Oct. 2, 2003
The University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team (6-1-3, 2-1-1) earned its third tie game of the season on Thursday night, locking up with Syracuse (2-5-3, 0-2-2) for a 1-1 score in a BIG EAST Conference road game. The Irish controlled the ball for most of the contest and was able to statistically dominate the Orangemen, but were unable to post the go-ahead score. Notre Dame out-shot Syracuse 22-10 and posted 11 corner kicks to just two for the home team.
The teams posted a scoreless first period, as Syracuse managed just two shots on goal compared to seven for the Irish. Notre Dame turned up the pressure in the second half, uncorking 12 shots and eventually getting the first goal of the game when junior defender Jack Stewart moved up and headed in Chad Riley’s free kick for his first goal of the season at the 73:40 mark.
Syracuse quickly got the equalizer when forward Jeff Evans was tackled from behind in the penalty box. SU’s Ilias Calaitzidis beat Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Sawyer on the penalty kick to complete the scoring in the game.
Both teams battled through a scoreless 20 minutes of overtime and both teams attempted three shots each in the extra periods. Syracuse goalkeeper Alim Karim ended up with eight saves in the contest, while Sawyer had two for Notre Dame.
Devon Prescod, Kevin Goldthwaite and Justin Detter all had four shots for the Irish.
Notre Dame entered the game ranked as high as fourth in the country, while Syracuse has been working through a difficult season after debuting at #22 in the preseason polls.
The Irish head to Pittsburgh to begin preparations for their BIG EAST Conference match up with the Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m.