Junior midfielder Brendan King has assisted on Notre Dame's last five goals.

No. 11 Irish To Meet No. 1 Louisville In BIG EAST Semifinals

Nov. 10, 2010

Game NotesGet Acrobat Reader

#11 NOTRE DAME (10-4-4)
(No. 2 Seed Blue Division)
vs.
#1 LOUISVILLE (15-0-2)
(No. 1 Seed Red Division)

BIGâ⒬ˆEASTâ⒬ˆChampionship Semifinal
Friday, Nov. 12 – 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Red Bull Arena – Harrison, N.J.

TV: CBS College Sports (Live)
Play-by-Play: Brent Stover; Analyst: Shep Messing
Live Stats: BIGEAST.org

SETTING THE STAGE … The No. 11 Notre Dame men’s soccer team will face top-ranked Louisville at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The Fighting Irish are 10-4-4, while the Cardinals are 15-0-2. Notre Dame is the No. 2 seed from the Blue Division, while Louisville is the No. 1 seed from the Red Division.

HOW TO FOLLOW … Friday’s match will be aired live on CBS College Sports … Brent Stover will handle play-by-play duties, while Shep Messing will provide color commentary … live stats of the contest will be available at bigeast.org … fans can sign up for `Irish Alert’ on UND.com to receive text message score updates … updates and results can also be found on Twitter at UND_com.

WHAT’S AT STAKE … The winner of Friday’s BIG EAST Championship semifinal match between Notre Dame and Louisville will advance to the league title game to take on either Providence or Cincinnati … the Friars and Bearcats will meet in the first semifinal game on Friday (5:00 p.m.) … Providence is the No. 5 seed from the Blue Division, while Cincinnati is the second seed from the Red Division … the championship game is slated for noon (ET) on Sunday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

IRISH AT A GLANCE … Notre Dame (10-4-4) is coming off a 2-1 victory over Marquette on Saturday in the BIG EAST quarterfinals … the Fighting Irish will carry a season-best five-game unbeaten streak into Friday’s match … the Fighting Irish finished with a 6-2-1 BIGâ⒬ˆEAST record this season … senior forward Steven Perry leads the Irish in goals (12) and points (27) … Perry ranks first among all BIGâ⒬ˆEASTâ⒬ˆplayers, and eighth nationally, in goals scored … junior midfielder Brendan King and freshman forward Harrison Shipp both have a team-best six assists … the Irish are averaging 1.61 goals per game, while allowing 0.89 per contest … fifth-year senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle, who is returning from a knee injury suffered in the summer, has started the past 11 matches … Tuttle has a 7-2-2 record with a 1.05 goals-against average and a .727 save percentage … junior Will Walsh has made seven starts in goal and boasts a 3-2-2 record with four shutouts … Walsh has a 0.54 goals-against and a .875 save percentage … head coach Bobby Clark is in his 10th season with the Irish … he has a 127-57-30 (.664) record during his Notre Dame tenure, which has included a trip to the NCAA tournament each season … this is Clark’s 24th season as a college head coach … he has a combined record of 280-120-55 (.676) during his career, which included stops at Dartmouth (1985-93) and Stanford (1996-2000).

THE LOUISVILLE SERIES … Friday will mark the 13th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Louisville … the Fighting Irish lead the series 9-2-1 … this is the third straight season that both squads have meet twice … Louisville topped Notre Dame 2-0 on Oct. 16 at Cardinal Park in Louisville, Ky. … the Fighting Irish won the first seven meetings in the series, which began in 1981 … the Cardinals first win was a 2-1 overtime decision in 2008 at Louisville … Notre Dame owns a 26-8 scoring advantage in the series.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS … Louisville (15-0-2) defeated West Virginia 2-0 on Saturday during the BIG EAST quarterfinals … the Cardinals won the BIG EAST Red Division with a 9-0 league record … Louisville is averaging 2.06 goals per game, while allowing 0.59 per game … freshman midfielder Dylan Mares leads the Cardinals in goals (8) and points (18) … junior midfielder Kenney Walker has a team-best seven assists … junior Andre Boudreaux has played every minute in goal … he has a 0.56 goals-against average and a .767 save percentage with seven shutouts … Louisville went 13-3-4 last season and won the BIG EAST Red Division with an 8-2-1 conference record … the Cardinals fell to Indiana, 2-0, in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Championship … Louisville returned eight starters and 15 letter winners from last year’s squad … head coach Ken Lolla is in his fifth season at the helm of the Cardinal program.

