Oct. 20, 2001
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s soccer team remained the hottest team in the BIG EAST as the Irish recorded their fifth straight win and fourth consecutive shutout with a 2-0 shutout of Boston College at Alumni Field. It marks the first five-game win streak for the Irish since the 1991 campaign.
With the victory, Notre Dame improves to 8-4-0 and 5-2-0 in the BIG EAST, while Boston College falls to 8-4-0, 5-3-0 in the league.
Devon Presod (Marietta, Ga.) had a goal and an assist to lead the Irish, while Erich Braun (Frankfurt, Germany) netted his 10th goal of the season. Braun extended his scoring streak to five straight games and now has tallied a goal in every game that the Irish have scored in this season.
After a scoreless first half, Notre Dame opened up the second with Prescod’s goal 2:17 into the second period whwen he scored on nifty diving header right in front of Boston College goalkeeper Danny Caruso. The goal was set up by teammates Kevin Goldthwaite (Sacramento, Calif.) and Chad Riley (Houston, Texas). Braun notched the insurance goal at the 53:55 mark of the contest off assists from Prescod and Riley.
Braun has 10 goals on the season and becomes the first player since 1998 (Shane Walton) with 10 or more goals. In addition, his three assists gives him a team-leading 23 points. Prescod continued his scoring rampage and now has four goals and five assists for 13 points. Riley’s two assists now gives him a team-leading six on the season, tying his personal best of last season.
Notre Dame’s five game win streak is its longest in 10 seasons and its fourth straight shutout is the first since the 1997 campaign.
Freshman Chris Sawyer (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) was once again outstanding in goal for the Irish in recording his fourth straight shutout as he came up with three saves. He has not allowed a goal since the 52:58 mark of Notre Dame’s 3-1 win over Georgetown on October 5. That spans 397:02 minutes over the last five games. Since becoming the Irish starting goalkeeper on Sept. 25 against Bradley, he has a 6-1 record overall and 4-1 mark in the BIG EAST. He has played 671:04, while allowing just four goals for a 0.54 goals against average and .897 save percentage with four complete-game shutouts.
Notre Dame will play two BIG EAST road games this week when they travel to Providence College on Wed., Oct. 24 and to Connecticut on Sat., Oct. 27.
Scoring: ND: Devon Prescod (Kevin Goldthwaite, Chad Riley), 47:17, ND: Erich Braun (Devon Prescod, Chad Riley), 53:55