Oct. 2, 2007
#19 Michigan at #3 Notre Dame
Wednesday, Oct. 3 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Field • Notre Dame, Ind.
TV: Comcast Local (Live)
#21 West Virginia at #3 Notre Dame
Saturday, Oct. 6 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Field • Notre Dame, Ind.
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Notre Dame will step away from BIG EAST Conference play with a showdown against No. 19 Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 p.m. (ET). The match will be aired by Comcast Local. The third-ranked Fighting Irish return to league play with a match against No. 21 West Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7:00 p.m. Notre Dame is first in the BIG EAST Blue Division and riding a seven-game unbeaten streak.
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH: The Notre Dame-Michigan match will be broadcast live on Comcast Local (Michigan) … it will be re-aired by the station at 6:00 a.m. (ET) on Friday, Oct. 5, Monday, Oct. 8 and Friday, Oct .12 … go to comcastlocal.com to see if the station is carried in your area … the game can also be seen on Comcast SportsNet (Chicago) on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 9:00 p.m. (ET) and re-aired on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 3:00 p.m. (ET) … go to chicago.comcastsportsnet.com for more information.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (6-1-2, 4-0-1 BE) upped its unbeaten streak to seven games with a win over Louisville on Sept. 30 … the Irish are 5-0-2 during that stretch … Notre Dame is unbeaten in its first five BIG EAST games for the first time since the 1997 season … the Irish are ranked third on all of this week’s major polls (Soccer America, NSCAA, Soccer Times, College Soccer News) … senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill saw his scoreless streak end at 314:21 after surrendering a goal against Cincinnati on Sept. 28 … Cahill has a 5-0-2 record this season to go along with a 0.55 goals-against average and a .862 save percentage … senior forward Joseph Lapira leads the team with seven points on two goals and a team-high three assists … four players (Lapira, Jeb Brovsky, Dave Donohue and Kurt Martin) are tied for the team lead in goals with two apiece … the Irish have six starters and 14 letterwinners back from last season’s squad that went 15-6-2 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time in program history … head coach Bobby Clark is in his seventh season with the Irish … he has an overall record of 86-34-17 (.690) at Notre Dame.
LAST WEEKEND: Notre Dame opened its BIG EAST home schedule with a 1-1 tie against Cincinnati on Friday, Sept. 28 … junior defender Matt Besler netted the equalizer in the 76th minute off a free kick from his classmate Jack Traynor … that was the first score of the season for Besler and the third goal of his career … Notre Dame topped Louisville, 2-1, on Sunday, Sept. 30 … freshman Jeb Brovsky opened the scoring in the fifth minute … that was his second goal of the season … that ties him for the team lead with three other players, including Joseph Lapira, who netted the second Irish goal in the 33rd minute against the Cardinals … Traynor assisted on Brovsky’s goal, while senior midfielder Kyle Dulworth collected the assist on Lapira’s score … that was the first point in Dulworth’s collegiate career.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MICHIGAN: The Fighting Irish and Wolverines have squared off six times on the pitch, with Notre Dame holding a 5-0-1 edge in the series … Notre Dame downed Michigan, 2-0, last season in Ann Arbor, Mich. … Joseph Lapira netted both Irish goals in the win … Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Cahill picked up the shutout … the Wolverines are 0-4-1 all time at Notre Dame … the tie came during the 2003 NCAA Tournament and Michigan advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3 … the last meeting at Alumni Field occurred in 2004 with the Irish claiming a 3-0 victory … Notre Dame and Michigan first met in 1977 … the Irish won that contest, 4-2, at home.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan (8-1-1) is ranked 19th in this week’s Soccer America poll … the Wolverines are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to Indiana on Sept. 29 after opening the season with a nine-game unbeaten streak … Michigan is averaging 2.62 goals per game, while allowing just 0.68 goals per game … Perica Marosevic leads the team with five goals … Jake Stacy has a team-best seven points … goalkeeper Patrick Sperry has all 10 decisions … he carries a 0.59 goals-against average and an .850 save percentage with six shutouts … the Wolverines returned nine starters and 14 letterwinners from last year’s team that posted a 7-10-4 record … head coach Steve Burns is in his seventh season at Michigan … he has an overall record of 75-60-14 at the school.
