Nov. 17, 2007
#11 Notre Dame vs. #2 Connecticut
BIG EAST Championship – Final
Sunday, Nov. 18 – 12 noon (ET)
Morrone Stadium – Storrs, Conn.
Notre Dame will face No. 2 Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship final on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 12 noon (ET) at Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn. The 11th-ranked Fighting Irish will be looking to capture the program’s third BIG EAST Championship title. Notre Dame has won its only two trips to the BIG EAST final, with those victories coming in 1996 and 2003.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Sunday’s BIG EAST Championship title game can be seen live on Cox Sports Television (New England); Fox Sports Net, New York; Comcast SportsNet Chicago; Time Warner Cable, Wisconsin and Cox Sports Television (LA, TX, FLA) … the game will be shown delayed on College Sports Television (CSTV) (November 18, 2:00 p.m.); Comcast SportsNet, Philadelphia (November 18, 2:00 p.m.); Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) (November 18, 7:30 p.m.); WVFX Fox 46, West Virginia (November 18, 10:00 p.m.) and Catch 47 (Tampa) (November 19, 1:00 p.m.) … you can also follow the game via live stats at http://www.bigeast.org/liveStats/liveStats.dbml … BIG EAST.org also has all of the up-to-date information concerning the conference championship on its men’s soccer `Championship Central’ page.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (12-3-5, 7-0-4) is coming off a 2-1 victory over DePaul in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship on Friday (Nov. 16) … goals from Michael Thomas and Joseph Lapira propelled the Fighting Irish into the title game of the BIG EAST Championship for the third time in program history and the first time since 2003 … the Fighting Irish, who shared the BIG EAST Blue Division title with Connecticut, finished as the only undefeated team in BIG EAST regular-season play during the 2007 campaign … that marked the first time in program history that Notre Dame has ever compiled an undefeated BIG EAST season … the Notre Dame defense has produced 10 shutouts this season, while senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill has eight shutouts this season and 28 for his career … the Irish have registered at least 10 shutouts in each of the last five seasons … Lapira leads the Irish in goals (7), assists (8) and points (22) … the assists are a career-high total for the 2006 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winner … Notre Dame is averaging 1.51 goals per game, while allowing 0.80 … in this week’s polls, Notre Dame is eighth according to Soccer Times, 11th in the NSCAA/adidas rankings and 12th in both the Soccer America and College Soccer News polls … the Irish returned six starters and 14 letterwinners back from last season’s squad that went 15-6-2 (8-3-0 BE) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time in program history … head coach Bobby Clark is in his seventh season with the Irish … he has a record of 92-36-20 (.689) at Notre Dame and an overall record of 245-99-45 (.688) during his 21 seasons in college soccer.
BLUE DIVISION BATTLE: Sunday’s match between Notre Dame and Connecticut will pit the regular season co-champions from the BIG EAST Blue Division … the Fighting Irish finished as the only undefeated team in BIG EAST play this season with a 7-0-4 mark, while the Huskies went 8-2-1 … Connecticut garnered the division’s top seed by virtue of more wins within the division … Notre Dame is the second seed from the Blue Division.
IRISH IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP: This is Notre Dame’s 11th trip to the BIG EAST Championship … the Irish own an 11-7-2 mark overall in the league playoffs, including wins over St. John’s and DePaul in this year’s tournament … last season, Notre Dame defeated DePaul, 2-0, in the first round before falling at Rutgers, 2-1, in double-overtime during the quarterfinals … Notre Dame has won the BIG EAST Championship on two occasions, in 1996 and 2003 … Notre Dame is 5-1-2 at home all-time in the conference tournament, 1-4-0 in true road games and 5-2-0 at neutral sites.
