Three Irish men receive TopDrawerSoccer honors

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Three Notre Dame men’s soccer players have received national accolades from TopDrawerSoccer.com. Seniors Bright Dike (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North) and Michael Thomas (Olathe, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) were named to the national first team, while freshman Dillon Powers (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) was a second-team all-rookie selection.

Dike, a forward, leads the Fighting Irish in goals (11) and total point (25). The senior was named the 2009 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year as he led the league in points and tied for the lead in goals during the regular season. Dike has played in every match this season and has tallied two golden goals (Providence and Connecticut). He put the Irish on the board (29th minute) in their 2-1 win over Green Bay on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Championship. Notre Dame is 7-1-1 this season when Dike scores a goal.   

Thomas has started every game this season and has been an anchor in the Fighting Irish midfield. He has a team-high six assists in addition to scoring six goals, which rank him second among all Fighting Irish players. Thomas garnered first-team all-BIG EAST honors and also was named a third-team Academic All-American. Notre Dame and UCLA were the only schools with two members on the first team.

Powers, a midfielder, has played in all 17 games that he has been available for Notre Dame. He and teammate Aaron Maund missed five games earlier this season as they were competing with the United States Under-20 National Team at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Powers ranks second on the Irish squad with five assists. He has notched an assist on three of Notre Dame’s last five goals, including Dike’s tally against Green Bay.

No. 19 Notre Dame (11-7-4) will face No. 18 Northwestern (10-4-4) on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Championship. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. (CT) at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill.