Nov. 19, 2010
DARTMOUTH (11-6-1)
at
#9 NOTRE DAME (10-5-4)
NCAA Championship Second Round
Sunday, Nov. 21 – 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
Streaming Broadcast: UND.com
Live Stats: UND.com
Live Blog: UND.com
SETTING THE STAGE … Notre Dame will play host to Dartmouth at 6:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Championship at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish are the No. 9 seed in the tournament, while the Big Green is unseeded. This will be the second meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Dartmouth. The Irish won the previous encounter back in 2008.
HOW TO FOLLOW … A live streaming broadcast of Sunday’s match can be seen on UND.com … live stats are available via GameTracker on UND.com … fans can sign up for `Irish Alert’ on UND.com to receive text message score updates … updates and results can also be found on Twitter at UND_com.
GET YOUR TICKETS … Ticket prices for Sunday’s match are $7 for adults, $3 for youth and senior citizens and $1 for children five years of age or younger … all Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s/Holy Cross students will be admitted free of charge with a valid student ID … to purchase tickets, call the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356, visit und.com/tickets or stop by the Notre Dame ticket office inside Purcell Pavilion … tickets also can be purchased the night of the game at the Alumni Stadium ticket window.
IRISH AT A GLANCE … Notre Dame (10-5-4) is coming off a 1-0 setback to No. 1 Louisville on Nov. 12 in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals in Harrison, N.J. … the Irish are making their 10th straight NCAAâ⒬ˆChampionship appearance … the Fighting Irish are 4-1-1 in their last six matches … the Fighting Irish finished with a 6-2-1 BIGâ⒬ˆEAST record this season … senior forward Steven Perry leads the Irish in goals (12) and points (27) … Perry ranks first among all BIGâ⒬ˆEASTâ⒬ˆplayers, and 10th nationally, in goals scored … junior midfielder Brendan King and freshman forward Harrison Shipp both have a team-best six assists … the Irish are averaging 1.53 goals per game, while allowing 0.89 per contest … fifth-year senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle, who missed the first seven matches of the season with a knee injury, has started the past 12 matches … Tuttle has a 7-3-2 record with a 1.04 goals-against average and a .735 save percentage … junior Will Walsh has made seven starts in goal and boasts a 3-2-2 record with four shutouts … Walsh has a 0.54 goals-against and a .875 save percentage … head coach Bobby Clark is in his 10th season with the Irish … he has a 127-58-30 (.660) record during his Notre Dame tenure, which has included a trip to the NCAA tournament each season … this is Clark’s 24th season as a college head coach … he has a combined record of 280-121-55 (.674) during his career, which included stops at Dartmouth (1985-93) and Stanford (1996-2000).
THE DARTMOUTH SERIES … Sunday will be the second meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Dartmouth … the Fighting Irish topped the Big Green 2-1 during the 2008 Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament at Notre Dame … Dave Donohue netted the game winner for the Irish in the 89th minute … current Irish senior Jeb Brovsky assisted on the tally … Brovsky is one of four current Fighting Irish players that saw time in that match … the others were Steven Perry (F), Brendan King (M) and Aaron Maund (D).
SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN … Dartmouth will carry an 11-6-1 record into Sunday’s match … the Big Green won at Monmouth, 4-0, on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Championship … this is Dartmouth’s fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance, and 13th trip overall … Dartmouth is riding a five-game winning streak … the Big Green finished third in the Ivy League with a 4-3 record … Dartmouth is averaging 1.67 goals per game, while surrendering 1.17 per contest … junior forward Lucky Mkosana has a team-high five goals … senior forward Andrew Olsen has a team-best five assists … senior goalkeeper Lyman Missimer has started the past seven matches and has eight starts overall on the season … Missimer is 6-2-0 with three shutouts to go along with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .636 save percentage … sophomore Sean Donovan has started 10 games in goal and has a 5-4-1 record with one shutout … Donovan carries a 1.25 goals-against average and a .683 save percentage … Dartmouth went 10-7-1 last season and fell to Boston College, 2-1 in double-overtime, in the first round of last season’s NCAA Championship … head coach Jeff Cook is in his 10th season at the helm of the Dartmouth program.
