#7 Notre Dame Rallies Past SU, 4-2

Score By Period	1st	2nd	Final
Notre Dame	0	4	4
Syracuse	1	1	2
Box Score \| Photos \| Highlights \| Coach McIntyre Interview Nov. 3, 2012 \| SU Soccer Stadium / Syracuse, N.Y. \| Attendance: 1,675

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse scored the first two goals of the contest, but couldn't hold the lead and lost, 4-2, to No. 7 Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the SU Soccer Stadium. The game was played in front of 1,675 fans, the largest crowd in the history of the facility.

"We didn't sit back. We wanted to attack them," Orange head coach Ian McIntyre said. "The game was very open. That's how we play. I wanted to try to get us on the front foot and we had chances. The flip side is when the ball turned over they had opportunities as well. It was an exciting game. Unfortunately, they scored four and we got two."

The Orange (12-6-0), which was hosting a postseason game for the first time in school history, took a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals by seniors Ted Cribley and Louis Clark.

Down by two, the Fighting Irish offense came to life in the 63rd minute when Patrick Hodan scored on a left-footed shot past a diving Alex Bono. Notre Dame tied the score 11 seconds later when Kyle Richard came in from the left side and scored on an assist from Hodan.

With the score knotted 2-2, Syracuse's offense continued to apply pressure. The Orange produced three shots and two corner kicks during the next 10 minutes of play, but SU couldn't take advantage of its opportunities.

That set the stage for Notre Dame, which netted the game-winner with exactly 14 minutes left. Bono came out of the goal to play Ryan Finley, but lost his footing on the wet surface. Finley passed to Hodan, who fired into the open net to put the Fighting Irish up 3-2. Finley added and insurance tally in the 84th minute to produce the final score.

Bono finished with seven saves, while Patrick Wall had three for the Irish.

Notre Dame outshot Syracuse, 21-12, and had eight corner kicks to five for the Orange.

Hodan paced the Irish with a game-high five points (two goals, one assist).

Notre Dame advances to the conference tournament semifinals next weekend at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The Irish will play either Connecticut or Villanova.

At 12-6-0, Syracuse is in contention for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. The Orange will learn its fate on Monday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. when the 48-team NCAA bracket is revealed on NCAA.com.

Match Notes: The four goals were the most allowed by the Orange in a game this season ... Muller's two assists tied his career high ... The crowd of 1,675 eclipsed the previous SU Soccer Stadium record of 1,652 established earlier this season versus Louisville ... Syracuse is 7-11-1 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament play.

Syracuse University Athletics

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