Oct. 14, 2000
Notre Dame, Ind. — Notre Dame pulled off the biggest upset in the first year of head coach Chris Apple’s tenure as the Irish defeated 10th-ranked St. John’s 1-0. Freshman Chad Riley’s (Houston, Texas) leaping header over St. John’s goalkeeper Jeffrey Stoklosa gave the Irish their first-ever win over the Red Storm since joining the BIG EAST in 1995.
Riley’s game-winning goal, which came off of a feed from another freshman, Justin Detter (White Lake, Mich.), came at the 82:52 mark of the contest. The win snapped a four-game conference losing streak for the Irish who improved to 5-6-1 overall and 2-5-0 in the BIG EAST. St. John’s, which was 5-0-2 against the Irish in their seven previous meetings, fell to 9-3-2 overall and 6-2-1 in league play.
Notre Dame’s defense proved to be a key as the Irish frustrated the Red Storm all night, limiting them to eight shots overall and just three in the second half. The Irish only had two shots in the first half, but picked up the tempo and became much more aggressive offensively as they also had eight shot total in the game.
Sophomore goalkeeper Cole Straub (Oakville, Ontario) made his first career start in playing in his first-ever career game at Notre Dame. He also finished with saves in the contest which included five in the first half.
“The was a great win for our program,” head coach Chris Apple said.
“We never stopped believing in ourselves. We had a tough stretch of games recently, but I’m proud of our kids because they kept working hard. It finally payed off for them. I couldn’t be more happy for them ? they deserve a win like this.”
Notre Dame now will play its next three games on the road beginning with a matchup at Georgetown on Tues., Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m.
St. John's (9-3-2, 6-2-1) 1 0 -- 1Providence (3-7-1, 3-4-1) 1 2 -- 3SCORING: Notre Dame: Chad Riley (Justin Detter), 82:52,SHOTS: Notre Dame 8, St. John's 8,CORNER KICKS: Notre Dame 3, St. John's 5,FOULS: Notre Dame 9, St. John's 9,GOALIE SAVES: Notre Dame 6 (Cole Straub - 6), St. John's (Jeffrey Stoklosa - 3)