Oct. 16, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the Notre Dame men’s soccer team the saying isn’t “you win some and you lose some” it’s “you win some and you tie some”.
The second-ranked Fighting Irish have played 12 matches so far this season and seven have resulted in victory, while five ended in a tie. The five draws already have matched a single-season program record.
While the objective of sport is to win, it’s also to avoid loss. This is the fourth time in program history that Notre Dame is without a defeat 12 games into a season. The last time it happened was in 1988 when the Irish started out 10-0-2. Notre Dame also is just one of four teams in NCAA Division I men’s soccer without a setback this season.
Ties can be viewed differently from game to game based on opponent, location and the flow of the match. Oftentimes they are frustrating, but there are some positives the Irish can take away from their deadlocked results.
Four of the five draws were against teams ranked in the top 13 of the national polls. Notre Dame opened the season with a scoreless result against No. 9 UCLA, while the ties with No. 1 North Carolina, Boston College, No. 5 Maryland and No. 13 Northwestern all were 1-1 affairs. Notre Dame produced the equalizers in the North Carolina (79′) and Boston College (17′) matches. The Fighting Irish allowed the tying goal against Maryland (72′) and Northwestern (50′).
The Fighting Irish owned the shot advantage in all five contests, outshooting the competition 101-41, including 28-17 in shots on goal. The Irish also gained 13 more corner kicks (32-19) than those five teams.
The three draws in Atlantic Coast Conference play have helped place the Irish in a three-way tie (there’s that word again) with Maryland and Wake Forest atop the league standings. All three squads carry a 4-0-3 league record.
The only other time Notre Dame notched five ties in a season was in 2007, which was one of the top campaigns in program history. The Irish captured a share of the ’07 BIG EAST Blue Division title and later advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship before finishing with a 14-5-5 mark.
Depending on how you look at it, not all is lost with a tie.
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
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