Notre Dame Men's Soccer Releases 2000 Schedule
Irish to host perennial powers UConn, St. John's under first-year coach Chris Apple.

Chris Apple and the Irish will play six of their first seven games on the road in the upcoming 2000 campaign.

May 2, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- The 2000 Notre Dame men's soccer schedule will feature nine home games and appearances in two tournaments during the upcoming fall campaign. Visits by 1999 NCAA tournament semifinalist and BIG EAST tournament champion, Connecticut, and St. John's highlight the home slate. In addition, the road schedule includes a two-day tournament in early September in Las Vegas, Nev., where the Irish will face New Mexico and host UNLV.

Under first-year head coach Chris Apple, Notre Dame will play six of its first seven games on the road. The Irish open up the campaign at the IUPUFW Soccer Showcase in Fort Wayne, Ind., on August 26-27. Notre Dame matches up with South Carolina in opening round action, and then faces either St. Louis or Akron on the second day. Following that tournament, the Irish will play at the UNLV Fila/Snickers Rebel Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., on September 1 & 3.

Notre Dame's home opener will be on Wednesday, September 6 against Bradley at 7:00 p.m. on Alumni Field in the first-ever regular-season meeting between the two schools.

Apple's squad plays its first two BIG EAST league games on the road at Boston College on Sunday, September 10 and at Syracuse on Saturday, September 16. Following those two contests, the Irish play five straight homes beginning with a match against Cleveland State on September 19.

The five-game homestand includes three BIG EAST matches. The league home opener will be against Seton Hall on Friday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. After that match, Notre Dame plays two consecutive league game against Connecticut (September 24) and Pittsburgh (September 29).

Northwestern closes out the five-game homestand for the Irish on October 3, before they travel to Providence five days later for a road contest against the Friars on October 8. St. John's pays a visit to Notre Dame on October 14, and following that contest, the Irish play three consecutive road games at Georgetown (October 17), Villanova (October 20) and Rutgers (October 22). The final home game of the season will be against West Virginia on October 27 with the regular season concluding at IUPUI on October 31.

The top eight teams in the final BIG EAST regular season standings once again will advance to the league championship. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on either November 4 or 5. The semifinal and championship games will be played at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. on November 10 and 12.

The Irish finished the 1999 campaign with an 8-9-3 record and were 4-5-2 in league play. Notre Dame advanced to the BIG EAST tournament for the fourth consecutive year, losing in the quarterfinals to Rutgers, 2-0.

"This is a very challenging schedule and one that we welcome," Apple says. "We know that in order to be the best, you have to compete against the top Division I teams. We're excited about the quality of our opponents. It is a demanding schedule for our young team, but one that is going to make us better with each contest."

2000 UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE

AUGUST

26	Sat.	vs. South Carolina!	Fort Wayne, Ind.	TBA
27	Sun.	vs. St. Louis/Akron!	Fort Wayne, Ind.	TBA

SEPTEMBER

1	Fri.	vs. New Mexico#	Las Vegas, NV	9:00 p.m.
3	Sun.	at UNLV#	Las Vegas, NV	12:00 p.m.
6	Wed.	BRADLEY	Notre Dame, IN	7:00 p.m.
10	Sun.	at Boston College*	Chestnut Hill, MA	1:00 p.m.
16	Sat.	at Syracuse*	Syracuse, N.Y.	7:00 p.m.
19	Tue.	CLEVELAND STATE	Notre Dame, IN	7:00 p.m.
22	Fri.	SETON HALL*	Notre Dame, IN	7:30 p.m.
24	Sun.	CONNECTICUT*	Notre Dame, IN	1:00 p.m.
29	Fri.	PITTSBURGH*	Notre Dame, IN	7:30 p.m.

OCTOBER

3	Tue.	NORTHWESTERN	Notre Dame, IN	7:00 p.m.
8	Sun.	at Providence*	Providence, RI	1:00 p.m.
14	Sat.	ST. JOHN'S*	Notre Dame, IN	7:30 p.m.
17	Tue.	at Georgetown*	Washington, DC	TBA
20	Fri.	at Villanova*	Villanova, PA	4:00 p.m.
22	Sun.	at Rutgers*	Piscataway, N.J.	1:00 p.m.
27	Fri.	WEST VIRGINIA*	Notre Dame, IN	7:30 p.m.
31	Tue.	at IUPUI	Indianapolis, IN	7:30 p.m.