Notre Dame defender Jack Traynor didn't wait long to atone for last week's mistake.
One week after a red card forced him to sit out Notre Dame's 1-1 tie with Northern Illinois, Traynor was back in the lineup Saturday night, scoring Notre Dame's only goal in a 1-0 victory over Marquette at Valley Fields.
"It was a little bit of naiveness mixed with a little bit of bad luck," Irish coach Bobby Clark said of Traynor's red card against Rhode Island. "The punishment of him sitting out last week was more than enough, and he was ready to go."
The goal - Traynor's first in an Irish uniform - came in the ninth minute off of a free-kick. Standing thirty-five yards from the Marquette goal, Traynor struck a hard ball that knuckled over the keeper's head into the back of the net for what would be the only goal of the match.
"Jack was here this summer, and he would be out there every day with a bag of balls working on set pieces," Clark said. "Don't be surprised if he gets a few more before the end of the season."
Notre Dame was in control of the match for most of the night, out-shooting the Golden Eagles 6-3 in the first half and 14-6 for the game. The Irish also held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
Despite the statistical advantage, there were a few tense moments in the second half for Notre Dame. Early in the half, Marquette played a through-ball, and Irish keeper Andrew Quinn came off his line to clear with his feet. The Golden Eagles best chance came in the 84th minute when Irish midfielder Matt Armstrong inadvertently played the ball backwards to Marquette's Dan Addis, who shot just wide of Quinn's goal from 18 yards out.
"There were a couple of times in the second half when [Marquette] seemed to find a spot through," Clark said. "We controlled the game pretty well, but we always felt a danger there, especially when it was 1-0."
Quinn, who recorded two saves, picked up his first win of the season in his second start. The junior goalkeeper got the nod in place of senior Chris Cahill who was nursing a quadriceps injury that hampered him throughout last weekend's Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.
"Chris wasn't able to kick the ball properly, so we decided to give him a rest," Clark said. "Quinn did everything that was asked of him. It's very nice to have backups who can play well."
The win brings Notre Dame's record to 3-1-1 on the season and 1-0-0 in Big East play in what was the opening conference game for both teams. The Irish will travel to Piscataway, N.J., this Friday to take on Rutgers in a game that will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel.
