No. 17 Irish tie Western Michigan.

Sept. 29, 1998

KALAMAZOO, Mich. --- The 17th-ranked Notre Dame men's soccer team played in a school record five consecutive overtime games as the Irish tied Western Michigan 1-1 on the road. For the third time in five games, the game ended in a tie for the Irish who are now sport a 4-1-3 overall record.

Notre Dame tied the school record for consecutive overtime games on Saturday night, September 26 when the Irish battled St. John's to a 1-1 deadlock at Alumni Field. The previous mark of four straight games was sent during the 1987 season.

Western Michigan, now 3-3-2 on the season entered the contest with a three-game losing streak and a scoreless string of 302 minutes spanning three-plus contests, got on the board first when Evan Fonger from the top of the penalty shot it past Irish goalkeeper Greg Velho (Longwood, Fla.) off assists from Scott Loewe and Ryan Thompson at the 20:13 mark. Scott Wells (Phoenix, Ariz.) tied the game just over five minutes later when he drilled a shot off a Shane Walton (San Diego, Calif.) feed from the right corner of the box. It was Wells' second goal of the season and the fourth assist in 1998 for Walton. For just the second time in eight games, the rookie Walton, a three-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honoree, was held without a goal.

Notre Dame dominated the contest and had several key scoring opportunities in the second half and in the two overtime sessions. The Irish outshot the Broncos 28-12 overall and 11-4 in the 30 minutes of overtime.

Bronco goalkeeper Eric Progue came up with 15 saves, a season-high by any opposing goalkeeper this season. Velho also was outstanding in the net as he finished with seven stops. He now has 46 for an average of 5.8 per game.

Notre Dame, which plays three of its next four games on the road, returns to BIG EAST action on Saturday, October 3 when the Irish travel to Georgetown for a 1:00 p.m. contest with the Hoyas.