Aug. 30, 2001
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THE WEEK AHEAD — The Notre Dame men’s soccer team, under first-year head coach Bobby Clark, will open up the 2001 campaign at home when the Irish play host to BIG EAST rival Villanova on Sat., Sept. 1 at 7:00 p.m. in the league opener for both teams. The start of the season signals the 25th season of men’s soccer as a varsity sport at Notre Dame, which first sponsored the sport at the varsity level in 1997.
RECAPPING THE IPFW SOCCER SHOWCASE — For the second straight year, Notre Dame played two exhibition games at the IPFW Soccer Showcase in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Irish went 2-0 in the tournament and did not allow a goal as they outscored their two opponents, IPFW and Michigan, 8-0. Erich Braun (Frankfurt, Germany) and Brian Jarvis (Pomona, Calif.) were multiple-goal scorers over weekend, tallying two goals each, while Filippo Chillemi (Roswell, Ga.) finished with a goal and an assist in the two games.
IPFW: The Irish defeated IPFW in the first of its two exhibition games at the Showcase. Five different players scored in the contest as Notre Dame registered four second-half goals in posting the shutout. Braun got the Irish on the scoreboard 10:13 into the contest with an unassisted goal. The score remained 1-0 for the remainder of the first half until sophomore Justin Detter’s (White Lake, Mich.) goal at the 46:39. The Irish erupted for three goals in the final 7:01 of the contest with Jarvis, Griffin Howard (San Diego, Calif.) and Chillemi rounding out the scoring. Notre Dame outshot IPFW 14-5 in the game.
MICHIGAN: The Irish scored three goals in the second half to lift Notre Dame to a 3-0 shutout of Michigan. Clark’s squad was led by another balanced scoring attack. After a scoreless first half, Braun got the Irish on the scoreboard first with an empty net goal off an assist from Greg Martin (Plano, Tex.) at the 52:05 mark. Jarvis tallied the second goal when he headed a Chillemi assist with just over 15 minutes left in the contest. Devon Prescod (Marietta, Ga.) added the third Irish goal at the 84:57 mark. Greg Tait (Fayetteville, N.Y.) played all 60 minutes in goal and registered six saves.
SERIES RECORD VS. VILLANOVA — Notre Dame holds a 5-2 advantage in the series and has won the last four meetings. The Irish are 3-0 versus the Wildcats at Alumni Field. Notre Dame has outscored Villanova 9-2 in the last three games played between the two teams. The Wildcats were shutout 5-0 in their last visit to Alumni Field during the 1999 campaign.
HEAD COACH BOBBY CLARK — Bobby Clark was named the fifth head coach in the history of the Notre Dame men’s soccer program on Jan. 19, 2001. A 14-year veteran on the collegiate sidelines, Clark most recently spent five seasons guiding the Stanford Cardinal to a 71-21-12 record and .740 winning percentage from 1996-2000. Clark also was the head coach at Dartmouth from 1985-1993 where he led the Big Green to an 82-42-13 mark (.646). Among active Division I head men’s soccer coaches, he ranks 15th with a .687 winning percentage and 153-63-25 record. Six of Clark’s teams have advanced to the NCAA tournament play with his 1998 Stanford squad finishing as the NCAA runnerup that season.
NEW FACE, OLD FACE — Brian Wiese and Mike Avery comprise Bobby Clark’s coaching staff this season. Wiese spent five seaons alongside Clark at Stanford coaching and also played under his tutelage for three seasons at Dartmouth from 1991-94. A three-year starter in goal for the Big Green, Wiese will work primarily with the Irish goalkeepers this season. Avery begins his second season on the Irish sidelines after being named as assistant in March of 2000. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, he spent three years as the head men’s coach at Cal State University San Bernardino where he also served as head coach of the women’s team for two seasons. No stranger to the Michiana area, Avery began his coaching career at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind., where he coached for three seasons and led that school to a 43-21-2 ledger.
NOTRE DAME SOCCER BEGINS 25TH SEASON — The Notre Dame men’s soccer team begins its 25th season of varsity competition in 2001. Since its inaugural campaign in 1977, Irish teams have compiled a 315-158-43 mark for a .652 winning percentage. Notre Dame has won 20-plus games on three occasions and 15 or more games 11 times. In the program’s history, only five teams have had a losing season.
THE CAPTAINS — Notre Dame’s captains for the 2001 campaign are senior Griffin Howard, junior Andreas Forstner and sophomore Greg Martin. Howard, a fifth-year player, played in all 17 contests a year ago and earned 16 starts. He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer a year ago with four goals. Howard entered last having played in just seven games in his first three seasons. A two-year starter, Forstner was one of two Irish players who started all 17 games in 2000. He has a goal and two assists to his credit. Last season, he was a third-team selection to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Great regional team. Martin played in all 17 games and made 16 starts last season. He is the first sophomore in the program’s history to serve as a team captain.
