CHESTER, PA — December 15 – Notre Dame secured their first ever College Cup thanks to goals from Leon Brown and Andrew O’Malley, taking them to a 2-1 win over Maryland.
Here’s how the players performed in the final at PPL Park:
Maryland
Zack Steffen (GK): Made some superb saves from Harrison Shipp and Patrick Hodan in particular, but was powerless to stop both goals.7/10
Mikey Ambrose (D): Did a very good job on Harrison Shipp throughout, preventing Notre Dame’s star forward from making much impact. 7/10
Jereme Raley (D): Had some good crosses in attack, but was guilty of a couple of wild clearances at times in defense. 6/10
Suli Dainkeh (D): Looked solid and shackled Shipp well as Maryland largely kept him at bay. 6/10
Chris Odoi-Atsem (D): Collided early with Vince Cicciarelli but shook that off to enjoy a decent game in defense. 6/10
Michael Sauers(M): Once again relished the physical challenge in midfield and ensured that Notre Dame’s midfielders were denied time and space. 7/10
Dan Metzger (M): Another typically uncompromising performance from the midfielder, who did well in breaking up play and setting his attackers away. 6/10
Mikias Eticha (M): Had a quiet game as he found himself overshadowed by his teammates, but did not make any glaring errors.5/10
Tsubasa Endoh (M): As ever, worked incredibly hard and picked up an assist when Mullins opened the scoring for the Terrapins7/10
Patrick Mullins (F): Was a little quiet initially but sparked into life with a superb finish to give his side a 1-0 lead, although he could not quite get his side back into the match once they went behind. 7/10
Schillo Tshuma (F): Showed good pace and some flashes of skill but was handled well by Notre Dame’s defenders. 6/10
Subs
Alex Shinsky (M): Made a superb impact off the bench, seeing his deflected shot finished well by Mullins and causing problems as he broke from deep positions.7/10
Jake Pace (F): Did well in support of Mullins but created very few chances for himself. 5/10
Sunny Jane (F): Full of running as ever, but was unable to make much of an impact on proceedings. 5/10
Notre Dame
Patrick Wall (GK): Enjoyed another superb day in goal and made a number of good saves, although he was powerless to stop Mullins giving Maryland the lead.7/10
Max Lachowecki (D): Returned from injury and did a decent job, although Endoh gave him some problems at times.5/10
Andrew O’Malley (D): A memorable night for the defender, as he enjoyed a solid performance at the back and headed home brilliantly to give his side the victory.8/10
Grant Van De Casteele (D): Enjoyed a dominant day, looking strong in the air and marking his opponents with typical physicality. 8/10
Luke Mishu (D): Got forward well, and saw his long throw force the first-half equalizer. 6/10
Connor Klekota (M): Spread play well, although he was guilty of giving the ball away a little too much. 5/10
Nick Besler (M): Had a good game in the midfield, and notched a superb assist that set up Leon Brown’s equalizer. 7/10
Evan Panken (M): Got forward well in support of his forwards while looking solid in the tackle. 6/10
Patrick Hodan (M): Had a good shot on goal in the first half, but could not quite hit the heights of his semifinal performance.6/10
Harrison Shipp (F): Had some handy shots, and while he could not find many openings, his free kick set up O’Malley for his header. 6/10
Vince Cicciarelli (F): Took an early knock and was forced to come off early in the first half. He would not return to the game. N/A
Subs
Leon Brown (F): Introduced into the game early for the injured Cicciarelli, Brown finished brilliantly to tie the game at 1-1 and played well in his final appearance for the Fighting Irish. 8/10
Brandon Aubrey (M): Came on in the second half but had too little time to make an impact. N/A
Chris Teale is a contributing writer for College Soccer News. He is reporting from the College Cup at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. He can be reached at Chris.teale55@gmail.com or you can follow him on Twitter @chris_teale
