Sept. 6, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 10 Notre Dame men’s soccer team was on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision against top-ranked St. John’s on Sunday afternoon at a rainy Bill Armstrong Stadium. The match was part of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
Despite both teams being members of the BIG EAST Conference, the contest was a non-conference affair and did not count towards the BIG EAST standings.
St. John’s (1-0-1) snapped a scoreless tie in the 68th minute as Sverre Wegge Gundhus deposited the ball into the back of the net from 18 yards away on the left side. Nelson Becerra picked up the assist. The Red Storm made it 2-0 when Becerra scored on an open-goal situation with four seconds remaining in the match.
“It was a really competitive game in the first half,” stated Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “They (St. John’s) are a very hard pressing team, which made it difficult for us to establish our game. I thought we played as well as we could have played in the second half. We just didn’t convert on the day. I was proud of the way we played. It’s tough when you play as well as we did and then take nothing out of it.”
Notre Dame (1-1-1) was awarded a penalty kick in the 16th minute after sophomore defender Aaron Maund (Dorchester, Mass./The Roxbury Latin School) served the ball into the 18-yard box and junior forward Steven Perry (Edmond, Okla./Bishop McGuinness) was taken down while attempting a header. The Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) penalty kick was saved by Red Storm goalkeeper Derby Carrillo. Thomas, a senior midfielder, converted on a penalty kick in Notre Dame’s 1-1 tie against Wake Forest on Friday during the first day of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
The Red Storm threatened near the 12-minute mark of the first half as Adam Himeno sent a shot on goal from 25 yards out that was saved by a diving Philip Tuttle (Hooksett, N.H./Brewster Academy). Tuttle, a senior, was making his first start in goal this season. He came up with another key stop minutes later to negate a Red Storm scoring opportunity.
Fighting Irish senior forward Bright Dike (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North) sent a blazing free kick on goal that was saved by Carrillo with 3:55 remaining on the clock in the opening half. Junior forward Jeb Brovsky (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) sent a header just wide of the goal in the 44th minute.
The match was scoreless at halftime. St. John’s held a 7-6 edge in shots in the first half. The Red Storm also had a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks for the period.
Irish sophomore midfielder Adam Mena (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa) headed a free kick from Brovsky just wide of the near post 10 minutes into the second half.
The Fighting Irish kept the pressure on the Red Storm during the latter stages of the second half. A far blast from Irish senior midfielder Justin Morrow (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) sailed just wide right of the post with 21:12 left in regulation. Notre Dame nearly capitalized again with just over 16 minutes showing on the clock as Thomas fed the ball to Perry inside the 18-yard box, yet Carrillo slid and grabbed the ball before Perry could get a shot off. Another Irish chance came with 11:45 remaining in the second half as the ball got over Carrillo near the goal, yet a header from Perry knocked the ball away from the mouth of the goal.
Notre Dame had yet another opportunity off a restart with just under 30 seconds left. A flurry near the goal, which included a shot from Tuttle, was cleared away by the Red Storm defense.
“St. John’s is a good team and it just wasn’t our day,” added Clark. “We had some missed chances and their goalkeeper saved the penalty kick. Their second goal was on a power-play as we pulled (Philip) Tuttle up. It certainly wasn’t our day.”
The Irish out shot the Red Storm, 13-10, for the match, including a 7-3 advantage in the second half. St. John’s produced four more corner kicks (6-2) than the Irish. Tuttle made three saves on the day, while Carrillo had four.
Third-ranked Wake Forest topped No. 7 Indiana, 2-1, during the final game of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic on Sunday afternoon. St. John’s finished as tournament champion based on goal differential with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons were the runner-up followed by Indiana and Notre Dame.
Notre Dame will now play host to the eighth annual Hilton Garden Inn Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament next weekend at Alumni Stadium. The Irish will face Seattle on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). That match follows the Indiana-New Mexico tilt. Notre Dame and New Mexico will square off on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 2:00 p.m. Indiana faces Seattle on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
adidas/IU Credit Union Classic
Bill Armstrong Stadium • Bloomington, Ind.
Sept. 6, 2009
#1 St. John’s (1-0-1) 0 2 – 2
#10 Notre Dame (1-1-1) 0 0 – 0
SJ: Sverre Wegge Gundhus (Nelson Becerra) 67:21; SJ: Nelson Becerra (unassisted) 89:56
Shots: SJ 7-3 – 10, ND 6-7 – 13
Corner Kicks: SJ 5-1 – 6, ND 0-2 – 2
Saves: SJ 4 (Derby Carrillo – 90:00 – W – 4 svs.); ND 3 (Philip Tuttle 90:00 – L – 3 svs.)
Fouls: SJ 7, ND 9
Offsides: SJ 3, ND 1
adidas/IU Credit Union Classic Final Order of Finish
1. St. John’s (1-0-1) wins based on goal differential (+2)
2. Wake Forest (1-0-1; +1)
3. Indiana(0-1-1; -1)
4. Notre Dame (0-1-1; -2)
adidas/IU Credit Union Classic All-Tournament Team
Derby Carrillo – St. John’s
Ben Clack – St. John’s
Connor Lade – St. John’s
David Reed – St. John’s
Akira Fitzgerald – Wake Forest
Ike Opara – Wake Forest
Austin da Luz – Wake Forest
Rich Balchan – Indiana
Eric Alexander – Indiana
Michael Thomas – Notre Dame
Jeb Brovsky – Notre Dame
Offensive MVP: Sverre Wegge Gundhus- St. John’s
Defensive MVP: Joel Gustafsson- St. John’s