The Voice is Back

After a very, very, very long hiatus, the Voice of the Supporters has returned with gusto. We will be bringing you news, opinions, and everything else that relates with Notre Dame Soccer. That being said, let's look ahead.

Spring Schedules
There seems to have been a delay in spring schedules for some unknown reason and everyday waiting on the und.com newsfeed to show "Irish Roll Out Spring Schedule" feels like forever. That being said, we at the voice have done our best Google search/investigative reporting to uncover bits and pieces of the spring schedule.

The women's schedule remains practically under lock and key. The only known game we have found is from a mention on Twitter or the fan chat and that is the Mexican National Team. For those who don't know, the Mexican National Team are the Champions of Concacaf, this means they beat the US National Team. We live in an age where we expect the US National Team to roll over the regional competition and battle it out with giants like China, Germany, Sweden, and Brazil. So expect a good match.

One can only assume that the CONCAChampions will play the Irish the Friday of the Blue and Gold game. This will be a high stakes game, even for an exhibition, considering the future USWNT players that suit up in the Irish kit.

The men's schedule is much easier to piece together. In the fan chat, Bobby Clark said who the opponents are, but never the when or where. As time went on, some of those teams released their spring games and allowed us to piece together a puzzle.

The first match is against Western Michigan on March 15. The next match is on St. Paddy's day with the Mexican U-17 side. This match is for the coaching clinic that will be occurring on campus.

The next match that appears is the Buck College Cup on March 26. This is a one day affair where 4 teams play two matches. The teams going are Oakland, Michigan, Akron, and the Irish. Now according to Oakland's and Michigan's respective schedules, we will be playing them and not the defending national champions. The Michigan game is at 5:30, leading us to assume that the ND-Oakland game is probably at 11 am. There is a potential for a road trip in this game.

The next set on April 10. This event is known is the Athletes in Action showcase in Xenia, Ohio. This event pits the Irish in 45 minute games against Akron and two other teams.

It is assumed that April 15 will have a match considering its the Friday before the Blue and Gold game.

Lastly, on April 20, Notre Dame will travel to Ft. Wayne to take on rivals Indiana.

Moving on, there is an all important meeting on Thursday regarding the club it is highly recommended that you attend if you're a member. Additionally, the FIFA Tournament is on schedule and the advertising campaign will be in full swing by the end of break. Also TIFO creation will be one of our several goals before the all important Mexico match, so keep your eyes peeled for the TIFO e-mail.

Peace,
The Voice

Irish finish weekend 3-1

It was a nearly perfect weekend for the soccer teams of Notre Dame. Both going up against nationally ranked teams in their respective tournaments. The men's team got the weekend going with a 2-0 victory against nationally ranked Drake. The Irish battered the Drake defense with large chunks of possession and over 30 shots. This constant battering came through as Steven Perry came through with a brace scoring the Irish's first goal of the season. This dominating performance by the Irish was a nice follow up to Cal Poly's upset of our rival Indiana just hours before at Alumni Stadium.

Meanwhile, the women were just short of a another victory against a top ranked opponent. While playing against #13 UCLA, the Irish seemed to struggle mightily throughout the first half, but ended it with a goal by Erica Iantorno. Inspired by the goals, the Irish came out with fire in the second to outplay the Bruins, but it was all for nothing sadly. The Bruins, like their male counterparts had done just a week before managed to parry an attacking Irish team. The Irish were then sent into overtime where UCLA got the Golden Goal.

Saturday came, and something happened, but in the end no one really remembers what. Something about one eyed quarterbacks, one man teams, and misery.

Returning to the pitch on Sunday, both the men's and women's teams, though 3 time zones apart, would play at the same time. The women played Loyola Marymount. Melissa Henderson scored in the second minute of the match. The team went on to dominate the lions and in the end wound up winning the match by Henderson's tally.

At Alumni Stadium, the men took advantage of a Cal Poly team that was a bit proud of their performance against the 6 time national championship on Friday. The first half went scoreless as both teams had their chances, but neither could convert in what seemed like a potential battle. As the Voice had previously pointed out, the Irish seemed to just be missing that extra inch to put the ball in net. And there was a worry among some fans that if Perry was the lone source of goals, what would happen if he went down with an injury. All these worries were flushed away when the flood gate opened in the 50th minute. The Irish continued to pass the ball around the box and the Mustangs packed it in making crosses extremely difficult to put in; but Cal Poly was not closing down that quickly on players at the top of the box. Defender Aaron Maund was the first to take advantage of this as he sent in an absolute scorcher from 20 yards out. This strike, if you ever get a chance to see it, watch. USA U-20 captain and Milk Cup MVP Dillon Powers decided to open his scoring account as well. As the pass from Jeb Brovsky settled at his feet, Power let a shot go. From behind the net one could see the Jubulani ball dance as it hit the ground and went in another direction to give the Irish a 2-0 lead. Then it was followed up by King's wicked strike from 35 yards out and Klazura's shot from 17 yards out and finally a goal by VanDeCasteele from a corner. Bringing the tally to 5-0. Coach Clark then made some changes to give individuals experience and the match settled down. Cal Poly did manage to draw one back in the 90th minute, but it could not help scale a now Everest of a lead.

