Oct. 26, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Virginia’s Darius Madison scored three minutes before halftime and again two minutes into the second half to give the No. 19 Cavaliers a 2-0 win over No. 2 Notre Dame in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer action on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
It was the first setback of the season for Notre Dame (8-1-5, 5-1-3) and the Irish currently reside in second place in the ACC standings, just one point behind leader Wake Forest. The Fighting Irish will square off against the 14th-ranked Demon Deacons at 7 p.m. (ET) next Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Virginia (7-3-4, 3-2-4) held the edge in shots (8-7) and corner kicks (4-2). Cavalier goalkeeper Jeff Gal stopped three Irish shots, while Notre Dame senior Patrick Wall had two saves. The victory upped Virginia’s unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Notre Dame’s best chance of the opening half occurred in the 19th minute when forward Vince Cicciarelli worked his way into the penalty box with the ball and placed his shot wide of the near post from 10 yards away. Saves by Wall in the 20th and 23rd minutes kept the match scoreless.
Just as the contest appeared to be going to the intermission without a goal, Madison changed that in the 43rd minute when he maneuvered his way past some Notre Dame defenders and scored on an 18-yard shot.
In the 47th minute, Madison possessed the ball on the deep right side of the penalty box and struck a shot at the edge of the six-yard box and it sailed past Wall for a two-goal advantage. This was the first time all season that the Irish surrendered two goals in a match.
“Virginia certainly dulled our offense today,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark said. “I think we only had seven shots, but they only had eight. It wasn’t a game with a lot of shots. Virginia was the first team this year to come into our house and dictate the game. They scored two goals at vital times, just before halftime and one immediately afterwards. Those were two blows to us and we never quite recovered. We had some flurries where we looked good, but I never felt we controlled the game today.
“I felt that we never had a grip on the game. We weren’t far away, but we never had a grip. I think we’ve controlled every other game this year, but not today and that was our downfall.”
Notre Dame’s first shot of the second stanza came in the 53rd minute when left back Max Lachowecki sent the ball to the near post from 19 yards away but Gal made a diving save to negate the chance. Gal made a stop on a Cicciarelli header in the 76th minute and that would be the last attempt on frame for the Irish, who were shut out for just the second time this season. Notre Dame played UCLA to a scoreless draw in the season opener.
“The killer blow is when we came out of halftime and they got another goal,” Clark said. “But we have to pick ourselves up because I think we’re still in a good position. We have a huge game next weekend at Wake Forest. So we have to look at ourselves and learn some things and get ready for Wake Forest.”
Following next Saturday’s match at Wake Forest Notre Dame will have two games remaining on its regular-season schedule. The Irish will travel to No. 17 Michigan State Nov. 5 and then play host to ACC foe Pittsburgh in the home finale on Nov. 8.
October 26, 2013
Alumni Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
#19 Virginia (7-3-4, 3-2-4) 1 1 – 2
#2 Notre Dame (8-1-5, 5-1-3) 0 0 – 0
Scoring: UVA: Darius Madison (unassisted) 42:03; UVA: Darius Madison (unassisted) 46:58
Shots: UVA 4-4 – 8, ND 4-3 – 7
Corner Kicks: UVA 1-3 – 4, ND 1-1 – 2
Goalkeepers: UVA: Jeff Gal – 3 SV, 0 GA, 90:00, W
ND: Patrick Wall – 2 SV, 2 GA, 90:00, L
Fouls: UVA 13, ND 17
Offsides: UVA 5, ND 0
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
–ND–