KEY MATCHUP: Notre Dame enters Wednesday’s showdown against Michigan allowing just 0.74 goals per game, while the Wolverines offense is averaging 2.62 goals per game … the Fighting Irish defense has posted four shutouts, while Michigan has yet to be held scoreless this season.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS WEST VIRGINIA: The Fighting Irish and Mountaineers have met 11 times with the Irish holding a 6-4-1 edge in the series … West Virginia claimed a 2-1 victory last season in Morgantown, W. Va. … Cory Rellas scored the lone goal for the Irish … the Mountaineers are 0-4-1 all time at Notre Dame … the last meeting at Notre Dame was a 3-3 tie during the 2005 season … the first meeting occurred in 1995, Notre Dame’s first campaign as a member of the BIG EAST Conference … the Mountaineers took that contest, 2-1, at home … the Fighting Irish have shut out the Mountaineers six times and hold a 17-9 scoring edge in the series.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: West Virginia (6-3-0, 2-2-0 BE) is ranked 21st in this week’s Soccer America poll … the Mountaineers are in fourth place in the BIG EAST Blue Division … West Virginia split its pair of BIG EAST games last weekend … West Virginia topped DePaul 1-0 on Sept. 28 before falling to South Florida, 1-0, in double-overtime on Sept. 30 … the Mountaineers have defeated two top-10 teams (then-No. 6 Maryland on Sept. 7, and then-No. 5 Duke on Sept. 15) on the road this season … Dan Stratford and Paul Paradise share the team lead in goals with two apiece … Stratford has a team-high six points … goalkeeper Zach Johnson has all nine decisions … he has a 0.31 goals-against average with a .903 save percentage and six shutouts … West Virginia went 15-3-3 last season, including a 9-0-1 conference mark en route to winning the BIG EAST Blue Division … the Mountaineers garnered the No. 6 seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament and were knocked out in the second round by UNC-Greensboro, 2-1, in double-overtime … West Virginia returned eight starters and 17 letterwinners from that squad … head coach Marlon LeBlanc is in his second season at the helm of the Mountaineer program.
NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY: Notre Dame owns an overall record of 73-48-13 (.593) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish have posted six straight winning seasons within the conference, including last season’s 8-3-0 record … it marked the second time that the Irish posted at least eight BIG EAST victories … Notre Dame won its only regular-season BIG EAST title in 2004 with an 8-1-1 record … the Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST Tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003.
IRISH THOUGHTS: Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark shares his thoughts on the Michigan game …
“Michigan is having a tremendous season. I’m sure they will be excited for this game and we are going to have to match their excitement. I watched them play against Indiana and I thought they played superbly well especially since they were only playing with 10 guys in the second half. That’s a testimony to their ability as a team. It’ll be a challenging game for us.”
NEXT UP: Notre Dame hits the road again with a trip to Michigan State on Wednesday, Oct. 10 … the Irish and Spartans will square off at 4:00 p.m. (ET) … Connecticut will then visit Alumni Field on Saturday, Oct. 13 for a key BIG EAST matchup … game time against the Huskies is slated for 12 noon.
RECAPPING LOUISVILLE (9/30): Notre Dame upped its unbeaten streak to seven games with a 2-1 BIG EAST win over Louisville in front of 2,618 fans at Alumni Field on Sunday, Sept. 30 … the Irish used goals from freshman Jeb Brovsky and senior Joseph Lapira to capture the victory … Notre Dame got on the board early as Brovsky sent home his second goal of the season in the fifth minute off a cross from junior defender Jack Traynor … that was the second assist in the past two matches for Traynor … the Fighting Irish made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute when senior midfielder Kyle Dulworth fed Lapira in close and he put it into the back of the net for his second goal of the season … the assist gave Dulworth his first career point … Louisville increased its offensive pressure in the second half by registering 13 shots … the Irish defense held strong and negated every opportunity until the 78th minute when a Louisville player was tripped up in the box and the Cardinals were awarded a penalty kick … Marco Terminesi was successful on the kick to cut the deficit in half with just over 12 minutes left to play … senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill and the Fighting Irish defense would shut the door the rest of the way as Notre Dame posted the victory … Cahill made four saves, while Louisville’s David Simolike had six stops … Louisville held an 18-17 edge in shots … Notre Dame had seven corner kicks compared to the Cardinals five … the physical match featured the Cardinals picking up 23 fouls, while the Irish were whistled for 17.
