Aug. 29, 2010
FT. WAYNE, Ind. – A two-goal effort from junior midfielder Adam Mena (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa) helped propel the Notre Dame men’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over IPFW in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon at the National Soccer Festival at IPFW’s Hefner Stadium.
Notre Dame’s lineup on Sunday had a younger feel to it since most of the veterans played in Saturday night’s 2-0 exhibition win over Ohio State. That match also was part of the National Soccer Festival in Ft. Wayne.
“All in all it was a solid performance for us today,” said Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “It was great to get everyone in today that didn’t play yesterday.”
The Fighting Irish nearly grabbed the lead in the seventh minute when a shot from sophomore Danny O’Leary (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) hit the post. Notre Dame held a 9-7 advantage in shots for the match. That included a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. Both teams had one corner kick.
Notre Dame got on the board in the 30th minute when Mena deposited the ball into the upper left corner of the goal from 25 yards out. The Irish went up by two just over five minutes later as freshman forward Harrison Shipp (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) gathered the ball in the box, turned past a defender and beat the goalkeeper.
The Irish led 2-0 at halftime.
“The two goals in the first half were terrific,” added Clark. “Adam’s (Mena) was just a cannon shot. Harrison’s (Shipp) was fantastic as he and Andrew Luttrell had a nice combination.”
Freshman Patrick Wall (Sugarland, Texas/Strake Jesuit College Prep) started in goal for the Irish and made one save in the first half. Fellow freshman Adam LaPlaca (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) played the entire second stanza and also had one stop. Four IPFW goalkeepers saw time and combined for two saves.
Mena’s second tally came in the 90th minute as he scored from 12 yards out on an assist from sophomore Eric Tilley (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia).
Notre Dame finished its preseason exhibition slate with a perfect 3-0 record. Along with downing Ohio State on Saturday, the Irish defeated UIC 3-2 last Monday.
“It was a good preseason for us. Now we just hope that continues on into the regular season,” commented Clark.
The 18th-ranked Fighting Irish will open the regular season against No. 8 UCLA on Friday, Sept. 3 at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind. Game time is slated for 5:00 p.m. (ET). The Irish will open their regular-season home schedule against California at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Sept. 5 at Alumni Stadium. That match also is part of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
Hefner Stadium – Ft. Wayne, Ind.
National Soccer Festival
August 29, 2010
(exhibition)
Notre Dame 2 1 – 3
IPFW 0 0 – 0
ND: Adam Mena (unassisted) 30′; ND: Harrison Shipp (unassisted) 35′; ND: Adam Mena (Eric Tilley) 90′
Shots: ND 5-4 – 9, IPFW 5-2 – 7
Corner Kicks: ND 0-1 – 1, IPFW 0-1 – 1
Goalkeepers: ND: Patrick Wall – 1 save, 0 GA, 45:00; Adam LaPlaca – 1 save, 0 GA, 45:00
IPFW: Donovan Dowling – 0 saves, 0 GA, 26:57; Justin Hanford – 1 save, 0 GA, 34:41; Shari Clark – 1 save, 2 GA, 18:03; Eric Fluck – 0 saves, 1 GA, 10:19
Fouls: ND 7, IPFW 7
Offsides: ND 3, IPFW 2