Senior midfielder Alex Yoshinaga is Notre Dame's top returning scorer and a team tri-captain this season.

Irish To Host St. John's In BIG EAST Quarterfinals On Sunday

Nov. 9, 2007

St. John’s at #11 Notre Dame
BIG EAST Championship • Quarterfinals
Sunday, Nov. 11 • 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Field • Notre Dame, Ind.

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Notre Dame will host St. John’s in a BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal match at Alumni Field on Sunday, Nov. 11. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (ET). The Fighting Irish are the No. 2 seed out of the league’s Blue Division, while the Red Storm are the third seed from the Red Division. The winner of Sunday’s match will advance to the conference semifinals in Storrs, Conn. on Friday, Nov. 16.

HOW TO FOLLOW: Live video of the Notre Dame-St. John’s match will be available on und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … simply go to the front page of und.com and click on the `Live Events’ tab and select the game … live stats will also be available through Gametracker via und.com.

ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (10-3-5, 7-0-4) concluded its regular season with a 0-0 draw at Georgetown on Saturday (Nov. 3) … the Fighting Irish finished as the only undefeated team in BIG EAST play this season … that marked the first time in program history that Notre Dame has ever compiled an undefeated BIG EAST campaign … the match against Georgetown was the first scoreless draw for the Irish since Sept. 20, 2006 … that game was against Northern Illinois … Saturday also marked just the third time in the last 32 matches that the Fighting Irish have been shutout … it also was the first time in the last 21 BIG EAST regular-season games that the Irish were held scoreless … senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill made two saves against the Hoyas to earn his seventh shutout of the season … Cahill has 27 career shutouts … the Notre Dame defense has produced nine shutouts this season … that signifies the fifth-straight season in which the Fighting Irish have posted at least that many shutouts … senior forward Joseph Lapira leads the Irish with 20 points and eight assists, which are a career-high total … Lapira and Ryan Miller share the team lead in goals with six apiece … Notre Dame is averaging 1.51 goals per game, while allowing 0.84 … in this week’s polls Notre Dame is ninth according to Soccer Times, 11th in the NSCAA poll, 12th in the College Soccer News rankings along with being 13th in the Soccer America poll … 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 90-36-20 (.685) at Notre Dame.

IRISH IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP: This is Notre Dame’s 11th trip to the BIG EAST Championship … the Irish own a 9-7-2 mark overall in the league playoffs … last season, Notre Dame defeated DePaul, 2-0, in the first round before falling at Rutgers, 2-1, in overtime during the quarterfinals … Notre Dame has won the BIG EAST Championship on two occasions, in 1996 and 2003 … Notre Dame is 4-1-2 at home all-time in the conference tournament, 1-4-0 in true road games and 4-2-0 at neutral sites.

QUARTERFINAL HISTORY: Notre Dame owns a 4-5-1 record in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals … the Fighting Irish fell at Rutgers, 2-1, in overtime during last season’s quarterfinal round … St. John’s and Notre Dame have met two previous times in the conference quarterfinals with the Red Storm winning both matches … the Irish are 3-1-1 in BIG EAST quarterfinal contests at home.

IRISH LEADERS: Senior forward Joseph Lapira leads the team in points (20) and assists (8) … Lapira is tied with Ryan Miller for the team lead in goals (6) … goalkeeper Chris Cahill has a 9-2-5 record with a 0.77 goals-against average and a .822 save percentage to go along with seven shutouts.

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS ST. JOHN’S: Sunday will mark the 16th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and St. John’s … the Red Storm hold a 10-2-3 advantage in the series with the Fighting Irish … the two teams have not met since the 2005 season … that year, the Red Storm bested the Irish 2-1 during the regular season and then topped Notre Dame, 1-0, during the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship in Jamaica, N.Y. … No. 5 Notre Dame knocked off No. 4 St. John’s, 1-0, in the championship game of the 2003 BIG EAST tournament … that was the last Irish victory in the series … Notre Dame’s first win versus the Red Storm came in 2000 when the Irish upset No. 10 St. John’s, 1-0, at Alumni Field … St. John’s is 1-1-2 all-time at Notre Dame … the last meeting at Alumni Field took place during the 2003 campaign when St. John’s came away with a 3-0 victory … this will be the sixth meeting between Notre Dame and St. John’s in the BIG EAST Championship … the Red Storm have won four of those contests … here’s a breakdown of those matches …

NOTRE DAME-ST. JOHN'S IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Date Round Site Score
11/15/97 Semifinal Storrs, Conn. SJ-4, ND-111/7/98 Quarterfinal Jamaica, N.Y. SJ-2, ND-011/16/01 Semifinal Storrs, Conn. SJ-1, ND-011/16/03 Final Storrs, Conn. ND-2, SJ-011/5/05 Quarterfinal Jamaica, N.Y. SJ-1, ND-0

