Oct. 13, 2009
#19 INDIANA (6-4-1) at #22 NOTRE DAME (7-4-1)
Wednesday, Oct. 14 • 7:15 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, Ind.
Indiana leads series 23-5-1
Live broadcast on und.com
WEST VIRGINIA (5-2-4, 4-1-2) at #22 NOTRE DAME (7-4-1, 5-2-0)
Saturday, Oct. 17 • 11:30 a.m. (ET)
Alumni Stadium • Notre Dame, Ind.
Notre Dame leads series 8-4-1
SETTING THE STAGE … Notre Dame returns home for a non-conference showdown with in-state rival Indiana on Wednesday, Oct. 14 (7:15 p.m. ET). The Fighting Irish come back to BIG EAST play with a home tilt against West Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 17 (11:30 a.m. ET). Notre Dame currently is riding a three-game win streak.
FOLLOW THE GAMES … The Notre Dame-Indiana match will be broadcast live on und.com … simply go the men’s soccer schedule and find the Indiana match and click on the `Watch’ link to view the game for free … live stats via Gametracker will be available for both the Indiana and West Virginia contests.
ABOUT THE IRISH … Notre Dame is 7-4-1 on the season and 5-2-0 in BIG EAST play … the Fighting Irish have won their past three matches, which is their longest such streak of the season … Notre Dame currently is tied for second in the league’s Blue Division … the Irish are 4-2-0 at home this season in the brand new Alumni Stadium … the Irish are coming off of road wins against Marquette (2-0) and Providence (1-0 in double-overtime) … senior forwards Tamba Samba and Bright Dike scored against Marquette … Dike deposited the golden goal in the 110th minute in the victory over Providence … Dike leads the Irish in goals (8) and points (18) … senior midfielder Michael Thomas has a team-best four assists … Notre Dame is averaging 1.83 goals per game, while surrendering 0.83 goals per contest … Philip Tuttle and Andrew Quinn have both started six games in goal … Tuttle is 5-2-0 with three shutouts … the senior boasts a 0.69 goals-against average and a .762 save percentage … Quinn, a fifth-year senior, is 2-2-1 with one shutout … Quinn has a 0.95 goals-against average and a .800 save percentage … head coach Bobby Clark is in his ninth season with the Irish … he has a 113-49-23 (.673) record during his Notre Dame tenure.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS INDIANA … Notre Dame and Indiana will renew the in-state rivalry with the 30th meeting on Wednesday … this will be the ninth straight year that both teams have met … the Hoosiers hold a 23-5-1 advantage in the series … Notre Dame is 4-5-0 against Indiana in the Bobby Clark era … in their last meeting, the Hoosiers claimed a 3-1 victory over the Irish in Bloomington, Ind. … Notre Dame is 2-11-0 at home all-time against Indiana … the Hoosiers topped the Irish, 3-2, in the last meeting at Notre Dame, which occurred during the 2007 season … the series began during the 1978 campaign with a 7-1 win for Indiana in Bloomington.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS … Indiana will bring a 6-4-1 record into its match against the Fighting Irish on Wednesday … the Hoosiers are coming off a 1-0 win at Michigan on Oct. 10 … Indiana is 2-2-0 on the road this season … the Hoosiers are averaging 1.27 goals per game, while allowing 1.00 goals per contests … Will Bruin has team-high totals in goals (5) and points (13) … Andy Adlard has four goals … Luis Soffner has played every minute in goal and carries a 0.95 goals-against average and a .766 save percentage … the Hoosiers went 14-7-3 last season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament before falling to St. John’s, 3-2, in overtime … the Hoosiers returned seven starters and 12 letterwinners from that squad … head coach Mike Freitag is in his sixth season at the helm of the Indiana program.
THE LAST TIME … Notre Dame fell at Indiana, 3-1, last season in Bloomington, Ind. (Oct. 16, 2008) … the Irish were ranked ninth at the time of the match, while the Hoosiers were ranked 22nd … all of the scoring took place in the first half … Indiana grabbed a 2-0 lead behind goals from Kevin Alston (24th minute) and Kevin Noschang (27th) … the Irish struck back with a Michael Thomas goal in the 38th minute … an Andy Adlard goal in the 42nd minute produced the final outcome … Indiana held a slim 15-14 edge in shots, while Notre Dame had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks … Andrew Quinn played all 90 minutes in goal for the Irish and made four saves.
QUOTING CLARK … Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark discusses the upcoming showdown against Indiana … “I don’t think you need to emphasize that Notre Dame and Indiana is a huge game in just about any sport. It takes on a lot of importance. They are a great team and we have a lot of respect for what they’ve done. We are at a similar stage at this point of the season. A win for either side would be very important not just for bragging rights but it could also have NCAA ramifications. It should definitely be a good soccer game for all the fans that come out to Alumni Stadium to watch.”