FINALS HISTORY: Notre Dame is making the program’s third trek to the title game of the BIG EAST Championship … the Irish have won those past two matches, which occurred in 1996 and 2003 … in 2003, the Irish defeated Providence 1-0 in Storrs, Conn. … the 1996 title came in Piscataway, N.J. as Notre Dame took down Rutgers 1-0.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS CONNECTICUT: Notre Dame and Connecticut will be meeting for the 17th time … the Huskies have an 8-6-2 edge in the series … the two teams played to a thrilling 3-3 draw earlier this season at Notre Dame … Joseph Lapira netted two goals in that match for Notre Dame, while Ryan Miller also tallied a score … Lapira has three career goals against UConn … last season, Notre Dame captured a 1-0 victory at Connecticut … Michael Thomas scored the lone goal for the Irish … the Fighting Irish are 2-5-0 against the Huskies at Connecticut … the first meeting took place during the 1986 season in Storrs, Conn. … the Irish won that match, 2-1, in overtime … that was the only contest between the two schools prior to Notre Dame joining the BIG EAST Conference in 1995.
ND-UCONN IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP: Notre Dame is 2-0-0 against Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship … both wins came en route to the Irish winning the conference title … in 1996, Notre Dame topped UConn, 2-1, in a semifinal match in Piscataway, N.J. … the Fighting Irish downed the Huskies, 2-0, during the quarterfinals of the 2003 tournament in Notre Dame, Ind.
THE LAST TIME: (recap of the Notre Dame-UConn match from Oct. 13, 2007) … In an action-packed match between two of the nation’s top teams, No. 3 Notre Dame played No. 1 Connecticut to a 3-3 draw on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Alumni Field … senior forward Joseph Lapira scored two goals for the Fighting Irish, who overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit … Notre Dame came out strong in the first half and dominated play early … the Irish controlled the ball and nearly capitalized with crosses and corner kicks sent into the box … Connecticut was held silent in the opening half until O’Brian White netted his 15th goal of the season in the 36th minute off a feed from Ryan Cordeiro … the Huskies struck again eight minutes later as Euan Holden took a pass from Chukwudi Chijindu and put the ball into the back of the net … Toni Stahl also notched an assist on the play … the Fighting Irish rally began in the 53rd minute as Lapira was tripped up in the 18-yard box and awarded a penalty kick … the reigning M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winner delivered to cut the deficit in half … the re-energized Irish kept attacking and senior midfielder Ryan Miller netted the equalizer in the 60th minute as he deposited the rebound off a Jeb Brovsky shot that was saved … Notre Dame connected on its third unanswered goal in the 66th minute when Lapira headed in a cross from junior defender Jack Traynor … Miller also collected an assist on the goal … the Huskies responded with an equalizer of their own from Chijindu with the assists going to Cordeiro and Akeem Priestley in the 72nd minute … Connecticut kept pressuring late in regulation but to no avail … after a scoreless first 10-minute overtime period, both teams had good looks early in the second overtime, yet neither squad could notch the golden goal … Notre Dame out shot Connecticut 20-15 for the match, while the Irish also held an 8-5 edge in corner kicks … Chris Cahill made four saves for the Fighting Irish, while Josh Ford had five stops for the Huskies.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Connecticut (17-2-1, 8-2-1) shared the regular-season BIG EAST Blue Division title with Notre Dame … the Huskies are the No. 1 seed from the Blue Division in the BIG EAST Championship … UConn defeated South Florida, 2-0, in quarterfinal play before knocking off Louisville, 5-1, in the semifinals on Friday … Connecticut is ranked second in all four major polls (NSCAA, Soccer America, Soccer Times, College Soccer News) … UConn boasts the 2007 BIG EAST offensive player of the year in O’Brian White and the defensive player of the year in Julius James … James has been named the league’s top defender for three straight years … White has 45 points on 19 goals and seven assists … freshman Josh Ford has played every minute in goal and boasts a 0.59 goals-against average and a .818 save percentage … the Huskies are averaging 2.16 goals per game.