COACHING CONNECTION … Fighting Irish assistant coach BJ Craig spent the 2007 season as an assistant on the Louisville staff before coming to Notre Dame in 2008.

THE LAST TIME … Louisville topped Notre Dame 2-0 earlier this season (Oct. 16) at Cardinal Park in Louisville, Ky. … following a scoreless first half, Dylan Mares opened the scoring in the 55th minute … Nick DeLeon tallied Louisville’s second goal in the 84th minute … Irish goalkeeper Philip Tuttle made four saves, while Andre Boudreaux also had four stops … Louisville out shot Notre Dame 26-10 … the Cardinals had one more corner kick (6-5) than the Irish.

BEEN HERE BEFORE … Notre Dame is making its fourth straight appearance, and eighth overall, in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals … the Fighting Irish are 3-3-1 all-time in BIG EAST semifinal matches … the Irish are the only team in the league to make it to the past four tournament semifinals.

DÉJÃâ’¬ VU … Notre Dame and Louisville met in the semifinals of last season’s BIG EAST Championship in Morgantown, W. Va. … following a 0-0 draw, the Irish prevailed in a penalty kick shootout, 4-3 … the Irish and Cardinals faced off in the quarterfinals of the 2008 league tournament at Notre Dame … the Fighting Irish prevailed 1-0 … those have been the only two meetings between the two schools in the BIG EAST Championship.

IRISH IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP … This is Notre Dame’s 14th appearance in the BIG EAST Championship … the Irish own a 13-9-5 mark overall in the league playoffs … Notre Dame has won the BIG EAST Championship on two occasions (1996 and 2003) … Notre Dame is 7-1-3 at home in the conference tournament, 1-6-0 in true road games and 5-2-2 at neutral sites … head coach Bobby Clark boasts a 9-6-5 record in BIG EAST Championship games in his 10-plus seasons with the Fighting Irish … Clark guided Notre Dame to the ’03 title … last season, Notre Dame advanced to the tournament final and fell to St. John’s in a penalty kick shootout, 5-3, following a scoreless draw … all three of Notre Dame’s matches in the 2009 BIG EAST Championship were decided on penalty kicks.

CONFERENCE CROWNS … Notre Dame is in pursuit of its sixth conference tournament title … the Fighting Irish captured three Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships (1988, 1993, 1994) … Notre Dame has won the BIG EAST Championship twice (1996, 2003).

THE ROAD TO RED BULL … The BIG EAST and Red Bull New York have joined forces with a three-year partnership for the Conference’s men’s soccer championship to be held at the new state-of-the-art Red Bull Arena through the 2012 tournament … the soccer-specific facility in Harrison, N.J., is the new home of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (MLS) … the stadium opened in the spring of 2010 … the BIG EAST will hold its semifinal and championship games at the venue, along with team practices before each day of competition, beginning this season … the dates of the championships over the next three years are: 2010 – Nov. 12 & 14; 2011 – Nov. 11 & 13 and 2012 – Nov. 9 & 10 … for more information, including how to buy tickets, go to bigeastsoccer.com.

MLS VENUE … Red Bull Arena will not be the first Major League Soccer stadium that Notre Dame has competed in this season … the Fighting Irish played Northwestern to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 29 at Toyota Park, which is home to the Chicago Fire.

QUOTING CLARK … Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark shares his thoughts on the upcoming BIG EAST Championship match versus Louisville …

“I think this is a fabulous matchup. Louisville is possibly the best team we’ve faced all year. They beat us 2-0 earlier in the season and I thought deservedly so. We’re excited to see where we’ve come in the four weeks since we’ve played them. It’ll be a good test for us. The game should be a fantastic advertisement for BIG EAST soccer.”

BLUE DIVISION DOMINANCE … The Blue Division posted a perfect 4-0 record over its Red Division opponents during the first round of the BIG EAST Championship.

ON A ROLL … Notre Dame is riding a season-best five-game unbeaten streak … the Irish are 4-0-1 in those contests … the Fighting Irish have an 11-4 scoring advantage in that stretch.

LAST TIME OUT … Notre Dame defeated Marquette 2-1 in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals on Saturday at Alumni Stadium … senior midfielder Jeb Brovsky put the Fighting Irish on the board in the eighth minute … Marquette’s Bryan Ciesiulka deposited the equalizer in the 53rd minute … sophomore central defender Grant Van De Casteele headed in the game winner in the 66th minute … junior midfielder Brendan King assisted on both goals … the Fighting Irish held a 25-11 advantage in shots, including a 12-2 margin in shots on goal, over the Golden Eagles … Notre Dame had eight corner kicks, while Marquette had six.