Overall the Voice would say it was a good weekend for the Irish. The Women went 1-1 on their west coast tour. The loss was difficult, but it's not like it was against a truly weaker team. UCLA was #3 before losing last week, so they are expected to be very good. The Irish showed gusto getting back on the saddle and beating LMU. The Irish men, meanwhile, had pushed back after a shaky opening weekend to get their first win and goal on the season, all while winning the Berticelli Memorial Tournament.

Both Irish teams are due to play local rivals this weekend. We'll give our preview sometime later this week.

Mostly a good weekend for Irish Football

The weekend began with the women taking on #8 Santa Clara. The Irish took it to the visitors from California. They seemed to dominate possession and chances in the first half, and created a goal for the Irish. The second half had Santa Clara try to storm back to no avail as the weather took a turn and it began to pour. In Bloomington, from what reports say, the Irish outplayed #5 UCLA only to be beaten on a 1-0 scoreline. Their keeper stepped up and carried the Bruins to victory. Then Saturday came, Kelly coached and the Irish beat the Boilermakers. Then on Sunday, the women cruised to a 2-0 victory over Texas Tech in what seemed like a dominating performance. The team displayed excellent use of the wings as the fullbacks constantly overlapped with the wingers and forced Texas Tech into a defense mode. The victory sent the Irish to a 4-0-0 record. The men, however, weren't as lucky. Again the opposing keeper decided the match. This time it was #11 Cal's keeper stepping up and preventing chance after chance. The Irish seemed to play well defensively, but could not get that finish that they needed. They finished the match 0-0 2OT, and sent the men's record to 0-1-1.

The women's team has come out with strides and faced their what looks to be their toughest home match all year. As this blogger will be saying from here until they stop playing soccer this year, this team returns too much to not chase a title. The men's team faced the two favorites to the Pac-10 title and could not score, but then again neither could their opponents. The men play well on defense and play well going forward, there is just a lack in that little bit of magic it takes to beat a keeper. Remember, this team remains very dangerous even without taking a win on the weekend.

Big weekend for Irish Football (the one you play with your feet)

This weekend feature several important matches for the men's and women's teams in the quest for the College Cup. The #3 women begin their journey against #8 Santa Clara on Friday at 7:30 pm. This match will kick off with a March to the Match led by bagpipers from the Dillon Hall Pep Rally. Upon arrival to the match, the first however many fans in the stadium will get free scarves. This is ND's biggest home game based on the current rankings, and will be a test for a loaded Irish team.

Meanwhile, in Bloomington, the men's team will clash against the #4 team in the country, UCLA. This match will say a lot about the team, as most polls have placed them to the lower echelons of the Top 25, if not out of it. Hopefully the Irish will spring a surprise on the Bruins and the pollsters.

After a game of American football on Saturday feature Notre Dame and Purdue, football returns to Alumni Stadium for 2 more matches. At 1:30, the women will take on unbeaten Texas Tech in what is set to be an important match.

Then at 7 pm, the men's team is set to take on the Pac-10 dark horse, Cal. This match is going to be huge because it will be a battle for the Irish with another dark horse, and we are going to attempt to break the all-time attendance record for men's soccer at Notre Dame. The first however many fans will pick up a free 16 oz glass (Google if you don't know what that is equivalent to) and the Rakes of Mallow will have their first test to see if we can not only pack the house but "bring the ruckus."

The other football

Today starts the Women's season with a match against Minnesota at 5:30 pm and we are two weeks away from the start of another season of men's soccer at the University of Notre Dame. With it will come 9 months of work by the players and coaches to bring what should be a great year. Both teams are set to have huge challenges ahead.

The Men's team will have quite the grueling schedule. They are set to face #5 UCLA ( 9/3 in Bloomington), #14 Drake (9/10), @ Michigan for the grand opening of their new soccer specific stadium, #24 Michigan State (9/19), #17 St. John's (9/25), #9 Northwestern at Toyota Park (9/29), @ #20 and long time rival Indiana (10/6), @ #20 Louisville (10/16), @ #22 and division favorite UConn.

