ND MEN'S SOCCER: Irish win 2, move up to third in Big East
By BRYAN KRONK
Sports Writer
The true test of a good team often arrives when no one is paying attention.
The Notre Dame men's soccer team competed in three key Big East matches over fall break, including two — No. 21 Boston College and No. 10 Connecticut — against ranked opponents.
While not completely successful, the Irish return to Alumni Field having taken two of three games over the break, clinching a spot in the postseason conference tournament for the Irish.
Sometimes a team can dominate the scoreboard in most statistics, but fall short where it counts most.
And that is precisely what happened to the Irish in its matchup with UConn on Saturday.
On a brisk and chilly evening in the hills of Connecticut, the Irish outshot the Huskies, 13-5, but still fell short, as the defending national champions of UConn beat Notre Dame, 1-0, before a crowd of several thousand.
The only goal of the game came off an unassisted goal off the foot of Huskies forward Damani Ralph just over 15 minutes into the first half.
Notre Dame threatened just minutes later, as Irish forward Erich Braun blasted a free kick at UConn goalie Bryheem Hancock, but the shot was deflected, and the Irish failed to convert on a key opportunity.
The Notre Dame defense once again held strong, giving up only the single goal, but the story of the game was Hancock for Connecticut, who defended the net superbly, saving six Irish shots on net.
Among the impressive streaks amassed by the Irish that ended with the final whistle on Saturday included a span of over 500 minutes for Irish goalie Chris Sawyer without allowing a goal. This streak was only surpassed once — by Irish goalie Mark Steranka in 1983.
Also stopped was Notre Dame's longest winning streak since 1991 (six games), and Braun's streak of consecutive games in which he scored (also six games). The loss was Notre Dame's first in the month of October this season, dropping their record to 9-5 overall and 6-3 in the conference.
Despite the loss, Clark was pleased with the team's play against a tough team to play on the road.
"We're obviously disappointed in the final result, but I think our players went out and competed very well," Clark said after the game. "It was an entertaining Big East soccer game and one that was great for the fans to see. I was pleased that our players were not intimidated by the atmosphere."
Clark sees the potential for a rematch in the very near future, with both teams having already qualified for the Big East tournament.
"We're hoping to have the opportunity to come back here and play in the league championship," Clark said.
Soccer is a game of inches.
At their match on Wednesday, Oct. 24, the Irish proved just that.
Playing on a rough field, where a few inches made the difference between the ball going into the net and going into a Nissan, the Irish defeated the Friars of Providence College, 2-0.
A sparse crowd of fewer than 100 fans flocked to the bleacher-less complex to watch the winless Friars take on the Irish on a sunny, hot and humid afternoon, with temperatures soaring into the 80s in Providence.
Further illustrating the difference an inch can make, a shot by Providence forward Jeff Smith clanged off the right goalpost 12 minutes into the game, providing the first major threat for the Friars.
The Irish, still adjusting to the unusually bad field conditions, did not garner enough offense to put the ball past the goal line in the first half.
However, the many Irish fans in attendance at Glay Field were not disappointed, as Kevin Goldthwaite put the Irish on the board early in the second half. Midfielder Justin Ratcliffe dropped a lead pass to a charging Kevin Richards, who dashed up the right sideline and booted a crossing pass from near the right corner flag. The pass landed just in front of Goldthwaite — who was waiting just outside the penalty area on the left side — and launched a bullet that found its way past Friar goalie Danny Glynn to give the Irish a one-goal lead.
The second goal developed somewhat predictably for Irish fans, as once again, Justin Detter cleared the Providence defense and grounded a nice pass to forward Erich Braun, who provided the second goal for the Irish — his 11th of the season — to once again close out the scoring for the Irish.
Coach Clark, after the game, spoke of his satisfaction with the team after the game.
"It was a good win for us today," Clark said, "because we endured some rough conditions."
Clark, however, refused to speculate to Notre Dame's upcoming match with Big East frontrunner Connecticut.
"We'll let [the UConn game] take care of itself," Clark said.
The game also marked the first time that the Irish have won six consecutive games since 1991. The Irish stood at 9-4 on the season, and 6-2 in the Big East with two conference games remaining.
Wednesday's game also marked the first time since the beginning of the 1999 season that the Irish played a game as a nationally-ranked team, enjoying a No. 21 ranking in the Oct. 21 Soccer America poll, and a No. 20 ranking in the Soccer Times poll of the same date.
The Irish began their three-game fall break series with a match against No. 21 Boston College on Saturday, Oct. 20, as the lingering odors of tailgating hung over Alumni Field after the Notre Dame-USC football game earlier that afternoon.
When the dust had settled, the Irish emerged victorious in its first of three fall break matches, beating BC 2-0.
"It was a good solid effort, and a good team performance," coach Bobby Clark said. "The freshman goalkeeper [Chris Sawyer] performed very solidly. This win put us in a good position [in the Big East standings]."
Notre Dame came out of the gate slowly in the first match, playing into the Eagles' strategy of slow passing and sudden strikes. However, the Eagles managed only two shots in the first half, and Notre Dame was poised to strike throughout the first half, but was unable to convert in the first 45 minutes.
A lot of the credit for the lack of offense in the first half of this one can be chalked up to the slippery playing conditions at Alumni Field, as many players slipped or lost their footing throughout the sloppy match, which featured dozens of foul calls — and three yellow cards — between the two teams.
However, the Irish quickly broke the game wide open just as the 1,411 fans in attendance were taking their seats for the second half. Just over two minutes into the second frame, Irish midfielder Chad Riley launched a soaring cross pass from the right side of midfield to a wide-open Goldthwaite on the left wing. Goldthwaite then booted a beautiful pass that curved directly to Irish forward Devon Prescod, who was waiting just in front of the goal line. Prescod dove for the ball and headed it past Eagle goalie Danny Caruso to give the Irish a well-earned 1-0 lead.
Notre Dame expanded on its lead six minutes later, as Riley launched a booming corner kick right in front of the net, where Prescod managed to get a foot on the ball, but only tipped the ball. However, Braun, who was waiting just a few feet behind Prescod, drove the ball into the open net for his 10th goal of the season, giving the Irish a 2-0 lead.
The remainder of the second half was a defensive battle for the Irish, as they managed to hold off a pesky Boston College offense for the final 35 minutes of the game to preserve the victory for the Irish, who after this game had won five consecutive matches — including four straight via the shutout — for the first time since 1993.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 30, 2001
