Sept. 29, 2010
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Notre Dame and Northwestern played to a 1-1 draw in men’s soccer action on Wednesday night at Toyota Park. Senior forward Steven Perry (Edmond, Okla./Bishop McGuinness) netted the equalizer for the Irish in the 79th minute.
Notre Dame (3-2-3) produced several good looks on frame throughout the match. The Fighting Irish out shot the Wildcats 30-16, which included a 12-5 edge in shots on goal. Northwestern (3-4-1) had six corner kicks, compared to five for the Irish.
The Irish opened the match with pressure as senior forward Jeb Brovsky (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) placed a shot just wide of the post 44 seconds into the contest. Brovsky had a game-high three shots on goal.
Brovsky threatened again in the seventh minute as his 30-yard shot was saved by Wildcat goalkeeper Drew Kotler, who made 11 saves on the night. Notre Dame senior goalkeeper Philip Tuttle (Hooksett, N.H./Brewster Academy) saw his first action of the season after suffering a knee injury over the summer. Tuttle played all 110 minutes and made four saves.
The best look for Northwestern in the first half came in the 29th minute as an Oliver Kupe shot was blocked and the follow up by Lepe Seetane was sent wide right from 15 yards out.
Following a scoreless first half, the action picked up in the second stanza. Notre Dame out shot Northwestern 15-7 in the second half.
The Wildcats got on the board in the 48th minute as Matt Eliason followed up his own blocked shot and scored from seven yards out.
Northwestern threatened less than two minutes later as a leaping tip-save from Tuttle was needed on a Piero Bellizzi attempt. Another Tuttle save was needed in the 67th minute on an Eliason free kick from just outside the left side of the 18-yard box.
Notre Dame began to up its attack midway through the second half. In the 68th minute, Brovsky sent a corner kick into the box and Kotler punched a Michael Rose (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) header over the crossbar.
The Irish pressure paid off in the 79th minute after a flurry of shots were denied, Perry put home the equalizer off a cross from Rose. The tally was Perry’s team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Notre Dame held a 6-5 edge in shots during overtime. Kotler made two saves in the first 10-minute overtime period, while Tuttle had two stops in the second overtime.
“The result was disappointing tonight,” said Irish head coach Bobby Clark. “The positive is the way we played in the second half. After the first 10 minutes of the second half, we completely took over the game. It took us to lose a goal before we got things going tonight. The fact that their goalkeeper had 11 saves compared to our four paints a fairly accurate picture.”
The Fighting Irish will return to BIG EAST action when they play host to Providence at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Oct. 3. That game, which will be aired live on CBS College Sports, follows the Notre Dame-St. John’s women’s match at Alumni Stadium.
Toyota Park – Bridgeview, Ill.
September 29, 2010
Northwestern (3-4-1) 0 1 0 0 – 1
Notre Dame (3-2-3) 0 1 0 0 – 1
Scoring: NU: Matt Eliason (unassistsed) 47:20; ND: Steven Perry (Michael Rose) 78:02
Shots: NU 4-7-2-3 – 16, ND 9-15-4-2 – 30
Corner Kicks: NU 2-3-0-1 – 6, ND 0-4-0-1 – 5
Goalkeepers: NU: Drew Kotler – 11 SV, 1 GA, 110:00, T; ND: Philip Tuttle – 4 SV, 1 GA, 110:00, T
Fouls: NU 6, ND 14
Offsides: NU 1, ND 1
-ND–