SOUTH BEND, Ind – For 110 minutes the 17^th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers and 12^th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish batted the ball up and down the pitch but in the end neither team could find the back of the net in a 0-0 double overtime tie to open the 2011 season Saturday night in South Bend.

 Both teams start the 2011 season at 0-0-1.

 Notre Dame finished with a 24-11 advantage in shot attempts but a clearer picture comes from the shots-on-goal tally that ended an even 5-5.

 Despite not playing to nearly our potential, coming away with a tie we can take a lot of positives away from this tie,” head coach Todd Yeagley said. “We were out of sync on both sides of the ball and the guys were kind of heavy-legged from the preseason.

 “To come here against a mature, physical team that has some athletic players in key spots, to walk away with zeros I am pleased with that and that is what I told the team afterwards.”

Harrison Petts led the Hoosiers with three attempts, while A.J. Corrado had a pair of shots, both of which were on frame. Luis Soffner played all 110 minutes in goal, tallying the five saves to earn the shutout.

 It was a slow start to the first half with neither team getting much generated on offense. There were just three shots in the first 15 minutes, with two coming from the Fighting Irish.

 With 23 minutes to play, the Hoosier defense did a good job of withstanding the Notre Dame pressure after a free kick just outside the box. The sequence started when IU goalkeeper Luis Soffner was given a yellow card after a challenge outside the box. Notre Dame sent in the ball from five paces outside the top left corner of the penalty area and the ball bounced back and forth between players in red and white jerseys for a 40-second period before the Hoosiers cleared it out for good.

 Indiana’s first on-frame look did not come until 27^th minute when Jamie Vollmer lobbed in a shot that was easily saved by ND goalkeeper Will Walsh. Three minutes later Vollmer sent in a shot to the back post, resulting in another easy save for Walsh.

 Indiana’s defense was put to the test again with 13:30 to play when Harrison Ship and Ryan Finley both got free behind the IU defense but Tommy Meyer and Caleb Konstanski recovered and limited the Fighting Irish to a harmless shot.

 It was nearly a 1-0 Notre Dame lead in the 34^th minute when Brendan King sent his curling shot off the right post. Three minutes later, Shipp got his head on a Dillon Powers corner kick but the line drive was sent right into the arms of a waiting Soffner.

 With under 10 to play in the first half, Chris Estridge ran a ball down the left side before lofting a pass into Harrison Petts who was waiting inside the 18. The ball took an unusual bounce in front of Petts and the sophomore wasn’t able to get much power on his shot, resulting in an easy pick-up for Walsh.

 Luck was again on the Hoosiers’ side in the 40^th minute when Adam Mena got his head on a long, looping ball that fooled Soffner as he came off his line. The IU net was empty, but Mena’s lofty header went wide right. The Hoosiers had one last gasp in the first half when A.J. Corrado sent off a hard shot that sent Walsh down to his right for the save.

 Indiana looked like a different team in the second half, with Petts moved up top alongside Alec Purdie. With 36 to play in regulation, Petts broke into the box and sent a low shot off Walsh. With 17 minutes to play, Jacob Bushue flicked on a header that was again saved by the Notre Dame goalkeeper.

 A volley from Petts in the 81^st minute went wide right, giving the Hoosiers their ninth shot of the match.

 Notre Dame also had its chances in the second stanza, with Finley getting behind the defense and sending a shot high in the 50^th minute. Estridge missed a clearance in the box in the 85^th minute with the ball falling to Finley’s feet, but his attempt was again high and off Target.

 The Fighting Irish had the best chance in the first overtime period with Mena getting open with three minutes to play but putting too much on it as it sailed high. A minute later he had another chance that was smothered by Soffner.

 In the second overtime, Indiana was called for an unintentional handball; giving Powers a free kick just outside the box. Soffner used a two-handed punch to send the ball out and the rebound shot was a harmless attempt that sailed over the scoreboard. Indiana’s best chance came with 41 seconds to play as Caleb Konstanski headed a Vollmer throw-in just over the crossbar.

 The Hoosiers return to Bloomington for their home opener on Friday, Sept. 2 when they face Saint Louis on day one of the annual adidas/IU Credit Union Classic at 7:30 p.m. ET. The action gets underway at 5 p.m. ET with Notre Dame taking on Dayton, followed by the Hoosiers and Billikens.