Sept. 17, 2004
#14/5 Notre Dame vs. Georgetown, Saturday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m., Alumni Field
Saturday’s game:
Saturday’s Notre Dame – Georgetown matchup is the first BIG EAST Conference game of the season for the Irish … Notre Dame is coming off a hard fought 2-0 loss at #1 Indiana on Wednesday, Sept. 15 … Georgetown defeated Towson 2-0 on Wednesday … Notre Dame is 2-1 in BIG EAST openers under Bobby Clark, defeating Villanova (5-0 in `01) and #6 Seton Hall (4-0 in `02) while losing 0-3 to #13 St. John’s last season … Notre Dame begins BIG EAST competition as the defending league champions, claiming last season’s title with shutout victories over Connecticut, Providence and St. John’s … the Irish will return to Ivy Field after a two-match road trip next week … Notre Dame will face West Virginia (Thursday, Sept. 23) and Villanova (Sunday, Sept. 26) on the road next week before an Oct. 1 matchup with Boston College at Alumni Field.
Georgetown series history and team analysis:
The Hoyas are 3-3-0 on the season with two of their three losses coming at the hands of ranked teams … Georgetown won its first two games of the season vs. Delaware (2-1) and George Washington (1-0) before entering a three-match losing streak to American (1-2, OT), #14 Penn State (2-3, 2OT) and #3 Maryland (2-4) … the Hoyas broke the losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Towson on Wednesday … tonight’s match marks the 15th meeting between Notre Dame and Georgetown, with the Irish holding a 7-6-1 advantage in the series … the Irish broke a two-match losing streak to the Hoyas last season with a 2-1 victory at Alumni Field … Georgetown eliminated Notre Dame from the 2002 BIG EAST Championship with a 2-1 overtime victory at Alumni Field … the Irish are 4-3-0 against Georgetown at Alumni Field … Georgetown has been led on offense this season by sophomore F (#7) Ricky Schramm with four goals and one assist (nine points) … sophomore MF (#14) Danny Grasso has two goals and an assist, along with senior MF (#3) Dan Gargan … Andrew Keszler has served as the Hoya goalkeeper in all six matches this season, compiling a 3-3-0 record with two shutouts and a 1.59 goals-against average.
Snapshot of the Irish:
Notre Dame has begun the season strong with a 3-1-1 record, its only setback coming at #1 Indiana on Wednesday … the Irish have statistically dominated this season, out-shooting their opponents 103-38 and posting 40 corner kicks to just 15 for their opponents … at times the Irish have struggled to get the ball in the net, but the team is replacing 35 of its 38 goals scored from the previous season … forwards Justin McGeeney, Tony Megna, Joe Lapira and Brian Murphy showed signs of breaking out in the second half against Indiana, forcing the Hoosier keeper to make four crucial saves … the Irish defense has been steady so far this season, even with the loss of two starters to injuries (senior Kevin Goldthwaite and junior Dale Rellas) … senior Christopher High and junior Ben Crouse have stepped up to fill in for the injured players and have been solid … sophomore Ryan Miller has been a steady force on the right side of Notre Dame’s defense … both senior D Jack Stewart (two goals on four shots) and senior GK Chris Sawyer (two shutouts, 0.77 goals-against average) have lived up to their billing as Hermann Trophy (college soccer’s player of the year) watch list selections … Notre Dame’s midfield has played well so far this season, with a rotation of sophomore Greg Dalby, sophomore Nate Norman, sophomore Ian Etherington, junior John Stephens, senior Luke Boughen and freshman Alex Yoshinaga.
Last match vs. Georgetown:
Notre Dame dominated possession for most of the contest to earn a 2-1 victory over Georgetown on Sept. 28, 2003 … Justin Detter scored a 27:55 (assisted by Kevin Richards and Chad Riley) with Devon Prescod putting away the game-winner at 57:16 (from Riley and Greg Martin) … Georgetown’s goal was a wind-aided long shot that just slipped into the top corner of the goal at 47:09 … the Irish improved to 6-1-2 on the season with the victory, while Georgetown fell to 3-4-2.
Notre Dame ranking update:
The Irish entered this week ranked fifth in the Soccer America top 25 and 14th in the adidas/NSCAA rankings … the NSCAA rankings are based on regional rankings as well … with #1 Indiana and #9 Michigan ranked ahead of Notre Dame in the NSCAA’s Great Lakes Region, the Irish cannot be ranked higher than those two teams in the national poll … Soccer America does not take regional rankings into consideration for its poll … Notre Dame will play host to Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at Alumni Field (7:00 p.m.) … Notre Dame reached as high as third in both polls during the 2003 season – the highest ranking in the program’s history.