Sept. 4, 2001
THE WEEK AHEAD –
The #21 Notre Dame men’s soccer team will face two ranked opponents this week when it travels to Greenville, S.C. for the Furman Invitational. The Irish face the host Paladins (#5 Soccer America) on Fri, Sept. 7 at 7:00 and then meet Clemson (#16 Soccer America) on Sun., Sept. 9 at 12:30 p.m.
RECAPPING THE VILLANOVA GAME –
Notre Dame began the Bobby Clark era at Notre Dame with an impressive 5-0 victory over Villanova. The five-goal win was the largest margin of victory in an opening game for the Irish since the 1998 campaign when Notre Dame defeated DePaul 8-0. The Irish used a balanced attack with five players netting goals in the contest as Notre Dame scored four second-half goals and outshot the Wildcats 23-4. Three players – freshman Kevin Goldthwaite (Sacramento, Calif.), sophomore Greg Martin (Plano, Texas) and junior Justin Ratcliffe (Miami, Fla.) recorded the first scores of their collegiate careers in the contest. Goldthwaite got the Irish on the scoreboard with his first career goal with 3:14 before the intermission. Martin put the Irish up 2-0 at the 56:25 mark, while junior Erich Braun (Frankfurt, Germany) added the third Irish score on a penalty kick. Ratcliffe and senior Matt Rosso (Churchville, Pa.) tallied the fourth and fifth goals of the game, respectively. In addition to scoring his first collegiate goal, Martin also dished off his first career assist when he asisted on Rosso’s goal with 12 minutes left to play in the game. Clark was able to utilize his bench with 21 of the 25 players on the roster seeing action in the game.
SERIES RECORDS VS. FURMAN AND CLEMSON –
Notre Dame has four first-time opponents on its 2001 schedule this season. The Irish will face two of those opponents this weekend when they play Furman and Clemson. The two other first-time teams to the Notre Dame schedule include Rhode Island (Sept. 14) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 14).
HEAD COACH BOBBY CLARK –
Bobby Clark was successful in his coaching debut with the Irish. He was named the fifth head coach in the history of the Notre Dame men’s soccer program on Jan. 19, 2001. A 14-year veteran on the collegiate sidelines, Clark most recently spent five seasons guiding the Stanford Cardinal to a 71-21-12 record and .740 winning percentage from 1996-2000. Clark also was the head coach at Dartmouth from 1985-1993 where he led the Big Green to an 82-42-13 mark (.646). Among active Division I head men’s soccer coaches, he ranks 15th with a .688 winning percentage and 154-63-25 record. Six of Clark’s teams have advanced to NCAA tournament play with his 1998 Stanford squad finishing as the NCAA runnerup that season.
NEW FACE, OLD FACE –
Brian Wiese and Mike Avery comprise Bobby Clark’s coaching staff this season. Wiese spent five season alongside Clark at Stanford coaching and also played under his tutelage for three seasons at Dartmouth from 1991-94. A three-year starter in goal for the Big Green, Wiese will work primarily with the Irish goalkeepers this season. Avery begins his second season on the Irish sidelines after being named as assistant in March of 2000. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, he spent three years as the head men’s coach at Cal State University San Bernardino where he also served as head coach of the women’s team for two seasons. No stranger to the Michiana area, Avery began his coaching career at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind., where he coached for three seasons and led that school to a 43-21-2 ledger.
NOTRE DAME CELEBRATING 25TH SEASON OF VARSITY COMPETITION –
The 2001 campaign marks the 25th season of varsity competition for the Notre Dame men’s soccer team. Since its inaugural campaign in 1977, Irish teams have compiled a 316-158-43 mark for a .653 winning percentage. Notre Dame has won 20-plus games on three occasions and 15 or more games 11 times. In the program’s history, only five teams have had a losing season.
THE CAPTAINS –
Notre Dame’s captains for the 2001 campaign are senior Griffin Howard, junior Andreas Forstner and sophomore Greg Martin. Howard, a fifth-year player, played in all 17 contests a year ago and earned 16 starts. He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer a year ago with four goals. Howard entered last having played in just seven games in his first three seasons. A two-year starter, Forstner was one of two Irish players who started all 17 games in 2000. He has a goal and two assists to his credit. Last season, he was a third-team selection to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Great regional team. Martin played in all 17 games and made 16 starts last season. He is the first sophomore in the program’s history to serve as a team captain.
IRISH IN SEASON OPENERS –
Notre Dame is 16-7-2 in its season openers and 6-0-1 over the last six seasons. The last time an Irish team lost a season opener was in 1994 when it dropped a 1-0 decision at Penn State. Since 1995, Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 18-1 in the first game of the season.
