The goal sequence began when Normesinu intercepted a Fighting Irish pass and scored from 15 yards out. That was the first tally surrendered by Notre Dame in over 256 minutes of match time.
“It was a disappointing goal from our point of view,” Clark stated. “We shouldn’t have given that one away and it certainly gave them something to hang on to. We had several good chances in the first half after that.”
The best scoring opportunity for the Irish in the opening half occurred in the 39th minute when the ball was played ahead to forward Jeffrey Farina, who had beaten the Eagle defense but sent his 12-yard shot wide of the near post.
Notre Dame dominated possession in the second half and outshot Boston College 11-0 in the stanza. In the 52nd minute, Boston College goalkeeper Alex Kapp punched away a deep blast from Irish midfielder Patrick Hodan and Cicciarelli’s close-range follow-up was stopped as well.
As the rain intensified in the second half so did Notre Dame’s attack. In the 58th minute, Irish right back Luke Mishu sent a cross to Evan Panken and he headed the ball just wide of the near post from close range. Fighting Irish left back Max Lachowecki appeared he was going to deliver a goal in the 74th minute, but his shot from just outside the penalty box hit the far post.
“We need to score some goals and I think they’ll come,” Clark said. “Soccer is a cruel game sometimes. You just have to keep playing and keep your confidence. That’s the main thing, we can’t lose our confidence.”
The Fighting Irish return to the pitch Tuesday at Michigan. The non-conference showdown is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at the U-M Soccer Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Oct. 3, 2014
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
Boston College (4-4-1, 1-3-0) 1 0 – 1
#1 Notre Dame (5-2-2, 2-1-1) 0 0 – 0
Scoring: BC: Isaac Normesinu (unassisted) 14:02
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
–ND–