Sept. 4, 2008
2008 Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament
Friday, Sept. 5
#5 South Florida vs. #3 Indiana – 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Dartmouth vs. #8 Notre Dame – 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, Sept. 7
Dartmouth vs. #3 Indiana – 11:30 a.m. (ET)
#5 South Florida vs. #8 Notre Dame – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
The Fighting Irish welcome in a stout field for the seventh annual Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament this weekend. Things get underway on Friday, Sept. 5 with a top-five showdown between No. 3 Indiana and No. 5 South Florida at 5:00 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Field. The eighth-ranked Irish will then face Dartmouth at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Indiana meets Dartmouth at 11:30 a.m. followed by a showdown between Note Dame and South Florida at 2:00 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GAMES: Live stats for all four games of the Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament will be available through Gametracker on und.com … go to the Notre Dame men’s soccer page and click on `Schedule’ and select the game to follow … for both Notre Dame tilts, a live streaming broadcast is available for free on und.com by clicking on the `Watch’ button on the Irish schedule … also sign up for `Irish Alert’ on und.com to receive text message score updates.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame is coming off a third-place showing at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic last weekend … the Irish went 1-1 at the tournament … Notre Dame fell to Akron, 3-0, in the season opener before taking down Duke, 4-1, in the second day of the event … the Fighting Irish are ranked in the top 25 of the four major national polls … the Irish peak at No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, while they are 12th in the Soccer Times rankings … Notre Dame is 13th according to Soccer America and 22nd in the College Soccer News preseason poll … senior forward Bright Dike leads the team with two goals, while junior midfielder Dave Donohue has a team-high two assists … the Irish return seven starters and 14 letter-winners from last season’s squad that notched a 14-5-5 record and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships for the second straight season … head coach Bobby Clark is in his eighth season with the Irish … he has a 95-39-20 (.682) record during his Notre Dame tenure.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This will mark the seventh 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 suddenly 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 7-1-4 all time in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament … the Irish have won the tournament twice (2003 & 2005) … eight of Notre Dame’s 12 matches in the event 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 … during the 2006 tournament, the Irish fell to UAB in overtime, 1-0, and then knocked off No. 8 Creighton, 4-1 … last season, the Irish downed Rhode Island, 3-0, before playing Northern Illinois to a scoreless draw to finish second … here is a glance at the previous tournaments …
Year Order of Finish
2007 Indiana, Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Rhode Island
2006 Indiana, UAB, Notre Dame, Creighton
2005 Notre Dame, Indiana, Saint Louis, Boston University
2004 Indiana, Notre Dame, Cal State Fullerton, Evansville
2003 Notre Dame, Akron, Fresno State, Indiana
2002 Bradley, Notre Dame, Furman, Cornell
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS DARTMOUTH: Friday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Fighting Irish and Big Green on the soccer field.
SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN: Dartmouth will open its season with the match against the Fighting Irish on Friday … the Big Green returns its top three scorers from last season, with senior Craig Henderson leading the way as he tallied 16 points on six goals and four assists in 2007 … Henderson is fresh off an appearance in the 2008 Olympic games with his native New Zealand … fellow senior Dani Rothenberg scored four goals and dished out three assists while sophomore Andrew Olsen tallied four goals in ’07 … Dartmouth posted an 11-4-3 record last season and fell to Vermont on penalty kicks in the first round of the NCAA Championships … the Big Green finished second in the Ivy League with a 5-1-1 mark … head coach Jeff Cook is entering his eighth season at Dartmouth … he has a 56-41-23 record at the school.
FACING HIS FORMER SQUAD: Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark will be facing a team he once coached when the Irish face Dartmouth on Friday … Clark spent nine seasons (1985-1993) at the helm of the Big Green program … the Scotland native guided Dartmouth to three Ivy League titles and an overall record of 82-42-13 (.646) … Dartmouth reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships under Clark in 1990 and 1992 … Clark left for Stanford following the 1993 season and then came to Notre Dame in 2001.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS SOUTH FLORIDA: Notre Dame and South Florida will be meeting for the third time when the two teams square off on Sunday … South Florida has won the two previous encounters … the last meeting took place during the 2006 season at Notre Dame … the Bulls prevailed, 2-0, in that contest … the first match occurred in 1985 and USF came away with a 3-0 victory.
