NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame fell to Wright State by a final score of 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Alumni Stadium on Thursday evening. The Irish finish the season with a record of 10-8-1.
Notre Dame’s goals both came from headers, as Jack Lynn scored in the 51st minute and John Rea nodded one in during the 85th minute.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish faced a 1-0 deficit at the half due to Wright State scoring the opening goal off a header in the 27th minute from Alex Hummel.
Notre Dame created a few great chances in the opening 45 minutes of play but were unable to capitalize. In the first minute Jack Lynn sent a driving low effort on target but the Raiders goalkeeper pushed the ball past the post for a corner kick.
In the 20th minute the Irish came within inches of scoring. Senan Farrelly sent a dangerous cross into the box. Lynn had space and headed a shot that glanced off the far woodwork and then went out for a goal kick.
The Irish came out of the halftime break on the front foot and managed to equalize at 1-1 in the 51st minute. Dumas had his cross deflect right to an open Lynn, who buried his header for his 10th goal of the season.
The Raiders took the lead back in the 70th minute scoring from a cut back pass to Zion Beaton who placed his shot past the keeper to make it 2-1. Less than two minutes later the Raiders doubled their lead off a strike from Deri Corfe to go on top 3-1.
Notre Dame kept fighting, trying to get back in the match. After a couple big saves from Wright State’s keeper the Irish managed to pull within one in the 85th minute. After earning a free kick, Dumas whipped in a great cross and Rea nodded it home to make the score 3-2.
The Irish generated a couple more scoring chances off set pieces in the final minutes but were unable to find the back of the net, giving Wright State the victory.
HEAD COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the team’s performance…
“We are disappointed not to be moving on. Credit to Wright State they created some good chances and took them well and we couldn’t finish ours off. Overall, I am really proud of the group. Tonight, I am proud of them, for the season, I am proud of them. They have dealt with a lot of adversity really well.
“Truly summing this team up, they fought to the very end and we had a chance to tie it up. They kept going and kept going and I think it says a lot about this group of young men.”
On the senior captains and senior class…
“The captain group along with the seniors have done so much for the program. It is a program with a lot of pride and a lot of tradition and I think they were great leaders for us and I couldn’t be prouder of the way they led the group this year.”
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