Sept. 5, 2007
2007 Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament
Alumni Field • Notre Dame, Ind.
Friday, Sept. 7
Northern Illinois vs. #7 Indiana – 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Rhode Island vs. #8 Notre Dame – 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 9
Rhode Island vs. #7 Indiana – 11:30 a.m.
Northern Illinois vs. #8Notre Dame – 2:00 p.m.
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Notre Dame will host the sixth annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Friday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 9 at Alumni Field. No. 7 Indiana and Northern Illinois open the event at 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday, followed by the eighth-ranked Irish taking on Rhode Island at 7:30 p.m. Indiana meets Rhode Island on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., while Notre Dame and Northern Illinois will square off at 2:00 p.m. to conclude the tournament.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame opened the season with a 1-1 record at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic last weekend … the Irish claimed a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 1 UCLA in the season opener … senior midfielder Alex Yoshinaga netted the game-winning goal in the 94th minute … fellow senior Joseph Lapira notched the first goal of the evening … the Irish fell to No. 7 Maryland, 3-0, during the second day of the IU Classic … Lapira and freshman Matt Armstrong were named to the all-tournament team … Notre Dame is No. 8 in this week’s Soccer America rankings … the Irish are ninth in the NSCAA coaches poll and 10th in both the Soccer Times and College Soccer News rankings … the Irish have six starters and 14 letterwinners back from last season’s squad that went 15-6-2 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 an overall record of 81-34-15 (.681) at Notre Dame.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This will mark the sixth year in which the Fighting Irish have hosted a tournament in honor of the former Notre Dame men’s soccer head coach Mike Berticelli … Berticelli coached the Fighting Irish from 1990-99 before passing away in January of 2000 … he posted a record of 104-80-19 during his 10-year stint at Notre Dame.
IRISH HISTORY IN THE ‘BERT’: Notre Dame is 6-1-3 all time in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament … the Irish won the 2003 and 2005 tournaments … seven of Notre Dame’s 10 matches have gone to overtime … the inaugural tournament featured the Irish tying Cornell 1-1 and then knocking off No. 7 Furman 2-1 in double-overtime … in 2003, Notre Dame downed Fresno State 2-1 in overtime and then played Akron to a scoreless tie to take home the tournament title … in 2004, the Fighting Irish defeated in-state foe Evansville 2-1, before a scoreless tie versus Cal State Fullerton … the 2005 tournament saw Notre Dame defeat Boston University, 1-0, and then down Saint Louis, 1-0, in double-overtime to capture the title … last season, the Irish fell to UAB in overtime, 1-0, and then knocked off No. 8 Creighton 4-1 … here is a glance at the previous tournaments …
Year Order of Finish2006 Indiana, UAB, Notre Dame, Creighton2005 Notre Dame, Indiana, Saint Louis, Boston University2004 Indiana, Notre Dame, Cal State Fullerton, Evansville2003 Notre Dame, Akron, Fresno State, Indiana2002 Bradley, Notre Dame, Furman, Cornell
IRISH IN SEASON OPENERS: Following a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 1 UCLA on Friday (Aug. 31), Notre Dame is now 20-8-3 all-time in season openers, including 5-1-1 in the Bobby Clark era … the contest against the Bruins marked the ninth time that the Irish played into overtime during a season opener … Notre Dame fell to UAB, 1-0, in double-overtime in last year’s opener.
IRISH VS. #1: Notre Dame defeated No. 1 UCLA, 2-1 in overtime, on Aug. 31 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic … heading into that match, the Irish had been 0-5-0 against a team ranked No. 1 at the time of the match since 1990 … the Irish had not scored a goal in any of the five previous encounters with a top-ranked team.
TAKING DOWN A TOP-10: The victory over top-ranked UCLA gave Notre Dame a win over a top-10 team for the eighth straight season … 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 bested three top-10 teams in a season since 2002.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS RHODE ISLAND: Friday will mark the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Rhode Island.
