Aug. 24, 2017
by Tony Jones
2017 NOTRE DAME MEN’S SOCCER ââ’¬” Matches 1 and 2
Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament Matches 2 and 4
#10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-7-2 in 2016) vs. San Diego Toreros (6-9-3 in 2016) and Cal Poly Mustangs (5-9-3 in 2016)
DATE: Aug. 25-27, 2017
TIME: 7:30 p.m. (ET) (San Diego); 2 p.m. (ET) (Cal Poly)
LOCATION: Notre Dame, Indiana (Alumni Stadium – cap. 3,500)
BROADCAST: ACC Network Extra (San Diego) (Cal Poly)
LIVE STATS: Gametracker () ()
TWITTER: @NDMenSoccer
TICKETS: UND.com/buytickets; (574) 631-7356
NOTRE DAME, Ind. ââ’¬” The 2017 regular season has finally arrived for the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team. Kicking off the new campaign is the 15th edition of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, with the No. 10 Irish set to face San Diego on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Cal Poly at 2 p.m. on Sunday inside Alumni Stadium.
No. 7 Indiana returns as the fourth participant in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, and will not face Notre Dame during the weekend’s slate of games. The Hoosiers collide with Cal Poly at 5 p.m. on Friday before closing with San Diego at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The early-season tournament is held in memory of former Notre Dame men’s soccer head coach Mike Berticelli, who died unexpectedly in January of 2000 at the age of 48.
“Bert was a special, special person, there’s no question,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “He was the name at Notre Dame but he was much bigger than that, he was a huge person in the NSCAA as one of the head people there. He had the type of personality that everyone knew Bert, and I certainly knew him long before I came to know him at Notre Dame. He was one of those special people, a larger than life person.
“It’s great to celebrate Bert, and also to celebrate soccer,” Clark added. “It’s something that (hopefully) Bert is looking down on us and would be very happy with what he is seeing.”
Season and single-game tickets for the 2017 Notre Dame men’s soccer season are on sale now. Visit und.com/buytickets or call the Murnane Family Ticket Office at 574-631-7356 for more information or to purchase tickets.
15th Berticelli Tournament At ND
This weekend marks the 15th Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, and the official open to the 2017 regular season, on the Notre Dame campus. The tournament is held in memory of former Notre Dame soccer head coach Mike Berticelli, who died unexpectedly in January of 2000 at the age of 48.
The inaugural Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament was held in 2002 at old Alumni Field. Bradley claimed the first championship on aggregate goal margin after finishing the weekend 1-0-1, with Notre Dame the event runner-up following a victory and a tie of its own. The victory by the Braves ushered in 13 years of tournament dominance by both Notre Dame and Indiana, as no club other than the Irish (7) and Hoosiers (6) have won the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament since 2002.
Dynamic Preseason For The Irish
Notre Dame capped its 2017 preseason schedule with three victories after defeating Valparaiso 3-0 in the annual Grassroot Soccer game on Aug. 21 at Alumni Stadium.
Over the course of three exhibition tilts against Omaha (Aug. 13), Drake (Aug. 16) and Valparaiso, Notre Dame outscored its opposition by a 9-1 aggregate goal margin. Jon Gallagher (three), Ian Aschieris (two), Jack Casey, Kyle Dedrick, Jeff Farina and John Rea each found the scoresheet during the 90-minute regulation contests for the Irish.
ND Unbeaten in Home Exhibitions Since ’01
After earning a 3-0 win over Valparaiso on Aug. 21, Notre Dame has not been defeated in fall exhibition contests played on campus since Bobby Clark assumed the helm of the Irish in 2001. Notre Dame is 12-0-4 (.875) in 16 such matches under Clark that have taken place at both old Alumni Field and the current Alumni Stadium.
Get To Know The 2017 Irish
Notre Dame checked in 10th in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll that was unveiled on Aug. 3. The Irish, who finished 14th in the final poll at the conclusion of the 2016 campaign, debuted at No. 9 in the country at the start of last season.
In all 12 monogram winners, including seven regular starters, are back in the fold for Notre Dame in 2017. The Irish reached the NCAA Championship Round of 16 last fall on the strength of a 12-7-2 record.
In a vote conducted by conference head coaches, Notre Dame was picked to place third in the Coastal Division of the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) predicted order of finish on Aug. 16. The Irish have won two ACC Championship during the regular season (2013, 2014 Coastal Division) since joining the league in 2013.
Scouting San Diego/Cal Poly
San Diego posted a 6-9-3 record in 2016. Miguel Berry is the leading returning scorer for the Toreros after tallying eight goals and one assist (17 points) in 18 games (15 starts). Djordje Babic added four goals and four assists as part of his 12 points.
Head coach Seamus McFadden is 377-280-68 in his 39th and final season at San Diego. McFadden ranks among the top 10 in wins among active Division I soccer coaches, and the top 25 on the all-time wins list.
Cal Poly logged a 5-9-3 mark in 2016. Five Mustang players return to the fold after having scored one goal apiece last season.
Head coach Steve Sampson, former coach of the United States Men’s National Team, has recorded a 16-14-8 mark entering his third season at Cal Poly.
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball and men’s soccer programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.