Oct. 1, 2011
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John’s Daniel Herrera tallied the golden goal in the 110th minute as the 15th-ranked Red Storm topped No. 10 Notre Dame 2-1 in BIG EAST men’s soccer action on Saturday night at Belson Stadium.
The loss snapped Notre Dame’s four-game win streak and five-game unbeaten streak.
St. John’s (7-2-1, 1-1-0) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute on a goal from Andres Vargas. Chris Lebo and Pablo Battuto Punyed assisted on the score. That was the first goal Notre Dame had surrendered in the last 323:39 of play.
Notre Dame (5-2-2, 1-1-0) responded in the 80th minute as sophomore forward Leon Brown netted the equalizer when he deposited the rebound off of a St. John’s team save. It was Brown’s first career goal. Brown had a team-high three shots, including two on goal.
The Fighting Irish held a 13-12 shot advantage, including a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. The Irish outshot the Red Storm 8-3 in the second half. Both teams had four corner kicks in the match. Notre Dame senior goalkeeper Will Walsh made four saves, while St. John’s Rafael Diaz had five stops.
“I thought we played very well tonight,” stated Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “It was arguably our best performance of the season. We did 90 percent of what we wanted to do well. I felt we had good chances, but we just didn’t convert.”
Tonight marked Notre Dame’s fifth overtime match of the season. The Irish are 1-2-2 in those contests. Notre Dame’s only other loss of the season was a 2-1 overtime setback to Saint Louis.
“We were pushing to win the game at the end,” added Clark. “I felt we controlled the game, but we gave up a couple funny goals. Full marks to St. John’s.”
The Fighting Irish will play host to Northwestern on Wednesday. The non-conference match is slated for a 7:00 p.m. (ET) start at Alumni Stadium.
Belson Stadium – Queens, N.Y.
October 1, 2011
#10 Notre Dame (5-2-2, 1-1-0) 0 1 0 0 – 1
#15 St. John’s (7-2-1, 1-1-0) 0 1 0 1 – 2
Scoring: SJ: Andres Vargas (Chris Lebo, P. Battuto Punyed) 53:18; ND: Leon Brown (unassisted) 79:26; SJ: Daniel Herrera (Walter Hines) 109:11
Shots: ND 4-8-1-0 – 13, SJ 4-3-2-3 – 12
Corner Kicks: ND 3-0-1-0 – 4, SJ 3-1-0-0 – 4
Goalkeepers: ND: Will Walsh – 4 SV, 2 GA, 109:11, L
SJ: Rafael Diaz – 5 SV, 1 GA, 109:11, W
Fouls: ND 11, SJ 8
Offsides: ND 2, SJ 2
–ND–