Irish find success in tourney
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame men's soccer team completed a successful preseason this weekend at the Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne Soccer Showcase. The Irish defeated the host-team IPFW Saturday 5-0 and returned Sunday with a 3-0 shutout of Michigan.
The two games allowed the team a chance to see where the Irish stand against opponents, as well as where their problem areas lie before facing the regular season.
"We did some good things this weekend," head coach Bobby Clark said, "but we also did some things that we need to work on. "
The solid Notre Dame defense picked up where they left off in 2000, recording a pair of shutouts in the two contests.
"Coach Clark gave [the defense] a game plan, and we stuck to it really well," goalkeeper Greg Tait said. "We played very organized. Griffin [Howard] and Andreas [Forstner] did a great job, and the team played very well."
The Irish defense allowed their opponents just eight shots on goal in the two games.
Junior forward Erich Braun kicked off the scoring in the first match with an unassisted goal 10 minutes into the first half.
Notre Dame exploded for four more goals, all in the second half, beginning with sophomore Justin Detter's unassisted score.
Sophomore Brian Jarvis then scored on an assist from Matt Russo. The Irish would then get another two quick goals from team co-captain Griffin Howard and midfielder Filippo Chillemi.
"We can see the progress that we made both offensively and defensively," said Braun, who had a pair of goals in the tournament. "We worked on both sides a lot in the spring and developed a good game plan, and right now it is working out."
In the contest Sunday, the Irish scored all three of their goals in the second half. Braun started off the scoring once again on an assist from sophomore co-captain Greg Martin. Jarvis later headed in a Chillemi assist for the second goal and sophomore Devon Prescod added the third just before the end of the game.
Even with the two victories, the Irish do not want to let their successes go to their heads before the regular season starts.
"The atmosphere of the two games was good, but it was just a preseason tournament," Clark commented. "We know that we will have to step up our play because the talent level will step up."
This Saturday, the Irish kick off Big East play at home against Villanova.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, August 29, 2001
