Chris Cahill made three saves against Wake Forest on Saturday night.

Chris Cahill Named BIG EAST Goalkeeper Of The Week

Sept. 12, 2005

Fighting Irish junior goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./Saint Francis DeSales) has been named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week following a weekend in which he posted shutouts over Boston University and Saint Louis in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. Notre Dame captured the tournament title thanks to solid play from Cahill and the rest of the Irish defense. The junior did not have any margin for error, as both Notre Dame wins were 1-0 decisions. The 17th-ranked Fighting Irish are 3-0-1 on the season.

Against Boston University, Cahill stopped two shots in 90 minutes of play to earn his first collegiate shutout. Neither team found the back of the net until Nate Norman (Rochester, Mich./Rochester Adams) took a Bright Dike (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North) feed and scored in the 73rd minute.

Sunday’s game versus Saint Louis required a little more work, as the Irish did not net the game-winner until three minutes were remaining in the second overtime period. Cahill denied four Billiken shots on the afternoon. He was tested several times during the second half against Saint Louis, yet he maintained his poise and kept the match scoreless until Irish forward Joe Lapira (St. Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic) headed in the lone goal.

Cahill has allowed just two goals during Notre Dame’s first four games so far this season and owns a goals-against-average of 0.47. Prior to the 2005 campaign, Cahill had not seen any game action during his Fighting Irish career due to the presence of All-American Chris Sawyer. Sawyer garnered BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honors twice during the 2004 season en route to winning the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second straight season.

Joining Cahill as a solid presence in the Irish defense over the weekend was fellow junior Ryan Miller (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), who was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week on Monday. Miller collected an assist on Lapira’s game-winner as he booted a 40-yard cross to Norman, who dished the ball to Lapira. Miller was also a BIG EAST Honor Roll selection for his weekend performance.

Notre Dame opens BIG EAST play this weekend with trips to No. 7 St. John’s on Friday and Syracuse on Sunday. Stay up-to-date on the Fighting Irish men’s soccer team by logging on to und.com or by calling the Notre Dame Athletics Hotline at (574) 631-3000.

–ND–