COACHING CONNECTION … Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark will be facing a team he once coached when the Irish face Dartmouth on Sunday … Clark spent nine seasons (1985-1993) at the helm of the Big Green program … the Scotland native guided Dartmouth to three Ivy League titles and an overall record of 82-42-13 (.646) … Dartmouth reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships under Clark in 1990 and 1992 … Clark left for Stanford following the 1993 season and then came to Notre Dame in 2001.
QUOTING CLARK … Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark shares his thoughts on the upcoming NCAA Championship match versus Dartmouth …
“We watched Dartmouth’s game against Monmouth and they were superb. They have several excellent players that could play for any team in the country. It certainly will be a difficult game. If we come out ready to play, I think we can handle just about anything they can throw at us. It has all the makings for a fantastic game.”
“It’s exciting to be in the tournament. I always say you can categorize it as a good season if you make the NCAA tournament. The trick is to make it a great season by advancing in the tournament. Every game now is difficult to win, so we have to be ready.”
COMMON OPPONENTS … Notre Dame and Dartmouth have no common opponents this season.
IRISH IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP … The Irish are making their 10th straight NCAA Championship appearance and the 14th trip overall in program history … the Irish have a 10-12-1 record all-time in the NCAA Championship … Notre Dame’s top finishes in the NCAA tournament were quarterfinal trips in 2006 and 2007 … the Irish have made the tournament’s Round of 16 on five occasions (1996, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007) … Notre Dame owns a 6-2-1 mark at home and a 4-10-0 record on the road in the NCAAs … last season, the Irish topped Green Bay 2-1 at Alumni Stadium in the first round and fell at No. 9 seed Northwestern 3-1 in the second round.
SEEDING … This year signifies the sixth time in which the Fighting Irish have earned one of the 16 national seeds in the 48-team NCAA tournament field … the No. 9 seed is the highest for the Irish since they were the fifth seed in 2004 … the Fighting Irish also earned seeds in 2003 (5th), 2006 (10th), 2007 (12th) and 2008 (12th).
A DECADE OF CONSISTENCY … Notre Dame has made the NCAA Championship in each of the past 10 seasons … that streak ranks in a tie for fifth nationally … Virginia has the longest streak at 30 seasons, followed by UCLA (28), Indiana (24) and Connecticut (13) … the Irish are tied with Maryland.
ROUND OF 32 … Notre Dame is 5-6 all-time in the NCAA Championship’s Round of 32 … the Fighting Irish have won three of their last five Round-of-32 matches … last season, Notre Dame fell at Northwestern, 3-1, in the second round.
WHAT’S AT STAKE … The winner of Sunday’s NCAA Championship second-round match between Notre Dame and Dartmouth will advance to play the victor of the UCLA-Sacramento State game in the third round on Sunday, Nov. 28 … UCLA is the tournament’s No. 8 seed, while Sacramento State is unseeded.
BIG EAST BIDS … Seven BIG EAST Conference teams earned berths into the NCAA Championship field … joining Notre Dame are Louisville (#1 seed), Connecticut (#11 seed), Providence, Georgetown, West Virginia and USF.
BLUE DIVISION DOMINANCE … BIG EAST Blue Division teams went 3-0 during Thursday’s first round of the NCAA Championship … Notre Dame’s fellow division foes Georgetown, Providence and West Virginia all captured wins … Georgetown topped UNC Greensboro 3-0, while Providence took care of St. Peters 6-2 and West Virginia bested Xavier 4-2 … USF was the lone BIG EAST Red Division squad to play in the opening round … the Bulls fell to Central Florida, 3-0.
IRISH AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD … The Fighting Irish faced a total of 10 teams, including six seeded squads, that qualified for this year’s tournament and they posted a 3-5-3 mark against those schools … the wins came against No. 14 seed Indiana (2-1), Providence (2-1) and Georgetown (3-0) … Notre Dame fell to No. 1 seed Louisville twice (2-0, 1-0), No. 8 seed UCLA (1-0), Michigan State (2-0) and West Virginia (2-1) … the Irish tied No. 6 seed California (0-0), No. 10 seed Michigan (0-0) and No. 11 seed Connecticut (0-0).