NON-CONFERENCE AFFAIR: Despite Notre Dame and South Florida being BIG EAST foes, Sunday’s match will not count in the conference standings … the Irish and Bulls were not slated to meet each other in the league’s 11-game 2008 regular season so they scheduled the out-of-conference showdown.
SCOUTING THE BULLS: South Florida topped Bowling Green, 3-0, in its season opener on Aug. 30 … the Bulls received goals from Zak Boggs, Jordan Seabrook and Bernardo Anor in the victory … Diego Restrepo played all 90 minutes in goal … South Florida was picked to win the 2008 BIG EAST Red Division title as voted on by the league’s head coaches … last season, the Bulls went 14-6-2 and finished fourth in the Red Division with a 6-4-1 league record … South Florida advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championships after defeating Colgate (2-1) and Akron (1-0, 2OT) … the Bulls had nine starters return from that squad … senior midfielder Kevon Neaves was named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy preseason watch list … senior defender Yohance Marshall was selected as a preseason All-American by Soccer America and College Soccer News … head coach George Kiefer is in his seventh season at South Florida … he carries a record of 65-38-13 with the Bulls.
IRISH THOUGHTS: Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark shares his thoughts on the Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament …
“The two teams that we are facing are two (NCAA) tournament teams from a year ago and they are two very, very good teams.
“Dartmouth has either won or has been runner-up in the Ivy League over the past few years. They are a very formidable opponent and it will not be an easy game. We will have to be patient and work very hard.
“South Florida will be a different game than Dartmouth. They have a great Caribbean flavor on their team and they have some tremendous athletes that can handle the ball.”
UP NEXT: Notre Dame opens BIG EAST Conference play with a home match against Marquette on Thursday, Sept. 11 … game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Field.
LAST WEEKEND: The Irish opened the 2008 campaign by going 1-1 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic … Notre Dame finished third at the tournament … Notre Dame fell to Akron, 3-0, in the first contest before topping Duke, 4-1, during the second day of the event … senior forward Bright Dike scored the final two goals against the Blue Devils … that marked the first multiple-goal game of his career … sophomore Steven Perry put the Irish up 2-0 with his first collegiate goal … junior midfielder Justin Morrow put Notre Dame on the board, while fellow junior Dave Donohue registered a career-high two assists … senior goalkeeper Andrew Quinn played all 180 minutes and made eight saves, including a career-high tying five stops against Duke.
IRISH IN SEASON OPENERS: Following the 3-0 loss to Akron, Notre Dame is now 20-9-3 all-time in season openers, including 5-2-1 in the Bobby Clark era.
BIG DAY FOR DIKE: Senior forward Bright Dike scored a career-high two goals in a 4-1 win over Duke on Sunday, Aug. 31 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic … Dike put the Irish up 3-0 in the 48th minute … he struck again less than three minutes later to give Notre Dame a four-goal advantage … Dike has six career goals.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: Notre Dame’s four goals in its 4-1 triumph of Duke marked the first time the Fighting Irish had reached the four-goal plateau since a 4-1 win over Georgetown on Oct. 7, 2006.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Notre Dame was represented on the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic all-tournament team by senior forward Bright Dike and freshman defender Aaron Maund … Dike scored a career-high two goals in the 4-1 win over Duke, while Maund played all 180 minutes in the central defense during the weekend for the Irish.
BESLER TABBED AS A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Matt Besler, a senior defender, has been named a second-team preseason All-American by Soccer America and College Soccer News … these are the first such national accolades for the team tri-captain … as a junior, Besler was named an NSCAA Scholar All-American in addition to taking home second-team all-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive season … entering the 2008 campaign, Besler had played in 69 games, including 52 starts, during his Notre Dame career … he has tallied 14 points on four goals and six assists.
BIG EAST ACCOLADES FOR BESLER: Senior defender Matt Besler was named to the 2008 BIG EAST All-Preseason Team … this marked the second straight season that he has been named to the all-league preseason squad … Besler has been a second-team all-BIG EAST pick the last two seasons.
