Sept. 10, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Justin McGeeney (Ames, Iowa/Ames) tallied a goal in the second minute and the Notre Dame men’s soccer team kept attacking all afternoon in registering a 3-0 victory over DePaul in BIG EAST play at Alumni Field on Sunday. The Irish, who rebounded nicely from a 2-0 loss to South Florida on Friday night, out-shot the Blue Demons 26-4. Senior midfielder Greg Dalby (Poway, Calif./Poway) tallied his first goal of the season in the 66th minute, while the third tally was an own goal.
Notre Dame (3-2-1, 1-1-0 BE) did not waste much time in asserting its offensive force with an early barrage on net. The Irish capitalized as Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic) sent a cross to McGeeney and the senior forward sent it in for his third goal of the season.
DePaul (2-3-2, 1-1-0) could not mount much of an attack as the Blue Demons were out-shot 12-2 in the first half.
“I felt we could have done the same thing against USF on Friday night,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “We talked about getting ready and we had to be ready to convert chances. It was nice to rebound and get back on track. Now we just have to get on a run because we haven’t won two games in-a-row yet this season.”
The Fighting Irish kept the pressure on the Blue Demons in the second half as Cory Rellas (Plano, Texas/Plano West) ripped a shot that was saved by DePaul goalkeeper Brian Visser in the opening minutes of the stanza. Senior midfielder Nate Norman (Rochester, Mich./Rochester Adams) nearly connected with a shot off of a corner kick in the 50th minute. Notre Dame held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks for the game.
McGeeney almost registered his second goal of the game with just under 27 minutes remaining in the match, as he was one-on-one with Visser, yet the DePaul keeper made one of his nine saves on the day. Two minutes later, Lapira sent a blast just high over the crossbar and the score remained 1-0.
The Irish did convert their second goal in the 66th minute as a corner kick was placed in front of the net and action ensued before Dalby put it in. Sophomore defender Matt Besler (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) picked up the assist on the play.
“It was good to get that second goal and put them out of sight,” stated Clark. “I thought we could have done it earlier, but it was very relieving once we did it.”
The Irish’s third goal was tacked on in the 72nd minute. The tally was initially given to Irish freshman Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas), yet was later credited with going off the leg of a DePaul defender. The sequence began with an Ian Etherington (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) cross into the box that Thomas put a foot on.
Senior goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) made two saves for the Irish in picking up his second win of the season.
Notre Dame will now hit the road for conference match-ups at Louisville and Cincinnati next weekend. The Irish and Cardinals will square off on Friday (Sept. 15) at 5:00 p.m., while the Irish and Bearcats hit the field on Sunday (Sept. 17) at 3:00 p.m.
To stay up to date on the 2006 Notre Dame men’s soccer season, please log on to und.com or call the official Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
DePaul (2-3-2, 1-1-0 BE) 0 0 – 0
#8/11 Notre Dame (3-2-1, 1-1-0 BE) 1 2 – 3
ND: Justin McGeeney (Joseph Lapira) 1:56, ND: Greg Dalby (Matt Besler) 65:36, ND: Own goal, 71:40
Shots: DeP 2-2 – 4, ND 12-14 – 26
Corner Kicks: DeP 2-1- 3, ND 2-7 – 9
Saves: DeP 9 (Brian Visser 9), ND 2 (Chris Cahill 2)
Fouls: DeP 9, ND 12
Offsides: DeP 1, ND 6