Sept. 8, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A goal from Stefan Stojkovic in the 90th minute gave Kentucky a 1-0 win over the second-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team on Monday evening during the final day of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament at Alumni Stadium.
Indiana defeated Dartmouth, 1-0, in the day’s first game and the Hoosiers won the tournament title, while Kentucky finished second. Notre Dame and Dartmouth finished third and fourth, respectively.
It was a cruel fate for the Fighting Irish, who dominated the Wildcats on the stat sheet. Notre Dame held a decisive 18-5 advantage in shots and Kentucky’s only attempt of the second half was the game winner. The Irish had eight corner kicks compared to none for the Wildcats (2-2-0).
“The way we lost was heartbreaking,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “We outshot them 10-1 in the second half and we played very well as a group and you just feel sorry for the guys. Kentucky really was just trying to play for a tie. The referee even added time on towards the end because they were trying to play out the game.”
The Fighting Irish (2-1-1) were aggressive from the outset and in the third minute a quick restart was played to forward Leon Brown and he placed a shot on frame, yet Kentucky goalkeeper Callum Irving was there for the stop. Irving had seven saves in the match, while Notre Dame’s Patrick Wall had two stops.
Wall’s first save of the evening came in the 13th minute when Kentucky’s Justin Laird received a long goal kick and booted a 16-yard shot. The Notre Dame goalkeeper halted another Laird attempt in the 20th minute after the Irish committed a turnover deep in their own end and Wall stifled a one-on-one attempt from the Wildcat forward.
Notre Dame midfielder Evan Panken had two first-half shots denied by Irving. The first came in the 15th minute when his eight-yard volley was tipped over the crossbar. In the 36th minute, Panken took a shot from deep on the left side of the pitch that Irving scooped up.
In the 53rd minute, Irish midfielder Patrick Hodan split two defenders and placed a shot on frame from eight yards out that Irving knocked away and Panken’s follow-up went wide. Hodan had a game-high three shots on goal and the final one occurred in the 60th minute from near the top of the penalty box.
Notre Dame controlled possession for long portions of the second half and the Irish nearly broke through with a deep blast from Connor Klekota that was negated by a diving Irving in the 71st minute. In the final minutes of the match, Irish freshman Jon Gallagher received a nice pass from Klekota but placed his shot just wide of the left post from 16 yards away.
Kentucky’s game-winning sequence began with a kick from Irving to Hampus Agerstrom, who worked his way into the left side of the penalty box before sending a pass to Stojkovic and he drilled home the shot from 15 yards out.
“It was just one moment of concentration,” Clark said. “When you’re dominating a game as much as that, you have to really concentrate and we let ourselves down a little bit. Hopefully it’s a lesson learned and we’ll move forward. But full marks to Kentucky, they hung in really well and their goalkeeper was excellent.”
The Fighting Irish open Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday at Syracuse. The match is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) in Syracuse, N.Y.
Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament
Sept. 8, 2014
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
Kentucky (2-2-0) 0 1 – 1
#2 Notre Dame (2-1-1) 0 0 – 0
Scoring: UK: Stefan Stojkovic (Hampus Agerstrom) 89:35
2014 Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament Final Standings
1. Indiana (2-0-0)
2. Kentucky (1-1-0)
3. Notre Dame (1-1-0)
4. Dartmouth (0-2-0)
2014 Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament All-Tournament Team
Patrick Doody, Indiana
Dylan Lax, Indiana
Colin Webb, Indiana
Billy McConnell, Indiana
Callum Irving, Kentucky
Stefan Stojkovic, Kentucky
Hampus Agerstrom, Kentucky
Leon Brown, Notre Dame
Connor Klekota, Notre Dame
Wyatt Omsberg, Dartmouth
Giorgio Gorini, Dartmouth
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
–ND–