NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at the hands of No. 5 Wake Forest at Alumni Stadium on Saturday night in an ACC matchup.
The visitors managed to score two goals in the final 15 minute of play to record the win.
The two Irish goals were scored by Dawson McCartney and Aiden McFadden but were not enough for a result.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish controlled the game from the opening whistle and were rewarded with a goal in the eighth minute. Reese Mayer sent a long throw-in into the box and McCartney unleashed a strike past the Wake Forest keeper to make it 1-0 early.
However, the lead was short lived, as exactly 10 minutes later the Demon Deacons equalized off a scramble in the box that was finished by Omar Hernandez to level the score at 1-1, which was the score at the half.
Notre Dame nearly reclaimed the lead in the first five minutes of the second half. Townsend Meyer played a cross into the box and McCartney nearly secured his brace with a shot headed toward the far post but the Wake Forest goalie made a great diving save to keep the effort out.
The Irish continued to create chances and push forward and once again scored to go back on top at 2-1 in the 70th minute. Meyer again provided great service with a whipped in cross and this time McFadden was there with a glancing header to send it just inside the far post to put Notre Dame ahead.
The Demon Deacons again responded with a goal, as Ryan Fessler’s shot from distance found the back of the net in the 76th minute to make it 2-2. Then in the 89th minute of regulation Jahlane Forbes played a dangerous cross on the ground that was tapped in at the back post by Kyle Holcomb to give Wake Forest the 3-2 win.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“It was a tough one to swallow. It is one we will have to watch because I felt mostly proud of the way we played and how we handled the game but obviously you want to play well and win. Credit to Wake Forest, they found a way to get it there, but this one is going to sting for a little bit. Overall, I am proud of the way the group played and went after it and created some chances and scored a couple good goals.”
On McFadden’s recent form…
“I think he is playing really well. He started off the second half of the season really well from Butler right on. The goals are a product of good overall play from him.”
On the student support…
“I thought it was wonderful. I couldn’t believe how many people came out. It was so nice out and I think the crowd was part of the thing that drove us to play pretty well. We are sad we didn’t get the right result but it was great to have such a good crowd.”
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- McFadden scored in his third straight game and now has three goals on the season.
- McCartney opened his Notre Dame account, scoring the first goal of his Irish career.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back in action at Alumni Stadium next weekend, welcoming North Carolina to town for a 7 p.m. ET start on Saturday, March 27. The game will air on ACCNX.
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