FIVE CAPTURE LEAGUE HONORS … Five Notre Dame players received all-conference recognition on Nov. 11 at the annual BIG EAST men’s soccer awards banquet … headlining the Fighting Irish honorees were first-team selections Jeb Brovsky (Sr./M) and Steven Perry (Sr./F) … Aaron Maund (Jr./D) and Dillon Powers (So./M) were named to the All-BIG EAST second team … Harrison Shipp (Fr./F) was selected to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team … in addition, Brovsky and Powers were named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team.
ON A ROLL … Notre Dame is 4-1-1 in its last six games … the Fighting Irish have an 11-5 scoring advantage in that stretch.
KING CONTRIBUTING IN A MAJOR WAY … Junior midfielder Brendan King has assisted on Notre Dame’s last five goals … he has seven points on one goal and five assists over the course of the last four matches … King assisted on both Irish goals in the 2-1 win over Marquette on Nov. 6 … King netted the game-winning goal with one minute left in regulation in a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh (Oct. 27) … he followed that up by assisting on all three goals in a 3-0 triumph of No. 21 Georgetown (Oct. 31) … the three assists were a single-game career-high total for the junior, who has three goals and six assists this season … his assist total is tied for the team lead and it ranks eighth among all BIG EAST players.
PERRY PERFORMING … Steven Perry leads all BIG EAST players with 12 goals … his 27 points rank second in the league … the senior forward ranks eighth nationally in goals scored … Perry has netted at least one goal in eight of the past 13 matches … Perry has notched 23 points on 10 goals and three assists over the course of the past 13 games … Perry’s five game-winning goals this season rank first among all BIG EAST players … he has three two-goal games this season … his goal (12), assist (3) and point total (27) all are single-season career-best totals for the Oklahoma native.
IN THE CLUTCH … Steven Perry has netted some crucial goals for the Irish this season … he has five game-winning tallies … the senior forward scored the lone goal (70th minute) in a 1-0 win over St. John’s (Sept. 25) … Perry then deposited the equalizer in the 79th minute in a 1-1 draw with Northwestern (Sept. 29) … Perry put home the game winner in the 85th minute in a 2-1 triumph of Providence (Oct. 3) … after Pittsburgh grabbed a 1-0 lead during the match on Oct. 27, Perry produced the equalizer 19 seconds later … Perry netted the game’s first two goals in a 3-0 triumph of Georgetown (Oct. 30) … that matched a single-game career-high total … he also deposited two goals against Drake (Sept. 10) and Marquette (Oct. 13) this season.
SETTING THE PACE … Notre Dame is 7-1-1 this season when Steven Perry scores a goal.
SHIPP GIVING A HELPING HAND (OR FOOT) … Freshman forward Harrison Shipp is tied for the team lead in assists with six … that ranks him in a tie for eighth among all BIG EAST players in that category … in his first career start, he assisted on Notre Dame’s first three goals of the game in a 4-1 win over Marquette (Oct. 13) … Shipp dished out two assists in a 3-1 triumph of Seton Hall on Oct. 19.
IRISH ON SUNDAY’S … Notre Dame is 3-1-1 this season when playing on Sunday.
DOUBLE DIGITS … Since head coach Bobby Clark took over the Fighting Irish program in 2001, he has steered the Irish to a double-digit win total in each of his 10 seasons, including this year.
HOME SWEET HOME … Notre Dame is 8-1-1 at home this season … that includes a 6-0 mark against BIG EAST teams … the Irish have out scored their opponents 22-7 in games played at Alumni Stadium this season.
SECOND HALF SUCCESS … Notre Dame has out-scored its opponents 19-9 in the second half this season … the Fighting Irish are 6-2-4 this season when tied at halftime.
HOLDING THE LEAD … The Fighting Irish are 9-0 this season when they score first … Notre Dame is 1-5-1 when its opponent nets the first goal.
DEFENSIVE CONSISTENCY … The most goals surrendered by the Irish defense this season in a single match is two, which has occurred four times … the last time Notre Dame went through an entire season without allowing more than two goals in a game was in 2004.
