Junior midfielder Michael Thomas celebrates his goal that put the Irish on top, 1-0, in the sixth minute.

Donohue's Game Winner Lifts No. 8 Notre Dame Past Dartmouth, 2-1

Sept. 5, 2008

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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A Dave Donohue (Reading Mass./Cushing Academy) goal in the 89th minute propelled No. 8 Notre Dame over Dartmouth, 2-1, in the first day of the Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Friday night in front of 1,602 fans at Alumni Field.

Notre Dame (2-1-0) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute as junior midfielder Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) placed a far blast from outside the 18-yard box into the lower left corner of the netting. That was Thomas’ first goal of the season.

Sophomore forward Jeb Brovsky (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) nearly gave the Irish a 2-0 lead two minutes later as he sent a shot just over the crossbar. Thomas had another good look as he headed a ball that Dartmouth goalkeeper, Sean Milligam, tipped over the bar with 24:08 on the clock in the first half.

Notre Dame led 1-0 at the intermission. The Fighting Irish held a decisive 9-2 edge in shots in the first half. However, at the end of the night the stat sheet was equal as both teams had 13 shots and five corner kicks.

“I never felt comfortable in that game mainly because of how they handled their corner kicks and long throws,” stated Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “But, we stuck to it and I felt in the last 20 minutes we got a hold of things. We were good in the first half then we lost the grip on the game for a long time. Full marks to Dartmouth, they played very well.”

Dartmouth (0-1-0) scored the equalizer with just under two minutes elapsed in the second half as Donnie Surdoval headed home an Andrew Olsen corner kick.

The Big Green almost grabbed the lead with 23:26 showing in regulation as a Craig Henderson shot was saved on the line by Irish senior defender Matt Besler (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West).

As the match appeared destined for overtime, Brovsky played a pass over to Donohue on the left side and he sent it to the back of the net for his first tally of the season with 1:12 remaining in the contest.

“I thought we got the game back on our side in the last 20 minutes and there were a couple chances that we maybe could have had,” commented Clark. “We looked like the team that was going to win it in regular play. But they always looked like a team that could snatch it from a set piece and that’s why it was a tough and nerve racking game.”

Senior goalkeeper Andrew Quinn (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatha) picked up the win for the Irish as he made four saves. Milligam made three stops in the loss.

The 2008 Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 7 with No. 3 Indiana taking on Dartmouth at 11:30 a.m. (ET) followed by No. 8 Notre Dame against No. 5 South Florida at approximately 2:00 p.m. Indiana and South Florida played to a scoreless draw in the first game on Friday evening.

Dartmouth (0-1-0) 0 1 – 1
#8 Notre Dame (2-1-0) 1 1 – 2

ND: Michael Thomas (unassisted) 5:17; DC: Donnie Surdoval (Andrew Olsen) 46:48; ND: Dave Donohue (Jeb Brovsky) 88:48

Shots: DC 2-11 – 13, ND 9-4 – 13
Corner Kicks: DC 1-4 – 5, ND 3-2 – 5
Saves: DC 3 (Sean Milligam 3); ND 5 (Andrew Quinn 4, Team 1)
Fouls: DC 8, ND 18
Offsides: DC 0, ND 1