Virginia Men’s Soccer Suffers 3-1 Loss at No. 15 Notre Dame

On Friday night, Virginia came up short in South Bend, Indiana to No. 15 Notre Dame, and the Hoos are yet to win on the road this season. The Cavaliers (4-3-1, 1-2 ACC) allowed the Fighting Irish to score two goals in the first half before bringing the game within one early in the second half. After that, the Cavaliers pushed for an equalizer but could not find one before Notre Dame’s Eno Nto scored to slam the door on any aspirations the Hoos may have had as Virginia fell to Notre Dame 3-1.

Early on, Notre Dame quickly put Virginia on its back foot as Holden Brown made a diving save, punching the ball away to hold the game level. On the ensuing corner kick, a well-delivered cross prompted a glancing header from Matthew Roou. The shot forced Brown to make a diving effort that saw him tip the ball off the crossbar and post before it trickled in to give the Fighting Irish the lead four minutes into the game.

The goal highlights Virginia’s slow starts that have plagued them this season, as the Cavaliers have allowed four goals in the first 15 minutes of play this year. Following the goal, Mouhameth Thiam attempted to bring one back for the Cavaliers with a quick run, but the chance was denied by the Notre Dame goalkeeper, who came off his line to grab the ball.

After that, both teams began to settle into the game, but Virginia struggled to create enticing chances in the first half as they were only able to get one shot on goal, which came from Captain Will Citron. As the half neared a close, it seemed the Hoos had tamed the Fighting Irish attack, but with 22 seconds left, Notre Dame would double their advantage.

A foul by Aidan O’Connor set up a free kick for the Fighting Irish after an initial header saw the ball drop right to Wyatt Lewis, who, with plenty of time and room, shot the ball past Brown to give Notre Dame a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

To open the second half, Virginia faced initial pressure from the Fighting Irish, which forced Brown to make a big save. On the ensuing Virginia possession, Thiam carried the ball up the field before delivering a through ball to Reese Miller on the left wing. With his eyes up, Miller crossed the ball, hoping to pick out Stephen Annor Gyamfi. Instead, the ball was deflected by Notre Dame’s Mo Williams but landed in the back of the Fighting Irish net to bring the Hoos within one and right back into the game.

With confidence on their side, the Cavaliers continued to push forward as Kome Ubogu nearly equalized after having just the goalkeeper to beat, but was stifled by Bryan Dowd. The pressure continued from Virginia as the Cavaliers took ten shots in the second half to Notre Dame’s four.

Despite this, the elusive second goal never came for the Cavaliers, with any chance of drawing level being erased in the 75th minute. The goal was disappointing for the Hoos as Eno Nto dribbled through the Virginia defense before powering his shot past Brown.

In the final minutes, Virginia failed to string together anything of significance as the Cavaliers fell to the Fighting Irish 3-1.

Virginia will look to get back on track Tuesday at home against ETSU. The match is set to start at 7pm.

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