Sept. 9, 2007
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 8 Notre Dame men’s soccer team played Northern Illinois to a 1-1 tie on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field during the second day of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. Senior Kurt Martin (McAllen, Texas/Memorial) scored the lone goal for the Irish and was named the tournament’s offensive MVP. The Irish finished second at their home event, while No. 7 Indiana captured the title.
Notre Dame (2-1-1) jumped in front in the 17th minute as Martin took a pass from freshman Matt Armstrong (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) and blasted the ball high over Northern Illinois goalkeeper Joe Zimka and into the back of the net from 35 yards out. That was Martin’s second goal in as many matches, while it marked the first point of the season for the rookie Armstrong.
Northern Illinois (1-1-2) tallied the equalizer in the 28th minute when Marcus McCarty fed Ben Thomas and he sent the shot past Irish goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) and into the lower-right corner of the net. Cahill made three saves on the afternoon, while Zimka and Brian Van Buren combined on five saves for the Huskies.
Notre Dame out shot Northern Illinois, 10-4, in the first half and 22-14 for the entire match. The Irish held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Both teams had chances for the go-ahead goal in the second half. The Huskies’ best opportunity came in the 51st minute when McCarty sent a blast on goal that Cahill made a diving to his right.
The Irish nearly went ahead with just over 19 minutes remaining in regulation as freshman Jeb Brovsky (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) played the ball to Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic) and the senior forward sent a shot just wide to the left. Thomas had two good looks near the goal in the 85th minute for Northern Illinois, yet Notre Dame’s Ryan Miller (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) cleared the second shot out of the zone.
Neither side could mount a significant attack in the first 10-minute overtime period. With 39 seconds elapsed in the second overtime, Notre Dame’s Dave Donohue (Reading, Mass./Cushing Academy) was tripped inside the 18-yard box and the Irish were awarded a penalty kick. Martin could not convert on the penalty kick and the match ended as a draw. The senior did capitalize on a penalty kick in Notre Dame’s 3-0 win over Rhode Island on Friday evening.
“There were a lot of positives out of the weekend,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “It’s just a pity we couldn’t put that penalty kick away. But that’s the guy who takes penalty kicks for us. Kurt (Martin) played very, very well. He had a great weekend.”
Junior defenders Matt Besler (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Cory Rellas (Plano, Texas/Plano West) joined Martin on the all-tournament team.
Indiana defeated Rhode Island, 3-1, in the first match of the afternoon. The Hoosiers finished the tournament with a 2-0-0 record. Notre Dame (1-0-1) was second, while Northern Illinois (0-1-1) finished third and Rhode Island (0-0-2) was fourth.
The Fighting Irish return to action when they open BIG EAST Conference play at Marquette on Saturday, Sept. 15. Game time is slated for 8:00 p.m. (ET).
To stay up to date on the 2007 Notre Dame men’s soccer season, log onto und.com or call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
Northern Illinois (1-1-2) 1 0 0 0 – 1
#8 Notre Dame (2-1-1) 1 0 0 0 – 1
ND: Kurt Martin (Matt Armstrong) 16:25, NIU: Ben Thomas (Marcus McCarty) 27:56
Shots: NIU 4-7-1-2 – 14, ND 10-8-2-2 – 22
Corner Kicks: NIU 0-1-0-0 – 1, ND 4-4-0-0 – 8
Saves: NIU 5 (Joe Zimka 1, Brian Van Buren 4), ND 3 (Chris Cahill 3)
Fouls: NIU 16, ND 7
Offsides: NIU 4, ND 0
2007 Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament
Champion – Indiana (2-0-0)
Runner-Up – Notre Dame (1-0-1)
Third Place – Northern Illinois (0-1-1)
Fourth Place – Rhode Island (0-2-0)
Offensive MVP – Kurt Martin – Notre Dame
Defensive MVP – Brad Ring – Indiana
Most Outstanding Goalkeeper – Chay Cain – Indiana
All-Tournament Team
Andy Adlard – F/M – Indiana
Eric Alexander – M – Indiana
Brad Ring – M – Indiana
Charley Traylor – B/M – Indiana
Matt Besler – D – Notre Dame
Kurt Martin – M/F – Notre Dame
Cory Rellas – D – Notre Dame
Steve Algozino – D – Northern Illinois
Ben Thomas – F – Northern Illinois
Callum Bissett – D – Rhode Island
Adam Howarth – D – Rhode Island