Sept. 2, 2011
Postgame interview with Bobby Clark
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The 10th-ranked Notre Dame men’s soccer team used a strong offensive effort, which included two goals from junior forward Ryan Finley, to defeat Dayton 4-1 on Friday evening in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic at a hot and sunny Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Notre Dame (1-0-1) also received goals from sophomore forward Harrison Shipp and junior midfielder Dillon Powers.
Early pressure from the Fighting Irish resulted in six corner kicks in the first half. Notre Dame outshot Dayton 13-7 in the opening period and 25-13 for the match. The Irish gained five more corner kicks (8-3) than the Flyers.
Notre Dame’s Leon Brown nearly scored in the 14th minute when he sent a shot on frame from 15 yards out that was punched away by Flyer goalkeeper Alec Storm.
Brendan King had his close-range shot knocked out of bounds by Storm with just over six minutes left in the opening stanza. After the ensuing corner kick, Adam Mena sent a deep shot wide right of the post.
Notre Dame’s pressure paid off in the 45th minute as Mena centered a pass to Shipp, who scored from 10 yards out with eight seconds left on the clock. It was the first career goal for the sophomore forward.
Dayton (0-2-0) also had chances in the first period, but Notre Dame goalkeeper Will Walsh used three diving saves to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard in the opening half. Walsh made four saves in the win, while Storm had six saves in 65 minutes of play before being replaced by Chris Najeway, who allowed one goal and did not make a save.
“I thought we controlled the game pretty much from start to finish,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “I felt we did a lot of good things. Having said that, I thought they (Dayton) had some very dangerous players and they certainly had some good shots. I thought Will Walsh had several very good saves in the first half. The score at the end doesn’t really reflect the whole game. It was a hard game for us.”
Greg Enstone netted the equalizer for the Flyers in the 53rd minute with a diving header from five yards out. David Abidor assisted on the goal.
The Irish regained the lead in the 61st minute after Dayton was called for a handball inside the 18-yard box and Finley, a transfer from Duke, converted the penalty kick.
Notre Dame went up 3-1 three minutes later when Powers sent a blast in from 25 yards out.
The Fighting Irish played a man-up for the final 25 minutes of the match after Enstone was issued his second yellow card of the contest. The second card was given after he collided with Walsh inside the penalty box.
Finley put the finishes touches on the match in the 89th minute as he knifed his way through the Flyer defense and sent the ball into the far side of the netting to put Notre Dame up 4-1.
“It was good to see Ryan Finley get a couple of goals,” added Clark. “His second goal was excellent. Harry Shipp also got a nice goal. It was a very good transition goal.”
Today’s win tied Clark with Rich Hunter for the most victories in program history. Clark, who is in his 11th season with the Fighting Irish, has a 128-59-31 record at Notre Dame. Hunter was Notre Dame’s first varsity head coach and steered the Irish to a 128-32-8 mark from 1977-83.
Notre Dame will face Saint Louis at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Sunday during the second and final day of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. Saint Louis and Indiana played in Friday’s second match.
adidas/IU Credit Union Classic
Bill Armstrong Stadium – Bloomington, Ind.
September 2, 2011
Dayton (0-2-0) 0 1 – 1
#10 Notre Dame (1-0-1) 1 3 – 4
Scoring: ND: Harrison Shipp (Adam Mena) 44:52; UD: Greg Enstone (David Abidor) 52:36; ND: Ryan Finley (penalty kick) 60:09; ND: Dillon Powers (unassisted) 63:18: ND: Ryan Finley (unassisted) 88:20
Shots: UD 7-6 – 13, ND 13-12 – 25
Corner Kicks: UD 2-1 – 3, ND 6-2 – 8
Goalkeepers: UD: Alec Storm – 6 SV, 3 GA, 65:05, L; Chris Najeway – 0 SV, 1 GA, 24:55 ND: Will Walsh – 4 SV, 1 GA, 90:00, W
Offsides: UD 1, ND 12
-ND–