BACK IN THE ATTACK: Forwards Bright Dike and Tamba Samba will be key cogs in the Notre Dame attacking unit this season … Dike, a senior, did not play at all during the 2007 campaign, while Samba, a junior, missed all but two games due to injury … as a sophomore in 2006, Dike tallied six points on two goals and two assists … Dike has started both games this season and has scored two goals … Samba has played in one match this season.
NOTRE DAME PICKED SECOND IN BLUE DIVISION: Notre Dame was selected to finish second in the BIG EAST Blue Division for the 2008 season … the Irish garnered 99 points in voting by the league’s head coaches, while Connecticut received 112 points … Connecticut totaled 14 first-place votes in the Blue Division, while Notre Dame had two … South Florida was tabbed to win the league’s Red Division and Louisville was picked to finish second.
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS WATCH LISTS: Three Notre Dame freshmen were named to the College Soccer News `100 freshmen to keep an eye on’ list for the 2008 season … (M/F) Brendan King, (M/F) Michael Rose and (GK) Will Walsh 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 12th nationally by College Soccer News … (M/F) Brendan King, (M/D) Aaron Maund, (D) Sean McGrath, (M) Adam Mena, (M/F) Michael Rose, (M/D) Chris Sutton and (GK) Will Walsh make up the talented crop of Fighting Irish rookies.
IRISH NAME TRI-CAPTAINS: Fifth-year senior Alex Yoshinaga will serve as a team tri-captain for the second straight season … senior defender Matt Besler will also be a tri-captain for the second time and junior midfielder Michael Thomas is the third captain for Notre Dame … he is a first-time captain.
TOUGH SLATE: The Irish will face another challenging schedule this season … Notre Dame has five teams ranked in the most recent NSCAA top-25 poll on its 2008 slate … Connecticut (3), Akron (5) and Indiana (6) are in the top 10, while South Florida (14) and St. John’s (22) also appear in the rankings.
RECAPPING `07: In 2007, Notre Dame posted a 14-5-5 record and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships for the second straight season … the Irish fell at eventual national champion Wake Forest, 1-0, in overtime during the quarterfinals … the Fighting Irish won a share of the 2007 BIG EAST Blue Division title … Notre Dame tied Connecticut in points, but the Irish were the only team to go undefeated in league play as they posted a 7-0-4 mark … the Fighting Irish averaged 1.43 goals per game last season, while surrendering just 0.83 … departed seniors Joseph Lapira (F) and Ryan Miller (M/D) both copped All-America honors for the Irish in 2007 … Lapira led the Irish in both goals (9) and points (28) for the third straight season … he also had a team-high 10 assists in ’07.
ALUMNI FIELD FAREWELL: The 2008 campaign will mark the final season for the Fighting Irish at Alumni Field, which has been home to the Notre Dame men’s soccer team since 1990 … the Irish will begin play in a new $5.7 million state-of-the-art facility starting in 2009 … in 18 seasons at Alumni Field, the Irish have won 73 percent of their contests as Notre Dame has posted a 120-38-17 home record.
A NEW PITCH: The Notre Dame men’s and women’s soccer teams will begin play in a new $5.7 million state-of-the-art facility starting in 2009 … plans for the stadium include a lighted facility that will feature a natural grass field, locker rooms, restrooms, concession areas and 2,000 seats … the stadium will reside just east of the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus … the lead benefactors for the facility are former Irish men’s soccer players Tom Crotty and Rob Snyder.
PARKING CHANGES: Due to ongoing construction within the Notre Dame Athletics Quad, parking for Irish soccer games this year is limited to the Eck Baseball Stadium and Joyce Center lots … fans are asked to walk around the south end of Eck Stadium, then proceed north between the stadium’s right-field wall and the soccer practice field before entering at the south end of Alumni Field.
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 men’s soccer home games will be streamed live for free on und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … the site also will feature live stats available through Gametracker … 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 `Watch’ to view the game and on `Gametracker’ to follow the stats.
SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: 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.