In addition to the tough matches, the Big East semifinal and final will be held in the new Red Bull Arena.

Sweet isn't it? This tough schedule will tell us just where the Irish stand and will hopefully have the battle ready for the NCAA tournament. Perhaps the best part of this team is that it seems they are good, but no one knows about them. They should be ready for a few surprises.

Meanwhile the Women's team is playing right as I type this and are due to play some tough foes including #9 Santa Clara (9/3), @ #3 UCLA (9/10), and #18 Rutgerts (10/10). The Irish are expected to finish top of the Big East, but are not being given the recognition for the amount of returning firepower they have. It seems many expect the Evil Powder Blue Empire to march to another trophy without much ado.

It's good there isn't much talk about the two Irish teams who have great talents and coaching; so come November, the Blue and Gold will be hopefully shocking the nation on marches to Santa Barbara and North Carolina.

Lady Irish begin training/MLS survives in Champions League

First note I'd like to make is that the women's soccer team is on campus and begins training at 6 am (per @NDSoccer) The team is loaded to the gills, retaining 88% of goals scored and 80% of starts made from last season's semi-final run. Not to mention 3 U-23 USA players. Be prepared for some fireworks as this team marches on to victory.

Meanwhile in Major League Soccer, Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC nearly blow their 1-0 aggregate leads, only to storm back. Toronto FC went down 1-0 real fast. So fast that I was just loading up the stream after getting back from Chipotle and I heard "ITS IN THE NET." The first half was pretty dull, but the second half made it worth the while. Toronto decided to attack and it opened the match up. DDR scored on some quick passing early in the second half and it looked as if Toronto was through, but then the Honduran club struck back with former TFC midfielder Amado Guevara scoring his second goal on the night in the 64'. This sent TFC reeling as chance after chance was loaded into the box and it seemed like a matter of time before TFC's luck would run out. TFC instead got even more lucky. In 79' striker Chad Barrett of TFC got the ball a good 30 yards and ran at the back line. Now this seemed a routine defensive play, the problem became poor communication and a bad touch by a defender gave Barrett the ball with 20 yards to goal and only a keeper to beat and beat the keeper he did. His goal sent Toronto FC into the group stages for the first time with a 2-2 draw, 3-2 on aggregate.

Seattle, meanwhile didn't seem too inept. On a pitch that looked like the La Brea Tar Pits, Seattle played on the worst pitch ever. It had rained nonstop since 3 pm local time to 8 pm match time. Metapan looked to have a simple strategy, score on the long ball, play lots of defense, and pray for a shootout. Metapan's lone goal came on goal kick which the Sounders' defense looked lost on. They basically surrounded the player receiving the ball in the box and did nothing to prevent him from heading it in on the cross. At best the Sounders seemed lazy and relaxed and it took them a good half to figure out that Metapan wanted the 1-1 draw. Then the World Cup Semifinalist Alvaro Fernandez came off the bench. Him, Montero, Alonso, and Jaqua opened the match up for the Sounders. A cross into the box found Fernandez and he headed it home to give them the lead on aggregate and a two goal mountain for Metapan to climb. As the game went on the fresh legs of Fernandez and Jaqua began to run and pass around Metapan's defense. From what I saw of Fernandez, I don't know why he didn't play more at a club level, he was dominating. In the end Seattle won 2-1 on aggregate and advanced to the group stages.

College Soccer

While we are a college soccer group, if you ever want a topic that draws out the fire from Americans who love soccer, talk about college soccer and development. Aside from promotion /relegation and single entity in MLS and the recent failings of whoever happened to be the US coach at the time, college soccer has carved a nice niche as something that can result in war of words because to be honest, its a system that works for some but not others. Rather than talk about my opinion I will send you along to our experts

• Tom Dunmore on Pitch Invasion
• U.S. soccer could use a new system for college-age players (Washington Post)-This includes interviews with George Gelnovatc, Coach of the College Cup holders Virgina Cavaliers; Maryland Coach Sasho Cirovski, and Akron Coach Caleb Porter
• Legendary Soccer Writer Beau Dure's take on the matter
• ESPN story on how one can now play in both academies and college

So when your not busy check them out.

Still suffering from World Cup withdrawl? We've got a continental competition for you. At 8pm on Fox Soccer Channel there is Toronto FC trying to get into the CONCACAF for the first time, leading 1-0 on aggregate they venture down to Honduras to take on CD Montagua. Meanwhile, the love'em or hate'em Seattle Sounders FC go to El Salvador to finish what they started last week. Up 1-0 on Metapan after an overpowering performance last week, let's see if the Sounders' dream to get to the Club World Cup becomes slightly more real. They play at 10 pm on Fox Soccer Channel.

