Dave Donohue netted a hat trick against Marquette last season.

Irish On The Road This Week At Marquette And Providence

Oct. 6, 2009

Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

#24 NOTRE DAME (5-4-1, 3-2-0) at
MARQUETTE (2-5-2, 1-2-2)
Wednesday, Oct. 7 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Valley Fields • Milwaukee, Wis.
Notre Dame leads series 10-5-1

#24 NOTRE DAME (5-4-1, 3-2-0) at
PROVIDENCE (5-3-1, 2-2-1)
Saturday, Oct. 10 • 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Glay Field • Providence, R.I.
Notre Dame leads series 11-2-1

SETTING THE STAGE … Notre Dame will hit the road for two BIG EAST Blue Division matches this week. The Fighting Irish will face Marquette on Wednesday (Oct. 7) at 7:00 p.m. (CT). Notre Dame will then head east to square off with Providence on Saturday (Oct. 10) at 1:00 p.m. (ET). The Irish are 5-4-1 overall and 3-2-0 in league play.

ABOUT THE IRISH … Notre Dame is 5-4-1 on the season and 3-2-0 in BIG EAST play … the Irish are 4-2-0 at home this season in the brand new Alumni Stadium … the Irish topped Seton Hall, 2-1, on Oct. 2 in the last match of a three-game homestand … seniors Michael Thomas and Justin Morrow tallied goals in the victory over the Pirates … Thomas evened the match in the 51st minute on a penalty kick, while Morrow delivered the game winner in the 71st minute … senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle picked up the win to improve his record to 4-2 this season … senior forward Bright Dike leads the team in goals (6) and points (14) … Thomas has a team-high four assists … Notre Dame is averaging 1.90 goals per game, while surrendering 1.00 goals per contest … Tuttle has started five games and boasts a 0.83 goals-against average and a .737 save percentage with two shutouts … Andrew Quinn, a fifth-year senior, has a 1-2-1 record with a 1.18 goals-against average and a .783 save percentage … head coach Bobby Clark is in his ninth season with the Irish … he has a 111-49-23 (.669) record during his Notre Dame tenure.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MARQUETTE … Wednesday will be the 17th meeting between Marquette and Notre Dame … the Fighting Irish hold a 10-5-1 advantage in the series, including wins in the last four encounters … the Irish captured a 4-1 home victory over Marquette last season … this will mark the fifth straight season that the two schools have met … Notre Dame and Marquette squared off during 12 straight seasons from 1979-1990 … both schools were in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference together from 1988-1990 … the Irish own a 31-26 scoring edge in the series … Notre Dame is 4-4 all-time at Marquette … the Irish claimed a 1-0 win in their last trip to Marquette, which occurred during the 2007 campaign.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES … Marquette will carry a 2-5-2 record into Wednesday night’s clash with the Irish … the Golden Eagles are 1-2-2 in BIG EAST action … Marquette is coming off a 1-0 loss to West Virginia on Saturday … the Golden Eagles have topped Milwaukee (1-0) and Cincinnati (1-0), while falling to Drake (2-0), Buffalo (4-0), UC Irvine (1-0), DePaul (2-1) and West Virginia (1-0) … Marquette has tied USF (1-1) and Louisville (2-2) … the Golden Eagles are averaging 0.67 goals-per game, while surrendering 1.44 per contest … Calum Mallace has a team-high two goals … Matt Pyzdrowski has started eight games in goal and has a 1.35 goals-against average and a .721 save percentage with two shutouts … head coach Louis Bennett is in his fourth season at Marquette.

THE LAST TIME … A hat trick from Dave Donohue propelled Notre Dame to a 4-1 win over Marquette at Alumni Field last season (Sept. 11, 2008) … Donohue had seven points in the match as he also assisted on a goal from Michael Thomas … Notre Dame led 4-0 before Anthony Colaizzi scored for the Golden Eagles in the 74th minute … Notre Dame goalkeeper Andrew Quinn made two saves to earn the win.

NO. 700 … Notre Dame’s match at Marquette will mark the 700th game in the history of the Fighting Irish varsity program … the Irish are 426-207-66 (.657) since the varsity program began in 1977.