SCOUTING THE RED STORM: St. John’s (9-6-5) topped Seton Hall, 3-2, in penalty kicks during the first round of the BIG EAST Championship on Wednesday (Nov. 7) … both teams played to a 2-2 tie … seniors Omar Alfonso and Jeff Stepan notched goals for St. John’s during regulation … the Red Storm finished third in the league’s Red Division with a 6-3-2 conference mark … St. John’s is the defending BIG EAST tournament champion … the Red Storm are averaging 1.13 goals per game, while surrendering 0.85 … Alfonso and Stepan share the team lead in goals with four apiece … sophomore midfielder Michael Luk has a team-best five assists … Alfonso, Stepan and Luk all have a team-high nine points … junior goalkeeper Neal Kitson has nine starts in goal and has a 4-4-2 record … Kitson carries a 1.12 goals-against average and a .694 save percentage along with two shutouts … Jason Landers has started 11 matches and has produced a 5-2-3 record … he has a 0.62 goals-against average with a .811 save percentage to go with six shutouts … St. John’s is 3-4-1 on the road this season … head coach Dave Masur is in his 17th season at the helm of the Red Storm program.

IRISH-STORM CONNECTION: Chad Riley is currently in his second season as an assistant coach for Notre Dame … Riley was an assistant at St. John’s during the 2005 season … Riley was a standout midfielder at Notre Dame from 2000-03.

NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY: Notre Dame owns an overall record of 76-48-16 (.600) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish have posted seven straight winning seasons within the conference, including this year … last season, the Irish went 8-3-0 in league play … that marked the second time that the Irish posted a program-record eight BIG EAST victories … Notre Dame won its only regular-season BIG EAST title in 2004 with an 8-1-1 record … the Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST Tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003.

NEXT UP: The winner of the Notre Dame/St. John’s match will advance to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship and take on the winner of the DePaul/Cincinnati game … the semifinals and finals of the BIG EAST tournament will be held in Storrs, Conn. on Friday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 18, respectively.

IRISH THOUGHTS: Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark discusses the upcoming match against St. John’s …

“They don’t come much tougher than St. John’s. I think this is a game everyone on the team is looking forward to. It’ll be a challenge. St. John’s is a great side. They were the (BIG EAST) tournament champions last year and they always come ready to play. I know we’ll be ready to play as well.”

LAST TIME OUT: Notre Dame and Georgetown played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday, Nov. 3 at North Kehoe Field in Washington, D.C. … the Fighting Irish controlled play in the first half as they out shot Georgetown 11-0 in the opening stanza … for the match, the Irish held a 16-9 advantage in shots along with gaining one more corner kick (8-7) … Michael Thomas, Joseph Lapira, Alex Yoshinaga and Justin Morrow all generated offense for the Irish as they each produced three shots … Georgetown was led in shots by Sean Bellomy, who also had three … the Hoyas mounted a late offensive attack as they out shot the Irish 7-2 in the second 10-minute overtime period … senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill made two saves for the Irish on the afternoon to pick up his seventh shutout of the season … Georgetown goalkeeper Joe Devine made three stops … the Irish nearly struck during the final seconds of the contest as a Lapira shot just missed and hit the side netting.

FIT TO BE TIED: Notre Dame has played to five ties this season … that marks the most draws for a single season in the 31-year history of the Fighting Irish program … Notre Dame has had a total of six games go to overtime … the Irish defeated then-No. 1 UCLA, 2-1, with a golden goal in the 94th minute during the season opener on Aug. 31.

ANOTHER 10: The Fighting Irish have reached the double-digit victory plateau for seven straight seasons … the streak began during the first year of the Bobby Clark era in 2001.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Notre Dame’s last eight goals have come from six different players … a total of 11 different Irish players have notched a goal this season … seniors Joseph Lapira and Ryan Miller are tied for the team lead with six goals apiece … sophomore Justin Morrow is next in line with three tallies … Kurt Martin, Alex Yoshinaga, Matt Besler, Dave Donohue and Jeb Brovsky all have two goals, while three players have scored once … a total of 14 players have tallied at least one point … Lapira has a team-best 20 points, which includes a team-high eight assists.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Notre Dame’s three goals against Pittsburgh on Oct. 24 matched a season-high outburst for the Irish … Notre Dame has scored three times on four occasions this season … the three first-half tallies versus the Panthers marked the third time this season that Notre Dame has scored three goals in one half … the Fighting Irish scored three times in a 3-0 win over No. 16 Michigan on Oct. 3 … Notre Dame netted three second-half scores in a 3-3 tie with No. 1 Connecticut on Oct. 13.

MILLER AND RELLAS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS: Ryan Miller and Cory Rellas have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V men’s soccer team … Miller, a fifth-year senior, graduated from the Mendoza College of Business in May of 2007 with a degree in accounting … he finished with a 3.409 cumulative grade-point average and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting … Miller is tied for the team lead in goals with six, which are a career-high total … he also has a career-best 15 points this season … Rellas, a junior defender, carries a 3.634 cumulative GPA as a finance and history major … Rellas has started all 18 games this season and has been an integral part in the Irish posting nine shutouts … he also has scored one goal.

