Oct. 5, 2012
#3 GEORGETOWN
vs.
#10 NOTRE DAME
Saturday, Oct. 6 – 2 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
Notre Dame leads series 13-7-2
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#10 IRISH WELCOME IN #3 GEORGETOWN
– No. 10 Notre Dame (9-2-0, 1-2-0) will square off against another top-10 foe when the Irish play host to No. 3 Georgetown (10-1-1, 2-1-0) on Saturday. The BIG EAST Blue Division showdown is slated for 2 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium.
– A free video broadcast of the match will be available at UND.com. Live stats via Gametracker can also be found on UND.com.
– Notre Dame is fresh off Wednesday’s 7-1 victory over Pittsburgh, while Georgetown is coming off its first loss of the season, a 2-1 setback to Connecticut.
HISTORY WITH THE HOYAS
– Saturday will be the 23rd meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Georgetown. The Fighting Irish own a 13-7-2 advantage in the series.
– The Irish have won the last four meetings and have a six-game unbeaten streak against the Hoyas. The last two encounters have been 3-0 Irish wins. The last Hoya victory over the Irish was a 1-0 decision in 2005 in Washington, D.C.
– The Irish have a 9-3-0 home record against the Hoyas. Georgetown is 0-5 in its last five visits to Notre Dame.
– Head coach Bobby Clark is 9-3-1 against Georgetown during his Notre Dame tenure.
SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
– Georgetown is 10-1-1 overall and 2-1-0 in BIG EAST play this season. The Hoyas fell to Connecticut, 2-1, on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
– The Hoya offense is averaging 1.67 goals per game, while the defense is allowing 0.75 goals per game. Freshman forward Brandon Allen leads the team in goals (8) and points (18). Junior forward/midfielder Steve Neumann has a team-high seven assists.
– Sophomore Tomas Gomez and junior Keon Parsa have split time in goal. Gomez is 6-0-1 with a 0.82 goals-against average, a .793 save percentage and two shutouts. Parsa is 4-1-0 with a 0.59 goals-against average, .893 save percentage and three clean sheets.
– Georgetown posted a 10-5-4 record last season and finished tied for fourth in the BIG EAST Blue Division with a 5-3-1 league record.
– Head coach Brian Wiese is in his seventh season at the helm of the Hoya program.
COACHING CONNECTION
– Georgetown head coach Brian Wiese spent five seasons (2001-05) at Notre Dame as an assistant coach for Bobby Clark before moving on to lead the Hoya program. Wiese also spent five years as an assistant under Clark at Stanford before the duo came to Notre Dame. Wiese played three seasons (1991-93) for Clark at Dartmouth.
THE LAST TIME
– Notre Dame topped Georgetown, 3-0, last season in Washington, D.C. Danny O’Leary opened the scoring in the 21st minute, while Michael Rose made it 2-0 in the 60th minute. Ryan Finley put the finishing touches on the win with a goal in the 75th minute.
ANOTHER TOP-10 TEAM ON TAP FOR IRISH
– Georgetown will be the fourth top-10 opponent for Notre Dame this season. Notre Dame defeated No. 4 Akron (3-1) and No. 10 Indiana (1-0) and fell to No. 2 Connecticut (2-1).
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
– The seven-goal output in Wednesday’s 7-1 victory over Pittsburgh was the largest for the Irish since a 7-1 win over Western Michigan on Oct. 14, 1997. The seven goals were the most scored by the Irish against a BIG EAST opponent.
– Notre Dame’s 36 shots in the match were the most for the program in the BIG EAST era (since 1995). The previous high was 32 against Drake in 2010.
– Danny O’Leary (Sr./M) and Ryan Finley (Sr./F) both tallied two goals against Pittsburgh, while Patrick Hodan (Fr./M), Dillon Powers (Sr./M) and Alex Priede (Jr./F) also registered goals for the Irish. The five goal scorers are tied for the third-most for the Irish in the BIG EAST era and the most-ever for the program in a BIG EAST match.
SECOND HALF SUCCESS
– Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 16-3 in the second half and overtime this season.
OWNING THE STAT SHEET
– The Fighting Irish have outshot their opponents 208-107 this season, which includes an 87-33 advantage in shots on goal. The Irish also have earned 19 more corner kicks (68-49) than their opponents.
GETTING GOALS
– The Irish have not been shutout this season. It is the first time since the 1988 campaign that Notre Dame has not been blanked in the first 11 matches of a season.
– Notre Dame is 8-0 when scoring first this season.
– Nine different Fighting Irish players have scored at least one goal this season.
SOLID START
– Notre Dame has nine wins in its first 11 matches of a season for the first time since the 1988 campaign.
– Notre Dame’s season-opening seven-game win streak was tied for the second-longest win streak under head coach Bobby Clark (since 2001).
– The Irish have already equaled their win total from last season.
DANNY DELIVERS
– Danny O’Leary (Sr./M) netted Notre Dame’s first two goals in Wednesday’s 7-1 win over Pittsburgh. It marked the first two-goal game of his career.
FINLEY HAS FIREPOWER
– Ryan Finley (Sr./F) deposited two goals in the Pitt match. It was his second two-goal game of the season. He has 10 career multiple-goal games, including three hat tricks.
– Finley leads the Irish in goals (8) and points (17). Last season, his first with the Irish after transferring from Duke, he had team-high totals in goals (7) and points (16).
POWERS PERFORMING
– Senior midfielder Dillon Powers ranks second among all Irish players in goals (4) and points (12), while he has a team-high four assists. Powers has registered five points on two goals and one assist in the last two games.
