#5 Irish And #6 Hoyas To Square Off Sunday For BIG EAST Title

Nov. 10, 2012

#5 NOTRE DAME
vs.
#6 GEORGETOWN

TV: Jason Knapp (play-by-play)
Shep Messing (analyst)

Live Broadcast: CBS Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Time Warner Cable Sports 32 (Wisconsin), Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), Time Warner Cable Syracuse/Albany, Time Warner Cable Rochester/Buffalo
Delayed Broadcast: SportsNet New York (Nov. 11, 8:30 p.m.), The Comcast Network Philadelphia (Nov. 13, 9 p.m.), ROOT Sports Pittsburgh (Nov. 13, 11 p.m.)

LIVE STATS: BIGEAST.org
UPDATES: Irish Alert! text messaging (sign up on UND.com)

#5 IRISH AND #6 HOYAS TO SQUARE OFF SUNDAY FOR BIG EAST TITLE
• No. 5 Notre Dame (15-3-1) will face No. 6 Georgetown (17-2-1) on Sunday in the title game of the BIG EAST Championship. The match is scheduled for noon (ET) at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. The Irish are the No. 3 seed from the BIG EAST Blue Division, while the Hoyas are the division’s No. 2 seed. Georgetown shared the Blue Division title with Connecticut.
• The game can be seen live on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp (play-by-play) and Shep Messing (analyst) calling the action. For Fighting Irish fans in the South Bend area, the contest will air live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
• Notre Dame defeated Connecticut, 1-0, on Friday in the BIG EAST semifinals, while Georgetown topped Marquette, 2-1 in double-overtime.
• This will be the second meeting this season between Notre Dame and Georgetown. The Irish captured a 3-0 home victory over the Hoyas on Oct. 6.
• The winner of Sunday’s match will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The 48-team NCAA Championship field will be announced at 5:30 p.m. (ET) Monday on NCAA.com.

FIGHTING IRISH IN THE FINAL
• The Irish are in the title game of the BIG EAST Championship for the fifth time in program history. Notre Dame is 2-1-1 all-time in the championship match, including a 1-1-1 mark under head coach Bobby Clark.
• Notre Dame defeated Rutgers (1-0) in the 1996 final and topped St. John’s (2-0) in the 2003 title match.
• The Fighting Irish fell to Connecticut (2-0) in the 2007 final. Notre Dame and St. John’s played to a scoreless draw in the championship game of the 2009 tournament and the Red Storm won the penalty kick shootout (5-3).

CONFERENCE CROWNS

NOTRE DAME IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
• The Fighting Irish are making their 12th straight appearance in the BIG EAST Championship and the 16th trip overall in program history. The Irish own a 15-11-5 record in the league playoffs.
• Notre Dame won the BIG EAST Championship in 1996 and 2003.
• Notre Dame is 7-2-3 at home in the conference tournament, 2-6-0 in true road games and 6-3-2 at neutral sites.
• Head coach Bobby Clark boasts an 11-8-5 record in BIG EAST Championship games with the Fighting Irish. Clark guided Notre Dame to the 2003 BIG EAST title.
• Last season, the Irish fell to Villanova, 1-0, in the first round.

HISTORY WITH THE HOYAS
• Sunday will be the 24th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Georgetown. The Fighting Irish own a 14-7-2 advantage in the series.
• The Irish have won the last five meetings and have a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Hoyas. The last three 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 and Hoyas have met three other times in the BIG EAST Championship. Notre Dame is 2-1 in those contests. Notre Dame defeated Georgetown 2-1 in the 1996 quarterfinals and 1-0 in the 2001 quarterfinals. The Hoyas captured a 2-1 overtime win in the 2002 quarterfinals.
• Head coach Bobby Clark is 10-3-1 against Georgetown during his Notre Dame tenure.

THE LAST TIME
• Notre Dame defeated Georgetown 3-0 on Oct. 6 at Alumni Stadium. The three goals are the most allowed by the Hoyas this season and it was the only time Georgetown has been shutout this season.
• Junior forward Alex Priede put the Irish up 1-0 in the eighth minute and senior forward Ryan Finley tallied two goals in the 66th minute to secure the victory.
• Junior Patrick Wall was in goal for the Irish and made four saves in the shutout.

