Mens Soccer: Panthers stun Irish in overtime heartbreaker: Irish follow up 1-0 OT loss Friday with 1-0 victory at Akron Sunday
By BRYAN KRONK
Sports Writer
One goal made a difference twice for the Notre Dame mens soccer team this weekend.
After the Irish gave up the only goal of Friday's game in the first sudden-death overtime against Pittsburgh, Notre Dame defender Jack Stewart scored the only goal of the game in Sunday's match at Akron.
The loss to Pittsburgh was particularly costly. Not only did it hurt Notre Dame's position in the Big East standings, but starting goalie Chris Sawyer had to leave the game five minutes into the second half with an injury. Sawyer was replaced by senior Greg Tait, who went on to give up the game-winning goal with just under two minutes remaining in overtime.
The Irish had plenty of opportunities to score Friday, as evidenced by their 20 shots on goal compared to the Panthers' 10.
The weather played a factor in the game as well as strong winds wreaked havoc on Notre Dame's distance game, altering any ball kicked high in the air.
The most significant threat for the Irish came in the first half, as a crossing pass from Kevin Richards to Kevin Goldthwaite was deflected by a Pitt defender. The ball bounced just in front of an unguarded goal line before it spun out of bounds just wide of the net.
Another major opportunity for the Irish came late in the second half, when a shot from Luke Boughen was deflected towards the net by a Pitt defender. The ball seemed destined for the net but smacked the crossbar and went out of bounds.
The goal for Pittsburgh came with 1:57 remaining in the first sudden-death overtime, as a high pass from forward Jeff Krause found a wide-open Keeyan Young. Young's shot sailed past Tait to give the Panthers a sudden 1-0 victory. On the scoring play, several Irish players protested, claiming Young was offsides. However, Clark pulled his players aside and acknowledged the loss.
The Irish rebounded Sunday against Akron, as the lone goal of the game was scored with 18:35 left in the second half. Chad Riley kicked a lead pass to Stewart, who booted the ball past Zips goalie Justin Christafaris for the lone goal of a very evenly-matched game.
The goal for Stewart was the first of his career at Notre Dame, and the assist for Riley was his eighth of the season, marking the first time since 1998 that an Irish player has notched eight assists in a season.
The win Sunday for the Irish was their first victory in the nine-game series between Notre Dame and Akron. It was also the first win for the Irish since a 5-1 drubbing of Providence at Alumni Field on Sept. 22.
After scoring 18 goals in their first seven games, the Irish have scored only twice in their last four games.
The Irish have a six-day break between matches, before the Irish take on Big East rival Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Saturday at 1 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Monday, October 7, 2002
