April 12, 2002
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The 2002 Notre Dame men’ soccer team is slated to play nine teams which advanced to NCAA tournament play a year ago. The Irish return nine starters from last season’s squad which finished with a 12-7 record and advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament under first-year head coach Bobby Clark.
The 18-game regular-season slate includes: Akron, Boston College, Connecticut, Creighton, Furman, Michigan State, Rutgers. St. John’s and Seton Hall (all earned berths in the ’01 48-team NCAA field).
A preseason two-week tour of Scotland in early August (2-16) kicks off the ’02 campaign for the Irish. Notre Dame will play two exhibition contests at home against Bethel (Aug. 23) and Michigan (Aug. 26) following its Scotland trip before the start of the regular season.
Notre Dame opens up the campaign in Omaha, Neb., at the Diadora Challenge on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at Tranquility Park. The Irish face Southwest Missouri St. in the first round and then plays the host team, Creighton, in second round action.
The BIG EAST season commences at home against Seton Hall on Sat., Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
The Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, named in honor of the former Irish men’s coach passed away suddenly in January of 2000, will feature three top-flight teams – Bradley, Cornell and Furman – and will be held Fri., Sept. 13 and Sun., Sept. 15. Bradley and Furman square off in the first game on Sept. 13, followed by Notre Dame and Cornell at 7:30 p.m. Cornell plays Bradley in the first game on Sept. 15 at 11:00 a.m., followed by Notre Dame and Furman at 1:30 p.m. The Irish and Paladins squared off last year at the Umbro/Spinx Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. with the host team earning a 3-2 double overtime victory. Last year’s Berticelli Memorial Tournament was cancelled due to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Following the tournament, Notre Dame plays a non-conference game against Bradley as the Irish travel to Peoria, Ill., for the second consecutive year. Clark’s squad earned a 3-2 victory last season against the Braves.
A record six BIG EAST teams, including Notre Dame, played in the NCAA tournament last season. The Irish will play all five of those teams during the upcoming campaign. In addition to playing Seton Hall at home, the Irish also face league foe Connecticut on Alumni Field (Sun., Oct. 20) and will play conference road games at St. John’s (Thurs., Sept. 26), Rutgers (Sun., Sept. 29) and Boston College (Sat., Oct. 12).
Notre Dame’s non-conference schedule also includes two NCAA tournament participants – Akron and Michigan State. The Irish face the Zips on the road on Sun., Oct. 6) and play host to the Spartans on Wed., Oct. 16.
Clark’s squad will also play conference games against Providence (Sept. 22), Villanova (Oct. 23), Georgetown (Oct. 26) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 1). The Irish conclude the regular season at home against Loyola of Chicago on Sun., Nov. 3 at 2:00 p.m.
“We have put together a great schedule for the 2002 season,” Irish head coach Bobby Clark says. “With the trip to Scotland and the tremendous team on our schedule, we can look forward to an exciting fall.”