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 was on the Fighting Irish staff when the team captured the 2003 BIG EAST Championship.
• Wiese played three seasons (1991-93) for Clark at Dartmouth.

IRISH #1 IN RPI
• Notre Dame is No. 1 in this week’s RPI rankings, while Georgetown is fifth.
• The Fighting Irish are 5-1-1 this season against teams currently in the top 10 of the RPI. Notre Dame defeated #2 Akron (3-1), #5 Georgetown (3-0), #6 Connecticut (1-0), #7 Marquette (3-1) and #10 Indiana (1-0). The Irish tied Marquette (1-1) and fell to Connecticut (2-1).

FINLEY PUTTING TOGETHER A FINE SEASON
• Senior forward Ryan Finley ranks second nationally in goals (18) and third in points (40). He has tallied 12 goals in the last nine matches.
• Finley led the BIG EAST with 12 goals in league play and was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year.
• He has five multiple-goal games this season, including one hat trick.
• Finley’s 18 goals are the fifth-most for an Irish player in a single season and are the most for a Notre Dame player since Joseph Lapira had 22 in 2006.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
• Notre Dame ranks fourth nationally in goals scored (45) and sixth nationally in goals per game (2.37).
• The 45 goals are tied for the most for the Fighting Irish in their BIG EAST era (since 1995).
• The Irish led the BIG EAST with 25 goals (3.12 gpg) in conference play this season.
• Notre Dame has scored three or more goals eight times this season, including six times in the last nine games.
• Notre Dame’s seven-goal output against 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 ever scored by the Irish against a BIG EAST opponent.
• The six goals in the 6-1 win at Seton Hall were the most ever tallied by the Irish in a BIG EAST road match.

SCORING IN A HURRY
• The Fighting Irish have had a penchant for scoring goals in a rapid pace. Last Saturday, Notre Dame reversed a 2-0 second-half deficit at Syracuse with two goals in 19 seconds.
• Notre Dame tallied its final three goals in the 6-1 win at Seton Hall (Oct. 13) in a span of 8:16.
• Senior forward Ryan Finley scored three goals in a span of 9:13 in the 3-0 win over Providence (Oct. 20).
• The Irish overcame a 1-0 deficit against Marquette (Oct. 24) by tallying three goals in just 6:26

GETTING GOALS
• The Irish have not been shutout this season. This is just the second time in the 36-year history of the Notre Dame program that the Irish have not been shutout in the first 19 contests of a season. The other occurrence was in 1978 when the Irish went 22 straight games without getting blanked.
• Notre Dame is 12-0 this season when scoring first.
• Ten different Fighting Irish players have scored at least one goal this season.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
• Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 33-4 in the second half and overtime this season.

OWNING THE STAT SHEET
• Notre Dame has registered more shots on goal in 16 of its 19 matches this season. The Fighting Irish have outshot their competition 362-204 this season, which includes a 155-70 advantage in shots on goal. The Irish also have earned 34 more corner kicks (119-85) than their opponents.

POWERS PERFORMING
• Senior midfielder Dillon Powers netted the lone goal in Friday’s 1-0 win over Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship semifinal. He scored in the 11th minute off an assist from junior forward Alex Priede.
• Powers has posted career-high totals this season in goals (5) and assists (6). The six assists are a team-high total.

GUARDING THE GOAL
• Fifth-year senior Will Walsh and junior Patrick Wall have split time in goal this season and have combined to post eight shutouts. Walsh was in goal Friday against Connecticut and made two saves to earn his fifth clean sheet of the season.
• Walsh has a 7-2-1 record, a 0.78 goals-against average and a .765 save percentage. Wall is 8-1-0 with three shutouts, a 0.89 goals-against average and a .778 save percentage.
• Wall made a career-high eight saves in the 3-1 win over Marquette (Oct. 24) and Walsh had a career-high eight saves in the 1-1 tie at Marquette (Oct. 27).

WINNING WAYS
• Notre Dame’s 15 victories are tied for the second-most in its BIG EAST era (since 1995). They are the most wins for the Irish since they went 15-6-2 in 2006.
• The team’s 13 regular-season victories were tied for the most regular-season wins for the Irish in their BIG EAST era. The Irish also notched 13 regular-season victories in 2004.
• Notre Dame has reached the 15-win mark three times under head coach Bobby Clark (12 seasons). The most wins for the Irish under Clark are 16 in 2003 (16-3-4).

