Oct. 21, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Juniors Greg Martin (Plano, Texas) and Kevin Richards (Warwick, Bermuda), who helped lead Notre Dame to wins over Michigan State (2-0) and No. 5 Connecticut (3-1), have each garnered BIG EAST weekly player-of-the week honors. Martin was selected as the league’s co-offensive player-of-the-week, while Richards was tabbed as the conference’s co-defensive player-of-the-week.
Martin, a midfielder, shares the honor this week with Ken Jonmaire of Virginia. He was instrumental in Notre Dame’s come-from-behind win over the Huskies as he tallied the first two Irish goals. Martin netted his first on a penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1 1:49 into the second half and then scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 53:41 mark of the contest.
Martin has started all 14 games this season for the Irish and is fourth in the scoring column with four goals (8 points).
Richards shares the defensive player-of-the-week honor with Chase Harrison of Virginia Tech as he helped anchor an Irish defense that allowed just one goal in two games. Against the Spartans, Notre Dame limited Michigan State to just three shots for the entire contest, including just one in the second half. In addition, he dished off an assist on against the Spartans on Chad Riley’s (Houston, Texas) first-half goal. In the win over Connecticut, Richards helped shut down the Huskies in the second half and limited them to just two second-half shots.
Richards has started all 14 games for the Irish in the backfield and has dished off three assists.
Currently, Notre Dame has won four straight and beaten four ranked opponents for the first time in the 26-year history of the program. The Irish own an 8-3-3 record and 4-2-1 mark in conference play. In addition, Notre Dame has produced a single-season best three wins over top-10 opponents. The Irish were ranked 20th in last week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll.