July 1, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Easing into the season will not be a luxury for the Notre Dame men’s soccer team as they open the 2005 regular-season slate with a match-up versus SMU on Friday, Sept. 2 as part of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind. On Sunday, Sept. 4 the Fighting Irish will battle Wake Forest in their second game of the classic. Both the Mustangs and Demon Deacons made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament one season ago. Notre Dame, who is coming off the program’s first-ever BIG EAST regular-season title, has eight 2004 NCAA tournament teams on its 2005 schedule.
The adidas/IU Credit Union Classic will be a marquee event as each of the four participating schools were among the top seven seeds of the 2004 NCAA College Cup. Wake Forest entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, while SMU was the seventh-seed. The Irish were the fifth-seed, while Indiana entered as the second-seed and went on to win its second straight national title.
Prior to the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic, a home exhibition match versus the University of New Mexico on Monday, Aug. 22 will be Notre Dame’s first action of the campaign. The proceeds from that game will go to benefit the Grassroot Soccer program, which helps in the fight against HIV/AIDS through prevention education in Africa. The Irish will also have an exhibition contest at the University of Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 28. The Lobos and the Wolverines both made the NCAA tournament in 2004.
Once the Fighting Irish return from Bloomington, they will play host to the fourth Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament Sept. 9 and 11. The first day of action features Notre Dame squaring off against an NCAA participant from one year ago in Boston University, a team in which the Irish defeated 2-0 last season. Indiana and Saint Louis play the first game of the evening. Notre Dame versus Saint Louis and Indiana versus Boston University are the match-ups for day two.
“We have a great schedule and I make no apologies for that,” states Fighting Irish head coach Bobby Clark, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Notre Dame program. “You want to test yourself and this year we certainly test ourselves very early. We will play some of the best teams in the country in our first five or six games. That is great and it will let us know where we are.”
The Fighting Irish will open BIG EAST Conference play with a two-game road trip to New York to battle St. John’s on Sept. 16 and Syracuse on Sept. 18. St. John’s, who made it to the 2004 NCAA quarterfinals, played the Irish to a 1-1 double-overtime tie last year.
BIG EAST newcomers Louisville and Cincinnati will invade Alumni Field on Sept. 23 and 25, respectively, as part of a four-game homestand for the Irish. Notre Dame steps away from conference action for a match versus Bradley on Sept. 28 before heading back into BIG EAST play against West Virginia on Oct. 1. The Mountaineers handed Notre Dame its only conference loss in 2004, a 1-0 decision in Morgantown, W.V.
The Irish will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to take on Marquette, another new conference-foe, on Oct. 5. A home match-up versus Connecticut, the defending BIG EAST tournament champion, awaits Notre Dame on Oct. 8.
Following the match versus the Huskies, Notre Dame will embark on a four-game road trip, its longest such trek of the year. A non-conference game against Michigan State, another 2004 NCAA team, on Oct. 11 gets the trip underway. Three BIG EAST foes then await the Irish beginning with Georgetown on Oct. 15, followed by Providence (Oct. 18) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 22).
The Irish return home for what should be a solid late season test as they take on Indiana on Oct. 26. Another chapter to the intrastate rivalry will be added as the two-time defending NCAA champions return to Notre Dame. A 1-0 Irish victory in double-overtime was the result the last time these two teams met at Alumni Field back in 2003. The Hoosiers defeated the Fighting Irish 2-0 in Bloomington one year ago. Notre Dame will then close out the regular season with a conference home match versus Seton Hall on Oct. 29. The Irish will be looking for a measure of revenge as the Pirates eliminated Notre Dame from the 2004 BIG EAST tournament on penalty kicks, 8-7, in the first round.
The BIG EAST tournament gets underway on Nov. 1 with the play-in round at the higher seeds campus. Quarterfinals will also be played at campus sites on Nov. 5. The semifinals and championship game will take place in Piscataway, N.J. on Nov. 11 and 13, respectively.