IRISH IN SEASON OPENERS — Notre Dame is 15-7-2 in its season openers and 5-0-1 over the last six seasons. The last time an Irish team lost a season opener was in 1994 when it dropped a 1-0 decision at Penn State. Since 1995, Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 18-1 in the first game of the season.
NOTRE DAME IN HOME OPENERS — The Irish are 17-7 in home openers. Prior to last season in which Notre Dame dropped a 3-1 decision to Bradley, the Irish had not lost a home opener since the 1997 campaign when they suffered a 4-0 setback to Indiana.
IU RETURNS TO IRISH SCHEDULE — Notre Dame will renew its in-state rivalry with Indiana as the two squads face each other for the first time since the 1997 campaign when the Irish played host to the Hoosiers. This year’s contest will be played on Wed., Oct. 7 in Bloomington, Ind. The first meeting between the two schools was played in 1978, and the two met continuously (except for in 1990) through the 1997 campaign. Indiana leads the series 18-1-1. Notre Dame picked up its lone victory in the series in 1987 with a 4-3 overtime victory.
IRISH TO VISIT BLACKSBURG IN HOKIES’ FIRST SEASON — Virginia Tech attained full membership in the BIG EAST last season, but did not play a a conference member in some of the fall sports, including men’s soccer. The Hokies embark on league play in men’s soccer this season. Notre Dame is scheduled to play Virginia Tech in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on Sun., Oct. 14 at 1:00 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va.
IRISH TABBED SIXTH IN BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll — The Irish have been picked to finish sixth in the 2001 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll by a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches. Connecticut, the defending NCAA champion, has been picked to capture the BIG EAST’s regular-season crown. Erich Braun, the 1999 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, is listed on the 12-member preseason all-conference team.
NEW BIG EAST FORMAT — The addition of Virginia Tech to the league has created a change in the regular-season format with a 10-game conference format being instituted in 2001. Notre Dame will not play St. John’s and Pittsburgh this season. Another change that has resulted is that conference teams will now earn three points for a victory instead of one, while ties will still be worth one point.
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS — Notre Dame will play first-time opponents this season — Furman, Clemson, Rhode Island and Virgina Tech. The Irish are scheduled to meet the Paladins (Sept. 7) and the Tigers (Sept. 9) at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. Notre Dame will play the Rams in the first round of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Sept. 14, while its meeting with the Hokies is scheduled for Oct. 14.
ANDREAS FORSTNER TABBED FOR PRESEASON HONORS — Junior defender Andreas Forstner (Gerlinden, Germany) has been named to the CollegeSoccer.com Preseason Honorable Mention All-America team. He is one of nine BIG EAST players selected to the three teams (first, second and honorable mention squads were chosen).
YOUNG GUNS — The 25-man Notre Dame roster is comprised of just four seniors and nine juniors with almost half of the squad made up of sophomores and freshmen. Bobby Clark inherits a program which returns eight starters and 19 letterwinners from last year’s squad.
HOME SWEET HOME — Although Notre Dame struggled somewhat at home last season (3-4), the Irish own a 67-27-4 mark (.704) winning percentage. Notre Dame finished the ’99 season with a 7-3-0 mark at home after posting a 5-1-2 record at Alumni Field in ’98. The Irish lost two one-goal decisions at home (to Western Michigan and Rutgers) and also suffered a 3-1 setback to Georgetown. The 2000 campaign marked the 10th season for the Irish playing at Alumni Field.
MIKE BERTICELLI MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT — The first annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament will he held Sept. 14 and 16 at Notre Dame’s Alumni Field. The tournament is being held in honor of former Irish head coach Mike Berticelli, who coached from 1990-2000 before his sudden death in January of 2000. The three participating teams in this year’s field include: St. Mary’s (Calif.), Rhode Island and Akron.
A monument honoring Berticelli’s legacy at the University has been placed at the entrance to Alumni Field and will be dedicated on Sept. 14 in a ceremony prior to the start of the tournament.
FURMAN INVITATIONAL NEXT UP FOR IRISH — In addtion to playing in its own tournament on Sept. 14 and 16, the Irish will travel to Greenville, S.C. for the prestigious Furman Invitational where they will face the host Paladins and perennial Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse Clemson. Notre Dame plays Furman on Fri., Sept. 7 at 7:00 p.m. and then faces the Tigers on Sun., Sept. 9 at 12:30 p.m.
HOME COOKIN’ — Notre Dame will play five of its first seven games at home to open up the season. The Irish will play a total of nine home games this season. They conclude the regular season with a home game on Sat., Nov. 3. Notre Dame plays five of eight road games during the month of October.