SU Welcomes #4 Notre Dame for First ACC Home Game

#4 Notre Dame (1-0-2, 0-0-1 ACC) at Syracuse (3-1-0, 0-1-0 ACC)
Game Details	Friday, Sept. 13 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 7 p.m. SU Soccer Stadium \| Weather
Game Coverage	SUAthletics.com: Live Stats Twitter: @CuseMensSoccer
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes
Notre Dame Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange men's soccer team (3-1-0, 0-1-0 ACC) returns to conference competition when it hosts No. 4 Notre Dame (1-0-2, 0-0-1) in SU's first home ACC contest in any sport on Friday, Sept. 13 at the SU Soccer Stadium. The Orange and Fighting Irish kick off at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The game serves as a rematch to last season's epic BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal tilt that saw ND climb back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Orange, 4-2.

LAST TIME OUT
The Orange defeated Manhattan, 4-1, on Monday, Sept. 9 at the SU Soccer Stadium. The dynamic rookie duo of Alex Halis and Chris Nanco combined for nine points (four goals, one assist) to lead SU past the Jaspers. Goalkeeper Alex Bono earned his third win of the season, making three saves in 90 minutes of work.

HOSTING THE NATION'S BEST
Notre Dame represents the sixth team ranked in the top five of the NSCAA poll to visit the SU Soccer Stadium since it opened in 1996. The Irish are No. 4 in this week's poll.

The last time Syracuse hosted a top-five team was on Oct. 27, 2010 (No. 2 Louisville). Next week, the Orange welcomes Connecticut to the SU Soccer Stadium. The Huskies are currently No. 3.

FULL SPEED AHEAD ON OFFENSE
Syracuse leads the ACC in goals (11), points (31) and ranks second in assists (9). Overall, six different players have combined for the 11 goals. After scoring twice against Manhattan, Alex Halis leads the squad with three goals, while Emil Ekblom, Nick Perea and Chris Nanco have two apiece.

This year's offensive success is a continuation of last year's productivity when SU had 39 goals, tied for the seventh-most in team history.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
The fourth-ranked Fighting Irish are 1-0-2 this season. Notre Dame defeated SMU (2-1) and earned draws against nationally-ranked clubs North Carolina (1-1) in its ACC opener and UCLA (0-0).

Leon Brown is ND's lone goal-scorer, tallying all three of the squad's goals this season. Patrick Hodan, Harrison Shipp and Alex Priede have contributed an assist apiece. Patrick Wall started all three games in goal. He has 11 saves with a goals-against average of 0.58.

Bobby Clark is in his 13th season at the helm in South Bend. After successful stints at Dartmouth and Stanford, Clark has guided his Fighting Irish squads to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, two BIG EAST Tournament titles and three conference regular-season crowns.

SERIES HISTORY
Syracuse and Notre Dame will meet for the 15th time on Friday. The Fighting Irish own a 10-2-2 series advantage.
While SU's last win against ND came on Oct. 11, 1997, the series has been competitive as five of the last seven matches have been decided by one goal or fewer, including four overtime games and two draws.

In the quarterfinal round of last year's BIG EAST Tournament, Ted Cribley and current undergraduate assistant coach Louis Clark put the Orange ahead, 2-0, early in the second half, but Notre Dame tallied the match's final four goals to earn the victory.

UP NEXT…
The Orange continues its four-game home stand when hosts Connecticut on Tuesday, Sept. 17. SU and the Huskies kick off at 7 p.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium.

Syracuse University Athletics

SU Welcomes #4 Notre Dame for First ACC Home Game

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