Oct. 16, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – Currently riding its longest win streak of the season, the 20th-ranked Notre Dame men’s soccer team registered its third straight shutout of the season as the Irish defeated Michigan State 2-0 at Alumni Field on Wednesday night.
Juniors Chad Riley (Houston, Texas) and Devon Prescod (Marietta, Ga.) scored both of the Irish goals in the contest as Notre Dame tallied a score in each half.
With the victory, Notre Dame improves to 7-3-3 on the season as it head into Sunday’s (Oct. 20) crucial BIG EAST matchup with conference rival Connecticut at 2:00 p.m. on Alumni Field. Coach Bobby Clark’s squad posted it fourth shutout of the seasonin beating the Spartans as the Irish have allowed just 12 goals in 13 contests this season. The loss drops Michigan State to 7-5-0 in 2002.
The matchup between the two schools was the first since the 1993 campaign with Notre Dame holding a commanding 8-2-4 advantage in the series and owning a 7-0-1 mark against Michigan State at home.
Notre Dame thoroughly dominated the contest, outshooting the Spartans 27-3 in the contest. The Irish owned an 18-1 shot advantage in the second half and also has a significant advantage (12-2) in corner kicks.
Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead with less than two minutes to go before the intermission when Riley headed in a shot into the right corner of the net that was assisted by teammates Kevin Richards (Warwick, Bermuda) and Justin Detter (White Lake, Mich.). It was Riley’s third goal of the season for Notre Dame’s top scorer who also has eight assists on the year.
The second Irish goal came at the 64:40 mark when Prescod tallied his second goal of the season as he headed in Kevin Goldthwaite’s (Sacramento, Calif.) direct kick from 20 yards out.
Senior Greg Tait (Fayetteville, N.Y.) started his third straight game in goal and posted his third consecutive complete-game shutout as he finished with one save. Spartan goalkeeper Tyler Robinson finished with 11 saves in the contest.
SCORING: ND: Chad Riley (Kevin Richards, Justin Detter), 43:39; ND: Devon Prescod (Kevin Goldthwaite)
GAME STATISTICS: Shots: Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 3; Saves: ND 1 (Greg Tait – 1), Michigan State 12 (Tyler Robinson – 11); Fouls: Notre Dame 17, Michigan State 14; Corner Kicks: Notre Dame 12, Michigan State 2