RECAPPING CINCINNATI (9/28): Notre Dame opened its 2007 home BIG EAST schedule with a 1-1 tie against Cincinnati in front of 1,895 fans at Alumni Field on Friday, Sept 28 … a goal from Irish junior defender Matt Besler tied the match in the 76th minute … Notre Dame dominated possession throughout the match as the Irish out shot Cincinnati 24-9 on the night … Joseph Lapira registered a game-high eight shots for the Fighting Irish … Lapira’s first good chance of the night came with 26:40 left in the first half as he took a pass from Kurt Martin and chipped the ball just over the goal … senior midfielder Ryan Miller nearly connected a few minutes later as he got into the 18-yard box and sent in a blast that was saved by Cincinnati goalkeeper Miguel Rosales … the game was scoreless at the half … less than two minutes into the second stanza, Cincinnati’s Patrick Baxter put a shot on frame that was hit over the crossbar by Irish goalkeeper Chris Cahill … Cahill made three saves on the night … Rosales had six stops … the Bearcats cracked the scoring column in the 53rd minute as Brad Simpson headed in a Lionel Jackson free kick from the right side … the score snapped a Cahill scoreless streak that had reached 314:21 … Notre Dame would net the equalizer with 75:07 gone by in the match when Jack Traynor sent in a free kick that Besler put a head on and sent past Rosales … with just over five minutes left in regulation, the Irish were threatened as a Cincinnati shot was cleared off the line with a Cory Rellas header … Lapira had a chance of his own on the other end that was saved … the Irish held a 4-1 edge in shots during the two 10-minute overtime periods, yet they could not find the back of the net … Notre Dame had an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks for the game.
HIGH MARKS: Notre Dame was ranked No. 2 in all four of last week’s major polls (Soccer America, NSCAA, Soccer Times, College Soccer News) … that marked the highest-ever ranking in program history.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Nine different Irish players have notched a goal this season … seniors Joseph Lapira and Kurt Martin along with sophomore Dave Donohue and freshman Jeb Brovsky share the team lead with two goals apiece, while five other players have scored once … a total of 12 players have tallied at least one point … Lapira leads the team with seven points on two goals and three assists.
SHOOTING STARS: Notre Dame has out shot its opponents 153-100 this season … the Irish own a 75-31 advantage in shots during the first half and a 69-65 edge in the second period.
CORNERING THE MARKET: The Fighting Irish have a 49-26 advantage in corner kicks over their opponents, including a decisive 23-6 margin in first-half play.
BLANKING THE COMPETITION: Notre Dame has posted four shutouts this season … Irish goalkeepers Chris Cahill and Andrew Quinn both saw action in a 3-0 win over Rhode Island … Quinn picked up the shutout against Marquette (1-0), while Cahill and the Irish defense held Rutgers (2-0) and Villanova (1-0) without a goal … Cahill’s scoreless streak extended to 314:12 before being snapped against Cincinnati.
TOUGH D: In addition to its four shutouts, the Notre Dame defense has only surrendered more than one goal on one occasion this season … that came in a 3-0 loss to No. 7 Maryland.
SHOCKING SHUTOUT: While the Irish defense has posted four shutouts this season, Notre Dame has been held without a goal just once in the past 23 matches … Notre Dame’s 3-0 loss to Maryland on Sept. 2 marked the first time the Fighting Irish had been shut out since Sept. 20, 2006, a span of 15 games … that match was a 0-0 tie with Northern Illinois.
ROOKIE IMPACT: The Irish have had a significant impact from its 2007 freshman class … Jeb Brovsky is tied for the team lead in goals with two, while his five points tie him for second … Matt Armstrong has started every game in the midfield and has notched one assist … Josh Thiermann and Steven Perry have combined to play in 10 games and have been valuable sparks off the bench.
NO STREAKS: The Fighting Irish have not lost back-to-back regular-season games since the beginning of the 2001 season when they fell to No. 5 Furman, 3-2, in double-overtime and then lost 4-0 to No. 16 Clemson … both of those matches occurred at the Umbro/Spinx Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. … Notre Dame followed up this season’s only loss, a 3-0 setback against Maryland, with a 3-0 win over Rhode Island.
TAKING DOWN A TOP-10: The victory over top-ranked UCLA on Aug. 31 gave Notre Dame a win over a top-10 team for the eighth straight season … Notre Dame took down three top-10 teams last season … the Irish topped both Creighton (4-1) and Indiana (5-4, OT) when those squads were ranked eighth nationally … Notre Dame bested No. 7 Maryland, 1-0, in double-overtime during the third round of the NCAA Tournament … that marked the first time the Irish beat three top-10 teams in a season since 2002.
IRISH VS. #1: Notre Dame defeated No. 1 UCLA, 2-1 in overtime, on Aug. 31 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic … heading into that match, the Irish had been 0-5-0 against a team ranked No. 1 at the time of the match since 1990 … the Irish had not scored a goal in any of the five previous encounters with a top-ranked team.
TOUGH SLATE: Six of Notre Dame’s 2007 regular-season opponents appear in the latest Soccer America media poll … Connecticut is No. 2, while Indiana is ranked 17th … UCLA is No. 18 … the Irish opened the season with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Bruins when they were ranked No. 1 … Michigan is 19th, while West Virginia is 21st … Villanova is 23rd … the Irish topped the Wildcats, 1-0, on Sept. 23.
