UVA had a big advantage in possession and shots, but couldn’t translate that into goals, and fell, 2-1, to Notre on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium.
Throughout the first half, the Cavaliers (4-3-0) dominated play. While controlling 58-percent of possession, Virginia routinely won first and second balls with suffocating pressure high up the field.
Virginia took seven shots in the opening frame compared to just four from Notre Dame. The Cavaliers’ best chance of the half came off a free kick from Daniel Mangarov. An arching ball into the penalty area found the head of Moritz Kappelsberger whose shot ricocheted off the crossbar. Andreas Ueland followed up with a pair of attempts that were saved by the diving Notre Dame goalkeeper.
The second half was more of the same as Virginia kept its stranglehold on possession. However, in the 68th minute, a Notre Dame (2-2-1) corner kick deflected off a Cavalier and trickled into the net to give the Irish a one-goal lead against the run of play.
Virginia pushed on for an equalizer launching attacks deep in Notre Dame territory but fell just short of unlocking the Irish defense. Kappelsberger, Ueland and Phil Horton each were denied by the woodwork and tough defensive play from Notre Dame as Virginia took six shots in the final ten minutes while placing five on target.
In the 89th minute, substitute striker Kome Ubogu came through for Virginia. Off an in-swinging corner kick, Ueland headed a ball back into the area. Amidst a mob of players, Ubogu emerged after poking home the equalizing goal.
Virginia pushed numbers forward for a corner kick with just over a minute remaining. After losing possession just outside the penalty area, Notre Dame struck with a lethal counter-attack to snatch the win with just nine seconds remaining in the game.
“Really, really tough loss for us,” UVA coach George Gelnovatch said. “I would say really unlucky…Notre Dame is always a hard team to break down. I give them a lot of credit for how they defend in the box, but we showed a really good fight. A good fight to get the equalizer against a team that was very resolute in defending. We don’t deserve this loss today. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
The Cavaliers will return to Klöckner Stadium on Tuesday, where they will face off with American. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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Chris Graham