SCOUTING THE RAMS: Rhode Island is 1-1-0 after the first weekend of play … the Rams fell at Harvard, 3-2, on Saturday, Sept. 1 … Lukasz Tumicz scored the first goal for the Rams … they also benefitted from an own goal … Rhode Island rebounded to claim a 2-0 victory over Providence on Monday, Sept. 3 … Tumicz and Steve Mellen scored in that contest … the Rams return 10 starters and 15 letterwinners from last year’s squad that went 12-5-6, including a 7-2-0 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference … Rhode Island tied Rutgers, 1-1, in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament and advanced on penalty kicks, 4-2 … the Rams tied Lehigh, 1-1, in the second round, yet were topped in penalty kicks, 5-4 … head coach John O’Connor is in his second season at Rhode Island … he has a record of 13-6-6 (.640) at the school.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Notre Dame and Northern Illinois will be meeting for the third time … the Huskies own a 1-0-1 advantage in the series … both squads played to a scoreless tie last season at Notre Dame … the first meeting was played in DeKalb, Ill. during the 1994 season and Northern Illinois came away with a 2-0 victory.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois carries a 1-0-1 mark into the Mike Berticelli Tournament … the Huskies opened the season with a 1-1 tie against Bucknell at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic in Evanston, Ill. on Friday, Aug. 31 … sophomore Drew Jeskey scored the lone goal for the Huskies … Northern Illinois defeated Colgate, 2-1, in overtime during the tournament on Sunday, Sept. 2 … senior Marcus McCarty netted the golden goal, while Chris Rufa scored Northern Illinois’ first goal of the match … the Huskies went 15-6-1 last season and won the Mid-American Conference with a 4-1-0 record … they return eight starters and 19 letterwinners from that squad … Northern Illinois advanced to the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 overtime victory over Loyola (Ill.) … Indiana ended the run for the Huskies with a 1-0 victory … head coach Steve Simmons is in his fourth season at Northern Illinois … he has a record of 27-26-5 (.518) with the Huskies.
IRISH THOUGHTS: Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark shares his outlook on the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament …
On facing Rhode Island and Northern Illinois …
“This will be another tough weekend. We’ll be playing two very good teams. Both teams are very well coached and they are very organized. They were both (NCAA) tournament teams last year and they were preseason top-30 teams this year. They are going to be good games and I think it’s going to be a good challenge for us. It’s not a challenge we should fear in any way, but it’s a challenge that we’ve got to meet.”
NEXT UP: Notre Dame will open BIG EAST Conference play at Marquette on Saturday, Sept. 15 … game time is slated for 8:00 p.m. (ET).
RECAPPING UCLA: A golden goal from senior midfielder Alex Yoshinaga in the 94th minute gave No. 9 Notre Dame a 2-1 victory over top-ranked UCLA on Friday, Aug. 31 during the first day of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic at Bill Armstrong Stadium … the match was the season opener for both squads … senior forward Joseph Lapira netted Notre Dame’s first goal of the evening … it appeared that the Fighting Irish were headed to victory during regulation, but a goal from UCLA’s Chance Myers knotted the game with 38 seconds remaining in the contest … Mike Zaher collected the assist on the play … Notre Dame rebounded nicely during the first sudden-death overtime period … with just over three minutes elapsed in overtime, freshman Jeb Brovsky played the ball to Yoshinaga and he played it back to Brovsky, who dished it to Lapira and he found Yoshinaga for the game winner … the Irish registered their first shot of the match with 23:08 left in the first half when Kurt Martin blasted the ball from just inside the box and it was deflected over the crossbar by the Bruin goalkeeper, Brian Perk … less than a minute later, Justin Morrow had another good chance for Notre Dame as he sent a shot just wide to the left … Lapira then put the Irish on top, 1-0, as he collected a pass from Yoshinaga and put it into the back of the net during the 24th minute … Notre Dame senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill made four saves on the night, while Perk stopped two Irish shots … the Irish out shot the Bruins 13-8 … senior defender Ryan Miller led the Irish with three shots … Miller pressured the Bruin defense during the second half and created a couple chances that nearly upped the Notre Dame advantage.
