Sept. 18, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. – A goal from sophomore forward Harrison Shipp in the 54th minute was all the 16th-ranked Notre Dame men’s soccer team needed to defeat Michigan State 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.
Notre Dame (4-1-2) now has a four-game unbeaten streak, which includes three straight victories.
The Fighting Irish outshot Michigan State 16-10, including a 9-5 edge in shots on goal. Shipp had a game-high three shots on goal. The Irish gained two more corner kicks (5-3) than the Spartans.
Senior goalkeeper Will Walsh made five saves for Notre Dame to earn his second shutout of the season. Walsh has all seven decisions this season for the Irish. Jeremy Clark had eight saves for Michigan State (1-5-1).
“It was a very good performance by us today,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “In fact, we could have had two or three more scores. The last 10 minutes of the match were hectic because we didn’t put enough (goals) away and they played very direct at the end. Will (Walsh) and our central defenders, Aaron (Maund) and Grant (Van De Casteele), were superb at the end.”
The match was scoreless at the intermission. The Irish had five shots on goal in the first half compared to two by the Spartans.
Senior midfielder Adam Mena and junior midfielder Dillon Powers assisted on Shipp’s goal, which was his second of the season. Mena produced five points over the course of the past two games. He scored a career-high two goals, including the golden goal, in a 2-1 overtime victory over Michigan on Friday. Mena has a team-best eight points (3g, 2a) this season.
“Today was the best soccer that we’ve played in a long time and by far the best I’ve seen this year,” added Clark. “We opened the game much better than we did against Michigan on Friday. It was great to get two wins this weekend because we had a tie and a loss during this same weekend last year (against Michigan and Michigan State).”
The Fighting Irish return to action on Saturday when they open BIG EAST play at home against No. 3 Louisville. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at Alumni Stadium. The match will be aired live on Fox Soccer Channel.
DeMartin Stadium – East Lansing, Mich.
September 18, 2011
#16 Notre Dame (4-1-2) 0 1 – 1
Michigan State (1-5-1) 0 0 – 0
Scoring: ND: Harrison Shipp (Adam Mena, Dillon Powers) 53:54
Shots: ND 10-6 – 16, MSU 7-3 – 10
Corner Kicks: ND 1-4 – 5, MSU 2-1 – 3
Goalkeepers: ND: Will Walsh – 5 SV, 0 GA, 90:00, W
MSU: Jeremy Clark – 8 SV, 1 GA, 90:00, L
Fouls: ND 13, MSU 10
Offsides: ND 4, MSU 1
–ND–