April 17, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s soccer team will play host to the Mexico Under-20 National Team April 26 at Alumni Stadium. The exhibition match is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET)
This will be the eighth time in the last nine years that the Fighting Irish have played host to a Mexican National Team during the spring exhibition season. Notre Dame is 4-2-1 in those contests. Mexico’s U-20 squad topped Notre Dame, 1-0, last April.
The annual match versus Mexico has become one of the highlights of the Notre Dame soccer season.
“This is a phenomenal game for us,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “I can’t tell you how many other universities call me to try and get a game with Mexico. It’s one of the best games that we play not just in the spring season but in the whole season.”
The match will be part of Mexico’s continued preparation for the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup, which begins in June in Turkey.
“This Mexico team will be going to the Under-20 World Cup shortly and they are one of the favorites,” Clark said. “Mexico has one of the best under-20 teams in the world and this will be a great test for us. We have a fantastic schedule coming up next season, but we won’t play any teams that are technically better than this Mexico team.”
Prior to the match, the Fighting Irish women’s soccer team will face the Haitian National Team at 5 p.m. at Alumni Stadium. Fans only need one ticket to attend both games. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth (21 and under)/seniors (55 and older). The ticket office will honor all season tickets from the fall season. Early arriving fans will receive a free cowbell.
There is free admission for Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s/Holy Cross students with a valid student ID. Notre Dame faculty and staff also will receive free admission with a current Notre Dame ID. Those offers are void when capacity is reached.
Tickets can be purchased at the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office (Gate 9 of Purcell Pavilion) during normal business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET weekdays), by calling the ticket office at (574) 631-7356, or by going on-line at und.com/tickets. Tickets also will be sold at the Alumni Stadium ticket windows on match night (until capacity is reached), although it is recommended that fans purchase tickets in advance to prevent long lines at the ticket windows prior to kickoff.
Since the Notre Dame baseball team has a home game at 5:35 p.m. that evening, fans attending the soccer matches should park at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center lot.
“The Mexican population in northern Indiana loves to support their home team so they come out and make for a fabulous atmosphere,” Clark said. “One thing that I would love this year is if our students could come out and support us. It always seems as though we are playing somewhere in Mexico even though it’s a home game.”
Notre Dame posted a 17-4-1 record this past season. The 17 wins were the most for the Irish since 1988. The Fighting Irish won the program’s third BIG EAST Championship title and were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship for the first time ever. Notre Dame fell to eventual national champion Indiana, 2-1 in double-overtime, in the third round of the tournament.
Notre Dame-Mexico Series History
2005 – Notre Dame 1, Mexico 0 (U-17)
2006 – Notre Dame 5, Mexico 0 (U-17)
2007 – Notre Dame 1, Mexico 0 (U-20)
2008 – Notre Dame 0, Mexico 0 (U-20)
2010 – Notre Dame 2, Mexico 1 (U-20)
2011 – Mexico 2 (U-17), Notre Dame 1
2012 – Mexico 1 (U-20), Notre Dame 0
— ND —