Oct. 10, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 3 Notre Dame men’s soccer team saw its nine-game unbeaten streak come to an end as Michigan State topped the Irish 1-0 at Old College Field on Wednesday afternoon. A goal from Spencer Thompson in the 64th minute was the difference in the non-conference match. The loss was just the second of the season for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame (8-2-2) out shot the Spartans 17-12, yet could not capitalize on its opportunities near the goal. The Irish had two shots cleared off the line in the 57th minute. This marked just the second time in the past 26 matches that the Irish have been held without a goal.
“We had some good chances,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “I felt we controlled the ball during big parts of the game. But they had some chances too and capitalized off of one of them. They were dangerous on the break. They do things well and their record shows that.”
Michigan State (8-1-2) netted the only goal of the afternoon with 63:40 elapsed in the match as Thompson took a pass from Kenzo Webster and blasted it in from 20 yards out. The win kept the Spartans undefeated at home this season.
Sophomore midfielders Justin Morrow (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) and Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) led the Fighting Irish with four shots apiece. Senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales), who was coming off of back-to-back shutouts, had his season-long scoreless streak snapped at 321:13. Cahill suffered his first loss of the season and his record now stands at 7-1-2. Michigan State’s Chris Austin made four saves.
“I felt we started off slow and were kind of going through the motions in the first half,” stated Clark. “We didn’t penetrate until the second half and then we started making some pretty good opportunities. I thought the effort in the second half was great.”
The Irish return to play with a key BIG EAST showdown against No. 1 Connecticut at Alumni Field on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 12 noon. Notre Dame is in first place in the league’s Blue Division, while the Huskies are second.
“The only way to erase the disappointment from this game is to prepare for UConn,” commented Clark. “That’s a huge one. They are the No. 1 team in the country.”
To stay up to date on the Notre Dame men’s soccer season, log onto und.com or call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
#3 Notre Dame (8-2-2) 0 0 – 0
Michigan State (8-1-2) 0 1 – 1
MSU: Spencer Thompson (Kenzo Webster) 63:40
Shots: ND 7-10 – 17, MSU 4-8 – 12
Corner Kicks: ND 3-3 – 6, MSU 2-1 – 3
Saves: ND 2 (Chris Cahill 2), MSU 7 (Chris Austin 4, Team 3)
Fouls: ND 9, MSU 8
Offsides: ND 2, MSU 1