Aug. 16, 2014
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The weather proved to be the victor Saturday evening during the exhibition opener for the top-ranked Notre Dame men’s soccer team. The Fighting Irish and Saint Louis were tied 0-0 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium when the match was called in the 61st minute due to lightning in the area.
Twenty-one different Fighting Irish players saw time as head coach Bobby Clark sent in 10 subs to begin the second half.
First half starters: Brian Talcott (Jr./GK), Matt Habrowski (So./D), Max Lachowecki (Sr./D), Andrew O’Malley (GS/D), Michael Shipp (Jr./D), Connor Klekota (Jr./M), Danny Lojek (Jr./M), Oliver Harris (So./M), Evan Panken (Jr./M), Leon Brown (GS/F), Jeffrey Farina (Fr./F).
Second half starters: Patrick Wall (GS/GK), Matt Habrowski (So./D), Brandon Aubrey (So./D), Luke Mishu (Sr./D), Mark Mishu (So./D), Brendan Lesch (Sr./M), Robby Gallegos (Sr./M), Blake Townes (Fr./M), Patrick Hodan (Jr./M), Jon Gallagher (Fr./F), Vince Cicciarelli (Sr./F).
“I felt we did just okay tonight,” Clark said. “We didn’t control the game enough and they (Saint Louis) did a better job than us at controlling the tempo. It was a good wake-up call for us that this is a new season after being national champions last year. Our guys aren’t complacent and they know when they play well. We can get a lot better than how we looked tonight.”
Talcott made three saves in the opening half for the Fighting Irish, while Wall was not called upon to make a stop in his 15-plus minutes of action in the second stanza. Saint Louis held a slim 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Farina and Hodan had Notre Dame’s shots on frame. The Billikens earned six corner kicks and the Fighting Irish attempted two.
“Jeffrey Farina created our best chance of the match and he was one-on-one with the goalie who made the save,” Clark said. “We split up our experienced players in both halves and I wish we could have played the whole game especially for the guys who came on in the second half.”
Notre Dame will continue its exhibition slate Tuesday at Bradley. The Fighting Irish will conclude their preseason schedule Aug. 25 with a home match versus No. 21 Wisconsin before opening the regular season Aug. 29 against No. 12 Marquette at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind.
Robert R. Hermann Stadium – St. Louis, Mo.
August 16, 2014 (exhibition)
#1 Notre Dame 0 0 – 0
Saint Louis 0 0 – 0
Match stopped in the 61st minute due to lightning.
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
–ND–