Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS who stopped by to watch a game could see the problem. This spring, the grounds crew began an eight-step treatment plan that ran through the summer and into the start of the regu- lar season. They added different mix- tures and sand to the surface to help it remain intact throughout the year. Without the stray clumps of grass in their way, the Irish found it much easier to spread out and control the ball through passing — two basic prin- ciples of the offense Clark prefers to run. "We're a possession-oriented team, and the field being in such good shape helps us to do that," said senior Ryan Finley, who is the team's leading scorer for the second straight season. The result is a few extra success- nament games after being outplayed in the first half. "I think we just have a belief about us," Finley said. "I don't think anyone has shut us out yet and we have a re- ally stout defense in the back, so if we get one goal we're pretty confident we can win the game." Finley scored the Big East Tourna- ment's final goal, his 20th of the sea- son, to seal a 3-2 double-overtime win for the Irish against No. 6 Georgetown Nov. 11. Notre Dame came back twice in that game, the second time on a goal from sophomore Nick Besler with 30 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime. That confidence should continue ful passes and a couple truer kicks. Maybe that doesn't make a difference. Maybe it does. Notre Dame tied four games at Alumni Stadium last season, games which Clark thinks his team should have won. They lost five times, twice at home. The second loss came in the opening round of the Big East Championships when Villanova beat the Irish 1-0. That final blow kept Notre Dame out of the NCAA postseason picture altogether. This year's team has a worse record on the road, but finished the year with the nation's best RPI ranking for three straight weeks and was selected as the top team in the tournament. Confidence is at an all-time high in the Notre Dame locker room and has grown with each victory. The Irish won all three of their conference tour- to grow on the national stage after coming out on top of the deepest conference in the country. The Irish played in soccer's version of foot- ball's SEC West this season. Big East teams comprise five of the top 10 in this year's bracket, and three of the top four come from Notre Dame's Blue Division. Georgetown got the third overall seed and Connecticut, the squad the Irish beat in the Big East semifinals, is the fourth seed. "Winning that tournament, espe- cially this year, was really quite an achievement," said Clark, who has only won one other Big East title in his 12 years at Notre Dame. "But this is still a hungry group." Most of the current team was around last season on the final day of practice when they heard they had been snubbed by the NCAA selection committee while still working on their chewed up home field. The Irish knew