[NOTRE DAME] The start to the 2012 season did not go well for Notre Dame. First, midfielder and captain Michael Rose tore his ACL in the preseason, then fellow senior Adam Mena went down with the same injury in the season-opening 1-0 win over Duke. But the run of bad luck on the injury front -- five Irish players have been sidelined with ACL injuries in the last 16 months -- has not stopped Notre Dame, which moved up to No. 3 in the Soccer America Men's Top 25 with wins over Oregon State and Akron at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.

Notre Dame upped its record to 5-0 with a 3-1 win over then-No. 4 Akron on Sunday afternoon.

All three Irish goals came in the second half when Notre Dame played with a man advantage. Akron’s Aodhan Quinn was issued a red card in the 30th minute.

Leon Brown, the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament Offensive MVP, evened the score in the 49th minute, Dillon Powers delivered the go-ahead goal with a rocket into the right side of the goal on a free kick in the 63rd minute, and senior Ryan Finley, who played his first two seasons at Duke, put the game away with his team-leading fourth goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 79th minute.

“Akron’s a good team and I feel we were a little intimidated by their reputation and they really handled the opening of the game very well,” said Irish coach Bobby Clark. “We then got our strength and Dillon Powers did a fantastic job of just being a captain and a leader. We were getting into the game and then they helped us with the red card. From then on we completely took over.”

A goal from left back Max Lachowecki in the 81st minute had given Notre Dame  a 1-0 victory over Oregon State on Friday night.

The Irish dominated both games, outshooting Oregon State, 21-7, and Akron, 22-13.