NOTRE DAME IN STORRS: Notre Dame has compiled an all-time record of 5-7-0 in Storrs, Conn. … the Irish are 2-5-0 against Connecticut on its home turf, while Notre Dame has gone 3-2-0 in Storrs during the BIG EAST Championship, including Friday’s win over DePaul … in the last regular-season visit to Storrs, the Fighting Irish defeated Connecticut 1-0 in 2006 … Notre Dame went 2-0-0 at Morrone Stadium during its run to the 2003 BIG EAST Championship title.
CONFERENCE CROWNS: Notre Dame will be aiming for its sixth conference tournament title on Sunday … the Fighting Irish captured three Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships (1988, 1993, 1994) … Notre Dame has won the BIG EAST Championship in 1996 and 2003.
TAKING DOWN A TOP-10: The 2-1 overtime victory over top-ranked UCLA on Aug. 31 gave Notre Dame a win over a top-10 team for the eighth straight season … the Irish will try to knock off another top-10 team when they face No. 2 Connecticut on Sunday … Notre Dame took down three top-10 teams last season … the Irish topped both Creighton (4-1) and Indiana (5-4, OT) when those squads were ranked eighth nationally … Notre Dame bested No. 7 Maryland, 1-0, in double-overtime during the third round of the NCAA Tournament … that marked the first time the Irish beat three top-10 teams in a season since 2002.
IRISH LEADERS: Senior forward Joseph Lapira leads the team in goals (7), assists (8) and points (22) … Lapira has led Notre Dame in goals and points in each of the past two seasons … he had 19 points and seven goals in 2005 … last season, Lapira produced nation-leading numbers in points (50) and goals (22) … goalkeeper Chris Cahill, a three-year starter, has an 11-2-5 record this season with a 0.74 goals-against average and a .823 save percentage to go along with eight shutouts.
NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY: Notre Dame owns an overall record of 76-48-16 (.600) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish have posted seven straight winning seasons within the conference, including this year … last season, the Irish went 8-3-0 in league play … that marked the second time that the Irish posted a program-record eight BIG EAST victories … Notre Dame won its only regular-season BIG EAST title prior to this season in 2004 with an 8-1-1 record … the Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST Tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003.
BIG EAST ACCOLADES: A total of seven Notre Dame student-athletes garnered all-conference recognition at the annual BIG EAST men’s soccer awards banquet on Thursday, Nov. 15 … that mark was one off the program record of eight, established in 2003, for all-league honorees … the Irish boasted two student-athletes on each of the three all-conference teams in addition to one honorable-mention selection … Joseph Lapira (Sr./F) and Ryan Miller (Sr./D/M) were named to the first team, while Matt Besler (Jr./D) and Chris Cahill (Sr./GK) were second-team picks … Kurt Martin (Sr./F) and Jack Traynor (Jr./D) were third-team members and Matt Armstrong (Fr./M) earned honorable mention distinction.
POSTSEASON PERFORMER: Senior forward Joseph Lapira has netted six postseason goals during his Fighting Irish career … his score against DePaul on Friday marked his second goal in BIG EAST Championship play … Lapira has four goals in NCAA Tournament play.
NEXT UP: The field for the 2007 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 19 … the pairings will be announced on ESPNEWS between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. (ET) … the brackets will be available on NCAAsports.com immediately following the selection show.
