Sept. 6, 2015
DATE: Sept. 6, 2015
TIME: 2 p.m. (ET)
LOCATION: Notre Dame, Ind. (Alumni Stadium — cap. 3,500)
LAST MEETING: UAB, 1-0 (2OT)(8/25/06 at ND)
BROADCAST: WatchESPN
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @NDMenSoccer
TICKETS: UND.com/tickets; (574) 631-7356
In advance of Sunday’s final contest of the 13th annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament between the No. 5/8 University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team and the No. RV UAB Blazers, here are some important notes about the tournament’s closing matchup.
Berticelli Memorial Tournament History
This weekend’s four matches at Alumni Stadium comprise the 13th Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, which has been held in every season except for 2013 dating back to the 2002 campaign. The tournament is held in honor of the former Irish head coach who compiled a 104-80-19 record during his 10-year stint at Notre Dame.
Berticelli led the Irish to three NCAA tournament appearances (1993, 1994, 1996), including the program’s first NCAA win in 1996. He guided Notre Dame to one Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) regular-season title (1993) and two MCC tournament crowns (1993 & 1994). He also steered Notre Dame to its first BIG EAST tournament title in 1996.
“Mike was one of those larger than life characters, he was just a good guy,” current Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “I knew him from my days at Dartmouth and then at Stanford. I remember the year he died being at a tournament down in Florida at Christmas, and I remember sitting alongside him at a game. It was always fun to sit with Mike, and he was a really good people person. He was one of the leading lights in the NSCAA, which isn’t just college but covers all areas of soccer, high school, club, even the MLS.
“It’s nice that we can celebrate and continue to remember him in this way.”
Notre Dame is 17-3-5 (.780) all-time in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. The Irish have claimed the tournament championship five times: 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
South Florida, UAB and Indiana have each made previous tournament appearances entering this weekend’s event. Indiana has won the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on six occasions (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014), while UAB (second place, 2006) and USF (fourth place, 2008) are tournament entrants for the second time this weekend at Alumni Stadium.
ND And IU Battling For Tournament Title
After the first day of play at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Friday, Notre Dame and Indiana are tied atop the event standings with three points. Indiana downed UAB 2-1, while the Irish shut out USF 2-0.
Indiana opens tournament action Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (ET) against USF in advance of Notre Dame’s match against UAB. If both teams finish the weekend at 2-0-0, tiebreaking scenarios would need to be enacted in lieu of no head-to-head meeting between the Irish and Hoosiers.
The first non head-to-head tiebreaker is goal differential, which Notre Dame leads entering play on Sunday by one total goal.
Scouting UAB
UAB began its 2015 campaign with a 1-1-0 record during the opening weekend of the regular season, downing Memphis 3-1 on Aug. 28 before falling to Stetson 3-0 on Aug. 30. Opponents outshot the Blazers 29-24 during the first two matches, while
shots on goal were tied at 12 aside. UAB dropped a 2-1 decision to Indiana in the first game of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Friday.
Ian Svantesson leads UAB with two goals that came on his first two shots of 2015 at Memphis, notching the game-winning tally in the victory over Memphis. DeAndre Robinson added the other Blazer goal to go along with an assist in the season opener, while Karl Chester has scored one goal and chipped in an assist.
Goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky earned the start in each of the first three matches, logging a total of 15 saves.
Head coach Mike Getman is 259-158-37 (.611) in his 24th season at UAB, reaching the NCAA Championship on seven different occasions.
Goals From All Over The Field
The first three goals scored during the 2015 Notre Dame regular season were spread out between three different primary position groups. Freshman midfielder Thomas Ueland opened the Irish scoring account with the game-winner in the 109th minute last weekend at Indiana. Sophomore forward Jon Gallagher then drove home the winning Notre Dame goal in the 10th minute Friday against USF. Junior defender Brandon Aubrey ultimately finished a penalty kick in the 58th minute of the win over the Bulls, burying a shot from the spot into the left corner of the net.
ND Keeps Shutout Streak Alive
Following a pair of shutouts last weekend at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic to kick off the 2015 regular season, Notre Dame kept its staunch defensive momentum rolling with its 2-0 victory over No. 24 USF on Friday at Alumni Stadium. The Irish have now held opponents scoreless for more than 315 consecutive minutes dating back to last season’s NCAA Championship.
Notre Dame had not posted consecutive shutouts over the first three matches of a regular season since 1995, when Mike Berticelli led his Irish to an 8-0 win over DePaul (Sept. 3), a 7-0 triumph over Valparaiso (Sept. 8) and a 3-0 clean sheet in a BIG EAST Conference matchup against Syracuse.