Notre Dame – 1
Providence – 0
August 31, 1996
Providence, R.I. — Notre Dame won its first-ever BIG EAST road game as the Irish opened the 1996 season with a 1-0 win at Providence.
Chris Mathis took a Tony Capasso feed and put it past Friar goalie Daniel Pires 14:48 into the contest for the game’s only score.
Notre Dame dominated the game both offensively and defensively as the Irish outshot Providence 11-5.
Goalkeeper Greg Velho played the entire game and was never really tested as he had just one save in the game. Pires made five saves for the Friars.
Northwestern – 0
Notre Dame – 4
September 3, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — Notre Dame recorded a 4-0 shutout of Northwestern in the home opener at Alumni Field. Two freshmen had big outings for the Irish as Matt McNew and Andrew Aris scored the first goals of their collegiate career. Aris also added an assist in the game.
The Irish got on the scoreboard 24:36 into the contest when McNew connected from five yards out off a Peter Gansler assist. Less than four minutes later, Tony Capasso put the Irish up 2-0 as he drove the shot from the left corner past Zachery Adams.
Konstantin Koloskov opened up the scoring for the Irish in the second half as he connected from nine yards straight on following an Aris feed at the 48:58 mark. Aris scored the game’s final goal at 60:58.
Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho made two saves in recording his second straight shutout. Notre Dame outshot the Wildcats 13-3 in the game.
St. John’s – 2
Notre Dame – 2
Overtime – September 7, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — Notre Dame battled four-time defending BIG EAST champion and sixth-ranked St. John’s to a 2-2 tie at Alumni Field.
The tie was somewhat disheartening for the Irish as Jesse Van Saun scored his second goal of the game with 10 seconds left in the second 15-minute overtime session to give the Red Storm a 2-2 tie.
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie for 90 minutes. Notre Dame got on the scoreboard first when Andrew Aris scored his second goal in as many games 38 seconds into overtime as he maneuvered his way from 30 yards out and connected from outside the box.
The Red Storm battled back to tie the game as Van Saun took a Wojtek Krawkowiak pass and shot it past Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho from 13 yards out at the 95:43 mark.
Ben Bocklage put the Irish back on top as he scored his first goal of the season seven minutes later with a shot from 30 yards outside the box that made it past St. John’s goalkeeper Dani Braga into the left corner of the net.
The Irish had an opportunity to go up 3-1 in the contest with about four minutes remaining in the second overtime period after Braga had committed himself outside of the box, but Notre Dame missed out on the empty net chance.
St. John’s outshot Notre Dame 10-5 in the contest. Velho made three saves in goal.
Valparaiso – 0
Notre Dame – 2
September 10, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — The #24 nationally-ranked Irish recorded their third shutout of the ’96 season with a 2-0 win over the Crusaders. Notre Dame continued its dominance over Valparaiso as it has won all 24 contests played between the two schools.
The Irish scored their first goal of the game at the 36:11 mark of the first half when Bill Savarino connected from outside the left corner of the box off assists from Ryan Turner and Andrew Aris. Notre Dame’s second goal came off a penalty kick that was taken by Tony Capasso at the 88:32 mark. The Irish earned the penalty chance after Chris Mathis was fouled in the box.
Notre Dame dominated the contest as it outshot Valparaiso 18-3 in the game. Irish goalie Greg Velho made three saves in the game.
West Virginia – 0
Notre Dame – 1
September 13, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — The 24th-ranked Irish remained unbeaten as Notre Dame recorded its second straight shutout with a 1-0 over West Virginia. It was the third shutout in four games for the Irish.
Konstantin Koloskov provided the game-winning tally and the contest’s only goal at the 47:47 mark when he took a Bill Savarino pass and shot it seven yards past West Virginia goalie Carlos Iga. For Koloskov, it was his first goal of the season.
Notre Dame outshot the Mountaineers, 13-9, in the game. Irish goalie Greg Velho recorded his fourth shutout of the season and made a season-high five saves.
Notre Dame – 0
DePaul – 1
September 16, 1996
Chicago — The 15th-ranked Notre Dame soccer team lost its first game of the 1996 campaign as the Irish dropped a tough 1-0 decision at DePaul.
The game’s only tally came at the 69:54 mark of the contest when Dan Stokes’ throw-in from the left side of the field took a hop over the heads of both DePaul and Notre Dame players and then finally over the reaching hands of Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho. The goal was the first given up by Velho and the Irish in regulation this season.
Notre Dame outshot the Blue Demons 10-2 in the contest. Both of DePaul’s shots were in the second half. The Irish also held a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The victory for DePaul marked the first in the 16-game series history.
Connecticut – 1
Notre Dame – 1
Overtime – September 20, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — The 15th-ranked Irish and 25th-ranked Huskies battled to a 1-1 tie at Alumni Field.
Chris Mathis tied the score for Notre Dame when he headed in a Andrew Aris pass that was fed from 30 yards out by Brian Engesser at the 61:54 mark.
Notre Dame dominated the contest as they outshot the Huskies 26-12 in the game, including a 16-6 advantage in the second half.
Connecticut was the aggressor at the start of the game as the Huskies scored off a direct kick by Maurizio Rocha at the 24:04 mark.
Notre Dame had several scoring opportunities in both the first and second halfs, but the Irish could not capitalize. Tony Capasso had a chance to give the Irish a 2-1 lead at the 79:11 mark with a penalty kick that was punched out by Connecticut goalie Matt Chavlovich and then headed wide right.
