Sept. 22, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – Senior Erich Braun (Frankfurt, Germany) and sophomore Luke Boughen (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) scored two goals each to lead the fifth-ranked Notre Dame men’s soccer team to their second BIG EAST win of the 2002 campaign as the Irish defeated Providence 5-1. Coach Bobby Clark’s squad exploded for four second-half goals, inluding three in a span of 1:30 following the halftime intermssion.
With the win, Notre Dame improves to 4-1-2 overall and 2-0-0 in the BIG EAST. It marks the best start for an Irish team since the 1996 campaign when that team posted a 4-1-2 record thru its first seven game of the season.
Notre Dame led 1-0 at the break as Braun, off an assist from Chad Riley (Houston, Texas) put his team on the scoreboard 11:04 into the contest. Despite outshooting the Friars 10-5 in the first half, the Irish could only manage the one score.
After the halftime intemission, Notre Dame began to quickly push the ball up field which paid dividends for head coach Bobby Clark and his team and resulted in the Irish breaking open the game. Devon Prescod (Marietta, Ga.) tallied Notre Dame’s second goal when he picked up a loose ball and spun around a defender and shot the ball from the top of the box 6:19 into the second half. That began a three-goal burst for the Irish over the next 1:30.
Following Prescod’s goal, Boughen nailed Notre Dame’s first goal and his first collegiate goal after centering a pass from Riley and drilling it into the left corner of the net at the 51:19 mark . Boughen then scored his second goal of the game 1:12 later when he knocked in a shot into the right corner of the net off an assist from Kevin Richards (Warwick, Bermuda).
Braun, who leads the Irish in scoring with six goals, registered his third multiple-goal game of the season and seventh of his career when he tallied Notre Dame’s fifth goal of the game at the 67:03 mark.
Providence, which dropped its fifth straight and fell to 1-5-0 overall and 0-3-0 in the BIG EAST, got on the scoreboard with its only goal of the game when Eoin Lynch high-kicked a ball of reserve Irish goalie Greg Tait (Fayetteville, N.Y.) and 0-2-0 off an assist from Derek Nobrega.
Chris Sawyer (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) made two saves in 64:52 of action and Tait registered there saves, while the Friars’ Michael Greulich stopped 10 shots. Notre Dame outshot Providence 20-11 in the contest and owned a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Riley’s three assists marked a single-game career-best for the Irish midfielder.
The Irish will play its next two games on the road when they travel to St. John’s to face the Red Storm on Thur., Sept., 26 at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) and then plays at Rutgers on Sun., Sept. 29 at 2:00 p.m. (EST).
SCORING: ND: Erich Braun (Chad Riley), 11:04; ND: Devon Prescod, 51:01; ND: Luke Boughen (Chad Riley), 51:19; ND: Luke Boughen (Chad Riley), 52:31; ND: Erich Braun (Kevin Richards); PC: Eoin Lynch (Derek Nobrega), 80:01 GAME STATISTICS: Shots: Notre Dame 20, Providence 11; Saves: Notre Dame 5 (Chris Sawyer – 2; Greg Tait – 3), Providence 10 (Michael Greulich – 10); Fouls: Notre Dame 8, Providence 12; Corner Kicks: Notre Dame 6, Providence 5