RECAPPING MARYLAND: No. 9 Notre Dame fell to No. 7 Maryland, 3-0, on Sunday, Sept. 2 at Bill Armstrong Stadium during the second day of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic … Maryland grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute … the Terps nearly upped the lead in the 16th minute when a free kick was sent near the goal and punched out by Quinn and Maryland’s Rodney Wallace sent the rebound just high over the crossbar … Notre Dame had its best scoring opportunity of the first half with a free kick attempt just to the left of the 18-yard box with 21 minutes remaining … Alex Yoshinaga sent the ball in and it was headed out by a Terrapin defender … the Irish did not register a shot in the first half … the Terps made it 2-0 with just over four minutes left in the opening half … the Irish created an early chance in the second half as Justin Morrow tried to feed Joseph Lapira on the left side but Terrapin goalkeeper Will Swaim reached the ball before Lapira could get a foot on it … Lapira attempted Notre Dame’s first shot of the match with 31:09 left in the second half … he collected a pass on the right side but could not get a strong foot on it … the third Terrapin goal came in the 70th minute as Doug Rodkey sent a shot on goal and Quinn came out, yet could not grab the ball, and King collected it and sent it into the empty net … a solid Maryland defense held the Irish to just three shots, while the Terrapins collected 17 … Swaim earned the win, while Quinn, who made four saves, suffered the loss in his first action of the season.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Senior forward Joseph Lapira and freshman midfielder Matt Armstrong were named to the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic all-tournament team … Lapira notched a goal and an assist in the 2-1 victory over UCLA, while Armstrong started both games and was a steady presence in the Irish midfield.
CLASSIC RESULTS: Notre Dame finished third at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic with a 1-1-0 record … Maryland and Indiana both had identical 1-0-1 marks, yet the Terrapins captured the crown based on goal differential … UCLA went 0-2-0 to finish fourth.
CONFERENCE KEEPER: Senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill was named the BIG EAST goalkeeper of the week on Sept. 3 … Cahill made four saves and picked up the win as the Irish topped No. 1 UCLA, 2-1, in overtime on Aug. 31 … that was the third such honor of his career.
BACK IN ACTION: Senior midfielder Alex Yoshinaga is back in the Fighting Irish lineup after missing most of last season with a collarbone injury … Yoshinaga made his presence felt in the season opener as he netted a golden goal in the 94th minute to down top-ranked UCLA … he also collected an assist on Notre Dame’s first goal of the match.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: Joseph Lapira opened the season with a three-point match in a 2-1 overtime win over 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.
SHOCKING SHUTOUT: Notre Dame’s 3-0 loss to Maryland at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic marked the first time the Fighting Irish had been shut out since Sept. 20, 2006, a span of 15 games … that match was a 0-0 tie with Northern Illinois.
MARTIN EMERGING: Senior forward Kurt Martin had a solid preseason as he led the Irish with three goals during exhibition play … he tallied a sixth-minute goal in the 3-0 win over New Mexico and followed that up with a two-goal effort in the 3-0 triumph of Northwestern … Martin has 14 career points on five goals and four assists.
BIG EAST ACCOLADES: Senior forward 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 … 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.
GOOD CAUSE: Notre Dame raised $6,300 for the Grassroot Soccer organization during its exhibition game versus Northwestern on Monday, Aug. 27 … admission was free and donations were taken with all proceeds benefiting the foundation, which is an international AIDS awareness and education organization that reaches youth in Africa through soccer clinics … a crowd of 3,367 fans showed up at Alumni Field to watch the match … a Notre Dame soccer alumnus, who wishes to remain anonymous, more than matched the amount from the crowd and Irish head coach Bobby Clark and the Notre Dame men’s soccer camp matched the attendance output dollar-for-dollar.
QUITE A CROWD: The 3,367 fans that attended Notre Dame’s exhibition match on Monday, Aug. 27 marked the third largest crowd in program history … the total nearly equaled the record of 3,502, which saw the game against SMU on Oct. 14, 1994.
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.
TOUGH SLATE: The Irish will be facing another challenging schedule this season … Notre Dame has eight teams ranked in the College Soccer News preseason top-30 poll on its 2007 slate … UCLA (1), Indiana (8), Maryland (9), West Virginia (14) and Connecticut (18) appeared in the top 20, while Rutgers (24), Northern Illinois (26) and Rhode Island (29) also appeared in the rankings.
IRISH ON THE SMALL SCREEN: Notre Dame will have three of its regular-season matches televised … the Fighting Irish will take on BIG EAST-rival Rutgers on Fox Soccer Channel on Friday, Sept. 21 in Piscataway, N.J. at 8:00 p.m. (ET) … two Irish home games will also be televised … Notre Dame and Michigan will appear on Comcast Local on Wednesday, Oct. 3 and the Irish’s tilt against Indiana, set for Wednesday, Oct. 17, will also appear on Comcast Local … both of those matches begin at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
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.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All Notre Dame home games will feature livestats available through und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … simply go to the men’s soccer page and click on `Schedule’ at the top of the page and find the game that is being played that day and click on `Gametracker’ to follow the game for free … live audio is also available for all home matches.
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.