NO STREAKS: Notre Dame has not lost back-to-back regular-season games since the beginning of the 2001 season when they fell to No. 5 Furman, 3-2, in double-overtime and then lost 4-0 to No. 16 Clemson … both of those matches occurred at the Umbro/Spinx Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. … Notre Dame followed up this season’s first loss, a 3-0 setback against Maryland, with a 3-0 win over Rhode Island … the Irish then responded after a 1-0 loss to Michigan State with a 3-3 draw against No. 1 Connecticut … following a 3-2 loss against No. 12 Indiana, Notre Dame defeated Seton Hall, 2-0.

FACING #1, AGAIN: The 3-3 draw with Connecticut on Oct. 13 marked the second time this season that Notre Dame had squared off with a team ranked No. 1 at the time of the meeting … Notre Dame topped then-No. 1 UCLA, 2-1, in overtime during the season opener on Aug. 31 … the Fighting Irish are 1-5-1 when facing a top-ranked team since the 1990 season.

SHOOTING STARS: Notre Dame has out shot its opponents 306-212 this season … the Irish own a 151-77 advantage in shots during the first half and a 140-117 edge in the second period … Notre Dame has been out shot 18-15 in overtime periods.

CORNERING THE MARKET: The Fighting Irish have a 113-68 advantage in corner kicks over their opponents, including a decisive 54-23 margin in first-half play … Notre Dame owns a 52-41 edge in the second half, while the Irish have out cornered the opposition 7-4 in overtime.

BLANKING THE COMPETITION: Notre Dame has posted nine shutouts this season … that signifies the fifth-straight season in which the Fighting Irish have posted at least that many shutouts … senior Chris Cahill has seven shutouts to his credit, while junior Andrew Quinn has one … both Cahill and Quinn saw action in a 3-0 win over Rhode Island … Quinn picked up the shutout against Marquette (1-0), while Cahill and the Irish defense held Rutgers (2-0) and Villanova (1-0) without a goal … Cahill notched a shutout against No. 16 Michigan in a 3-0 victory by making a season-high seven saves … he followed that with another blanking in a 1-0 win over No. 13 West Virginia … Cahill picked up his fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 triumph of Seton Hall and then he and the Irish defense held Pittsburgh scoreless in a 3-0 victory … Cahill made two saves in a 0-0 draw at Georgetown.

SHOCKING SHUTOUTS: Notre Dame had its string of not being shut out in a BIG EAST regular-season game snapped in a 0-0 tie at Georgetown … the Irish had gone 20 matches in regular-season conference play without being held scoreless … overall, Notre Dame has only been shut out three times in the past 32 contests … the Georgetown match marked the first time in the past 32 games that Notre Dame played to a scoreless draw … the Irish are currently riding a 16-game streak without being shut out at home.

ROOKIE IMPACT: The Irish have had a significant impact from its 2007 freshman class … Jeb Brovsky has totaled five points on two goals and one assist … Matt Armstrong has started every game in the midfield and has notched one assist … Armstrong has filled the shoes of two-time first-team All-American Greg Dalby, who had a stellar four-year career with the Irish … Josh Thiermann and Steven Perry have combined to play in 18 games and have been valuable sparks off the bench.

TAKING DOWN A TOP-10: The victory over top-ranked UCLA on Aug. 31 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 beat three top-10 teams in a season since 2002.

HIGH MARKS: Notre Dame was ranked No. 2 in all four major polls (Soccer America, NSCAA, Soccer Times, College Soccer News) during the week of Sept. 24 … that marked the highest-ever ranking in program history.

PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: Joseph Lapira opened the season with a three-point match in a 2-1 overtime win against No. 1 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.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior forward Joseph Lapira currently ranks in a tie for fifth place on Notre Dame’s all-time goals list … he has 38 tallies, which ties him with Tim Oates, who played from 1991-94 … Kevin Lovejoy (1978-80) is the program record-holder with 67 goals … Lapira’s 97 career points rank him in a tie, with Oates, for sixth in program history … Lapira is just three points away from 100, which would put him into the top five … Lovejoy has that mark as well with 153 points.

BIG EAST ACCOLADES: 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 … he became the first Notre Dame men’s player to receive the award … 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.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Joseph Lapira had an eventful summer of 2007 … in May, Lapira trained with the Ireland National Team while the squad was in the United States … Lapira earned his first cap in a match against Ecuador on May 23 in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. … when he entered the match in the 86th minute, he became the first amateur to play for Ireland since 1964 … the game ended as a 1-1 draw … the Louisiana native was able to participate with the Ireland team since he has dual-citizenship because his mother is a native of the country … later in the summer, he went to Europe and trained with the Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier League and with Derby County of the English Premier League.

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.

IRISH ON THE SMALL SCREEN: Notre Dame had five of its regular-season matches televised … the Fighting Irish played Rutgers on Fox Soccer Channel on Sept. 21 in Piscataway, N.J. … Notre Dame played at Marquette on Time Warner Cable … two Irish home games were also televised … Notre Dame and Michigan appeared on Comcast Local on Oct. 3 as did the Irish’s tilt against Indiana on Oct. 17 … a match at Providence on Oct. 28 was carried by Cox Sports Television.

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.

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.