LAST TIME OUT: Notre Dame captured a 2-1 win over DePaul in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship at a cold and windy Morrone Stadium on Friday, Nov. 16 … the Fighting Irish used goals from Michael Thomas and Joseph Lapira to advance to the BIG EAST title game for the third time in school history … Notre Dame produced an early goal as freshman Steven Perry played the ball to Thomas from the right side and he centered up his shot from inside the 18-yard box and put the ball into the back of the net in the fifth minute of play … the sophomore midfielder nearly netted a second goal with 33:07 remaining in the first half as a point-blank header was saved … Notre Dame had two good looks with just under 15 minutes left in the opening stanza … the first attempt was a Jack Traynor shot from 12 yards out that a Blue Demon defender was able to put a leg on for the block … the rebound went to Lapira and he sent the shot just wide to the left … that preceded a three-shot flurry from the Irish that went to no avail … DePaul threatened late in the first half, yet Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Cahill shut the door on the opportunities as he collected three saves in the half and five for the game … the Irish, who were playing into a stiff wind in the opening 45 minutes, held a 7-6 shot advantage in the first half … Notre Dame led 1-0 at the intermission … the first good look for the Irish in the second half came with 30:48 remaining as a Lapira cross was headed just wide by Alex Yoshinaga … DePaul’s first major threat came with 25:42 left in the second period as a Steffen Vroom shot hit the crossbar after being chipped over Cahill … the rebound went right to Cahill, who cleared the ball away … after surviving that scare, Notre Dame came up with its second score as a Yoshinaga shot was saved by Blue Demon goalkeeper Brian Visser and Lapira gathered in the rebound and sent home his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 68th minute … the Blue Demons got on the board in the 74th minute as an Erich Reichmann low blast found the left side of the net from 40-yards away … that snapped a scoreless streak from Cahill which had reached just over 300 minutes … Notre Dame nearly regained its two-goal advantage as DePaul needed a diving save from Visser on a Yoshinaga shot with 8:09 left in regulation … neither team could produce anything the rest of the way as the Irish came away with the victory … the Irish out shot the Blue Demons 15-10, while also holding a 2-1 edge in corner kicks … Visser, the 2007 BIG EAST goalkeeper of the year, made five saves on the night.
TRAYNOR BACK: Starting left back Jack Traynor returned to the Fighting Irish lineup in the 1-0 win over St. John’s in the BIG EAST quarterfinals on Nov. 11 … Traynor had missed the previous four matches after getting injured in the second half of a 3-2 loss to Indiana on Oct. 17.
SHUTING DOWN THE COMPETITION: Notre Dame has posted 10 shutouts this season … that signifies the fifth-straight season in which the Fighting Irish have posted at least that many shutouts … senior Chris Cahill has eight shutouts to his credit, while junior Andrew Quinn has one … both Cahill and Quinn saw action in a 3-0 win over Rhode Island … Quinn picked up the shutout against Marquette (1-0), while Cahill and the Irish defense held Rutgers (2-0) and Villanova (1-0) without a goal … Cahill notched a shutout against No. 16 Michigan in a 3-0 victory by making a season-high seven saves … he followed that with another blanking in a 1-0 win over No. 13 West Virginia … Cahill picked up his fifth shutout in a 2-0 triumph of Seton Hall and then he and the Irish defense held Pittsburgh scoreless in a 3-0 victory … Cahill made two saves in a 0-0 draw at Georgetown … in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship, Cahill did not have to make a save in the 1-0 win over St. John’s.
FIT TO BE TIED: Notre Dame has played to five ties this season … that marks the most draws for a single season in the 31-year history of the Fighting Irish program … Notre Dame has had a total of six games go to overtime … the Irish defeated then-No. 1 UCLA, 2-1, with a golden goal in the 94th minute during the season opener on Aug. 31.
DOUBLE-DIGITS: The Fighting Irish have reached the double-digit victory plateau for the seventh straight season … the streak began during the first year of the Bobby Clark era in 2001 … the most wins under Clark was 16 in 2003 … Notre Dame posted 15 victories last season and 13 in 2004 … the Irish have won 12 games four times, including this season, during Clark’s tenure (2001, 2002, 2005, 2007).
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Notre Dame’s last nine goals have come from seven different players … a total of 12 different Irish players have notched a goal this season … senior Joseph Lapira leads the team with seven goals, while fellow senior Ryan Miller is second with six … sophomore Justin Morrow is next in line with three tallies … Kurt Martin, Alex Yoshinaga, Matt Besler, Dave Donohue, Jeb Brovsky and Michael Thomas all have two goals, while three players have scored once … a total of 15 players have tallied at least one point … Lapira has a team-best 22 points, which includes a team-high eight assists.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Notre Dame’s three goals against Pittsburgh on Oct. 24 matched a season-high outburst for the Irish … Notre Dame has scored three times on four occasions this season … the three first-half tallies versus the Panthers marked the third time this season that Notre Dame has scored three goals in one half … the Fighting Irish scored three times in a 3-0 win over No. 16 Michigan on Oct. 3 … Notre Dame netted three second-half scores in a 3-3 tie with No. 1 Connecticut on Oct. 13.
