Doody lifts No. 8 Indiana past No. 1 Irish

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A dominating performance by the eighth-ranked Indiana men's soccer team and a 19th-minute goal from senior defender Patrick Doody were the recipe for a 1-0 victory against top-ranked and reigning NCAA champion Notre Dame on Wednesday night on Jerry Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium.

The win improves IU's record to 9-2-3 on the season. Indiana's most recent win against a top-ranked team also came against the Fighting Irish, a 2-1 double overtime victory in South Bend in the third round of the 2012 NCAA tournament. IU's most recent win against a No. 1 team at home was in 2007, a 1-0 win against UCLA in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.

A disappointing performance in a 2-1 loss to Maryland on Sunday was immediately forgotten as the Hoosiers came out attacking at the first whistle. The entire first 45 minutes of action saw the Fighting Irish (8-4-2) chasing the ball as Indiana maintained possession.

After an early half attempt by IU that was blocked, it was Doody's goal at 18:09 that would turn out to be the difference. Coming on Indiana's third corner kick of the half, Doody curled a left-footed shot in from the right side that took a bounce through traffic, hit the far post and kicked in.

The goal is Doody's third this season, putting him in a three-way tie for second place on the team. He is third in total points with nine.

Notre Dame's only shot of the first half came in the 22nd minute when Vince Cicciarelli had a look on a angle that goalkeeper Colin Webb went to the ground for the save.

Indiana kept sniffing for that second goal as the first half wore on, with a shot from senior Dylan Lax in the 33rd minute resulting in a body save from Notre Dame goalkeeper Patrick Wall. In the 40th minute a line-drive attempt from junior Femi Hollinger-Janzen was also stopped by Wall.

The Hoosiers finished the first half with a 10-1 shot advantage, forcing four saves from Wall with one from Webb.

Indiana knew it would not be that easy in the second half and the Fighting Irish did come out ready to play for the final 45 minutes, tallying eight shots and forcing two saves.

But Indiana wasn't about to turn off its attack. Three minutes into the second period junior Matt Foldesytook a shot on the run that was saved by Wall. In the 54th minute a shot from senior Kerel Bradford, making his second consecutive start at right back, off a corner kick rebound was saved, and the ball nearly spilled to a waiting freshman Grant Lillard.

Sophomore Tanner Thompson, who had five shots in the match, picked off the ball at midfield in the 79th minute and laid off a pass to sophomore Richard Ballard on a breakaway, with Ballard sending his shot wide.

In the 83rd minute Lillard nearly put one home off a corner kick from Thompson but his header was stopped by Wall, one of nine saves on the night for the Notre Dame goalkeeper. In the 87th minute Thompson cut in behind the Notre Dame defense and took a shot from a tight angle that just bounced off the near post.

In addition to five shots from Thompson, senior Jamie Vollmer had four, while Doody finished with three. Webb records his sixth shutout of the season in the victory.