Xavier Men's Soccer Defeats No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, 1-0

Tuesday, September 15

South Bend, Ind.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

4-2-0

Notre Dame

4-1-1

Xavier

Notre Dame

Xavier Men's Soccer Defeats No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, 1-0

09.15.15 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Jalen Brown’s 47th minute game-winner sends XU to highest-ever ranked win

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Jalen Brown polished off a loose ball, coming off a corner kick in the 47th minute and Xavier men's soccer made program history with a 1-0 win over No. 2 Notre Dame on Tuesday night at Alumni Stadium.

"The first half we looked like a top team, as far as rhythm, possession and command of the game," said head coach Andy Fleming. "Once we scored, we hung on a bit too much for my liking – but that's what you have to do on the road sometimes."

Notre Dame outshot Xavier 13-8 overall, but XU dominated possession for much of the first half -- nearly scoring on several quality looks.

"I think everyone needs to remember that this is a very good Top 25-level team, which had a bad week not too long ago and certainly is capable of playing at a high level. In the past 10 days we've defined a lot of roles, developed a hierarchy within our team and didn't change our destination – but maybe the map to get there. We'll enjoy this tonight and get ready for an NCAA tournament team in Bucknell tomorrow, mindful that we owe our home fans a makeup for the Virginia Tech game two weeks ago."

The Musketeers finally found the net just minutes into the second half, as Brown gathered his own rebound off a corner and fired it low and inside the near post for the go-ahead tally. It was his first goal of the season, and eighth of his career.

With the win, Xavier improves to 4-2 overall and wins a second straight. No. 2 Notre Dame dropped to 4-1-1 after coming into the match with a five-match scoreless streak and wins against three ranked opponents.

"This was as good a team win as we've had in a while," said Fleming. "It was a total team effort and I thought we were well-prepared, well-led and our seniors and assistant coaches did a tremendous job leading up to and in the game for us."

Under head coach Andy Fleming, Xavier improves to 5-2-1 against the NSCAA Top 10.

Graduate student Dallas Jaye made a career-high six saves in goal, as Xavier cleared ball after ball in the final minutes to outlast the Irish.

Xavier returns to action on Saturday, hosting Bucknell at XU Soccer Complex. First touch is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.