MILLER AND RELLAS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS: Ryan Miller and Cory Rellas have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V men’s soccer team … Miller, a fifth-year senior, graduated from the Mendoza College of Business in May of 2007 with a degree in accounting … he finished with a 3.409 cumulative grade-point average and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting … Miller has a career-high six goals this season … he also has a career-best 15 points … Rellas, a junior defender, carries a 3.634 cumulative GPA as a finance and history major … Rellas has started all 20 games this season and has been an integral part in the Irish posting 10 shutouts … he also has scored one goal.
STARTING STREAK: Ryan Miller, a defender/midfielder, has started 85 straight matches for the Fighting Irish … his 85 consecutive games played is three off the program record established by Greg Dalby (2003-06) … as a freshman, Miller earned his first start during the second game of the season yet suffered an injury that kept him out the rest of the campaign … he started the first game of the following season in 2004 and has not left the starting lineup since … the fifth-year senior has posted career-high totals this season in goals (6) and assists (15).
FACING #1, AGAIN: The 3-3 draw with Connecticut on Oct. 13 marked the second time this season that Notre Dame had squared off with a team ranked No. 1 at the time of the meeting … Notre Dame topped then-No. 1 UCLA, 2-1, in overtime during the season opener on Aug. 31 … the Fighting Irish are 1-5-1 when facing a top-ranked team since the 1990 season.
SHOOTING STARS: Notre Dame has out shot its opponents 336-224 this season … the Irish own a 165-84 advantage in shots during the first half and a 156-122 edge in the second period … Notre Dame has been out shot 18-15 in overtime periods.
CORNERING THE MARKET: The Fighting Irish have a 119-72 advantage in corner kicks over their opponents, including a decisive 57-25 margin in first-half play … Notre Dame owns a 55-43 edge in the second half, while the Irish have out cornered the opposition 7-4 in overtime.
SHOCKING SHUTOUTS: Notre Dame had its string of not being shut out in a BIG EAST regular-season game snapped in a 0-0 tie at Georgetown on Nov. 3 … the Irish had gone 20 matches in regular-season conference play without being held scoreless … overall, Notre Dame has only been shut out three times in the past 34 contests … the Georgetown match marked the only time in the past 34 games that Notre Dame played to a scoreless draw … the Irish are currently riding a 17-game streak without being shut out at home.
NO STREAKS: Notre Dame has not lost back-to-back games since the end of the 2001 campaign … that season, the Irish fell to St. John’s, 1-0, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship before suffering a 1-0 setback to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament … Notre Dame followed up this season’s first loss, a 3-0 setback against Maryland, with a 3-0 win over Rhode Island … the Irish then responded after a 1-0 loss to Michigan State with a 3-3 draw against No. 1 Connecticut … following a 3-2 loss against No. 12 Indiana, Notre Dame defeated Seton Hall, 2-0.
ROOKIE IMPACT: The Irish have had a significant impact from its 2007 freshman class … Jeb Brovsky has totaled five points on two goals and one assist … Matt Armstrong has started every game in the midfield and has notched one assist … Armstrong has filled the shoes of two-time first-team All-American Greg Dalby, who had a stellar four-year career with the Irish … Josh Thiermann and Steven Perry have combined to play in 21 games and have been valuable sparks off the bench … Theirmann scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship.
