Aug. 18, 2004
he University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team has begun preparations for the 2004 season and will host an exhibition match with Northwestern on Monday, Aug. 23 (7:00 p.m.) at Alumni Field. The Irish began practice in earnest on Tuesday, Aug. 18, with a full squad workout. Notre Dame welcomes the freshmen class of Andrew Benton, John Cavanaugh, Kyle Dulworth, Joe Lapira, Kurt Martin, John Mousinho, Brian Sheehan and Alex Yoshinaga onto the roster for the ’04 campaign. Led by team captains GK Chris Sawyer (preseason All-American and Hermann Award watch list selection), D Jack Stewart (also on the Hermann watch list) and D Kevin Goldthwaite, Notre Dame will be among the top teams in the nation this season. The Irish coaching staff would also like to bring extra attention to Monday’s exhibition and the ability to support a very worthy cause. Grassroot Soccer, an international AIDS awareness and education organization, will benefit from Monday’s attendance and a donation from the Notre Dame men’s soccer program. Head coach Bobby Clark and his assistant coaches, Mike Avery and Brian Wiese, have donated two thousand dollars from the men’s soccer camp profits to Grassroot Soccer. Coach Clark is also asking each fan at Monday’s match to donate one dollar to Grassroot Soccer. Grassroot Soccer focuses its prevention efforts on the most at risk population in the world – young people ages 10-17 in Africa. In its first year of operation, Grassroot Soccer reached several thousand young people in Zimbabwe and the US. Next year, organizers plan to expand the program to at least two other countries in Africa and reach over 10,000 US youth players through its Kick Aids program. More information about Grassroot Soccer can be found at www.grassrootsoccer.org and at Monday’s match against Northwestern. You can also contact the organization at: Grassroot Soccer 6729 Academy Rd., NE Suite D Albuquerque, NM 87109 401-228-8338