TEAM OF THE WEEK … Sophomore central defender Grant Van De Casteele was named to the College Soccer News national team of the week on Nov. 8 for scoring the game winner in the 66th minute in a 2-1 triumph of Marquette on Saturday … it was his second goal of the season

KING CONTRIBUTING IN A MAJOR WAY … Junior midfielder Brendan King has assisted on Notre Dame’s last five goals … he has seven points on one goal and five assists over the course of the last three matches … King assisted on both Irish goals in the 2-1 win over Marquette on Saturday … King netted the game-winning goal with one minute left in regulation in a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh (Oct. 27) … he followed that up by assisting on all three goals in a 3-0 triumph of No. 21 Georgetown (Oct. 31) … the three assists were a single-game career-high total for the junior, who has three goals and six assists this season … his assist total is tied for the team lead and it ranks eighth among all BIG EAST players.

PERRY PERFORMING … Steven Perry leads all BIG EAST players with 12 goals … his 27 points rank second in the league … the senior forward ranks eighth nationally in goals scored … Perry has netted at least one goal in eight of the past 12 matches … Perry has notched 23 points on 10 goals and three assists over the course of the past 12 games … Perry’s five game-winning goals this season rank first among all BIG EAST players … he has three two-goal games this season … his goal (12), assist (3) and point total (27) all are single-season career-best totals for the Oklahoma native.

PERRY PRODUCES AGAIN … Senior forward Steven Perry was selected to the TopDrawerSoccer.com national team of the week and the BIG EAST weekly honor roll on Nov. 1 for his performance in two victories … Perry deposited three goals over the course of the two Irish wins … he knotted the Pittsburgh match (Oct. 27) just 19 seconds after the Panthers took a 1-0 lead … Perry also had a hand in the second tally as he was taken down inside the 18-yard box and the Irish converted the penalty kick … he scored the first two goals in the Georgetown victory (Oct. 31).

IN THE CLUTCH … Steven Perry has netted some crucial goals for the Irish this season … he has five game-winning tallies … the senior forward scored the lone goal (70th minute) in a 1-0 win over St. John’s (Sept. 25) … Perry then deposited the equalizer in the 79th minute in a 1-1 draw with Northwestern (Sept. 29) … Perry put home the game winner in the 85th minute in a 2-1 triumph of Providence (Oct. 3) … after Pittsburgh grabbed a 1-0 lead during the match on Oct. 27, Perry produced the equalizer 19 seconds later … Perry netted the game’s first two goals in a 3-0 triumph of Georgetown on Sunday … that matched a single-game career-high total … he also deposited two goals against Drake (Sept. 10) and Marquette (Oct. 13) this season.

SETTING THE PACE … Notre Dame is 7-1-1 this season when Steven Perry scores a goal.

SHIPP GIVING A HELPING HAND (OR FOOT) … Freshman forward Harrison Shipp is tied for the team lead in assists with six … that ranks him in a tie for eighth among all BIG EAST players in that category … in his first career start, he assisted on Notre Dame’s first three goals of the game in a 4-1 win over Marquette (Oct. 13) … Shipp dished out two assists in a 3-1 triumph of Seton Hall on Oct. 19.

IRISH ON FRIDAY’S … Notre Dame is 1-1-2 this season when playing on Friday.

DOUBLE DIGITS … Since head coach Bobby Clark took over the Fighting Irish program in 2001, he has steered the Irish to a double-digit win total in each of his 10 seasons, including this year.

HOME SWEET HOME … Notre Dame is 8-1-1 at home this season … that includes a 6-0 mark against BIG EAST teams … the Irish have out scored their opponents 22-7 in games played at Alumni Stadium this season.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS … Notre Dame has out-scored its opponents 19-8 in the second half this season … the Fighting Irish are 6-1-4 this season when tied at halftime.

HOLDING THE LEAD … The Fighting Irish are 9-0 this season when they score first … Notre Dame is 1-4-1 when its opponent nets the first goal.

DEFENSIVE CONSISTENCY … The most goals surrendered by the Irish defense this season in a single match is two, which has occurred four times … the last time Notre Dame went through an entire season without allowing more than two goals in a game was in 2004.

