Aug. 18, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The No. 11 Notre Dame men’s soccer team defeated No. 21 Butler 2-1 on Thursday evening in exhibition play at the Butler Bowl. Senior midfielder Adam Mena and junior forward Danny O’Leary netted goals for the Fighting Irish.
The Irish fell behind in the 13th minute on a goal from Adekunle Oluyedun. Brycen Howard assisted on the score.
Mena deposited the equalizer in the 27th minute as he sent home the rebound of a Ryan Finley shot that was saved by Butler goalkeeper Andy Holte.
O’Leary struck the game winner from 10 yards out in the 69th minute with the assist going to junior midfielder Dillon Powers.
Sophomore goalkeeper Patrick Wall played the entire 90 minutes for the Fighting Irish and made four saves. Holte played the first half for the Bulldogs and made three saves. Jon Dawson had two stops in the second stanza for Butler.
Notre Dame held a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. Butler had six corner kicks compared to three for the Irish.
The Fighting Irish played 24 players in the match.
“We put on a different team in the second half than what we had in the first half, expect for Pat Wall,” said Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “I thought we played very well tonight. It took a little while for us to settle down in the first half and we gave up a goal, but Adam Mena got the equalizer. Adam played very well for us. He could have had three goals, but their goalie made some saves. Our group in the second half did a very good job.”
The Irish will wrap up their 2011 exhibition slate on Monday with a home tilt against No. 6 Creighton. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium. Admission to the match is $1 and all proceeds will benefit Grassroot Soccer, an international non-governmental organization that uses the power of soccer to educate, inspire and mobilize communities against the spread of HIV in Africa. Further donations are welcome.
Notre Dame will open the regular season Aug. 27 with a home showdown against instate rival Indiana. The Irish and the 15th-ranked Hoosiers will square off at 7:30 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium.
All 2011 Notre Dame home matches, including the exhibition contest versus Creighton, that are not televised can be seen live on UND.com. The streaming broadcasts are free of charge. Log on to UND.com to stay up to date on the Fighting Irish men’s soccer team throughout the 2011 campaign.
To purchase a season pass or single-game tickets for Fighting Irish soccer, call the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office at (574) 631-7356, visit the tickets page at the official Notre Dame athletics web site, UND.com (UND.com/tickets) or stop by the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office windows inside the new Rosenthal Atrium at Purcell Pavilion (entrance via Gate 9). Tickets also can be purchased at Alumni Stadium on gamedays. For group discount pricing information call Rita Baxter in the Notre Dame Ticket Office at (574) 631-4165.
Butler Bowl – Indianapolis, Ind.
August 18, 2011 (Exhibition)
#11 Notre Dame 1 1 – 2
#21 Butler 1 0 – 1
Scoring: BU: Adekunle Oluyedun (Brycen Howard) 12:42; ND: Adam Mena (Ryan Finley) 26:26; ND: Danny O’Leary (Dillon Powers) 68:34
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