June 7, 2011
Notre Dame 2011 Men’s Soccer Schedule
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame has released its 2011 men’s soccer schedule. The Fighting Irish will open the campaign at home against Indiana on Saturday, Aug. 27.
Notre Dame’s schedule features 10 home dates at Alumni Stadium, including an exhibition match against Creighton on Aug. 22. The Irish have road exhibition contests against Xavier (Aug. 16) and Butler (Aug. 18).
The Fighting Irish have 10 teams on their 2011 regular-season slate that qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament. Included in those squads are runner-up Louisville and semifinalist Michigan.
Following the season opener against Indiana, the Irish will travel to Bloomington, Ind. to take part in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. Notre Dame will play Dayton on Sept. 2 and Saint Louis on Sept. 4.
The Fighting Irish will play host to the 10th annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament Sept. 9 and 11. Indiana and Bucknell will get things underway Friday, Sept. 9, while Notre Dame will take on Denver in the second match of the evening. Day two features Indiana facing Denver and the Irish will square off with Bucknell.
Notre Dame will welcome in Michigan to Alumni Stadium on Sept. 16 before travelling to Michigan State on Sept. 18.
The Irish will begin BIG EAST Conference play Sept. 24 with a home tilt versus Louisville. Notre Dame continues league play Oct. 1 at St. John’s before hosting a non-conference match against Northwestern on Oct. 5.
Notre Dame’s final seven regular-season contests all are against BIG EAST foes beginning Oct. 8 with a home showdown against Connecticut. Consecutive road games will take Notre Dame to Marquette (Oct. 12) and Georgetown (Oct. 15).
The Irish will return home to play host to Seton Hall on Oct. 19 before road tilts at Pittsburgh (Oct. 22) and Providence (Oct. 26). Notre Dame will conclude the regular season Oct. 29 with a home affair versus West Virginia.
The BIG EAST tournament will begin Wednesday, Nov. 2 with the first round, while the quarterfinals are slated for Saturday, Nov. 5. The semifinals and final will be held Nov. 11 and 13 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The stadium is home to the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
Following the conference tournament, the Fighting Irish will hope to see their name among the 48-team NCAA Championship field for the 11th straight season. All of those appearances have occurred during the Bobby Clark era. Tournament play begins Thursday, Nov. 17 and College Cup Weekend will be held Dec. 9 and 11 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
Notre Dame posted a 10-6-4 overall record in 2010 and finished second in the BIG EAST Blue Division with a 6-2-1 league mark. The Fighting Irish were semifinalists at the BIG EAST Championship and garnered the No. 9 seed in the NCAA Championship. Notre Dame fell to Dartmouth, 2-1 in overtime, during the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tickets for the 2011 Notre Dame men’s soccer season will soon go on sale at Notre Dame’s Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office, which can be reached by phone (574-631-7356), in person through the ticket windows in the Rosenthal Atrium at Purcell Pavilion (located inside Gate 9) from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) weekdays, or by going on-line to the tickets page of the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.UND.com/tickets).
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