STRONG STAT SHEET … Notre Dame owned the stat sheet in nearly every way in a 3-0 win over Georgetown in the regular-season finale on Oct. 31 … the Irish out shot the Hoyas 4-0 in the first half and 12-4 for the entire match … Notre Dame did not allow a shot on goal … the Irish also had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.

CORNERING THE MARKET … Notre Dame has gained 28 more corner kicks (128-100) than its opponents this season … Notre Dame’s high-water mark for corner kicks in a game this season was 13 versus California … the Irish did not surrender a corner kick in a 3-0 win over Georgetown on Oct 31.

SHOOTING DOWN THE COMPETITION … The Fighting Irish have out shot their competition 336-237 (5.5 per game) this season, including a 130-78 (2.9 per game) advantage in shots on goal … Notre Dame leads all BIG EAST teams in shots and shots per game (18.7).

NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY … Notre Dame owns an overall record of 97-55-18 (.624) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish have posted 10 straight winning seasons within the league, including this season … the Irish went 8-3 in league play last season … the eight wins in BIG EAST play in 2009 tied for the most ever for the Fighting Irish … Notre Dame also won eight BIG EAST matches in 2004 (8-1-1) and 2006 (8-3) … the Irish have three regular-season BIG EAST titles … Notre Dame won the championship outright in 2004 and 2008 (Blue Division) and shared the Blue Division trophy with Connecticut in 2007 … the Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003.

CLARK IN THE CONFERENCE … Head coach Bobby Clark has steered the Irish to a winning record within BIG EAST Conference play during all 10 of his seasons, including this year, at Notre Dame … Clark has a 69-24-11 (.716) BIG EAST regular-season mark during his Notre Dame tenure, which began in 2001 … his Irish teams have captured three regular-season BIG EAST titles (2004, 2007, 2008) and one BIG EAST tournament championship (2003).

TUTTLE RETURNS … Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle returned to the Fighting Irish lineup on Sept. 29 against Northwestern after missing the first seven games of the campaign with a knee injury he suffered while training during the summer … in addition to missing the first seven matches of this season, Tuttle did not play in Notre Dame’s final three contests last year after breaking his thumb against Louisville in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship … Tuttle remained in that match despite the injury and helped the Irish advance in a penalty kick shootout … this season, Tuttle has a 7-2-2 record with a 1.05 goals-against average, a .727 save percentage and one shutout … he was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll on Oct. 25 for notching a shutout against Connecticut … Tuttle made a season-high five saves against the Huskies … for his career, Tuttle is 16-8-4 with nine shutouts to go along with a 0.95 goals-against average and a .733 save percentage.

MAUND MAKING A DIFFERENCE … Junior central defender Aaron Maund is the only Notre Dame player to have played every minute on the pitch so far this season … he has anchored the backline and has helped the Irish produce a 0.89 goals-against average and limit opponents to 4.3 shots on goal per game … in addition, he has tallied one goal and two assists this season … Maund was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 and was selected to the league’s weekly honor roll on Sept. 13 … Maund has started all 57 matches in which he has played during his Irish career.

TOPDRAWER RANKINGS … Four Notre Dame players are ranked among the National Top 100 upperclassmen according to TopDrawerSoccer.com … Aaron Maund (Jr./D) is ranked 19th, while Dillon Powers (So./M) is 32nd … Jeb Brovsky (Sr./F) is 46th and Steven Perry (Sr./F) is 93rd … Notre Dame forward/midfielder Harrison Shipp is 37th in the TopDrawerSoccer freshman rankings … both rankings are updated weekly.

CLEAN SHEETS … Junior goalkeeper Will Walsh has posted four shutouts in his seven starts this season … Walsh saw a career-best scoreless streak of 357 minutes come to an end when Cal Poly scored with six seconds remaining in the 5-1 Irish victory on Sept. 12 … Walsh had not seen game action prior to this season.

EARLY SEASON OFFENSE … The five goals scored in the 5-1 win over Cal Poly (Sept. 12) marked the fourth time in the past five seasons that Notre Dame has tallied five goals in one of its first four matches of the season … last year, the Irish bested Michigan 5-0 in the season opener … in 2008, Notre Dame topped USF 5-0 in the fourth game of the campaign … in the fourth contest of the 2006 season, the Fighting Irish bested Indiana 5-4 in overtime.

IRISH EXPLOSION … The five goals scored in the second half against Cal Poly on Sept. 12 were the most goals scored in a single period by the Fighting Irish since they netted five in the first half during a 5-0 win over Villanova on Oct. 23, 2002 … it marked the most goals scored in a second half since depositing seven in a 7-1 triumph of Western Michigan on Oct. 14, 1997.

