Oct. 4, 2011
Northwestern (4-4-1, 0-0-1 Big Ten) vs. Notre Dame (5-2-2, 1-1-0)
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011
Alumni Field
Notre Dame, Ind. • 6 p.m.
Gametracker: NUSports.com
Webstream: UND.com
Northwestern Men's Soccer Game Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern plays its third-straight nonconference game Wednesday when it visits 12th-ranked Notre Dame. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Alumni Stadium in Notre Dame, Ind.
Last Time Out
Northwestern shut out Missouri State, 2-0 at Lakeside Field Saturday night. Junior Kyle Schickel (Louisville, Ky./Saint Xavier) tallied his first two assists of the season in the win. The Wildcats found the back of the net quickly as Nick Gendron (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) scored off an assist from Schickel just 1:42 into the game. Schickel then recorded his second assist of the game as he set up Lepe Seetane (Lesotho, Africa/Trinity) in the 38th minute for the score. Seetane, who is listed at 5-foot-2, leapt up for the header that snuck past Missouri State goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg.
Miller's Magic
Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Miller (Woodbury, N.J./Bishop Eustace) had his fifth shutout of the 2011 season Saturday against Missouri State. The freshman is now tied for eighth on NU's single-season shutout list. The single-season record for shutouts is 13, set by Misha Rosenthal in 2008. Miller ranks second in the Big Ten with five shutouts in nine games. He is fourth in the Big Ten in goals against average, allowing just 0.76 goals per game. During a three-game span from Sept. 16-24, Miller allowed just one goal.
Balanced Attack
Nick Gendron and Lepe Seetane both scored their first goals of the season Saturday against Missouri State, marking the sixth and seven different players to score at least one goal for Northwestern this year. Oliver Kupe (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) leads the team with three goals and Chris Ritter has two goals. Kyle Schickel, Reed Losee (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) and Nikko Boxall (Auckland, New Zealand/Mt. Albert) have one goal each.
Scouting Notre Dame
Notre Dame was on a four-match winning streak prior to Saturday's game against No. 15 St. John's. The game went into extra time, but St. John's scored in the second overtime for the 2-1 win. Adam Mena and Ryan Finley lead the Fighting Irish with three goals each so far this season and Mena has two game-winning goals. Notre Dame averages 18.1 shots per game and limits its opponents to 14.1 shots per game. Will Walsh is 5-2-2 in goal with three shutouts, 39 saves and has a 0.92 goals against average.
Last Time vs. Notre Dame
These two teams squared off at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., last year and battled to a 1-1 tie in double-overtime. Then-senior goalkeeper Drew Kotler had a career-high 11 saves and Matt Eliason notched NU's goal in the 48th minute. The Irish responded with a goal at 78:02 for the draw. In the two games prior to last year's meeting, the Wildcats had eliminated the Fighting Irish from the NCAA tournament in the 2009 and 2008 seasons.
Out of Conference
After opening the Big Ten Conference season against Michigan State on Sept. 24, Northwestern is now in the midst of three-straight nonconference games and five of the seven games since MSU came to town are against nonconference opponents. Northwestern's next Big Ten game is at Ohio State at 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 9.
Up Next
Northwestern returns to Big Ten action Sunday, visiting Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State at 1 p.m.
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