Sept. 15, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Junior forward Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic) netted two goals as the No. 12/18 Notre Dame men’s soccer team defeated BIG EAST foe Louisville 2-0 on Friday evening at Cardinal Park. Lapira now has a team-high seven goals on the season. The win improves the Fighting Irish to 4-2-1 on the season and 2-1-0 in BIG EAST play. Louisville drops to 2-4-1 and 1-2-0 in the league.
Louisville did hold a 13-11 advantage in shots, yet Lapira converted a breakaway attempt in the 58th minute and again in the 83rd minute, thanks to feeds from Kurt Martin (McAllen, Texas/Memorial) and Justin Morrow (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius). Lapira’s seven goals match his team-best total from one year ago. The junior led the Irish with six shots during the match, while senior midfielders Ian Etherington (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and Nate Norman (Rochester, Mich./Rochester Adams) each had two attempts. The Irish held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks on the evening.
“This was a good win and we deserved to win,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “They sat back and only played with one striker so it made it difficult for us to create opportunities. It was a good atmosphere to play in and a good performance by us.”
Irish senior Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) got the start in goal in his hometown and made four saves to collect the shutout and up his record to 3-1-0 on the year. This was his second blanking of the season and the 10th of his career. David Simolike made three saves on the night for the Cardinals.
“Cahill had a couple of timely saves,” said Clark. “He played well and came up big for us. Obviously Joe (Lapira) was great. He had two excellent goals where he got in behind the defense. The pass from Kurt Martin on the first one and Justin Morrow on the second were very good.”
The Irish return to action on Sunday (Sept. 17) as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats 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.
#12/18 Notre Dame (4-2-1, 2-1-0 BE) 0-2 – 2
Louisville (2-4-1, 1-2-0 BE) 0-0 – 0
ND: Joseph Lapira (unassisted) 57:44, ND: Joseph Lapira (Justin Morrow) 82:47
Shots: ND 3-8 – 11, UL 7-6 – 13
Corner Kicks: ND 2-2 – 4, UL 2-1 – 3
Saves: ND 4 (Chris Cahill 4), UL 3 (David Simolike 3)
Fouls: ND 9, UL 12
Offsides: ND 2, UL 5