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS WEST VIRGINIA … Saturday will be the 14th meeting between Notre Dame and West Virginia … the Fighting Irish lead the series 8-4-1 … the Irish topped the Mountaineers, 1-0, last season in Morgantown, W Va. … Notre Dame has won two straight 1-0 decisions over West Virginia … five of the last six meetings in the series have been decided by one goal, while the other was a tie … Notre Dame is 3-2-1 in that stretch … West Virginia is 0-5-1 all-time at Notre Dame … the last time the two teams met at Notre Dame, the Irish produced a 1-0 victory during the 2007 season … the Fighting Irish hold an 19-9 scoring edge in the series … Notre Dame has shut out West Virginia on eight occasions.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS … West Virginia will take a 5-2-4 record into its match against Elon on Wednesday … the Mountaineers are 4-1-2 in the BIG EAST and are currently in fourth place in the Blue Division … West Virginia is 2-1-2 on the road this season … the Mountaineers are averaging 0.73 goals per game, while surrendering 0.55 per contest … Alex Silva leads the team in goals (2) and points (5) … Zach Johnson has played every minute in goal and carries a 0.49 goals-against average and a .838 save percentage with seven shutouts … Johnson is the reigning BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Week … last season, the Mountaineers went 5-9-5, including a 3-4-4 mark in the BIG EAST to finish fifth in the Blue Division … West Virginia returned nine starters and 12 letterwinners from that squad … head coach Marlon LeBlanc is in his fourth season with the Mountaineers.
THE LAST TIME … Notre Dame topped West Virginia, 1-0, last season (Nov. 1, 2008) in Morgantown, W. Va. … a Brendan King goal in the 61st minute was the difference for the Fighting Irish … Notre Dame goalkeeper Philip Tuttle, who was making his second career start, made four saves to earn the first win and shutout of his career.
GIVING TO GRASSROOT … Admission to the contest against West Virginia will be a donation to Grassroot Soccer, an international AIDS awareness and education organization that reaches youth in Africa through soccer clinics … Tommy Clark, the eldest son of Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark, is a cofounder of Grassroot Soccer.
A GOLDEN MOMENT … Bright Dike’s tally in the 110th minute versus Providence marked the first golden goal for the Irish since Alex Yoshinaga netted one in a 2-1 victory over top-ranked UCLA during the season-opening match of the 2007 season (Aug. 31, 2007).
DIKE EARNS NATIONAL AND LEAGUE HONORS … Bright Dike received both national and conference recognition for his efforts in helping the Fighting Irish capture two wins last week … Dike was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week and to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll … Dike netted the golden goal in the 110th minute in a 1-0 victory at Providence on Saturday, Oct. 10 … earlier in the week, he gave the Fighting Irish a two-goal advantage in the 55th minute in a 2-0 win at Marquette (Oct. 7).
LEAGUE LEADER … Senior forward Bright Dike, the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, leads all BIG EAST players in goals (8) and total points (18) this season.
SCHAEFER ON HONOR ROLL … Senior central defender John Schaefer joined his teammate Bright Dike on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 12 … Schaefer helped anchor the Irish backline as Notre Dame posted shutout victories over Marquette (2-0) and Providence (1-0 in double-overtime).
STINGY DEFENSE … The Notre Dame defense has posted two straight shutouts … the Fighting Irish have held their opponents to one goal or fewer in each of the past five matches … Notre Dame did not allow a shot on goal in the entire second half and two overtime periods in a 1-0 win over Providence on Oct. 10.
SECOND HALF SUCCESS … Notre Dame has out scored its opponents 18-5 in the second half and overtime periods this season … the Irish have a 9-1 edge in the second half and overtime over the past five contests.
NIGHT OWLS … Notre Dame is 5-0-1 this season when playing at night … the Irish will try to improve that mark against Indiana on Wednesday … last season, the Fighting Irish were 7-4-2 during night games.
SAMBA SCORES … Tamba Samba’s goal in the 48th minute proved to be the game winner in the 2-0 win over Marquette on Oct. 7 … that was the first goal of the season for the senior forward.
NO. 700 … Notre Dame’s match at Marquette marked the 700th game in the history of the Fighting Irish varsity program … the Irish are 428-207-66 (.658) since the varsity program began in 1977.
UP NEXT … Notre Dame will hit the road for three straight games, with the first two occurring during the University’s fall break … the trip begins at Georgetown on Wednesday, Sept. 21 … the Irish will then face Pittsburgh on Saturday, Sept. 24 … the trek concludes at Michigan State on Sept. 28.
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).
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 score to 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. went 1-2 and 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 … the duo returned to the Irish for the match at Marquette on Oct. 7 … Notre Dame went 3-2 in their absence.
NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY … Notre Dame owns an overall record of 88-52-18 (.614) 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 11 of its 12 opponents so far this season … the Irish hold a 175-125 edge in shots, including 79-47 in shots on goal, 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 … Jeb Brovsky’s 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 … the showdown with No. 19 Indiana on Wednesday will be Notre Dame’s sixth match against a ranked opponent this season … the Irish are 2-2-1 in the previous five matches versus ranked foes.
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 were 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.