SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Freshman Erich Braun’s (Frankfurt, Germany) goal 21 minutes into the first half was all Notre Dame needed as the Irish recorded their second 1-0 shutout and improved to 2-0 on the season with a win over BIG EAST rival Boston College that marked the season opener for the squad at Alumni Field.
Braun’s goal came at the 20:52 mark when he picked up a loose ball inside the penalty box that was tipped by senior Andrew Aris (Auckland, New Zealand) after being centered from the right corner by Rafael Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) who had retrieved the ball following his initial corner kick.
The shutout victory marks the first time since 1995 that Notre Dame has started the season with two wins while holding its opponent scoreless. It also marked the second straight game that an Irish freshman scored the game-winning goal. On Wednesday (Sept.1), Coach Mike Berticelli’s squad opened the campaign with a 1-0 victory at Northwestern.
Notre Dame, which outshot the Eagles 11-8 in the contest, survived a scare with just under 10 minutes to play in game when Aris booted out of the goal Casey Schmidt’s shot that appeared to be heading into the goal.
Senior goalkeeper Gerick Short (Mobile, Ala.) made his second straight start in goal and registered a career-high five saves.
Boston College drops to 0-2 on the season and 0-2 in league play after opening up the 1999 campaign with a 3-1 loss at home to Providence College.
With the win, Berticelli moves to within two victories of his 100th career win with the Irish. The 10-year Irish mentor has a 98-71-16 mark in just over nine seasons on the Notre Dame sidelines.
Boston College (0-2-0, 0-2-0) 0 0 -- 0Notre Dame (2-0-0, 1-0-0) 1 0 -- 1
SCORING: Notre Dame: Erich Braun (Andrew Aris, Rafael Garcia), 20:52
SHOTS: Notre Dame 11, Boston College 8
CORNER KICKS: Notre Dame 6, Boston College 5
FOULS: Notre Dame 23, Boston College 17
GOALIE SAVES: Notre Dame – Gerick Short (5), Chris Hamblin – Chris Hamblin (4)