#24 Notre Dame Drops Fourth Straight to Big East Opponent As Irish Lose 2-1 at Seton Hall

David Cutler

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- The 24th-ranked University of Notre Dame men's soccer team lost its third straight game as the Irish dropped a 2-1 decision at Seton Hall. The loss was the fourth consecutive to a BIG EAST team as Notre Dame fell to 8-7-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the league.

Brian Cuddy's six-yard header off a Skjalg Mykelebug assist at the 69:48 mark provided the game-winning tally for the Pirates who improved to 8-6 overall and 6-3 in the BIG EAST.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 14:50 when David Cutler's 12-yarder off an Andrew Aris feed made it past Seton Hall goalkeeper Derek Martin. It was Cutler's first goal of his career.

Jeff Rigby tied the game at the 36:56 mark when he scored on a 10-yard header into the corner of the net off a Peter Gonzales feed.

Notre Dame's Scott Wells had an opportunity to tie the score with just under nine minutes to play, but his penalty shot was stopped by Martin. Martin finished the game with 11 saves. Both goalies played well as Notre Dame's Greg Velho registered a season-high nine saves in the game.

The Irish have now dropped four straight one-goal decisions to BIG EAST teams. The loss to Seton was its third consecutive defeat by a one-goal margin and second straight on the road. Notre Dame wraps up its three-game East coast road swing and will be looking to end its three-game slide when the Irish play at Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. on Sunday, October 26 at 1:00 p.m.