QUOTING CLARK … Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark discusses the upcoming match against Marquette … “Every game in the BIG EAST is challenging and Marquette will be no different. Going on the road in the league is a challenge. We hope to come out and play well from the first minute on. Hopefully we can come out and play well and keep getting points within the league to build for another championship.”

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS PROVIDENCE … Saturday will be the 15th meeting between Notre Dame and Providence … the Fighting Irish hold an 11-2-1 lead in the series … Notre Dame topped Providence 3-1 at home last season … the Irish have won seven of the past eight meetings … Notre Dame’s last trip to Providence resulted in a 2-2 tie during the 2007 season … the Irish are 4-2-1 all-time at Providence … the last Friar win over the Irish was a 3-1 decision in 2000 at Providence … the first encounter in the series came during the 1995 season, which was Notre Dame’s inaugural campaign in the BIG EAST Conference … the Irish prevailed 1-0 at home … the Fighting Irish have out scored the Friars 31-10 in the series.

SCOUTING THE FRIARS … Providence will bring a 5-3-1 record into its match at Connecticut on Tuesday … the Friars are 2-2-1 in BIG EAST play, including a 3-0 win at Pittsburgh on Saturday … Providence has also topped Sacred Heart (1-0 in 2ot), Holy Cross (1-0), Northeastern (1-0) and Syracuse (1-0) … the Friars have fallen to Boston University (3-0), Rutgers (2-1 in 2ot) and Villanova (1-0) … Providence also played St. John’s to a scoreless draw … the Friars are averaging 0.89 goals per game while allowing 0.67 per match … Timothy Ritter has a team-high three goals … Timothy Murray has played every minute in goal and boasts a 0.62 goals-against average and a .842 save percentage with six shutouts … head coach Chaka Daley is in his 10th season at Providence.

THE LAST TIME … Notre Dame topped Providence 3-1 last season at Alumni Field … the Irish used three different goal scorers in the match … Bright Dike put the Irish on the board in the 27th minute, while Michael Thomas made it a two-goal advantage in the 51st minute … the Friars cut the deficit in half with a Matt Marcin goal in the 60th minute … Jeb Brovsky put the finishing touches on the win for the Irish with his goal with five minutes remaining … Irish goalkeeper Andrew Quinn made two saves in the victory.

MORROW GARNERS LEAGUE ACCOLADE … Senior midfielder/defender Justin Morrow was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 5 after scoring the game-winning goal in the 71st minute in a 2-1 triumph over Seton Hall (Oct. 2).

NIGHT OWLS … Notre Dame is 4-0-1 this season when playing at night … the Irish will try to improve that mark against Marquette on Wednesday … last season, the Fighting Irish were 7-4-2 during night games.

TAKING DOWN A TOP-10 … The 4-0 win over seventh-ranked Louisville on Sept. 25 marked Notre Dame’s first victory over a top-10 team since they defeated No. 5 USF, 5-0, last season (Sept. 7, 2008).

CRACKING THE CARDINALS … Prior to Notre Dame’s 4-0 triumph of Louisville on Sept. 25, the Cardinals had only surrendered one goal this season … senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle and the Irish defense posted the shutout against Louisville, who entered the match averaging 2.5 goals per game … Tuttle made three saves to collect his second clean sheet of the season … the loss still stands as the only setback of the season for the Cardinals.

IRISH EXPLOSION … The four goals scored in the second half against Louisville on Sept. 25 were the most goals scored in a single period by the Irish since they netted four in the first half in a 5-0 win over USF last season (Sept. 7, 2008).

SPREADING THE WEALTH … Notre Dame used four different goal scorers in its 4-0 win over Louisville on Sept. 25 … Michael Thomas, Steven Perry, Bright Dike and Jeb Brovsky did the damage for the Fighting Irish … Thomas, Brovsky, Dike and Dave Donohue all had assists in the match.

OFFENSE AT ALUMNI … Notre Dame has scored three or more goals three times this season at the brand new Alumni Stadium … those performances have occurred against Michigan (5-0), Seattle (3-0) and Louisville (4-0) … Notre Dame scored the first nine goals at the stadium before surrendering a goal to the New Mexico in the 38th minute during the game on Sept. 13 … the scoreless streak in the new venue reached 217:54.

