May 5, 2010
Notre Dame 2010 Men’s Soccer Schedule 
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame has released its 2010 men’s soccer schedule. The Fighting Irish will open the campaign against UCLA on Friday, Sept. 3 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind.
Notre Dame has 10 home dates, including its first exhibition match on Aug. 23 versus UIC, on the 2010 ledger. The other two exhibition matches are against Ohio State (Aug. 28) and IPFW (Aug. 29). Both of those contests will take place in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Fighting Irish have eight teams on their 2010 regular-season slate that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. Included in those squads are NCAA quarterfinalists Drake and UCLA.
Notre Dame’s second game of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic will take place on Sunday, Sept. 5 at home against Cal.
The Fighting Irish will play host to the ninth annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Sept. 10 and 12. Indiana and Cal Poly will get things underway on Friday, Sept. 10, while Notre Dame will take on Drake in the second match of the evening. Day two features Indiana facing Drake and the Irish squaring off with Cal Poly.
“We have a fantastic schedule this season,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “We play UCLA and Cal, two of the best teams on the West Coast, in the Indiana tournament. Those will be great out-of-region games. Then we have our tournament where we face Drake, who had a tremendous season last year, and Cal Poly, who also had a very good season.”
Notre Dame will hit the road to face Michigan on Sept. 17 before returning to Alumni Stadium for a two-game homestand. The Irish will welcome in Michigan State on Sept. 19 and then open BIG EAST play against St. John’s on Sept. 25. The match against the Red Storm will take place at noon (ET) prior to Notre Dame’s home football game against Stanford.
The Irish will face Northwestern on Sept. 29 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Toyota Park, a 20,000-seat facility, is the home to the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer (MLS). Notre Dame will be looking for a measure of revenge as the Wildcats have eliminated the Fighting Irish from the past two NCAA Tournaments.
“One of the highlights of our schedule this year is facing Northwestern at Toyota Park,” adds Clark. “That lets all our Chicago fans to see us play and we get to play at Toyota Park, which is a terrific stadium. That should be exciting for our team. Northwestern has been a thorn in our side the last two years in the NCAAs so that’ll be a game that our guys won’t need a lot of motivation for.”
Notre Dame returns to league play on Oct. 2 with a home tilt against Providence. The Irish will then renew their in-state rivalry with Indiana on Oct. 6 in Bloomington, Ind. Notre Dame’s final seven games of the regular season are all BIG EAST tilts, beginning on Oct. 9 with a venture to West Virginia.
After a home match on Oct. 13 versus Marquette, the Fighting Irish will have a three-game road trip. The trek begins on Oct. 16 at Louisville and then proceeds to Seton Hall on Oct. 20. Notre Dame will play at Connecticut on Oct. 23.
Notre Dame will conclude the regular season with home dates against Pittsburgh (Oct. 27) and Georgetown (Oct. 30). The Georgetown contest is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (ET) prior to the Notre Dame-Tulsa football game.
“The BIG EAST schedule is as hard as ever and when you throw a game at Indiana in the middle of it, we’ll certainly have one of the tougher schedules in the country,” comments Clark.
The BIG EAST tournament will commence on Wednesday, Nov. 3 with the first round, while the quarterfinals are slated for Saturday, Nov. 6. The semifinals and final will be held on Nov. 12 and 14 at the brand new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The stadium is home to the New York Red Bulls of the MLS.
Following the conference tournament, the Fighting Irish will hope to see their name among the 48-team NCAA Championship field for the 10th straight season. All of those appearances have occurred during the Clark era. Tournament play begins on Nov. 17 and College Cup Weekend will be held on Dec. 10 and 12 in Santa Barbara, Calif.
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 also were finalists at the BIG EAST Championship. 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.
Ticket information for the entire 2010 Fighting Irish men’s soccer season can be found at und.com/tickets or by calling the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356.
2010 NOTRE DAME MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
AUGUST23 Mon. UIC (exhibition) 7:00 p.m.28 Sat. vs. Ohio State# (exhibition) 8:00 p.m.29 Sun. vs. IPFW# (exhibition) 2:00 p.m.SEPTEMBER3 Fri. vs. UCLA! (Bloomington, Ind.) 5:00 p.m.5 Sun. CALIFORNIA! 7:00 p.m.
MIKE BERTICELLI MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT10 Fri. Indiana vs. Cal Poly 5:00 p.m.10 Fri. DRAKE 7:30 p.m.12 Sun. Indiana vs. Drake 11:30 a.m.12 Sun. CAL POLY 2:00 p.m.
17 Fri. at Michigan 7:30 p.m.19 Sun. MICHIGAN STATE 2:00 p.m.25 Sat. ST. JOHN'S* Noon29 Wed. vs. Northwestern (Toyota Park) 7:00 p.m.OCTOBER2 Sat. PROVIDENCE* TBA6 Wed. at Indiana 7:30 p.m.9 Sat. at West Virginia* 7:30 p.m.13 Wed. MARQUETTE* 7:00 p.m.16 Sat. at Louisville* 7:00 p.m.20 Wed. at Seton Hall* 7:00 p.m.23 Sat. at Connecticut* TBA27 Wed. PITTSBURGH* 7:00 p.m.30 Sat. GEORGETOWN* 11:00 a.m.NOVEMBER3 Wed. BIG EAST First Round (Campus Sites) TBA6 Sat. BIG EAST Quarterfinals (Campus Sites) TBA12 Fri. BIG EAST Semifinals (Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.) TBA14 Sun. BIG EAST Championship (Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.) TBA17 Wed. NCAA First Round (Campus Sites) TBA21 Tue. NCAA Second Round (Campus Sites) TBA28 Sun. NCAA Third Round (Campus Sites) TBADECEMBER3-5 Fri.-Sun. NCAA Quarterfinals (Campus Sites) TBA10 Fri. NCAA Semifinals (Santa Barbara, Calif.) TBA12 Sun. NCAA Championship (Santa Barbara, Calif.) TBA
home games in BOLD CAPS# -- Fort Wayne, Ind.! -- adidas/IU Credit Union Classic* -- BIG EAST Conference gameall times local to site