Sept. 6, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame senior goalkeeper Gerick Short (Mobile, Ala.) and freshman midfielder Rafael Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) both earned BIG EAST weekly honors in the first week of the season as they helped the Irish to two 1-0 shutouts wins over Northwestern and Boston College to start the 1999 season. Short shared goalkeeper-of-the-week honors with Jon Conway of Rutgers, while Garcia copped the league’s rookie-of-the-award.
Short, who had not seen action since midway through the 1996 campaign, started and played all 90 minutes in both games to record the first two solo shutouts of his career. Against Northwestern, making his first starting appearance since the 1995 season, he stopped two shots, and then in the win over Boston College, he registered a career-tying five saves in the match on eight Eagles’ shots.
Garcia, one of five freshman who started both contests for Notre Dame, recorded the game-winning goal against Northwestern with 23 minutes left, and then had one of the assists on the lone goal versus Boston College in the first half.