BIG EAST ACCOLADES
• Senior forward Ryan Finley was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and he headlined a group of seven Notre Dame players that earned all-league accolades.
• Senior midfielder Dillon Powers joined Finley on the All-BIG EAST First Team, while Nick Besler (So./M), Harrison Shipp (Jr./F) and Grant Van De Casteele (Sr./D) were third-team selections. Patrick Hodan (Fr./M) and Max Lachowecki (So./D) were named to the All-BIG EAST Rookie Team.
• Notre Dame and Georgetown both received the Team Fair Play Award after totaling 110 points. Georgetown had 80 fouls and six yellow cards, while Notre Dame had 75 fouls and seven yellow cards. The award is given to the team or teams with the lowest total: foul (one point), yellow card (five points) and red card (10 points). This is the second straight season that the Irish earned the Team Fair Play Award.

COMEBACK KIDS
• Notre Dame has fallen behind in three recent matches, but went on to post a 2-0-1 mark in those contests.
• The Irish were down 2-0 to Syracuse last Saturday before going on to win 4-2.
• Notre Dame fell behind 1-0 in both matches with Marquette, yet came back to win the first game (3-1) and tie the second (1-1).
• The Irish are 3-3-1 this season when their opponent scores first.

ROOKIE ON A ROLL
• Freshman midfielder Patrick Hodan has 17 points on six goals and five assists this season. It’s the most goals and points for an Irish freshman since Erich Braun tallied nine goals and 24 points as a rookie in 1999.
• Hodan notched two goals and one assist in last Saturday’s 4-2 win at Syracuse. With Notre Dame trailing 2-0 in the second half, Hodan sliced the deficit to one in the 63rd minute and then assisted on Kyle Richard’s equalizer just 19 seconds later. The rookie put the Irish up 3-2 in the 77th minute.
• He was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week and to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his performance against the Orange.

HAT TRICKS
• Senior forward Ryan Finley notched a hat trick in the 3-0 win over Providence on Oct. 20. All three goals came in a span of 9:13 in the second half. It was the fourth career hat trick for Finley and his first since joining the Irish last season after transferring from Duke.
• It was the second straight game that an Irish player produced a hat trick. Junior forward Harrison Shipp tallied a career-high three goals in the 6-1 victory at Seton Hall.

HOME SWEET HOME
• Notre Dame is 8-0 at home this season.
• The Irish are 20-4-5 (.776) at Alumni Stadium over the past three seasons.

Bobby Clark NOTCHES 300TH CAREER WIN
• Notre Dame’s 6-1 win at Seton Hall on Oct. 13 was the 300th career victory for Bobby Clark as a college head coach. Clark, who is in his 12th season with the Irish, has a 151-67-35 record at Notre Dame. He was 71-21-12 at Stanford (1996-2001) and 82-42-13 at Dartmouth (1985-93).
• Clark is the 14th active Division I men’s soccer head coach to reach the 300-win milestone.

IRONMEN
• Senior midfielder Dillon Powers has played in a team-best 70 straight games, including 57 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 57 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 57 matches during his Irish career.

NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY
• Notre Dame owns an overall record of 107-60-20 (.626) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995. The Irish have posted 12 straight winning campaigns within the league, including this season’s 5-2-1 mark.
• The most wins for Notre Dame in BIG EAST play are 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.

POWERS A SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
• Midfielder Dillon Powers has been named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award in the men’s soccer division. The Fighting Irish standout is among 10 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 finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates that were announced in September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 19 (once daily per computer). Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.
• 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.

Harrison Shipp NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
• Junior forward Harrison Shipp has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District V first team for men’s soccer. He is one of 11 student-athletes on the squad.
• First-team Academic All-District ® honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
• Shipp has 15 points on five goals and five assists this season. He boasts a 3.846 cumulative grade-point average as a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business.

CLOSE CALLS
• Each of Notre Dame’s three losses this season have been one-goal decisions. The Fighting Irish are 6-3 in one-goal contests this season.

DEJA VU
• Prior to the double-overtime victory at Michigan, 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.

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. It was Notre Dame’s fifth Berticelli tournament title (11 appearances). The Irish also won in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010. It was the second time in 13 appearances that Notre Dame won the IU Classic. The Irish also captured the 1993 tournament.

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.