Oct. 16, 2004
The seventh-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team (10-2-2, 5-1-1) earned one point to remain in first place in the BIG EAST Conference standings, battling #10 St. John’s (7-3-4, 4-1-3) to a 1-1 overtime tie Saturday evening. Sophomore Ian Etherington scored on a corner kick at 23:52 to represent the scoring for Notre Dame, while Matt Groenwald drove home a goal at 67:15 for St John’s.
It was an even match across the board, with Notre Dame posting 12 shots compared to 16 for St. John’s. Irish goalkeeper Chris Sawyer was strong in goal, making four saves while SJU keeper Bill Gaudette managed two saves for the home team.
The goal scored by St. John’s was the first Notre Dame has allowed in the last seven matches. Sawyer’s scoreless minute streak in goal also ended at 618 minutes.
Etherington was active throughout the contest, leading Notre Dame with two shots on goal and played 103 minutes. The goal was his third of the season.
The tie ends Notre Dame’s six-match winning streak, but is a positive step forward for the Irish. The outcome marks the first non-loss for Notre Dame at St. John’s in five visits (the series between the two teams began in 1995) and the Irish will remain in first place in the BIG EAST Conference with 16 points. St. John’s, who entered the contest in second place and was the NCAA runner-up last season, will remain in place as well with 15 points.
Notre Dame was ranked as high as seventh going into the match (Soccer America) and was 12th in the NSCAA rankings. St. John’s was as high as 10th (NSCAA) and was 22nd in the Soccer America top 25.
The tie is also a solid start to Notre Dame’s road trip, which will continue at Seton Hall (Oct. 20) and Rutgers (Oct. 23).