Michigan Drops Season Opener at No. 12 Notre Dame

Tuesday, September 1

South Bend, Ind.

7:00 PM

Michigan

0-1-0

Notre Dame

1-0-0

Michigan

Notre Dame

9/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Jessica Poole

Site: South Bend, Ind. (Alumni Stadium)
Score: #12 Notre Dame 5, #22 Michigan 0
Records: U-M (0-1-0), Notre Dame (1-0-0)
Attendance: 1,818
Next U-M Game: Friday, Sept. 4 -- at Drake (Des Moines, Iowa), 7 p.m. CDT

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- No. 12 Notre Dame's Jeb Brovsky scored the game-winner in the 26th minute of the first half as the No. 22-ranked University of Michigan men's soccer team dropped it season opener, 5-0, to the host Irish on Tuesday night (Sept. 1) at the brand new Alumni Stadium.

Junior/sophomore goalkeeper Chris Blais (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy Memorial) made six saves in the loss, while senior forward Mauro Fuzetti (Houston, Texas/Stratford) led the U-M offense with four shots.

Blais, making his second career start, made several big saves, including two from within the 10-yard line and one that he sent wide with a sprawling save. Notre Dame, which took a 1-0 lead into halftime, came out shooting in the second half and, just five minutes in, added an insurance goal from Steven Perry on its way to a 5-0 advantage.

The Wolverines came out of the gates strong to begin the contest and controlled the offense early with several scoring opportunities. Junior forward Justin Meram (Shelby Township, Mich./Yavapai College) had the best opportunity but sent a try just wide. The Fighting Irish picked their game up and, with about five minutes gone in the first half, managed to break through the U-M backline for two quick shots, both off the mark.

Blais made his presence felt between the pipes and kept the game scoreless in the early going by getting his outstretched hand on a long ball from Notre Dame's Bright Dike. Notre Dame continued to pressure in the middle third of the field and, with several long outlet passes, made it to the U-M backline, where junior defender Chase Tennant (Rochester, Mich./Rochester) came up with U-M's best defensive play of the game. With Blais out of position trying to cover the ball, Tennant snuck into the goalmouth and stymied a Notre Dame shot to keep the game within reach at 0-0 with 22 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Wolverines continue their season-opening road swing this weekend, heading to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake at 7 p.m. CDT on Friday (Sept. 4), before concluding the weekend with a game at Valparaiso on Sunday (Sept. 6). Kickoff for that contest is set for 5 p.m. in Valparaiso, Ind.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	F
Michigan	0	0	0
Notre Dame	1	4	5

Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- UND, Jeb Brovsky, 25:03 (unassisted)
2nd -- UND, Steven Perry, 49:09 (Tamba Samba)
2nd -- UND, Bright Dike, 63:51 (unassisted)
2nd -- UND, Dike, 70:55 (Matt Armstrong)
2nd -- UND, Dike, 76:02 (unassisted)

Shots: U-M 17, UND 23
Shots on Goal: U-M 4, UND 12
Saves: U-M 7 (Chris Blais 6, Team 1), UND 4 (Andrew Quinn 3, Team 1)
Corner Kicks: U-M 5, UND 8
Fouls: U-M 10, UND 13
Cards: U-M, Adam Shaw, 24:41 (Yellow); UND, Josh Thiermann, 41:43 (Yellow); UND, Dave Donohue, 66:38 (Yellow).

NOTES

• Tonight's game marked the inaugural contest at Notre Dame's state-of-the-art Alumni Stadium.

• Newcomers Justin Meram, Kofi Opare, Hamoody Saad and Latif Alashe each made his Michigan debut tonight. All three appeared in the starting lineup, while Seung Tak Nam and Alex Martinez each made his debut off the bench. Redshirt freshman Alex Klein also saw time.

• Junior defender Chase Tennant returned to the U-M lineup for the first time since the 2006 season, after spending 2006 and 2007 in Portland, Ore., on a Mormon mission.

• U-M has a 0-6-1 record at Notre Dame, which includes games before the Wolverines were recognized as a varsity sport.