Chavlovich made eight saves in the contest for the Huskies, while Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho had four saves.
Seton Hall – 0
Notre Dame – 1
September 22, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — Notre Dame remained unbeaten in the BIG EAST and recorded its fifth shutout of the season and fourth at Alumni Field as the Irish beat Seton Hall 1-0.
Tony Capasso scored the game’s only goal 6:15 into the contest from seven yards out off a Ben Bocklage assist to help the Irish to their fifth victory of the season.
The game was slowed by windy conditions. Notre Dame had five shots on goal, while the Pirates had only four shots. The Irish attempted 11 corner kicks (all in the second half).
In recording his fifth shutout of the season, Irish goalie Greg Velho had two saves. Velho came up with a big save at the 58:37 mark of the contest when Chris Martinovic had an open shot from five yards out.
The one misfortune in the game for the Irish occurred in the first half when Brian Engesser, a four-year starter on defense, fractured his right fibula after being tackled by a Seton Hall player. Engesser, a starter in all 71 contests he played in during his career, missed only one contest in three-plus seasons with the Irish.
Notre Dame – 0
Indiana – 3
September 27, 1996
Bloomington, Ind. — Lazo Alavanja scored twice as 21st-ranked Indiana defeated 19th-ranked Notre Dame 3-0
The Irish, playing without defender Brian Engesser who fractured his right leg against Seton Hall in the previous game, allowed two Hoosier goals in the first 11 minutes of the contest. Alavanja headed in a B.J. Snow pass from three yards out in the first 1:40 of the contest and Dema Kovalenko chipped in a four-yarder off an Aleksey Koral assist at the 11-minute mark.
Indiana, which has won eight straight over the Irish, scored once in the second half when Alavanja blasted in an 18-yarder at 52:58.
The Hoosiers outshot Notre Dame 13-7 in the contest. Irish goalie Greg Velho and Indiana goalkeeper Scott Coufal each made four saves in the game.
Western Michigan – 2
Notre Dame – 3
October 1, 1996
Kalamazoo, Mich. — Tony Capasso scored a goal and dished off two assists as he led the Irish to their second road win of the season with a 3-2 victory at Western Michigan.
The Irish broke open a scoreless first half by netting three goals in a five-minute span. Konstantin Koloskov netted Notre Dame’s first goal from 10 yards out off a Capasso feed at the 38:54 mark.
Notre Dame’s second goal came at the 41:01 mark as Ryan Turner booted a shot past Bronco goalkeeper Kevin Klein following a Capasso pass. For Turner, who missed all of last season with a back injury, it was his first goal of the season and his first since the 1994 campaign.
Capasso struck for the Irish 1:36 later when he connected from 30 yards out off a Gansler pass that came from midfield. The goal gave the Irish a comfortable 3-0 lead at the half and were the most goals scored by Notre Dame in a half in ’96.
Western Michigan scored two goals in the first 11:44 of the second half. Both were scored by David Fernandez.
Notre Dame dominated the contest as it outshot the Broncos 22-10 in the game. Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho made three saves.
Notre Dame – 1
Syracuse – 0
October 5, 1996
Syracuse, N.Y. — Tony Capasso’s goal 10:18 into the contest proved to be the only score the Notre Dame men’s soccer team needed as the Irish remained unbeaten in BIG EAST play with a 1-0 win at Syracuse.
The shutout was Notre Dame’s sixth of the season and marked the third road win of the season for the Irish.
Capasso’s goal came from just inside the box as he maneuvered past two Syracuse defenders. Passes from Konstantin Koloskov and Ryan Turner helped set up the goal. It was Capasso’ s second game-winning goal in as many contests.
The Irish outshot the Orangemen 15-5 in the contest and held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks. Notre Dame goalkeeper Greg Velho made three saves.
Western Illinois – 0
Notre Dame – 6
October 11, 1996
Notre Dame, Ind. — Notre Dame recorded its highest goal total of the season as six different Irish players scored in a 6-0 non-conference shutout of Western Illinois. The win was the third straight for the 22nd-ranked Irish.
Freshman Ryan Cox led the Irish with a goal and two assists.
The shutout was the second consecutive for Notre Dame, seventh of the season and fifth at Alumni Field.
Notre Dame wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Ben Bocklage netted the game’s first goal 2:38 into the contest off assists from Cox and Ryan Turner. Chris Mathis scored Notre Dame’s second goal off a pass from Cox just inside the penalty box at the 21:19 mark. The Irish scored their final goal of the half at the 34:26 mark when Peter Gansler blasted a 25-yard shot past Leatherneck goalkeeper MiD]00?D?P????B??rº?????????u?ur???????????tr????????????^r¿????????????r? ????????????r?(????????????r?,????????????r?0???????????r?4????????????r?????????? C D C Cr? ???????? ? ? ? ?r?p???????? ? ? ? ?r?x????????????r?T????????? ? r?????????? M? r?????????? O O O ?r¸???????? [ ] [ [r????????? g i g gr?,???????? P ~ P ~r?????????? P ? P ~r?(???????? ? ? ? ?r?x???????? ? ? ? ?r??????????!l!m!l!lr?P????????!?!?!?!?r?T????????”?”?”?”?r??????????”?”?”?#Jr?????????? P”? P”?r?????????? P”? P”?r??????????”?”?”?”?r??????????”?”?”?”?r??????????”?”?”?”?r??????????”?”?”?”?r??????????”?”?”?”?r??????????”?#”?#