Sept. 13, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A `golden goal’ from Justin Davis gave New Mexico a 2-1 overtime win over No. 10 Notre Dame in men’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. The match was the final contest of the eighth annual Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. Davis scored both Lobo goals and was named the tournament’s offensive MVP.
Indiana won the Berticelli Tournament with a perfect 2-0 mark. New Mexico and Notre Dame posted 1-1 records, yet the Lobos won the tiebreaker based on head-to-head play to capture second place. Seattle was fourth as the Redhawks went winless for the weekend.
Notre Dame (2-2-1) cracked the scoring column first on an own goal in the fourth minute. A Lobo defender was trying to send the ball back to his goalkeeper, Justin Fite, and the ball snuck past him and into the back of the netting.
New Mexico (2-2-0) nearly evened the contest with 27:25 showing in the first half as Davis chipped the ball over Notre Dame goalkeeper Andrew Quinn (Silver Spring, Md./DeMatha), yet the ball hit the crossbar. Ryan Farquharson had another good look for the Lobos a minute later, but Quinn made the stop.
The Fighting Irish threatened again with just under 17 minutes remaining in the opening half as junior midfielder Josh Thiermann (Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton) sent a hard shot on frame that was saved by Fite. Both Fite and Quinn made five saves on the day.
Davis put home the equalizer in the 38th minute as he took a pass from Michael Reed and placed the ball into the right side of the goal. New Mexico out shot Notre Dame, 7-4, in the first half.
Notre Dame held a decisive 8-3 advantage in shots in the second half and owned a 13-11 edge for the match. New Mexico earned eight corner kicks compared to five for the Irish. Irish junior forward Jeb Brovsky (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) had a team-high three shots.
Notre Dame’s best chance in the second half was a shot from senior midfielder Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) that required a diving save from Fite to keep it out of the goal. Thomas and his classmate Justin Morrow (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius), a midfielder, were the Irish representatives on the all-tournament team. They both scored in Friday’s 3-0 triumph of Seattle.
The lone shot for either team in overtime was Davis’ tally just 1:48 into the first extra session. Stephen Brown assisted on the goal
“I was very disappointed for the team,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “I thought we kind of took over in the second half just like we did on Friday (versus Seattle). We talked about it at halftime how you have to be so careful in the back and you can’t have a concentration lapse. Full marks to New Mexico, he (Justin Davis) had two very good goals. They were both from similar spots on the field and he whipped them in. “
Today marked the first ever meeting between Notre Dame and New Mexico in regular-season play.
Indiana downed Seattle, 2-0, during the first game of the day on Sunday.
The Fighting Irish will open BIG EAST Conference play at DePaul on Friday, Sept. 18. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (CT).
Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament
Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, Ind.
Sept. 13, 2009
New Mexico (2-2-0) 1 0 1 – 2
#10 Notre Dame (2-2-1) 1 0 0 – 1
ND: Own Goal 3:08; NM: Justin Davis (Michael Reed) 37:54; NM: Justin Davis (Stephen Brown) 91:48
Shots: NM 7-3-1 – 11, ND 4-8-1 – 13
Corner Kicks: NM 3-5-0 – 8, ND 4-1-0 – 5
Saves: NM 5 (Justin Fite – 91:48 – 5 svs – 1 ga – W); ND 5 (Andrew Quinn – 91:48 – 5 svs – 2 ga – L)
Fouls: NM 10, ND 5
Offsides: NM 1, ND 2
2009 Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament Final Standings
1. Indiana (2-0-0)
2. New Mexico (1-1-0)*
3. Notre Dame (1-1-0)
4. Seattle (0-2-0)
* won tiebreaker with Notre Dame based on head-to-head play
2009 Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament All-Tournament Team
Offensive MVP – Justin Davis, Sr., New Mexico
Defensive MVP – Rich Balchan, Jr., Indiana
Goalkeeping MVP – Luis Soffner, So., Indiana
Will Bruin, So., F, Indiana
Eric Alexander, Sr., M, Indiana
Lee Hagedorn, Sr., M, Indiana
Rich Balchan, Jr., M, Indiana
Justin Davis, Sr., F/M, New Mexico
Lance Rozeboom, So., M, New Mexico
Ryan Farquharson, Jr., D/M, New Mexico
Justin Morrow, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Michael Thomas, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Sean Morris, Jr., M, Seattle
Demaci Roussos, So., D/M, Seattle