HIGH MARKS: Notre Dame was ranked No. 2 in all four major polls (Soccer America, NSCAA, Soccer Times, College Soccer News) during the week of Sept. 24 … that marked the highest ranking in program history.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: Joseph Lapira opened the season with a three-point match in a 2-1 overtime win against No. 1 UCLA … he gave the Irish a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute and then assisted on Alex Yoshinaga’s golden goal in the 94th minute to give Notre Dame the victory … Lapira led all NCAA Division I men’s soccer players with 22 goals and 50 points last season.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior forward Joseph Lapira is currently in fifth place on Notre Dame’s all-time goals list with 39 tallies … Kevin Lovejoy (1978-80) is the program record-holder with 67 goals … Lapira’s 99 career points rank him sixth in program history … Lapira is just one point away from 100, which would put him into the top five … Lovejoy has that mark as well with 153 points.
BIG EAST PRESEASON HONORS: Joseph Lapira was named the preseason BIG EAST offensive player of the year and junior defender Matt Besler joined Lapira on the all-BIG EAST preseason team … Lapira was the 2006 BIG EAST offensive player of the year.
LAPIRA NAMED TO M.A.C. HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST: Joseph Lapira was named to the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy Watch List … the trophy is presented annually to the top men’s soccer player in the United States … Lapira won the award last season as he led all NCAA Division I men’s players with 22 goals and 50 points … he became the first Notre Dame men’s player to receive the award … a panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) compiled the 29-man M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List … Lapira will try to become the first back-to-back recipient of the most prestigious award in college soccer since Virginia’s Claudio Reyna took home the Hermann Trophy in 1992 and 1993.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Joseph Lapira had an eventful summer of 2007 … in May, Lapira trained with the Ireland National Team while the squad was in the United States … Lapira earned his first cap in a match against Ecuador on May 23 in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. … when he entered the match in the 86th minute, he became the first amateur to play for Ireland since 1964 … the game ended as a 1-1 draw … the Louisiana native was able to participate with the Ireland team since he has dual-citizenship because his mother is a native of the country … later in the summer, he went to Europe and trained with the Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier League and with Derby County of the English Premier League.
NOTRE DAME PICKED SECOND IN BLUE DIVISION: Notre Dame was selected to finish second in the BIG EAST Blue Division for the 2007 season … the Irish garnered 102 points in voting by the league’s head coaches, while Connecticut received 105 points … Connecticut garnered 10 first-place votes in the Blue Division, while Notre Dame had four and West Virginia totaled three … St. John’s was tabbed to win the league’s Red Division followed by Rutgers and South Florida.
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS WATCH LISTS: Joseph Lapira was selected to the College Soccer News Pre-Season All-America first team … the senior was not the only Irish student-athlete honored by the publication, as two incoming freshmen were named to the `100 Freshmen to Watch’ list for the 2007 season … (M) Matt Armstrong and (F) Josh Thiermann were selected to the list and are part of a very talented seven-man freshman class for the Irish.
FRESHMAN CLASS NATIONALLY RANKED: Notre Dame’s seven-man freshman class was ranked 15th nationally by College Soccer News … (M) Matt Armstrong, (M) Jeb Brovsky, (D) Bilal Duckett, (M) Greg Klazura, (F) Andrew Luttrell, (F) Steven Perry and (F) Josh Thiermann make up the talented crop of Fighting Irish rookies.
IRISH ON THE SMALL SCREEN: Notre Dame had five of its regular-season matches televised … the Fighting Irish played Rutgers on Fox Soccer Channel on Sept. 21 in Piscataway, N.J. … Notre Dame played at Marquette on Time Warner Cable … two Irish home games were also televised … Notre Dame and Michigan appeared on Comcast Local on Oct. 3 as did the Irish’s tilt against Indiana on Oct. 17 … a match at Providence on Oct. 28 was carried by Cox Sports Television.
STAY UP-TO-DATE ON NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS: To stay updated on all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame you can log on to the official Notre Dame athletics web site at und.com or you can call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000 … to access men’s soccer information on the hotline all you need to do is dial 4 from the main menu and then dial 1.
SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: Go to und.com to sign up for Irish ALERT, a text messaging service designed to give fans up-to-the-minute game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame … men’s soccer fans can sign up to receive scores after each half of every game.