Nov. 3, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Notre Dame and Georgetown played to a 0-0 draw in BIG EAST men’s soccer action on Saturday afternoon at North Kehoe Field. The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish conclude conference play with an undefeated 7-0-4 league record and they will be the No. 2 seed out of the Blue Division for the upcoming conference tournament.
Notre Dame (10-3-5, 7-0-4) entered play on Saturday two points ahead of Connecticut in the BIG EAST Blue Division. The Huskies topped Seton Hall, 1-0, on Saturday to pull even with the Irish at 25 points apiece atop the division. Connecticut will receive the No. 1 seed based on a tiebreaker of points within the division. The Huskies had 16 Blue Division points, while the Irish had 15.
The Fighting Irish have garnered a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Championship, which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Notre Dame will host a quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) against the winner of the game between the Red Division’s third seed and the Blue Division’s sixth seed. Those positions will be finalized after play is completed on Saturday.
Notre Dame is the only undefeated team in BIG EAST play this season. That marked the first time in program history that the Irish have ever compiled an undefeated BIG EAST campaign.
“We’re obviously disappointed that we had to share the point lead in the league and lost the top seed on a tiebreaker,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “I’m just disappointed for the boys. However, to go undefeated in the BIG EAST is a big achievement.”
Saturday’s match was controlled by the Fighting Irish in the first half as they out shot Georgetown 11-0 in the opening stanza. For the match, the Irish held a 16-9 advantage in shots along with gaining one more corner kick (8-7). Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas), Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic), Alex Yoshinaga (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) and Justin Morrow (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) all generated offense for the Irish as they each produced three shots.
Georgetown (7-10-1, 5-5-1) was led in shots by Sean Bellomy, who also had three. The Hoyas mounted a late offensive attack as they out shot the Irish 7-2 in the second 10-minute overtime period. Senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) made two saves for the Irish on the afternoon to pick up his seventh shutout of the season. Georgetown goalkeeper Joe Devine made three stops.
The Irish nearly struck during the final seconds of the contest as a Lapira shot just missed and hit the side netting. This was Notre Dame’s first scoreless draw since Sept. 20, 2006 when the Irish and Northern Illinois failed to score. The Notre Dame defense has produced nine shutouts this season. That marks the fifth-straight season that the Fighting Irish have posted at least that many shutouts. Notre Dame’s five ties this season signifies the most for a single campaign in the 31-year history of the program.
“It was a pretty exciting game,” added Clark. “We were magnificent in the first half. We played really well against the wind in that half. When we played with the wind in the second half, we didn’t generate the same offense for some reason.”
To stay up to date on the Notre Dame men’s soccer team, log onto und.com or call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
#9 Notre Dame (10-3-5, 7-0-4) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Georgetown (7-10-1, 5-5-1) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Shots: ND 11-3-0-2 – 16, GU 0-1-1-7 – 9
Corner Kicks: ND 7-1-0-0 – 8, GU 3-1-0-3 – 7
Saves: ND 2 (Chris Cahill 2), GU 3 (Joe Devine 3)
Fouls: ND 12, GU 15
Offsides: ND 3, GU 2
-ND–