Also follow one of the best coaches in college soccer on his twitter and help him get to 300 followers by September 3 (First game of the season) Coach Randy Waldrum

And while your at it, you can follow us and a couple others on twitter and facebook

Rakes of Mallow: Twitter, Facebook

Notre Dame Men's Team: Twitter, Facebook

Notre Dame Women's Team: Twitter, Facebook

These will keep you updated on the goings ons of Notre Dame soccer as it looks to have a great year.

Sing a song

As the season draws closers I have been thinking of a couple ideas to bring an atmosphere to the stadium. Among them is a song that is a supporters song. By this I am referring to many famous songs sung from the terraces of Europe. Coach Clark brought it up today and I've been trying to figure out what is the best song. Here are a few.

Many know this one in perhaps its second most famous moment:

And another famous one:

Now the question remains, what should the Rakes of Mallow's song be?

There exist such a large bunch of songs

Rakes of Mallow is of course an option:

But the lyrics and speed of the song doesn't resemble something like the above two

The there's the Fields of Athenry:

This song is very deep, and slow, but it's already used by Glasgow Celtic.

Another Song I've kind of taken to heart is Long Journey Home


Replace one of the last set of colors with green, blue and gold, and it sounds quite good


If you have any suggestions of something that resembles the above, or if you like any of the suggestions, please comment below.

Irish to face tough Non-Conference Fixtures

Notre Dame's Fall Schedule
It includes west powers UCLA and Cal, quarterfinalist Drake. Then there are the regional non-conference foes. The squad plays Michigan and Michigan State, but the biggest two matches will be within a span of a week. First the squad is to take on Northwestern, who knocked us out of the tourney two years running, in Toyota Park. I'm going to begin working with the Athletic Department and see if we can get a huge crowd to this. Then a week after this match is what is the biggest match on the schedule: Indiana.

AUGUST
23 Mon. UIC (exhibition) 7:00 p.m.
28 Sat. vs. Ohio State# (exhibition) 8:00 p.m.
29 Sun. vs. IPFW# (exhibition) 2:00 p.m.

SEPTEMBER
3 Fri. vs. UCLA! (Bloomington, Ind.) 5:00 p.m.
5 Sun. CALIFORNIA! 7:00 p.m.

MIKE BERTICELLI MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
10 Fri. Indiana vs. Cal Poly 5:00 p.m.
10 Fri. DRAKE 7:30 p.m.
12 Sun. Indiana vs. Drake 11:30 a.m.
12 Sun. CAL POLY 2:00 p.m.

17 Fri. at Michigan 7:30 p.m.
19 Sun. MICHIGAN STATE 2:00 p.m.
25 Sat. ST. JOHN’S* Noon
29 Wed. vs. Northwestern (Toyota Park) 7:00 p.m.

OCTOBER
2 Sat. PROVIDENCE* TBA
6 Wed. at Indiana 7:30 p.m.
9 Sat. at West Virginia* 7:30 p.m.
13 Wed. MARQUETTE* 7:00 p.m.
16 Sat. at Louisville* 7:00 p.m.
20 Wed. at Seton Hall* 7:00 p.m.
23 Sat. at Connecticut* TBA
27 Wed. PITTSBURGH* 7:00 p.m.
30 Sat. GEORGETOWN* 11:00 a.m.

NOVEMBER
3 Wed. BIG EAST First Round (Campus Sites) TBA
6 Sat. BIG EAST Quarterfinals (Campus Sites) TBA
12 Fri. BIG EAST Semifinals (Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.) TBA
14 Sun. BIG EAST Championship (Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.) TBA
17 Wed. NCAA First Round (Campus Sites) TBA
21 Tue. NCAA Second Round (Campus Sites) TBA
28 Sun. NCAA Third Round (Campus Sites) TBA

DECEMBER
3-5 Fri.-Sun. NCAA Quarterfinals (Campus Sites) TBA
10 Fri. NCAA Semifinals (Santa Barbara, Calif.) TBA
12 Sun. NCAA Championship (Santa Barbara, Calif.) TBA

home games in CAPS
# — Fort Wayne, Ind.
! — adidas/IU Credit Union Classic
* — BIG EAST Conference game


I'm going to be here over the summer for classes and will be trying to commandeer places to watch the World Cup, email soccersupporterscnd@gmail.com if you're going to be around. Also I may start to work on TIFO, flags and a few other things for the upcoming season. Have a good Summer