Oct. 13, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 21 Notre Dame men’s soccer team exploded with a three-goal first half en route to a 4-1 victory over Marquette in BIG EAST Blue Division play on Wednesday evening at Alumni Stadium. Senior forward Steven Perry (Edmond, Okla./Bishop McGuinness) matched a single-game career-high total with two goals in the match.
The Fighting Irish also received goals from sophomore midfielder Dillon Powers (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and junior midfielder Adam Mena (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa). Freshman forward Harrison Shipp (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who was making his first career start, dished out three assists for the Irish.
Notre Dame (6-3-3, 3-1-0) opened the scoring just over two minutes into the contest as Shipp played the ball back to Powers and he sent home his second goal of the season from 16 yards out. The Irish made it 2-0 in the 11th minute as Perry tallied his first goal of the match with the assists going to Shipp and junior midfielder Michael Rose (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park).
Perry nearly connected on a shot in the 26th minute, yet Marquette goalkeeper David Check made the save and the rebound attempt from Notre Dame’s Brendan King (Naperville, Ill./Edison Academic Center [Fla.]) was sent wide to the left. The Irish expanded their lead to three in the 30th minute when Shipp crossed the ball to Mena, who had been in the match for less than a minute, on the right side and he lofted a shot over the outstretched hands of Check from 23 yards out. That was Mena’s second goal of the season.
Notre Dame led 3-0 at halftime.
“The first half was a terrific performance by us,” said Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “Harry Shipp made his first start and he had three assists in that period. He played superbly well. That first period is as well as we’ve played all year. It was good soccer. We were making chances and scoring goals.”
Marquette (4-4-4, 1-1-2) upped its pressure in the early stages of the second half. In the 55th minute, Notre Dame goalkeeper Philip Tuttle (Hooksett, N.H./Brewster Academy) saved a close-range shot from Chris Madsen. However, Madsen sent a shot past Tuttle 40 seconds later from 20 yards away to slice the Irish lead to two.
Notre Dame regained its three-goal advantage in the 62nd minute as Perry deposited his team-leading eighth goal of the season by dribbling the ball into the 18-yard box and blasting a shot into the netting at the far post. It was Perry’s second two-goal match of the season. He also scored twice in a 2-0 win over Drake on Sept. 10.
Both teams had 12 shots on the night. The Golden Eagles gained seven corner kicks, while the Irish had four. Tuttle made four saves and improved his record to 3-1-1 this season. Check made two saves in 65 minutes of play, while Keenan Flynn made one save and did not surrender a goal in 25 minutes of action.
“I don’t know if we already thought we’d won the game, but we took our foot off the gas in the second half and I’m not quite sure why,” added Clark. “We let them come into the game and that made me a little nervous, especially after they scored to make it 3-1. But Steven Perry, he’s a scoring machine, put the fourth goal in and that closed it for us. All in all it was a great result for us, but I’m still looking for that full 90-minute performance.”
The Fighting Irish will begin a three-game road trip on Saturday against No. 2 Louisville. Kickoff against the Cardinals is slated for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at Cardinal Park. The Irish also will face Seton Hall (Oct. 19) and Connecticut (Oct. 22) during the trek, which is during the University’s weeklong fall break.
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
October 13, 2010
Marquette (4-4-4, 1-1-2) 0 1 – 1
#21 Notre Dame (6-3-3, 3-1-0) 3 1 – 4
Scoring: ND: Dillon Powers (Harrison Shipp) 2:10; ND: Steven Perry (Michael Rose, Harrison Shipp) 10:54; ND: Adam Mena (Harrison Shipp) 29:31; MU: Chris Madsen (Calum Mallace) 55:06; ND: Steven Perry (unassisted) 61:54
Shots: MU 6-6 – 12, ND 7-5 – 12
Corner Kicks: MU 3-4 – 7, ND 1-3 – 4
Goalkeepers: MU: David Check – 2 SV, 4 GA, 65:14, L; Keenan Flynn – 1 SV, 0 GA, 24:46; ND: Philip Tuttle – 4 SV, 1 GA, 90:00, W
Fouls: MU 7, ND 11
Offsides: MU 6, ND 2