MAUND AND POWERS AT U-20 WORLD CUP … Sophomore defender Aaron Maund and freshman midfielder Dillon Powers were members of the United States Under-20 National Team that recently competed at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt … … the U.S. finished in 17th place, one slot shy of advancing to the Round of 16 … Powers started the first contest of group competition, a 3-0 loss to Germany on Sept. 26, and played the entire first half … in a 4-1 win over Cameroon on Sept. 29, he came on in the 73rd minute and completed the game for the United States … Powers and Maund did not enter the final match of Group C play, a 3-0 loss to Korea Republic on Oct. 2 … Maund did not see match time during the tournament … Notre Dame and UCLA were the only two schools with multiple representatives on the team.

UP NEXT … Notre Dame returns home for a non-conference showdown with in-state rival Indiana on Wednesday, Oct. 14 (7:00 p.m. ET) … the Fighting Irish will return to BIG EAST play with a home tilt against West Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 17 (11:30 a.m. ET).

NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY … Notre Dame owns an overall record of 86-52-18 (.609) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish have posted eight straight winning seasons within the conference, including last season’s 7-2-2 mark … the Irish have three regular-season BIG EAST titles … Notre Dame won the championship outright in 2004 and 2008 (Blue Division) and shared the Blue Division trophy with Connecticut in 2007 … the Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003 … Notre Dame’s high-water mark for BIG EAST victories in a season is eight, which has been reached twice (2004 & 2006).

BACK-TO-BACK TITLES … The Irish have won back-to-back BIG EAST regular-season titles for the first time in program history … Notre Dame shared the Blue Division crown with Connecticut in 2007 … the 2008 title marked the third regular-season BIG EAST championship in program history … the Fighting Irish also won the championship outright in 2004.

LOSE THE SHOES … At halftime of the Notre Dame-Cincinnati match on Sept. 27, the championship game of the `Lose the Shoes’ tournament was held at Alumni Stadium … the preliminary games of the tournament took place on the Notre Dame campus on Sept. 26 … the proceeds from the 3-on-3 barefoot soccer tournament benefitted Grassroot Soccer, a South Africa-based non-governmental organization that integrates the cross-cultural appeal of soccer with evidence-based HIV prevention and life skills programs that arm African youth with the knowledge, skills, and support to live HIV free … Tommy Clark, the eldest son of Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark, is a cofounder of Grassroot Soccer … in the fall of 2006, Dartmouth College held the first ever `Lose the Shoes’ tournament … since then, over 90 `Lose the Shoes’ tournaments have raised almost $150,000 … Notre Dame raised approximately $1,200.

DIKE DEPOSITS HAT TRICK … Senior forward Bright Dike had a stellar start to the 2009 season as he registered the first hat trick of his career in a 5-0 win over Michigan … the hat trick was the first for a Notre Dame player since Dave Donohue scored three times against Marquette last season.

OFFENSIVE OPENER … Notre Dame’s five-goal outburst against Michigan in the season opener was the first for the Fighting Irish since a 5-0 triumph of USF on Sept. 7, 2008 … the five tallies are the most in a season opener for Notre Dame since a 5-0 victory over Villanova in 2001, which was head coach Bobby Clark’s first game with the Irish.

SHOOTING DOWN THE COMPETITION … Notre Dame has out shot nine of its 10 opponents so far this season … the Irish hold a 142-103 edge in shots over their opponents.

ALUMNI STADIUM … The 2009 season signifies a new era for Fighting Irish soccer as Notre Dame begins play in Alumni Stadium … the Irish opened the facility with a 5-0 victory over Michigan on Sept. 1 … the $5.7 million venue resides just east of the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus and features a natural grass field, lights, locker rooms, restrooms, concession areas and permanent seating for over 2,000 spectators … the lead benefactors for the facility are former Irish soccer players Tom Crotty and Rob Snyder.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOK … A Jeb Brovsky goal in the 26th minute of the season-opening 5-0 win over Michigan was the first goal scored in Alumni Stadium … Michael Thomas collected the assist on the play.

