After an evenly matched first half that saw both sides record four shots, it was a flurry of chances from the Irish in the second half that led to the breakthrough. In the 76th minute Notre Dame struck with a goal from Maddie Mercado as a corner was knocked down in the box and Mercado cleaned it up at point-blank range.
Virginia got three more chances down the stretch with a pair of shots from Haley Hopkins and one from Lia Godfrey, but one was blocked while a one-on-one chance for Hopkins in the 78th minute was saved to keep the Irish on top.
The Irish outshot the Hoos 15-to-9 on the evening.
“No question the better team won tonight,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “We had trouble solving their pressure and just could not get much going on the attacking side. There are a lot of takeaways from this game, though, and hopefully if we can learn the lessons, we will improve in the areas we need to moving forward.”
Virginia will play its ACC home opener on Sunday when the Cavaliers host Louisville in a 2 p.m. contest at Klöckner Stadium.
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Chris Graham
