Sept. 17, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Cincinnati’s Noah Davidson tallied the game-winner in the 84th minute as he headed in a cross to give the Bearcats a 2-1 victory over No. 12/18 Notre Dame in BIG EAST men’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon at Gettler Stadium. The decision gives both teams identical 4-3-1 marks on the season and 2-2-0 records in the conference.
Senior forward Justin McGeeney (Ames, Iowa/Ames) sent home a rebound off a Nate Norman (Rochester, Mich./Rochester Adams) shot to put the Fighting Irish up 1-0 in the 12th minute. Norman beat his man one-on-one and put a shot on goal that was saved by Bearcat goalkeeper Mike Vessells and then placed in by McGeeney from close range. The tally was the fourth of the season for McGeeney, while Norman now has a team-high three assists.
Notre Dame carried a 1-0 advantage into halftime. Cincinnati notched the equalizer in the 50th minute as Kenny Anaba sent home a one-timer with the assists going to Lionel Jackson and Mike Dwyer.
“When we got up 1-0 early I felt like we were in control,” said Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “They came out and pressured us early in the second half and we gave up the goal. Had we held them off early in the second half, I felt like we would have been fine.”
As the match was inching closer to overtime, Davidson headed home a cross, with 83:03 elapsed in the contest. Anaba picked up his third point of the day by collecting an assist, along with Patrick Baxter.
“I felt like we were playing well in the last 20 minutes when the game was 1-1, but their goal came out of the blue,” commented Clark. “They have a lively turf field and you have to adjust your game and become a little more direct and that isn’t what we normally do. We had to adjust and we didn’t and they got the winning ticket.”
Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) made his second straight start in goal for the Irish following a 2-0 shutout against Louisville on Friday night. The senior goalkeeper made six saves on the day and his record now stands at 3-2-0.
Cincinnati registered 14 shots, while Notre Dame had 10. The Irish had a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
The Fighting Irish return home for a non-conference showdown against Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
To stay up to date on the 2006 Notre Dame men’s soccer season, please log on to und.com or call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
#12/18 Notre Dame (4-3-1, 2-2-0 BE) 1-0 – 1
Cincinnati (4-3-1, 2-2-0 BE) 0-2 – 2
ND: Justin McGeeney (Nate Norman) 11:36, CIN: Kenny Anaba (Lionel Jackson, Mike Dwyer) 49:35, CIN: Noah Davidson (Kenny Anaba, Patrick Baxter) 83:03
Shots: ND 5-5 – 10, UC 6-8 – 14
Corner Kicks: ND 2-5 – 7, UC 2-1 – 3
Saves: ND 6 (Chris Cahill 6), UC 0
Fouls: ND 12, UC 15
Offsides: ND 2, UC 5