Nov. 4, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team has earned the No. 4 seed in the 2002 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship. The Irish, winners of seven of their last eight games, will play host to No. 5 seed Georgetown in a quarterfinal match on Saturday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Notre Dame owns an 11-4-3 record and finished the BIG EAST regular season with a final 6-3-1 mark. Georgetown has registered an overall 7-8-1 ledger and completed the league play with a 5-4-1 ledger.
Notre Dame, which is ranked 15th in the Soccer America and 18th in the adidas/NSCAA rankings, respectively, will be looking to avenge a 3-2 during the regular season to the Hoyas in Washington, D.C. The Irish’s loss to Georgetown is its only setback in the last eight games.
The Irish will be hosting a BIG EAST quarterfinal match for the second straight year and third time since becoming a conference member in 1995. Notre Dame also has hosted Georgetown the two other times it has hosted a quarterfinal game. In 1996, the Irish earned a 2-1 victory and last season earned a 1-0 decision. Notre Dame owns a 3-2 record in its five previous quarterfinal appearances.
Notre Dame has missed playing in the championship on just two occasions – 1995 and 2000. The Irish own an overall record of 5-4 in BIG EAST tournament play.
Boston College won the ’02 regular season tile and will be the No. 1 seed in the championship. The top eight teams in the final regular-season standing earn a berth in the tournament, with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal games on November 9. Selection and seeding is based on regular-season finish. Rutgers will serve as host for the semifinals and championship final in Piscataway, N.J. on November 15 and 17.
This will be the 12th meeting between the Irish and the Hoyas with Notre Dame holding a 6-5-1 advantage in the series. Georgetown is 2-3 playing at Alumni Field.
Saturday, November 9
No. 8 Providence (7-11-0, 5-5-0) at No.1 Boston College (12-4-0, 8-2-0) 1:00 p.m.
No. 6 Rutgers (8-7-3, 5-4-1) at No. 3 Connecticut (13-4-0, 7-3-0) 1:00 p.m.
No. 5 Georgetown (7-8-1, 5-4-1) at No. 4 Notre Dame (11-4-3, 6-3-1) 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Seton Hall (9-6-3) at No. 2 St. John’s (11-1-5, 7-1-2) 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 15 ( at Rutgers, Piscataway, N.J.)
#3/#6 winner vs. #2/#7 winner 5:00 p.m.
#1/#8 winner vs. #4/#5 winner 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 7
Semifinal Winners Noon