March 3, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s soccer team has announced its 2010 spring schedule. Among the highlights on the slate are dates with two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs and a matchup with the Mexico Under-21 National Team. Notre Dame also will officially dedicate Alumni Stadium this spring.
Notre Dame will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Columbus Crew of the MLS on March 10. The Fighting Irish will take on a second MLS squad, the Chicago Fire, on March 20 in Chicago.
The Irish will face Oakland University and the University of Michigan in Detroit on March 27. Notre Dame will play host to Butler University and Valparaiso University on April 10. Notre Dame will have two matches against Indiana University in Fort Wayne on April 17. The Irish will use split-squads during each day’s play.
Both Butler and Indiana qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament. Butler was the tournament’s No. 12 seed.
The Fighting Irish will square off with the Mexico U-21 team on Friday, April 23 at Alumni Stadium. Match time is slated for 7:15 p.m. (ET). This will be the fifth time since 2005 that Notre Dame has played a spring game against a Mexican National Team. The Fighting Irish have never faced the U-21 team. The Irish have played both the U-17 and U-20 squads twice.
The match against the Mexico U-21s will be one of many events during the annual alumni/team banquet weekend. The official Alumni Stadium dedication will take place on Saturday, April 24 at 10:00 a.m.
Notre Dame is coming off an 11-8-4 campaign in 2009. The Irish finished 8-3 in BIG EAST play to place second in the Blue Division in addition to finishing as runner-up in the league tournament. Notre Dame earned a berth to its ninth straight NCAA Tournament and fell at Northwestern, 3-1, in the second round. The Irish were ranked 19th in the final Soccer America poll.
— ND —