Notre Dame's victory over Oregon State at Notre Dame, Ind. (Alumni Stadium) W, 1-0 on September 7, 2012.
Will start in the central defense for the third straight season ... has started all 38 career matches in which he has played ... six points on three goals ... has earned two monograms ... a BIG EAST Academic All-Star ... NSCAA Scholar All-Region ... brings good height to the Notre Dame defensive unit ... good in the air and connects passes well ... one of the team's top students.
AS A JUNIOR (2011): Started all 18 matches and played the fourth-most minutes on the team (1,712) ... tallied one goal ... helped the Irish defense post five shutouts on the season and limit opponents to just 0.89 goals per game ... a BIG EAST Academic All-Star ... named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19 after helping the Irish defense surrender just one combined goal in wins over Michigan (2-1 in ot) and Michigan State (1-0) ... put Notre Dame on the board in the 30th minute en route to a 4-0 win over Seton Hall ... received his second monogram.
AS A SOPHOMORE (2010): Started every match in the central defense ... helped the Irish defense post six shutouts ... scored two goals ... played the third-most minutes on the team (1,866) ... earned his first monogram ... a BIG EAST Academic All-Star ... made his collegiate debut in the season opener, a 1-0 loss to UCLA at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic ... deposited the team's final goal in a 5-1 win over Cal Poly that clinched the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament title for the Fighting Irish ... tallied the game winner in the 66th minute in a 2-1 triumph of Marquette in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship ... named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week for his efforts against the Golden Eagles.
AS A FRESHMAN (2009): Did not see game action ... named a BIG EAST Academic All-Star.
HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Played with Andromeda 91, now Andromeda U-18 Academy, for eight years ... squad won the U.S. Youth Soccer (USYS) national championship in 2008 ... team was USYS regional finalists in 2007 and Disney Showcase finalists in 2008 ... team traveled to Sweden and England in 2006 where they were Manchester United Umbro Cup champions ... North Texas State Cup champion along with being a finalist on three other occasions ... named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's 2009 top 100 men's recruits ... played with current Notre Dame teammate Dillon Powers on Andromeda SC ... a three-time letterwinner at Frisco Centennial ... varsity captain ... named district player of the year in 2007 ... team captured the 2007 district title ... a National Merit Commended Scholar and a member of the National Honor Society ... named Texas Scholar-Athlete ... son of Mark and Barbara Van De Casteele ... represents the men's soccer team on Notre Dame's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) ... Notre Dame's lone BIG EAST Conference SAAC representative ... enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business as a finance major ... boasts a 3.690 cumulative GPA ... named to the dean's list after posting a 4.0 GPA during the Spring 2012 semester.