NOTRE DAME RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1999 CAMPAIGN –
After their season-opening win against Villanova, the Irish are ranked 21st in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. It’s the first time the Irish have been ranked in that poll since the the ’99 season when they held the number 16 spot for two weeks.
IU RETURNS TO IRISH SCHEDULE –
Notre Dame will renew its in-state rivalry with Indiana as the two squads face each other for the first time since the 1997 campaign when the Irish played host to the Hoosiers. This year’s contest will be played on Wed., Oct. 7 in Bloomington, Ind. The first meeting between the two schools was played in 1978, and the two met continuously (except for in 1990) through the 1997 campaign. Indiana leads the series 18-1-1. Notre Dame picked up its lone victory in the series in 1987 with a 4-3 overtime victory.
A GAME OF FIRSTS –
Notre Dame’s win over Villanova proved to be a night of firsts for many associated with the team. First, head coach Bobby Clark got his first win with the Irish in his coaching debut. Three players – freshman Kevin Goldthwaite, sophomore Greg Martin and junior Justin Ratcliffe tallied their first collegiate goals. Martin had the first multiple-point game of his career as he also dished off his first assist. Sophomore Kevin Richards (Warwick, Bermuda) was credited with his first career assist in the contest.
GETTING INTO THE ACTION –
Of the six freshmen on the Irish roster, two rookies – Kevin Goldthwaite and Jack Stewart (Torrance, Calif.) saw action in the game. Both came off the bench. Goldthwaite’s first collegiate game will be one to remember as his first goal in a Notre Dame uniform came off of his first-ever shot in a game.
GOOD BIG EAST START –
Notre Dame has been extremely successful in its BIG EAST openers as the Irish are 5-1-1 since becoming a conference member in 1995. The Irish dropped their league opener last season at Boston College (2-0) and tied Pittburgh (0-0) in 1997. Both of those games were on the road.
IRISH TO VISIT BLACKSBURG IN HOKIES’ FIRST SEASON –
Virginia Tech attained full membership in the BIG EAST last season, but did not play a conference member in some of the fall sports, including men’s soccer. The Hokies embark on league play in men’s soccer this season. Notre Dame is scheduled to play Virginia Tech in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on Sun., Oct. 14 at 1:00 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va.
IRISH TABBED SIXTH IN BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll –
The Irish have been picked to finish sixth in the 2001 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll by a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches. Connecticut, the defending NCAA champion, has been picked to capture the BIG EAST’s regular-season crown. Erich Braun, the 1999 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, is listed on the 12-member preseason all-conference team.
NEW BIG EAST FORMAT –
The addition of Virginia Tech to the league has created a change in the regular-season format with a 10-game conference format being instituted in 2001. Notre Dame will not play St. John’s and Pittsburgh this season. Another change that has resulted is that conference teams will now earn three points for a victory instead of one, while ties will still be worth one point.
YOUNG GUNS –
The 25-man Notre Dame roster is comprised of just four seniors and nine juniors with almost half of the squad made up of sophomores and freshmen. Bobby Clark inherited a program which returns eight starters and 19 letterwinners from last year’s squad.
HOME SWEET HOME –
Although Notre Dame struggled somewhat at home last season (3-4), the Irish own a 70-27-7 mark (.707) winning percentage at Alumni Field. Notre Dame finished the ’99 season with a 7-3-0 mark at home after posting a 5-1-2 record at Alumni Field in ’98. The Irish lost two one-goal decisions at home (to Western Michigan and Rutgers) and also suffered a 3-1 setback to Georgetown. The 2001 campaign marks the 11th season for the Irish playing at Alumni Field.
MIKE BERTICELLI MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT –
The first annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament will he held Sept. 14 and 16 at Notre Dame’s Alumni Field. The tournament is being held in honor of former Irish head coach Mike Berticelli, who coached from 1990-2000 before his sudden death in January of 2000. The three participating teams in this year’s field include: St. Mary’s (Calif.), Rhode Island and Akron.
A monument honoring Berticelli’s legacy at the University has been placed at the entrance to Alumni Field and will be dedicated on Sept. 14 in a ceremony prior to the start of the tournament.
HOME COOKIN’ –
Notre Dame will play five of its first seven games at home to open up the season. The Irish will play a total of nine home games this season. They conclude the regular season with a home game on Sat., Nov. 3. Notre Dame plays five of its games in October on the road.
MARTIN NAMED BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK –
Sophomore defender Greg Martin was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career. The sophomore tri-captain was instrumental in leading the Irish to their shutout of Villanova in the season opener as the Irish defense limited the Wildcats to just four shots on goal. Martin also registered the first points of his career with a goal and an assist in the contest.