Irish focus on rest of regular season play
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Assistant Sports Editor
While most students found rest and relaxation during fall break, the Irish men's soccer team experienced a week of highs and lows that culminated in a Sunday afternoon loss to Rutgers that mathematically eliminated Notre Dame from contention for a spot in the Big East tournament.
Ending the break with a 2-2 record against four conference opponents, the Irish currently stand in tenth place in the Big East, ahead of only Villanova and West Virginia, which visits Alumni Field on Friday night. Even if they won Friday's final Big East game, they still cannot move up to eighth place, the finish necessary for making the eight-team postseason tournament.
Notre Dame started off its break in impressive fashion. St. John's, the top team in the Big East and ranked No. 10 in the nation overall, came to South Bend to take on the Irish on Saturday, Oct. 14.
The Red Storm got more than they bargained for from an Irish squad that knew that every conference game was essential to making the post season. Behind an impressive Irish defense, the game remained scoreless until the 82:52 mark, when freshman Chad Riley scored on a leaping header to calm the Storm for good, 1-0.
The game marked the first career start for sophomore goalkeeper Cole Straub, who had been awaiting his chance to play while best friend Greg Tait manned the goal for the Irish every previous game this season.
"Whoever's playing well, those are the guys who start," said Irish head coach Chris Apple. "Cole's been playing better than Greg, so he's the one who started. It was the right call — he had a great game against St. John's."
Following the win over the high-ranked Red Storm, Apple enjoyed the victory, but worried about the effect the win would have on the next game for the Irish the following Tuesday against Georgetown on Washington, D.C.
"St. John's was a huge win, and every time you beat a really good team, there's always that tendency to have a dip in performance in your next game," said Apple.
Apple's words proved to be prophetic as the Irish fell 2-0 to a Hoyas' squad ranked in the lower half of the Big East.
That game also remained close as neither team scored until the 76:27 mark, when Georgetown's Kenny Owens scored on a penalty kick. Following the late goal, the Irish put their efforts into offense, sending as many as eight players up to the forward position.
This strategy left Notre Dame susceptible to a breakaway goal, which is how Georgetown put the game away six minutes later when Paul Backman lofted a shot over Straub's head for the final score in the 2-0 loss.
The Irish next played Villanova on the night of Friday, Oct. 20. Showing the same talent that pushed them past St. John's, the Irish breezed past the Wildcats 2-0 behind two goals by forward Erich Braun.While Villanova may be ranked second-to-last in the conference, Apple stresses how evenly matched the teams in the Big East are.
"If you look at the Big East, everybody is upsetting everyone," said Apple. "Villanova's a good team. They turned around Sunday and beat No. 9 Pittsburgh."
Following the Villanova victory, the Irish knew their fate was in their hands as they took on the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers on Sunday. A victory over Rutgers would give the Irish eight points heading into a Big East season finale against conference cellar dweller West Virginia. A loss would put Rutgers mathematically out of reach and eliminate Notre Dame from contention.
Unfortunately for the Irish, they were facing a Rutgers team that knew that they controlled their fate as well. The Irish entered the second half with the scored tied 1-1 behind a Braun goal in the first half. The Irish lost their grasp on the game with 20 minutes remaining as Guy Abrahamson and Dustin Sheppard scored back-to-back goals to give Rutgers an insurmountable 3-1 advantage.
"The Rutgers game, we played very good soccer," said Apple. "We had some great chances to score. We gave up two free kicks and that was the deciding factor."
Despite all hopes for postseason play being dashed, the Irish continue to find meaning in their season heading into the final two games.
"We're playing these last two games for pride," said Apple, "for all the hard work we've put in throughout the season to end the season on a positive note."
Apple feels that the season may be ending too quickly for a team that is just now getting to know one another.
"Some seasons you'd end this way and be almost looking forward to it coming to an end," he said. "This year everybody is wishing we were still playing."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 25, 2000
