Aug. 19, 2012
Notre Dame and Grassroot Soccer (Video Feature)
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s soccer team will open the home portion of its 2012 schedule Monday with an exhibition match versus Xavier. The contest is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium. Admission to the game is free and donations for Grassroot Soccer will be accepted throughout the match.
Grassroot Soccer (GRS) is an international non-governmental organization that uses the power of soccer to educate, inspire and mobilize communities against the spread of HIV. GRS has a special connection to Notre Dame soccer as Dr. Tommy Clark, the eldest son of Irish head coach Bobby Clark, founded the organization. This will be the ninth straight season that Notre Dame has held a match to benefit GRS.
The Notre Dame men’s soccer camp will match all donations dollar-for-dollar. Go to grassrootsoccer.org for more information on GRS.
“We hope that we can raise some money for Grassroot Soccer, which is a very worthwhile cause,” says Bobby Clark. “It raises awareness that HIV is still a huge killer in Africa and I hope people are aware of that. It’s nice that we can use soccer to help. Grassroot Soccer uses soccer in Africa as the main medium to educate and it’s great that we can use our sport here to help their cause.”
Monday’s match will be the final exhibition test for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame swept two preseason contests at Northern Illinois (2-0, 3-0) last Sunday and then played the Chivas Guadalajara Under-23 team to a 1-1 draw Thursday in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Notre Dame will open the regular season Saturday at home versus Duke. Kickoff between the Fighting Irish and Blue Devils is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium.
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