BACK IN ACTION: Senior midfielder Alex Yoshinaga is back in the Fighting Irish lineup after missing most of last season with a collarbone injury … Yoshinaga made his presence felt in the season opener as he netted a golden goal in the 94th minute to down top-ranked UCLA … he also collected an assist on Notre Dame’s first goal of the match … Yoshinaga has four points this season on one goal and two assists.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: Joseph Lapira opened the season with a three-point match in a 2-1 overtime win against No. 1 UCLA … he gave the Irish a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute and then assisted on Alex Yoshinaga’s golden goal in the 94th minute to give Notre Dame the victory … Lapira led all NCAA Division I men’s soccer players with 22 goals and 50 points last season … he leads the team in points with seven and assists with three and is tied for the team lead in goals with two.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior forward Joseph Lapira currently ranks in a tie for ninth place on Notre Dame’s all-time goals list … he has 34 tallies, which ties him with Terry Finnegan, who played from 1977-78 … Lapira is four goals away from cracking into the top five … his 84 career points rank him 10th in program history.
BIG EAST ACCOLADES: Joseph Lapira was named the preseason BIG EAST offensive player of the year and junior defender Matt Besler joined Lapira on the all-BIG EAST preseason team … Lapira was the 2006 BIG EAST offensive player of the year.
LAPIRA NAMED TO M.A.C. HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST: Joseph Lapira was named to the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy Watch List … the trophy is presented annually to the top men’s soccer player in the United States … Lapira won the award last season as he led all NCAA Division I men’s players with 22 goals and 50 points … he became the first Notre Dame men’s player to receive the award … a panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) compiled the 29-man M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List … Lapira will try to become the first back-to-back recipient of the most prestigious award in college soccer since Virginia’s Claudio Reyna took home the Hermann Trophy in 1992 and 1993.
QUITE A CROWD: The 3,367 fans that attended Notre Dame’s exhibition match against Northwestern on Monday, Aug. 27 marked the third-largest crowd in program history … the total nearly equaled the record of 3,502, which saw the game against SMU on Oct. 14, 1994 … all proceeds from the match against Northwestern went to Grassroot Soccer, which is an international AIDS awareness and education organization that reaches youth in Africa through soccer clinics.
NOTRE DAME PICKED SECOND IN BLUE DIVISION: Notre Dame was selected to finish second in the BIG EAST Blue Division for the 2007 season … the Irish garnered 102 points in voting by the league’s head coaches, while Connecticut received 105 points … Connecticut garnered 10 first-place votes in the Blue Division, while Notre Dame had four and West Virginia totaled three … St. John’s was tabbed to win the league’s Red Division followed by Rutgers and South Florida.
COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS WATCH LISTS: Joseph Lapira was selected to the College Soccer News Pre-Season All-America first team … the senior was not the only Irish student-athlete honored by the publication, as two incoming freshmen were named to the `100 Freshmen to Watch’ list for the 2007 season … (M) Matt Armstrong and (F) Josh Thiermann were selected to the list and are part of a very talented seven-man freshman class for the Irish.
FRESHMAN CLASS NATIONALLY RANKED: Notre Dame’s seven-man freshman class was ranked 15th nationally by College Soccer News … (M) Matt Armstrong, (M) Jeb Brovsky, (D) Bilal Duckett, (M) Greg Klazura, (F) Andrew Luttrell, (F) Steven Perry and (F) Josh Thiermann make up the talented crop of Fighting Irish rookies.
IRISH ON THE SMALL SCREEN: Notre Dame will have three of its regular-season matches televised … the Fighting Irish defeated BIG EAST-rival Rutgers, 2-0, on Fox Soccer Channel on Sept. 21 in Piscataway, N.J. … two Irish home games will also be televised … Notre Dame and Michigan will appear on Comcast Local on Wednesday, Oct. 3 and the Irish’s tilt against Indiana, set for Wednesday, Oct. 17, will also appear on Comcast Local … both of those matches begin at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
STAY UP-TO-DATE ON NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS: To stay updated on all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame you can log on to the official Notre Dame athletics web site at und.com or you can call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000 … to access men’s soccer information on the hotline all you need to do is dial 4 from the main menu and then dial 1.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All Notre Dame home games will feature livestats available through und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … simply go to the men’s soccer page and click on `Schedule’ at the top of the page and find the game that is being played that day and click on `Gametracker’ to follow the game for free.
WATCH THE IRISH ONLINE: Go to und.com to watch a live broadcast of the Notre Dame men’s soccer games … all of the remaining home games, except for the Michigan and Indiana contests because they will be aired by Comcast Local, will be available free of charge on und.com … simply find the `Live Events’ tab on the front page and find that day’s game to watch.
SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: Go to und.com to sign up for Irish ALERT, a text messaging service designed to give fans up-to-the-minute game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame … men’s soccer fans can sign up to receive scores after each half of every game.