ALL OVER THE MAP … Notre Dame’s 29-man roster boasts student-athletes from 18 different states … the state represented the most on the Irish roster is Illinois, which is home to six Notre Dame players … Brendan King (Naperville), Greg Klazura (Rockford), Craig Krzyskowski (Western Springs), Bob Novak (Homer Glen), Danny O’Leary (Naperville) and Harrison Shipp (Lake Forest) all hail from the Prairie State … next in line is Texas, which has supplied the Irish with four players on this year’s squad.

BROVSKY A SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST … Forward/midfielder Jeb Brovsky has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the men’s soccer division … to be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition … the finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates … nationwide fan voting is underway to determine the winner … fans are encouraged to vote via the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website (seniorclassaward.com) through November 14 … fan votes will be combined with media and coaches votes to determine the winner … the award will be announced during the 2010 NCAA Men’s College Cup championships in early December.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES … Aaron Maund (Jr./D) and Dillon Powers (So./M) were named Soccer America Preseason All-Americans … Notre Dame was one of five schools with multiple representatives on the 25-man Soccer America Preseason All-America Team … Akron had four players on the squad, while Virginia, North Carolina and Tulsa joined the Irish with two apiece.

MORE HONORS FOR MAUND AND POWERS … Fighting Irish junior Aaron Maund, a central defender, was named the 2010 BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in a vote by the league’s head coaches … Irish sophomore Dillon Powers, a midfielder, joined Maund on the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team.

CAPTAIN KEEPER … Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle is Notre Dame’s lone captain for the 2010 campaign … this is Tuttle’s first season as a captain.

POWERS PACES TEAM USA … Sophomore Dillon Powers helped the United States Under-20 national team capture the Milk Cup Tournament in early August … Powers was named the MVP of the Milk Cup, which is an international youth soccer tournament held annually in Northern Ireland … the midfielder earned a start in two of the three matches as the U.S. posted a 3-0 record.

ROOKIE RANKINGS … Notre Dame’s freshman class was ranked ninth according to College Soccer News … Leon Brown (F), Kyle Craft (M), Adam LaPlaca (GK), Luke Mishu (D), Andrew O’Malley (D), Alex Priede (F), Harrison Shipp (M/F) and Patrick Wall (GK) make up the stellar class.

LOSE THE SHOES … At halftime of the Notre Dame-Providence match on Oct. 3, the championship game of Notre Dame’s `Lose the Shoes’ tournament was held … the proceeds from the 3-on-3 barefoot soccer tournament benefited Grassroot Soccer, a South Africa-based non-governmental organization that integrates the cross-cultural appeal of soccer with evidence-based HIV prevention and life skills programs that arm African youth with the knowledge, skills, and support to live HIV free … Tommy Clark, the eldest son of Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark, is a cofounder of Grassroot Soccer … in the fall of 2006, Dartmouth College held the first ever `Lose the Shoes’ tournament and since then, over 80 `Lose the Shoes’ tournaments have raised almost $150,000 … Notre Dame held its first `Lose the Shoes’ tournament last year … the semifinals of this year’s tournament were held at halftime of the Notre Dame-St. John’s women’s game on Oct. 3 … the preliminary games of the tournament took place on Oct. 2 on Notre Dame’s South Quad.

A GREAT NIGHT FOR GRASSROOT … Notre Dame held its annual exhibition game to benefit Grassroot Soccer on Aug. 23 against UIC … over 2,000 fans packed into Alumni Stadium to watch the Irish defeat the Flames, 3-2 … a grand total of $3,000 was raised for Grassroot Soccer, an international AIDS awareness and education organization that reaches youth in Africa through soccer clinics … $1,000 worth of donations were received at the gate and during the match … head coach Bobby Clark, whose son Tommy is the founder and CEO of the organization, and the Notre Dame men’s soccer camp donated $2,000.

LOOKING BACK … Last season, Notre Dame posted an 11-8-4 record … the Irish were runners-up in the BIG EAST Blue Division with an 8-3 mark … the Fighting Irish were finalists at the BIG EAST Championship as they fell to St. John’s in a penalty kick shootout (5-3) following a scoreless draw … Notre Dame defeated Green Bay 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling at Northwestern, 3-1, in the second round … that marked Notre Dame’s ninth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.