Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 SEPT. 10, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME CHARTING THE IRISH BRIAN KELLY-LED TEAMS HAVE FARED WELL AGAINST THE MAC Head coach Brian Kelly has quite a bit of success versus Mid-American Conference opponents going back to his days at the helm of the Central Michigan program. From 2004-06 at CMU, Kelly's teams finished 16-9 in MAC play de- spite a 3-5 start in his first season. After moving on to Cincinnati and Notre Dame, Kelly has gone 8-0 to bring his overall mark versus MAC competition to 24-9. The Irish have faced just three MAC opponents during Kelly's ten- ure, crushing Miami (Ohio) 52-17 last season, routing UMass 62-27 in 2015 and defeating Western Michigan 44-20 in 2010. Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Ian Aschieris — Soccer The senior forward from So‑ lana Beach, Calif., compiled three points in Notre Dame's 3‑1 exhibition win over Val‑ paraiso Aug. 20. He assisted on classmate Sean MacLeod's goal to start the scoring and recorded the final goal of the match, beating Valparaiso's goalkeeper in the 88th minute. Aschieris, who saw action in nine matches in 2017, made his first career start in this year's sea‑ son opener versus Saint Louis Aug. 24. Patrick Berneski — Soccer The fifth‑year senior defender from Warrington, Pa., scored Notre Dame's lone goal in the season‑opening 1‑1 tie in double overtime versus Saint Louis. The goal — the third of his Irish career — came in the 63rd minute to put the Irish up 1‑0. Berneski barely missed a game‑winning goal in the second overtime, but both teams failed to score and the game ended in a deadlock. Zoe Nunez — Volleyball The rookie from Rockford, Ill., was named ACC Co‑Freshman of the Week Aug. 27 following her first weekend of action in a Fighting Irish uniform. Her ef‑ forts helped Notre Dame take the title at the Golden Dome Invitational with 3‑0 triumphs versus Weber State, Toledo and Northern Kentucky. During the victory over North‑ ern Kentucky, Nunez recorded 32 assists and 15 digs for the first double‑double of her young ca‑ reer. Her performance also included five blocks. Olivia Wingate — Soccer The freshman from Wilmington, Mass., made a splash in Notre Dame's Aug. 26 matchup with Butler, though the Irish fell 4‑1 to the Bulldogs. She took four shots — three of them on goal — and accounted for the lone Irish tally. Wingate was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school, competing on the United States Under‑18 Women's National Team as well as the U.S. Un‑ der‑16 Girls National Team. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE Senior kicker Justin Yoon quietly put to‑ gether a superb career his first three sea‑ sons. This includes the highest percentage of field goals converted (80.8) by someone with at least 50 attempts, easily ahead of longtime NFL star John Carney (73.9 percent from 1984‑86). Entering the 2018 opener against Michi‑ gan, Yoon needed only 46 more points this season to finish his career as the school's all‑time scoring leader. Running back Allen Pinkett (1982‑85) currently ranks No. 1 with 320 points (53 touchdowns and a two‑point conversion). In fact, Pinkett's TD total at the end of his career was the fourth most in NCAA history. Current running backs coach Autry Denson tallied 47 touchdowns. Here are the top five all‑time leading scor‑ ers at Notre Dame entering the 2018 season: Player (Years) Career Points 1. Allen Pinkett (1982‑85) 320 2. Craig Hentrich (1989‑92) 294 3. Kyle Brindza (2011‑14) 288 4. Autry Denson (1995‑98) 282 5. Justin Yoon (2015-18) 275* * Not yet including this year 's Michigan opener Getting To Know … FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR OL ALEX BARS Hometown: "Nashville, Tenn." High School: "Montgomery Bell Academy." Major: "Finance." Favorite Food: "Hot Chicken." Favorite Movie: "'The Green Mile.'" Favorite TV Show: "I'll go with ' The Office.'" Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen." Favorite Place To Eat In Nash- ville: "Hattie B's or Edley's Barbecue." F a v o r i t e P r o Sports Team: "In baseball, the Detroit Tigers because I grew up in Detroit." Favorite Part About Playing For Notre Dame: "So many things, but just really the guys in the locker room and the friendships that you make playing next to them." Who's The Best Player You've Ever Lined Up Across From?: "Probably Elijah Okafor from Wake Forest." KELLY VS. THE MAC MAC Opponent Kelly's Record Akron 3‑0 Ball State 3‑0 Bowling Green 1‑1 Buffalo 1‑1 Central Michigan 0‑0 Eastern Michigan 1‑2 Kent State 1‑0 Massachusetts* 1‑0 Miami (Ohio) 5‑0 Northern Illinois 0‑3 Ohio 2‑0 Toledo 2‑1 Western Michigan 4‑1 * Left the MAC after the 2015 season MOVING? Let our customer service department know your new address! Call us 1-800-421-7751