CORNERING THE MARKET … Notre Dame has gained 29 more corner kicks (132-103) than its opponents this season … Notre Dame’s high-water mark for corner kicks in a game this season was 13 versus California … the Irish did not surrender a corner kick in a 3-0 win over Georgetown on Oct 31.
SHOOTING DOWN THE COMPETITION … The Fighting Irish have out shot their competition 347-252 (5.0 per game) this season, including a 135-83 (2.7 per game) advantage in shots on goal … Notre Dame leads all BIG EAST teams in shots and shots per game (18.7).
NOTRE DAME IN BIG EAST PLAY … Notre Dame owns an overall record of 97-55-18 (.624) in BIG EAST regular-season play since joining the conference in 1995 … the Irish have posted 10 straight winning seasons within the league, including this season … the Irish went 8-3 in league play last season … the eight wins in BIG EAST play in 2009 tied for the most ever for the Fighting Irish … Notre Dame also won eight BIG EAST matches in 2004 (8-1-1) and 2006 (8-3) … the Irish have three regular-season BIG EAST titles … Notre Dame won the championship outright in 2004 and 2008 (Blue Division) and shared the Blue Division trophy with Connecticut in 2007 … the Fighting Irish captured BIG EAST tournament crowns in 1996 and 2003.
CLARK IN THE CONFERENCE … Head coach Bobby Clark has steered the Irish to a winning record within BIG EAST Conference play during all 10 of his seasons, including this year, at Notre Dame … Clark has a 69-24-11 (.716) BIG EAST regular-season mark during his Notre Dame tenure, which began in 2001 … his Irish teams have captured three regular-season BIG EAST titles (2004, 2007, 2008) and one BIG EAST tournament championship (2003).
TUTTLE RETURNS … Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle returned to the Fighting Irish lineup on Sept. 29 against Northwestern after missing the first seven games of the campaign with a knee injury he suffered while training during the summer … in addition to missing the first seven matches of this season, Tuttle did not play in Notre Dame’s final three contests last year after breaking his thumb against Louisville in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship … Tuttle remained in that match despite the injury and helped the Irish advance in a penalty kick shootout … this season, Tuttle has a 7-3-2 record with a 1.04 goals-against average, a .735 save percentage and one shutout … he was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll on Oct. 25 for notching a shutout against Connecticut … Tuttle made a season-high five saves against the Huskies … for his career, Tuttle is 16-9-4 with nine shutouts to go along with a 0.95 goals-against average and a .736 save percentage.
MAUND MAKING A DIFFERENCE … Junior central defender Aaron Maund is the only Notre Dame player to have played every minute on the pitch so far this season … he has anchored the backline and has helped the Irish produce a 0.89 goals-against average and limit opponents to 4.4 shots on goal per game … in addition, he has tallied one goal and two assists this season … Maund was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 and was selected to the league’s weekly honor roll on Sept. 13 … Maund has started all 58 matches in which he has played during his Irish career.
TOPDRAWER RANKINGS … Four Notre Dame players are ranked among the National Top 100 upperclassmen according to TopDrawerSoccer.com … Aaron Maund (Jr./D) is ranked 15th, while Dillon Powers (So./M) is 28th … Jeb Brovsky (Sr./F/M) is 49th and Steven Perry (Sr./F) is 77th … Notre Dame forward/midfielder Harrison Shipp is 34th in the TopDrawerSoccer freshman rankings … both rankings are updated weekly.
CLEAN SHEETS … Junior goalkeeper Will Walsh has posted four shutouts in his seven starts this season … Walsh saw a career-best scoreless streak of 357 minutes come to an end when Cal Poly scored with six seconds remaining in the 5-1 Irish victory on Sept. 12 … Walsh had not seen game action prior to this season.
EARLY SEASON OFFENSE … The five goals scored in the 5-1 win over Cal Poly (Sept. 12) marked the fourth time in the past five seasons that Notre Dame has tallied five goals in one of its first four matches of the season … last year, the Irish bested Michigan 5-0 in the season opener … in 2008, Notre Dame topped USF 5-0 in the fourth game of the campaign … in the fourth contest of the 2006 season, the Fighting Irish bested Indiana 5-4 in overtime.
