Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/605097
ND SPORTS BY JORDAN WELLS T he biggest crowd in Wake For- est postseason soccer history left Spry Stadium disappointed Nov. 11, thanks to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A reported attendance of 5,009 fans watched then-No. 9 Notre Dame eliminate then-No. 1 Wake Forest from the ACC Tournament in the semifinals, when freshman forward/ midfielder Thomas Ueland delivered a goal in the 60th minute that gave the Irish a 1-0 lead that eventually proved the game's winning margin. "It was a fantastic atmosphere for college soccer, just like it was here a few weeks ago," Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark told UND.com. "It was two very good teams, a com- petitive game and a very skillful game. It was always going to be a one-goal game; fortunately we came out on top this time." "The coaches are always tell us to stay hunting, and I was in the box and got a fortuitous bounce," Ueland said. "I was able to bury it. Patrick Hodan took a shot, it deflected, and the ball fell right to me. Instincts took over, and I just finished it." Fresh off their victory from beat- ing the nation's top-ranked team, the Irish returned home to host No. 13 Syracuse in the ACC championship game at Alumni Stadium Nov. 15. The jubilation from the previous win would prove short-lived, after the Orange emerged with a 1-0 victory to take the ACC title. Despite the close loss at home, Clark viewed the defeat in a unique light. Following the victory over the Deacons, he noted his program starts every season with three goals: win- ning the ACC regular season, cap- turing the ACC title and winning the national championship. The Irish (11-4-5) fell short of goal No. 1, tying for second with Virginia in the ACC's Coastal Division with a 4-2-2 conference record. And the Nov. 15 loss to Syracuse meant fall- ing short of goal No. 2. But goal No. 3 still remained on the table. Clark looked at losing the ACC title game at home with a glass half- full approach. "For us, it makes us hungry for the NCAA Tournament," Clark said. "It's very hard to win this and go all the way. "Now we have three games to win again to get to the Final Four, and that's the way we look at it, so we'll wait and see what the draw does to us." The head coach certainly has the horses to get it done. Notre Dame has defeated six top-25 teams this year, going 6-3-1 (.650) against ranked op- ponents. Fifth-year senior defender Max Men's Soccer Prepped For NCAA Tournament