#3/3 Notre Dame Deals Orange First Loss

Sunday, September 21

Notre Dame, IN

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

#3 Notre Dame

Isaac Collings led the Orange with three shots on goal Sunday.

9/21/2008 4:21:41 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After going unbeaten in its first six matches, Syracuse (4-1-2, 1-1-0) lost its first game of the season, 3-0, at #3/3 Notre Dame (5-1-1, 2-0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 21 at Alumni Field. The Orange put eight shots on goal in the contest, one more than Notre Dame, but the Irish scored three times, including twice in the first half, to post the victory.

The loss put an end to one of the most impressive defensive performances for the Orange in the last 25 years. Bright Dike’s goal 2:06 into the match stopped senior keeper Robert Cavicchia’s (North York, Ontario) shutout streak at 421 minutes and 35 seconds. It was the longest such streak for an SU goalie since 1986 (Chris Whitcomb, 448:40). Syracuse entered Sunday’s game having shut out its last four opponents and had not given up a goal since Sept. 1 against Colgate.

Despite the loss, Cavicchia continued his ascent up the Orange’s all-time saves list Sunday. He made four stops against the Irish to pass Charlie Wilke for third and now has 248 career saves.

Ahead 1-0 after Dike’s goal, Notre Dame extended its lead to 2-0 on a score by Michael Thomas off a free kick at the 22:17 mark. Thomas' shot deflected off the SU wall and there was nothing Cavicchia could do as the ball found the corner of the net.

The Irish carried its two-goal margin into halftime despite some good offensive challenges by the Orange. Syracuse forced Irish goalie Andrew Quinn to make four saves in the opening half. Senior midfielder Isaac Collings (Oriskany, N.Y.) paced the SU offense in the period with two shots on goal, including a chance that was denied by Quinn with less than two minutes to go in the half.

The Orange continued to force the action in the second half, getting forward Tom Perevegyencev (Budapest, Hungary) behind the Notre Dame defense two or three times, but couldn't capitalize. Collings also fired another shot on goal in the second half and senior Spencer Schomaker (Seattle, Wash.) put two on net, but Quinn was there each time for Notre Dame.

Tamba Samba closed the game's scoring with a goal at the 50:34 mark for Notre Dame to seal the outcome.

"The score doesn't always tell the whole story," SU head coach Dean Foti said after the match. "It was a physical game, but when the game settled down we played well for stretches. We needed more qualitiy in the final third of the field. Our crosses, shot selection and passing needed to be better."

Even with the result Sunday, Foti praised his team for its preparation heading into the first weekend of BIG EAST matches.

"It was a difficult road trip, but it was good to go into a tough place to play like Marquette (Friday night) and get a win," Foti said. "It was a place none of us had ever been to before and we were able to grind it out. I was pleased with the way we prepared and competed."

Syracuse returns home this weekend for a pair of conference matches against nationally-ranked teams. The Orange will host #20/17 Providence at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 and then welcomes #7/4 Connecticut to the SU Soccer Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 28 for a 3 p.m. contest.

Match Notes: Senior Pete Rowley (Reading, Pa.) started his second consecutive match in the midfield … Notre Dame is the highest-ranked opponent Syracuse has faced since it played third-ranked St. John’s on Oct. 19, 2002.