Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS nior midfielder Patrick Hodan and senior midfielder Nick Besler. Hodan emerged as a major scoring threat thanks to a strong leg from the perim‑ eter and a quick mind for the game. He scored 11 goals and added five as‑ sists to finish second behind Shipp in both categories last season. Besler plans to be this year's "field general" from his position at center midfield. He made the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list (soccer 's Heisman Trophy equivalent) this summer after starting every game in the last two seasons. The Kansas native is used to following in big footsteps. His brother, Matt, is a fellow Irish soccer alum who started for the U.S. National Team in this summer's World Cup. Besler said the key to moving forward is for this year's marquee players to stay true to themselves, rather than try to emulate former stars. "With some key players leaving we've got to build a new identity," he said. "You can't have guys trying to be Harry Shipp or Grant. Patrick Hodan needs to be Patrick Hodan. We need to play within ourselves and create our own identity." The team started working toward that new identity this spring on a three‑week tour in Zimbabwe. Clark said the trip helped the team put the national title behind them and start working toward winning another one. The Irish lived together, did commu‑ nity service projects and played three top‑level clubs in exhibitions while in Africa. They finished 1‑1‑1, which Clark considered a major feat for his college team. The team reconvened in mid‑August to prepare for the regular season with six new freshmen to add to the group. Newcomer Jon Gallagher, an import from Dundalk, Ireland, is another can‑ didate to help replace Shipp's produc‑ tion. The midfielder/forward may be the most advanced player Notre Dame has brought in as a freshman under Clark. Veteran leaders like Hodan and Besler said that while they are search‑ ing for a new identity, they'll also spend the month of August instilling some of the lessons they learned in 2013 into their new teammates. "Last year we really learned how to just grind out games and grind out re‑ sults," Hodan said. "It was something we probably didn't have the year be‑ fore as much as we did last year. We were really able to find different ways to win." Notre Dame begins its title defense Aug. 29 by playing a pair of old Big East foes, Marquette and Georgetown, at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind. BUSY SUMMER FOR THERESA ROMAGNOLO The newest head coach at Notre Dame has not had much time to sleep this summer. While working to get a handle on the talent‑laden roster she inherited as the women's soccer team's leader, Theresa Romagnolo was also taking care of her second daughter, born in late July. Romagnolo took over this spring for veteran coach Randy Waldrum, who left South Bend to take a professional