Oct. 22, 2005
Indianola, Pa. – Two goals in the first seven minutes of play propelled the Notre Dame men’s soccer team to a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh at Founders Field on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Alex Yoshinaga (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills) put the Irish on the board in the fourth minute and junior Greg Dalby (Poway, Calif./Poway) followed that tally up with one of his own less than three minutes later to put the Irish up 2-0 early on. With the win, Notre Dame improves to 9-5-2 overall and 5-4-1 in BIG EAST play. The Panthers are now 3-10-1 overall and 2-7-0 in the league.
“This was a good win to get,” stated Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “I felt that we were in control the entire game. It would have been nice to capitalize on some other chances but the score kept us honest. I just hope we can start to get on a little run now this coming week.”
Notre Dame’s first score followed a corner kick as Yoshinaga controlled the ball and sent it into the back of the net for his second goal of the year. Dalby would add his second score of the year after he secured a loose ball in front of the goal after another corner kick and sent it past Panther goalkeeper Jordan Marks.
The Fighting Irish out-shot Pittsburgh 10-2 in the first half and 16-5 for the game. Notre Dame also held a 12-2 advantage in corner kicks.
“The first half was an excellent performance for us,” Clark commented. “We played awfully well. We may have lost a little bit in the second half. But overall it was a good performance.”
Pittsburgh sliced the deficit in half in the 63rd minute as Matt Firster rebounded the ball, after a Brendon Smith shot was saved, and scored.
Junior goalkeeper Chris Cahill (Louisville, Ky./DeSales) and the Irish defense would hold on for the win. Cahill collected four saves in his ninth win of the year. Marks stopped 10 Notre Dame shots.
Notre Dame will return to Alumni Field for a two-game homestand to close out the regular season. The Irish will battle instate rival and two-time defending national champion Indiana on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6:00 p.m. (CT). The match was originally scheduled for 7:00 p.m. yet was moved up an hour to accommodate the ESPNU broadcast. Notre Dame will then face BIG EAST foe Seton Hall on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7:00 p.m. (CT).
“This win sets us up for a great finally this week,” Clark said. “This week becomes very important as we have two great games ahead of us. We’ll just have to see what we can make of it. These wins this week (over Providence and Pittsburgh) put us in a reasonably solid position in the BIG EAST and for the NCAAs and that is ultimately what we are playing for.”
Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame men’s soccer team by logging on to und.com or by calling the Notre Dame Athletics Hotline at (574) 631-3000.
Notre Dame 2 0 – 2
Pittsburgh 0 1 – 1
ND: Alex Yoshinaga (unassisted) 3:55, ND: Greg Dalby (unassisted) 6:45, UP: Matt Firster (Brendon Smith) 62:05
Shots: ND 10-6 – 16, UP 2-3 – 5
Corner Kicks: 6-6 – 12, UP 0-2 – 2
Saves: ND 4 (Chris Cahill 4), UP 10 (Jordan Marks 10)
Fouls: ND 11, UP 20
Offsides: ND 2,UP 4
-ND–