BUCKING TRENDS
– The Fighting Irish put a halt to two opponent trends last week. Grant Van De Casteele’s goal in the 71st minute in the 1-0 win at Indiana was the first second-half goal allowed by the Hoosiers this season. Dillon Powers’ tally in the 49th minute at UConn snapped the Huskies’ scoreless streak, which had reached 437:58 in length.
IRISH SPLIT ROAD SWING
– Notre Dame went 2-2 in its recent four-game road swing. The stretch began with a 1-0 double-overtime victory at Michigan. Notre Dame fell at Louisville, 2-1, and rebounded with a 1-0 win at No. 10 Indiana. The trek ended with a 2-1 setback at Connecticut.
VAN DE CASTEELE ON BIG EAST HONOR ROLL
– Senior central defender Grant Van De Casteele was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for his efforts in last Wednesday’s 1-0 win at No. 10 Indiana. He headed in a Dillon Powers corner kick in the 71st minute. It was the first goal of the season for Van De Casteele and his fourth career tally.
– Van De Casteele also anchored an Irish defense that blanked the Hoosiers, who entered the match averaging 1.88 goals per game.
KEEPING IT CLEAN
– Notre Dame has posted five shutouts this season. The Irish are allowing just 0.82 goals per game.
– Fifth-year senior Will Walsh and junior Patrick Wall have split time in goal. Walsh has a 4-2 record with three shutouts, a 1.00 goals-against and a .684 save percentage. Wall is 5-0 with two shutouts, a 0.60 goals-against average and a .786 save percentage.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
– Eight of Notre Dame’s 11 matches this season have been decided by one goal. The Irish are 6-2 in those contests.
IRONMEN
– Senior midfielder Dillon Powers has played in a team-best 62 straight games, including 49 consecutive starts. The only five games he has missed during his Fighting Irish career were during his freshman season when he played for the U.S. at the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.
– Senior central defender Grant Van De Casteele has started 49 straight matches. He did not play during the 2009 campaign, but has not missed a game since.
– Junior forward Harrison Shipp has appeared in all 49 matches during his Irish career.
NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY
– Notre Dame owns an overall record of 103-60-19 (.618) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995. The Irish have posted 11 straight winning campaigns within the league, including last season’s 5-3-1 mark.
– The most wins for Notre Dame in BIG EAST play is eight, which occurred in 2004 (8-1-1), 2006 (8-3) and 2009 (8-3).
– The Irish have three regular-season BIG EAST titles. Notre Dame won the championship outright in 2004 and 2008 (Blue Division) and shared the Blue Division trophy with Connecticut in 2007. The Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003.
TOUGH SLATE
– The Irish have another challenging schedule this season as six of their opponents appear in the latest Soccer America top-25 poll. Included in that group are four top-10 teams (#2 Connecticut, #3 Akron, #7 Marquette, #9 Georgetown). The Irish will face Marquette twice during the regular season. Notre Dame foes Indiana (#11) and Northwestern (#24) also appear in the rankings. The Fighting Irish are ranked 10th in the poll.
– The Irish have defeated Akron (3-1) and Indiana (1-0). Notre Dame fell at Louisville (2-1) and at Connecticut (2-1).
SENIOR CLASS CANDIDATES
– Dillon Powers (M) and Grant Van De Casteele (D) have been named candidates for the Senior CLASS Award in the men’s soccer division. The Fighting Irish duo is among 30 student-athletes up for the prestigious honor.
– 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.
– An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
– The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2012 NCAA Men’s College Cup, which will take place December 7 and 9 in Hoover, Ala.
– The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
DEJA VU
– Prior to the double-overtime victory at Michigan (Sept. 16), Notre Dame’s last overtime triumph was a 2-1 decision over Michigan last season at Alumni Stadium. Both games took place on Sept. 16.
BEST IN THE BERT
– The Fighting Irish won the 11th annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament by besting Oregon State (1-0) and Akron (3-1). It was the fifth time (`03, `05, `08, `10) that the Irish captured the event, which is named after the former Notre Dame coach. Akron was the runner up, while Indiana and Oregon State finished third and fourth, respectively.
– Leon Brown (Jr./F), Max Lachowecki (So./D), Dillon Powers (Sr./M) and Grant Van De Casteele (Sr./D) represented Notre Dame on the all-tournament team. Brown was the tournament’s offensive MVP, while Van De Casteele was the defensive MVP. Junior Patrick Wall and senior Will Walsh were the goalkeeping co-MVP honorees.
BEASTS IN BLOOMINGTON
– Last Wednesday’s 1-0 victory at Indiana gave the Irish a 3-0 record in Bloomington, Ind., this season. Notre Dame won the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 2) by posting wins over San Diego State (3-2) and Clemson (2-1).
– It was the second time in 13 appearances that Notre Dame won the IU Classic. The Irish also captured the 1993 tournament.
– Last Wednesday’s win gave the Irish their first-ever three-game unbeaten streak against the Hoosiers. Notre Dame is 2-0-1 in its last three matches against Indiana, including two straight victories in Bloomington.
HAULING IN THE HARDWARE
– Notre Dame has played in both the Indiana Classic and the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament in each of the last 10 seasons and this year marks the first time the Irish have won both events in the same season.
SHIPP SIBLINGS
– Freshman midfielder/defender Michael Shipp has joined his older brother, Harrison, this season on the Irish roster. Harrison is a junior forward.
CAPTAINS
– Midfielders Dillon Powers and Michael Rose will serve as Notre Dame team captains during the 2012 campaign. Powers, a senior, will be serving as captain for the second straight season, while Rose, a fifth-year senior, is a first-time captain.
FOLLOW THE IRISH ON UND.COM
– All 2012 Notre Dame home matches that are not televised can be seen live on UND.com. The streaming broadcasts are free of charge. Log on to UND.com to stay up to date on the Fighting Irish men’s soccer team throughout the 2012 campaign.