“You tell me if there’s a better league in the country than the BIG EAST,” said Clark. “We are the defending champions so everyone will be out to get us. But that is great and that is how you want it. If you are a good team you want to play with that pressure on you. The nice thing about a tough schedule like we have is when you get to the (NCAA) tournament you are not scared of anyone.”
First round action of the NCAA tournament takes place November 18-20 followed by the second round on the 22nd. The third round will be played November 26 and 27 with the quarterfinals to follow the next weekend on Dec. 2-4. Those first four rounds are held on campus sites before the College Cup semifinals and finals take to the pitch at the SAS Soccer Stadium in Cary, N.C. Dec. 9 and 11.
Despite losing key members of the 2004 season to graduation, Notre Dame’s top three point leaders are back, including the leading scorer in junior forward/midfielder Justin McGeeney (Ames, Iowa), who tallied 12 points (5 G, 2 A) one season ago. Fellow junior forward/midfielder Ian Etherington (Temecula, Calif.) returns after dishing out a team-leading five assists to go along with three goals in 2004. Senior forward Tony Megna (Middleton, Wis.) tied McGeeney for team-high honors in goals with five.
Junior midfielder Greg Dalby (Poway, Calif.), who is fresh off captaining the U.S. under-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, will also be an anchor on the Irish squad. Dalby copped second-team all-BIG EAST honors last year, while Etherington and McGeeney were third-team selections.
Two-time All-American and two-time BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Chris Sawyer, 2004 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Jack Stewart along with 2004 first-team all-BIG EAST defender Kevin Goldthwaite were all selected in the 2005 Major League Soccer Draft and leave the Irish with a void to fill. However, a highly touted freshman class will be looked upon to step in and add support for the Irish.
To follow the Fighting Irish throughout the 2005 campaign please log onto und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000. For ticket information please call the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356.
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2005 NOTRE DAME MEN’S SOCCER SCHEDULE
AUGUST
22 Mon. NEW MEXICO (exhibition) 7:00 p.m.
28 Sun. at Michigan (exhibition) 2:00 p.m.
SEPTEMBER
2 Fri. vs. SMU! 5:00 p.m.
4 Sun. vs. Wake Forest! 12:00 p.m.
MIKE BERTICELLI MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
9 Fri. BOSTON UNIVERSITY 7:30 p.m.
11 Sun. ST. LOUIS 2:00 p.m.
16 Fri. at St. John’s* 7:30 p.m.
18 Sun. at Syracuse* 1:00 p.m.
23 Fri. LOUISVILLE* 7:30 p.m.
25 Sun. CINCINNATI* 2:00 p.m.
28 Wed. BRADLEY 7:00 p.m.
OCTOBER
1 Sat. WEST VIRGINIA* 7:00 p.m.
5 Wed. at Marquette* 7:00 p.m.
8 Sat. CONNECTICUT* 7:00 p.m.
11 Tues. at Michigan State 4:00 p.m.
15 Sat. at Georgetown* 1:00 p.m.
18 Tues. at Providence* 3:00 p.m.
22 Sat. at Pittsburgh* 1:00 p.m.
26 Wed. INDIANA 7:00 p.m.
29 Sat. SETON HALL* 7:00 p.m.
NOVEMBER
1 Tues. BIG EAST Play-In (Higher Seed Campus) TBA
5 Sat. BIG EAST Quarterfinals (Higher Seed Campus) TBA
11 Fri. BIG EAST Semifinals (Piscataway, N.J.) TBA
13 Sun. BIG EAST Championship (Piscataway, N.J.) TBA
18-20 Fri.-Sun. NCAA First Round (Campus Sites) TBA
22 Tues. NCAA Second Round (Campus Sites) TBA
26&27 Sat.&Sun. NCAA Third Round (Campus Sites) TBA
DECEMBER
2-4 Fri.-Sun. NCAA Quarterfinals (Campus Sites) TBA
9&11 Fri.&Sun. NCAA College Cup (SAS Soccer Stadium, Cary, N.C.) TBA
! — adidas/IU Credit Union Classic (Bloomington, Ind.) * — BIG EAST Conference game All times local to site