TOUGH SLATE … The Fighting Irish opened the 2009 season against three ranked teams (#21 Michigan, #3 Wake Forest, #1 St. John’s) … that marked the first time since 2003 that Notre Dame opened a campaign against three ranked opponents … the back-to-back games against Wake Forest and St. John’s was the first time ever the Fighting Irish had faced back-to-back top-three teams … it was the first time Notre Dame had consecutive matches against top-10 foes since 2007 (#7 Santa Clara and #2 Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament) … a match against No. 5 USF on Sept. 20 was the third time this season that the Irish have met a top-five squad.

LEAGUE HONORS FOR DIKE AND THOMAS … Senior forward Bright Dike was named the 2009 BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year … he was joined on the league’s all-preseason squad by Irish senior midfielder Michael Thomas.

IRISH PICKED TO WIN BLUE DIVISION … Notre Dame was selected to win the 2009 BIG EAST Blue Division title according to a vote by the league’s head coaches … the Fighting Irish received 12 first-place votes among the Blue Division squads, while Connecticut garnered three and Georgetown had one vote … the league’s 16 head coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams … St. John’s was picked to win the Red Division.

POWERS EARNS NATIONAL HONORS … Freshman midfielder Dillon Powers was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Boys Soccer Player of the Year … in addition, he was selected as the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Co-Player of the Year in July.

RETURNING FIREPOWER … Notre Dame returned 38 of 41 goals scored from last season … leading the way was senior forward Bright Dike, who led all BIG EAST players in goals (12) and points (29) one year ago … Michael Thomas was the top scoring midfielder in the league with 21 points on eight goals and five assists … junior forward Jeb Brovsky is back after totaling five goals and six assists as a sophomore … seniors Dave Donohue (5g, 5a) and Justin Morrow (2g, 4a) registered 15 and eight points, respectively, one season ago … sophomore Brendan King and senior Tamba Samba chipped in two goals apiece for the Irish … King also added three assists.

COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS WATCH LISTS … Two Notre Dame freshmen were named to the College Soccer News `100 Freshmen To Keep An Eye On’ list for the 2009 season … midfielder/defender Danny O’Leary and midfielder Dillon Powers were selected to the list and are part of a very talented six-man freshman class for the Irish.

FRESHMAN CLASS NATIONALLY RANKED … Notre Dame’s freshman class was ranked ninth according to College Soccer News … Bob Novak (M), Danny O’Leary (M/D), Dillon Powers (M), Kyle Richard (M/F), Grant Van De Casteele (D) and Eric Tilley (M/D) make up the stellar class.

IRISH NAME CAPTAINS … Senior midfielders Dave Donohue, Justin Morrow and Michael Thomas along with fifth-year senior midfielder/defender Cory Rellas have been named team captains for the 2009 campaign … this is the second straight season in which Thomas has been an Irish captain, while the other three are first-time captains.

SEASON IN REVIEW … Last season, Notre Dame posted a 12-7-2 mark, including a 7-2-2 record in conference play, en route to capturing its second straight BIG EAST Blue Division title … the Fighting Irish garnered the 12th seed for the NCAA Championship … the Irish fell to Northwestern, 2-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Alumni Field … the Fighting Irish concluded the season ranked 16th in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll … Notre Dame averaged 1.95 goals per game last season, while allowing 1.10 per contest … Bright Dike led the BIG EAST in goals (12) and total points (29) … the forward copped first team all-league and all-region honors in 2008 … central defender Matt Besler was named a first-team All-American and first team Academic All-American in addition to being tabbed as the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year … Besler became the highest MLS SuperDraft pick in program history as he was selected eighth overall by the Kansas City Wizards … the New York Red Bulls drafted his backline mate, Jack Traynor, with the 29th overall selection.

TICKETS ON SALE … To purchase a 2009 season pass or single-game tickets, call the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356, visit und.com/tickets or stop by the Notre Dame ticket office on the second level of the Joyce Center … tickets can also be purchased at Alumni Stadium on gamedays.

SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT … Go to und.com and 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.