Oct. 9, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The No. 22 Notre Dame men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision at West Virginia on Saturday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The setback ended Notre Dame’s four-game unbeaten streak.
West Virginia (6-3-2, 2-1-0) grabbed the lead in the 12th minute as Abel Sebele converted a penalty kick after an inadvertent handball was called on the Irish. The Mountaineers made it 2-0 in the 21st minute when Franck Tayou headed in a cross from Raymon Gaddis. West Virginia led 2-0 at halftime.
Notre Dame (5-3-3, 2-1-0) out shot West Virginia 8-3 in the second half. The Fighting Irish also had two more corner kicks (6-4) in the stanza.
The Irish cracked the scoring column in the 83rd minute when senior forward Steven Perry (Edmond, Okla./Bishop McGuinness) deposited a cross from sophomore midfielder Dillon Powers (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior). Perry leads the Fighting Irish with six goals this season, while Powers has a team-best four assists.
“I felt that we were fantastic for the last hour of the game,” said Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “They (West Virginia) scored on two of their three shots in the first half, but I give full marks to our guys for the way we came out and took over the game in the second half. I feel a lesser team may have crumbled in a similar situation.”
Notre Dame held a 10-6 advantage in shots for the match. The Irish had eight corner kicks compared to six for the Mountaineers. Senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle (Hooksett, N.H./Brewster Academy) made one save for the Irish, while his counterpart Zach Johnson had four stops. Tuttle has a 2-1-1 record this season.
“We had chances in the second half, but their goalkeeper came up with some good saves,” added Clark. “We got the goal late and it was positive to see how we got back into the game. The whole team worked hard and it was a good team performance in the second half.”
The Fighting Irish return home for a date against BIG EAST Blue Division foe Marquette at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday at Alumni Stadium.
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium – Morgantown, W. Va.
October 9, 2010
#22 Notre Dame (5-3-3, 2-1-0) 0 1 – 1
West Virginia (6-3-2, 2-1-0) 2 0 – 2
Scoring: WV: Abel Sebele (penalty kick) 11:57; WV: Franck Tayou (Raymon Gaddis) 20:30; ND: Steven Perry (Dillon Powers) 82:57
Shots: ND 2-8 – 10, WV 3-3 – 6
Corner Kicks: ND 2-6 – 8, WV 2-4 – 6
Goalkeepers: ND: Philip Tuttle – 1 SV, 2 GA, 90:00, L; WV: Zach Johnson – 4 SV, 1 GA, 90:00, W
Fouls: ND 7, WV 18
Offsides: ND 2, WV 0