Sept. 1, 2001

Notre Dame, Ind. --- The Notre Dame men's soccer team began the Bobby Clark era at Notre Dame with an impressive 5-0 victory over BIG EAST rival Villanova in the season opener for both teams. It was the largest margin of victory in an opening game for the Irish since the 1998 campaign when Notre Dame defeated DePaul 8-0.

The Irish used a balanced attack with five players netting goals in the contest. Notre Dame used an explosing four-goal second half to create havoc for the visiting Wildcats.

Freshman Kevin Goldthwaite (Sacramento, Calif.) got the Irish on the scoreboard with his first career goal with 3:14 left before the intermission. Goldthwaite blasted a 23-yard shot into the left corner to give Notre Dame momentum heading into the break. The Irish dominated Villanova in the first half as they outshot the visitors 11-2.

Notre Dame's aggressive second half paid dividends for the home team as the Irish took advantage of their speed. Sophomore Greg Martin (Plano, Texas) tallied his first collegiate goal when his header into the left corner of the goals off assists from second-year teammates Kevin Richards (Warwick, Bermuda) and Justin Detter (White Lake, Mich.) soared by Villanova junior goalie Sean Teesdale (Blue Bell, Pa.) at the 56:25 mark.

The Irish netted their third goal less than 12 minutes later when junior Erich Braun (Frankfurt, Germany) connected on a penalty kick after a foul in the box by defender Stephen Leaman.

Notre Dame closed out its scoring with goals by junior Justin Ratcliffe (Miami, Fla.) and Matt Rosso (Churchville, Pa.). Ratcliffe netted his first collegiate goal with 14 minutes remaining in the contest to give the Irish a 4-0 advantage. Ratcliffe's score came off an assist from junior Rafael Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.). Rosso added the fifth and final goal of the game two minutes later when he took a long pass Martin and lofted it over the head of sophomore Pat Walsh, the second goalkeeper the Wildcats used in the game.

The Irish were dominant in all areas as they ousthot Villanova 23-4 in the game and owned an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks. Wildcat goalkeepers combined for 13 saves in the game, while Irish goalkeeping contingent of starter Greg Tait (Fayetteville, N.Y.) and Cole Straub (Oakville, Ontario) had to only make one save in the entire game.

Notre Dame's victory over Villanova was its fifth straight over the Wildcats as the Irish have not lost to them since the 1996 campaign.

Coach Larry Sullivan and the Wildcats (0-1-0 overall, 0-1-0 Big East) return to action in a non-league game on Sept. 6 at Penn State.