IRISH EXPLOSION … The five goals scored in the second half against Cal Poly on Sept. 12 were the most goals scored in a single period by the Fighting Irish since they netted five in the first half during a 5-0 win over Villanova on Oct. 23, 2002 … it marked the most goals scored in a second half since depositing seven in a 7-1 triumph of Western Michigan on Oct. 14, 1997.
ALL OVER THE MAP … Notre Dame’s 29-man roster boasts student-athletes from 18 different states … the state represented the most on the Irish roster is Illinois, which is home to six Notre Dame players … Brendan King (Naperville), Greg Klazura (Rockford), Craig Krzyskowski (Western Springs), Bob Novak (Homer Glen), Danny O’Leary (Naperville) and Harrison Shipp (Lake Forest) all hail from the Prairie State … next in line is Texas, which has supplied the Irish with four players on this year’s squad.
BROVSKY A SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST … Forward/midfielder Jeb Brovsky has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the men’s soccer division … to be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition … the finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates … fan votes will be combined with media and coaches votes to determine the winner … the award will be announced during the 2010 NCAA Men’s College Cup championships in early December.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES … Aaron Maund (Jr./D) and Dillon Powers (So./M) were named Soccer America Preseason All-Americans … Notre Dame was one of five schools with multiple representatives on the 25-man Soccer America Preseason All-America Team … Akron had four players on the squad, while Virginia, North Carolina and Tulsa joined the Irish with two apiece.
CAPTAIN KEEPER … Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle is Notre Dame’s lone captain for the 2010 campaign … this is Tuttle’s first season as a captain.
POWERS PACES TEAM USA … Sophomore Dillon Powers helped the United States Under-20 national team capture the Milk Cup Tournament in early August … Powers was named the MVP of the Milk Cup, which is an international youth soccer tournament held annually in Northern Ireland … the midfielder earned a start in two of the three matches as the U.S. posted a 3-0 record.
ROOKIE RANKINGS … Notre Dame’s freshman class was ranked ninth according to College Soccer News … Leon Brown (F), Kyle Craft (M), Adam LaPlaca (GK), Luke Mishu (D), Andrew O’Malley (D), Alex Priede (F), Harrison Shipp (M/F) and Patrick Wall (GK) make up the stellar class.
LOSE THE SHOES … At halftime of the Notre Dame-Providence match on Oct. 3, the championship game of Notre Dame’s `Lose the Shoes’ tournament was held … the proceeds from the 3-on-3 barefoot soccer tournament benefited Grassroot Soccer, a South Africa-based non-governmental organization that integrates the cross-cultural appeal of soccer with evidence-based HIV prevention and life skills programs that arm African youth with the knowledge, skills, and support to live HIV free … Tommy Clark, the eldest son of Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark, is a cofounder of Grassroot Soccer … in the fall of 2006, Dartmouth College held the first ever `Lose the Shoes’ tournament and since then, over 80 `Lose the Shoes’ tournaments have raised almost $150,000 … Notre Dame held its first `Lose the Shoes’ tournament last year … the semifinals of this year’s tournament were held at halftime of the Notre Dame-St. John’s women’s game on Oct. 3 … the preliminary games of the tournament took place on Oct. 2 on Notre Dame’s South Quad.
A GREAT NIGHT FOR GRASSROOT … Notre Dame held its annual exhibition game to benefit Grassroot Soccer on Aug. 23 against UIC … over 2,000 fans packed into Alumni Stadium to watch the Irish defeat the Flames, 3-2 … a grand total of $3,000 was raised for Grassroot Soccer, an international AIDS awareness and education organization that reaches youth in Africa through soccer clinics … $1,000 worth of donations were received at the gate and during the match … head coach Bobby Clark, whose son Tommy is the founder and CEO of the organization, and the Notre Dame men’s soccer camp donated $2,000.
LOOKING BACK … Last season, Notre Dame posted an 11-8-4 record … the Irish were runners-up in the BIG EAST Blue Division with an 8-3 mark … the Fighting Irish were finalists at the BIG EAST Championship as they fell to St. John’s in a penalty kick shootout (5-3) following a scoreless draw … Notre Dame defeated Green Bay 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling at Northwestern, 3-1, in the second round … that marked Notre Dame’s ninth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.