Oct. 15, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame saw its 1-0 halftime lead disappear less than five minutes into the second half and the second-ranked Fighting Irish wound up in a 1-1 draw with No. 13 Northwestern in men’s soccer action on Tuesday evening at a soggy Alumni Stadium.
The match, which featured a steady rain for most of the first half, started out slowly and neither team produced a solid scoring chance until the 37th minute when Irish left back Max Lachowecki deposited his second goal of the season. Forward Leon Brown started the sequence when he played the ball to midfielder Evan Panken on the right side of the pitch and he delivered a cross to Lachowecki, who scored from close range.
“We started slowly, but we actually got a goal during that period,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “Max (Lachowecki) is always scrambling in to get goals. Both of our fullbacks are wing fullbacks and in the system that we play they both have a license to get forward and get into attacking position.”
Notre Dame (7-0-5) upped the offensive pressure in the second half and it almost paid off in the opening minute of the stanza when forward Harrison Shipp attacked from the left side and put his shot on frame from six yards away, but Wildcat goalkeeper Tyler Miller made a diving stop.
Northwestern (8-3-2) notched the equalizer in the 50th minute on just its second shot on goal of the match. The tally came off the foot of midfielder Cole Missimo after he weaved past three Irish defenders in the penalty box and placed his shot dead center into the back of the goal.
The Fighting Irish controlled the majority of the possession for the remainder of the match, but could not net the decisive goal. Notre Dame outshot Northwestern 14-2 in the second half and 22-6 for the match. Shipp nearly curled a shot into the far post from 20 yards out in the 56th minute and freshman midfielder Brandon Aubrey just missed on two header attempts, which came off of set pieces.
Northwestern mounted a dangerous counterattack in the final minute of regulation as Calistri had the ball on a breakaway, but Irish central defender Grant Van De Casteele made a fine play to take the ball away and the match went to overtime.
Notre Dame had the game’s only five shots of the extra periods. The best chance of overtime – and arguably the best chance of the match that didn’t go in – occurred in the 100th minute when Irish forward Vince Cicciarelli headed the ball on frame and Wildcat defender Grant Wilson cleared it off the line.
“We really dominated the second half and overtime, but we didn’t get a goal,” Clark said. “Their goalkeeper had a couple good saves and we had one cleared off the line. If those would have gone in it would have been a different story.
“Northwestern is well coached and they are a well-organized team and they are difficult to break down. You just have to be patient and maybe it wasn’t our night. I was very proud with how we played in the second half. I thought our second half performance was excellent. We made a lot of chances and controlled the game.”
Senior goalkeeper Patrick Wall made one save for Notre Dame, while Miller finished with four stops for the Wildcats. The Irish held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
The Fighting Irish return to Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday at North Carolina State. The match is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
October 15, 2013
#13 Northwestern (8-3-2) 0 1 0 0 – 1
#2 Notre Dame (7-0-5) 1 0 0 0 – 1
Scoring: ND: Max Lachowecki (Leon Brown, Evan Panken) 36:39; NU: Cole Missimo (Joey Calistri) 49:56
Shots: NU 4-2-0-0 – 6, ND 3-14-2-3 – 22
Corner Kicks: NU 3-0-0-1 – 4, ND 0-2-2-1 – 5
Goalkeepers: NU: Tyler Miller – 4 SV, 1 GA, 110:00, T; 1 Team Save
ND: Patrick Wall – 1 SV, 1 GA, 110:00, T
Fouls: NU 10, ND 11
Offsides: NU 1, ND 1
–ND–