Wells, Aris each notch goal, assist in BIG EAST opener.

September 5, 1998

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Notre Dame men's soccer team won its initial BIG EAST test of the 1998 season as the Irish earned a 3-1 road victory at Syracuse. With the win, Coach Mike Berticelli's squad improves to 2-0 overall.

After the Orangemen scored the contest first goal 19:05 into the contest, the Irish tallied once before the half and twice after the break. Senior forward Scott Wells (Phoenix, Ariz.) and junior midfielder Andrew Aris (Auckland, New Zealand) each had a goal and an assist to lead Notre Dame in scoring.

Freshman Shane Walton (San Diego, Calif.), who scored two goals and dished off two assists in his collegiate debut against Valparaiso in a 6-1 win on Tuesday night (September 1), tied the game at 1-1 at the 38:20 mark when he took a crossing pass from Aris and booted into the corner of the net. Walton's third score of the season followed a 30-yard last from Syracuse's Anthony Iannone.

Aris gave Notre Dame the lead at 2-1 19 minutes into the second half when he nailed a Wells feed from inside the box. Wells gave the Irish an insurance goal at the 84th minute of the contest when he took a Ryan Cox (Broadview Hts, Ohio) pass and booted it past Syracuse goalkeeper Dan Hobson.

Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho (Longwood, FL) finished the game with three saves. Notre Dame outshot the Orangemen 12-7 in the contest.

With the loss Syracuse drops to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the BIG EAST.

Notre Dame returns to action on Tuesday, September 8 when the Irish play host to Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast tape-delayed at 11:00 p.m. that same evening at WHME-TV 46 in South Bend.

Scoring Summary: SU: Anthony Iannone (Neeraj Chopra) - 19:05; ND: Shane Walton (Andrew Aris) - 38:20; ND: Andrew Aris (Scott Wells) - 64:00; ND: Scott Wells (Ryan Cox) - 84:00

Shots: ND 12, SU 7 Corner Kicks: ND 3, SU 5 Goalie Saves: ND 3 (Velho - 3); SU 3 (Hobson - 3) Fouls: ND 12, Syracuse 11