Oct. 2, 2014
BOSTON COLLEGE
(3-4-1, 0-3-0 ACC)
at
#1 NOTRE DAME
(5-1-2, 2-0-1 ACC)
Friday, Oct. 3 – 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
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#1 NOTRE DAME TO HOST BOSTON COLLEGE
– No. 1 Notre Dame will bring a four-game unbeaten streak into Friday’s showdown against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Boston College. The match is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium.
– The game will be broadcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN and live stats will be available via GameTracker on UND.com.
– Notre Dame has captured home wins over North Carolina (2-0) and VCU (1-0 in 2ot) in the past week.
– The Fighting Irish currently are in sole possession of first place in the ACC Coastal Division, while Boston College is in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
THE BC SERIES
– Friday will be the 12th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Boston College and the second as ACC counterparts. The Fighting Irish lead the series 7-3-1.
– Notre Dame and Boston College tied, 1-1, last season in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
– The two programs were BIG EAST rivals from 1995-2004. The Irish went 6-3-0 versus the Eagles in BIG EAST play.
– Boston College is 1-4-0 all-time at Notre Dame. This is the first trip to South Bend for the Eagles since the 2004 campaign (a 1-0 Irish victory).
– Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark is 6-1-2 all-time versus Boston College.
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES
– Boston College is 3-4-1 overall and 0-3-0 in ACC play. The Eagles are coming off a 1-0 setback at Duke.
– The Eagles are averaging 1.5 goals per game, while allowing 1.3 per match. Sophomore forward Isaac Normesinu has a team-best four goals. Junior Alex Kapp has logged every minute in goal this season and has a .722 save percentage with three shutouts.
– Last season, Boston College went 7-9-2 (4-6-1 ACC).
– Head coach Ed Kelly is in his 27th season at Boston College.
BESLER DELIVERS GOLDEN GOAL AGAINST VCU
– It was better late than never for Nick Besler and the Fighting Irish on Tuesday evening as the senior captain headed home the golden goal in the 107th minute in a 1-0 triumph over VCU at Alumni Stadium.
– It was the second career goal for Besler, a central midfielder. His first tally also came in dramatic fashion as he scored the equalizer with 32 seconds left in the 2012 BIG EAST Tournament title game versus Georgetown. Notre Dame went on to win 3-2 in double-overtime. Besler assisted on Ryan Finley’s game winner in that match.
IRISH HONORED
– The Fighting Irish will be honored during the first half of Saturday’s Notre Dame-Stanford football game for winning the 2013 national title.
SCORELESS STREAK
– The Fighting Irish will put their season-best scoreless streak of 242:12 on the line Friday against the Eagles. Notre Dame is coming off consecutive shutout wins over North Carolina (2-0) and VCU (1-0 in 2ot).
– The last goal surrendered by the Irish was in the 68th minute of the 1-1 draw at Virginia on Sept. 8.
– Notre Dame’s last three-game shutout streak came last season versus Michigan State (2-0 on Nov. 5), Pittsburgh (2-0 on Nov. 8) and Duke (1-0 on Nov. 12 in ACC quarterfinals).
WALL NAMED CSN NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
– Irish goalkeeper Patrick Wall was named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week for his performance in last Friday’s 2-0 win over No. 8 North Carolina. Wall made a season-high six saves against the Tar Heels.
A WALL IN GOAL
– Fifth-year senior Patrick Wall ranks second in the ACC and 13th nationally with a 0.46 goals-against average this season. He also boasts a .840 save percentage with four shutouts.
– Wall has played every minute in goal the last two seasons after splitting time with Will Walsh during the 2012 campaign. He has a career record of 31-3-8 (.833) with 17 clean sheets and a 0.72 goals-against average.
HOME COOKING
– The Boston College contest will be Notre Dame’s third straight home match. The Irish have won the first two affairs during this homestand. After Tuesday’s game at Michigan, Notre Dame will return to Alumni Stadium for two more contests (Louisville & Northwestern).
QUITE A CROWD
– A capacity crowd of 3,007 filled Alumni Stadium to see Notre Dame top North Carolina last Friday. That tied the sixth-largest crowd in Fighting Irish history.
ALUMNI STADIUM ADVANTAGE
– Notre Dame is 20-3-3 (.827) at home over the past three seasons. The Fighting Irish are 38-11-9 (.733) at Alumni Stadium since it opened in 2009.
BEATING THE BEST
– Notre Dame is 3-0-2 against ranked teams this season.
– The Fighting Irish are 19-3-8 (.767) versus ranked foes since the beginning of the 2012 season.
NOTRE DAME AIMING FOR ANOTHER ACC CROWN
– Notre Dame won a share of last season’s ACC regular-season title in its first campaign in the league. The Fighting Irish and Maryland both finished the regular season with 7-1-3 conference marks.
SENIOR CLASS CANDIDATES
– Fighting Irish right back Luke Mishu and goalkeeper Patrick Wall have been named candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. They are among 30 players up for the prestigious accolade.
– To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
– The candidate list will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans.
IRISH PICKED TO WIN ACC TITLE
– Notre Dame is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason favorite, according to a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.
– The Irish were named by six coaches as this year’s team to beat, followed by Virginia with three first-place votes, North Carolina with two, and Louisville with one.
BESLER ON MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
– Senior midfielder Nick Besler is among 32 players on the watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in NCAA soccer. The winner will be announced Jan. 9, 2015, at the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
CAPTAINS
– Nick Besler (Sr./M), Luke Mishu (5th/D) and Andrew O’Malley (5th/D) will serve as team captains for the 2014 season. This is the second straight season O’Malley has worn the captain’s armband, while Besler and Mishu are first-time team captains.
FIFTH-YEAR FIREPOWER
– The Fighting Irish have four fifth-year seniors on this season’s roster. Leon Brown (F), Luke Mishu (D), Andrew O’Malley (D) and Patrick Wall (GK) have returned for one final campaign with the Irish.
– Brown and O’Malley scored Notre Dame’s two goals in the 2013 national title game.
– Both Mishu and O’Malley are in their third season as starters on the Notre Dame backline, while Wall has played every possible minute in goal over the last two seasons after splitting the starting duty in 2012. Brown has competed in 71 career matches, which are the most for any current Notre Dame player. He has 10 goals and eight assists during his career.
SUCCESSFUL STRETCH
– Notre Dame is 39-6-9 (.806) over the past three seasons.
– The Fighting Irish went 17-1-6 last season and won their first national title. Notre Dame tied Maryland for the 2013 ACC regular-season title.
– In 2012, the Irish went 17-4-1 and won the BIG EAST Championship. The Irish earned the No. 1 overall seed for the 2012 NCAA Championship.
PIPELINE TO THE PROS
– Notre Dame has produced 15 MLS SuperDraft picks since 2008 and the Fighting Irish have had 22 SuperDraft picks since Bobby Clark became head coach in 2001. That list does not include Harrison Shipp, who was signed by the Chicago Fire in January as a Homegrown Player.
– Grant Van De Casteele was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the first round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.
– Matt Besler (Sporting KC) is the program’s most decorated alum. He was a first-round pick in 2009 and has gone on to earn three MLS All-Star nods (2011, 2013, 2014). Besler was named the 2012 MLS Defender of the Year and he has appeared on the MLS Best XI team twice (2012, 2013). He also captained Sporting KC to the 2013 MLS Cup.
– Besler, the older brother of Irish senior midfielder Nick Besler, started all four matches for the United States at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
– Justin Morrow (Toronto FC) was an MLS All-Star in 2012 when he was playing with San Jose.
– Dillon Powers was named the 2013 MLS Rookie of the Year.