Nov. 19, 2017
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In a match that for large stretches appeared to be firmly in the control of the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team, it was Wisconsin who found itself the victor. Mike Catalano headed home a Chris Mueller corner kick in the 95th minute as the Badgers stunned the Irish 1-0 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Championship at Alumni Stadium.
No. 12 Notre Dame (11-7-2) battled through a physical, and at times malicious, defensive front of No. 20 Wisconsin (12-4-5) to stake an 18-14 edge in shots. The Irish also dominated from the corner flag to a tune of eight attempts to four.
Notre Dame peppered the Wisconsin goal early but it was the Badgers notching the game’s first shot. Chris Hubbard stepped up to make a save in the 17th minute, then added a key stop in the 21st minute as well as part of his game-high five saves in the Irish goal.
The Irish began to completely dominate the match following the second Hubbard save. A Jon Gallagher try in the 25th minute, a Jeff Farina shot on goal in the 28th minute, and a pair of Gallagher attempts in the 38th and 44th minutes were both saved to send the scoreless game to the half.
Gallagher and Notre Dame came out firing again in the second period, staking a 9-5 advantage in the shot column during the period. The Irish striker just sailed a blast over the crossbar in the 47th minute to keep the Notre Dame attack at bay.
Kyle Dedrick dug out possession in front of the Wisconsin goal in the 62nd minute, and after Dedrick’s shot was blocked Farina jumped on possession on the spot. Farina’s try went just wide of the right post.
Notre Dame looked to strike once more in the 67th minute on a run up the right flank from Sean Dedrick. A service into the box was met with a head by Farina, who sent the shot just wide of the left post.
It was Kyle Dedrick again with a great Notre Dame chance in the 71st minute. A scramble out in front of the 18-yard box found its way to Dedrick, who chipped a testy shot that continued to rise over the bar and out of play.
Gallagher gave Notre Dame one more surge in regulation in the 82nd minute, narrowly missing the target and sending the game to overtime.
Notre Dame continued to pour the heat on at the start of the extra period, with substitute Sean MacLeod launching a number of challenging crosses into the box to help earn a pair of Irish corner kicks. The hosts were unable to cash in on the possession deep in the opposing third.
–ND–