October 9, 2012
OUT OF THEIR CONFERENCE
Notre Dame falls to Northwestern 2-1

EVANSTON, Ill. – Notre Dame suffered its first non conference loss of the season, falling to Northwestern 2-1 on Tuesday evening at a windy Lakeside Field.

Joey Calistri had a goal and an assist to lead the Wildcats, who improve to 8-2-2. Notre Dame had been 8-0 in non-conference games, They fall to 10-3-0 overall.

“I was really proud of the way the team fought in the second half,” said Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. “We outshot them 15-2 in the second half, but we had dug a hole for ourselves. It was a tough night to play because it was very windy and blustery and we got down by two goals in the first 20 minutes. We fought hard and maybe if we would have gotten the goal a bit sooner the outcome could have been different.”

NU broke through in the 14th minute with a pinpoint pass and a clinical finish. Chris Ritter put Calistri through the Notre Dame back line on a perfectly timed run at the far corner of the 18-yard box. Using one touch to put the ball onto his right foot, Calistri calmly tucked the shot into the far post past a diving Notre Dame goalkeeper Patrick Wall to give the 'Cats a 1-0 lead. Calistri's fifth goal of the season makes him the Wildcats' leading goal-scorer this year.

Just five minutes later, Grant Wilson sent a long ball deep into the Notre Dame half, which Calistri was able to track down and tackle away from the opposing center back. Seetane received Calistri's cross at the top of the box, made his defender miss with a deft first touch, and fired a lethal left-footed strike into the top left corner. The goal was Seetane's first of the year, and put NU up 2-0 in the 19th minute.

Northwestern threatened again in the 27th minute, but Irish goalkeeper Patrick Wall punched away a Nick Gendron shot that was headed towards the near post. A free kick from Powers was placed on goal in the 34th minute, yet Miller was there for the save.

Wall saved another Gendron shot in the final minute of the first half to keep the score 2-0 at the intermission. Wall had two stops on the night, while Miller made six saves for Northwestern.

Notre Dame forward Harrison Shipp had the first shot on goal in the second half, but his attempt from 20 yards out was saved by Tyler Miller in the 50th minute.

In the 74th minute, Notre Dame forward Ryan Finley had a scoring chance as the ball was loose near the goalmouth, but his shot was blocked. Finley had another good look in the 80th minute, yet his blast from inside the 18-yard box was blocked by a Wildcat defender.

The Fighting Irish pushed through in the 86th minute as Patrick Hodan collected the rebound off his own shot that was saved by Miller and deposited the ball into the back of the netting. It was the third goal of the season for the freshman midfielder.

Notre Dame held a 21-9 advantage in shots, including a 15-2 margin in the second half. The Wildcats had two more corner kicks (5-3) than the Irish. Tyler Miller was huge down the stretch for Northwestern, finishing with six saves. Notre Dame outshot the `Cats 21-9. Notre Dame goalkeeper Patrick Wall made two saves.

Notre Dame returns to Big East action on Saturday at Seton Hall at 7 p.m. (ET) .