Top-ranked Virginia (7-1-1, 1-1-0 ACC) put together a furious rally, getting a goal from junior Morgan Reuther (Chantilly, Va.) to force overtime, but couldn’t find a second goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 6 Notre Dame (8-1-1, 1-1-0 ACC) on Thursday night.
Trailing 1-0 in the closing minutes of regulation, Reuther drilled her sixth goal of the season to tie the match and send the game into extra time.
In the second overtime period, Anna Gilbertson dribbled into the box and took a shot at the goal, finding the net to lift Notre Dame to the win with the golden goal in the 104th minute.
It marked the first home loss for the Cavaliers since the final game of the 2012 season when Virginia fell to Duke in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss snapped a 38-match home win streak, the sixth longest in NCAA history.
“We have to step up and put pressure on the ball in a situation like that at the end, but you have to credit (Gilbertson) for Notre Dame for burying the shot,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “We lost the game in the first half. They came out very hard and we didn’t respond to the way they were defending us. We turned the ball over quite a bit and that’s a credit to them.
“We played much better in the second half and I thought we were clearly the better team in the second, but you’re down and you’re chasing the game. We got back into the game, so credit us there, but we exerted so much energy. Notre Dame played well, they’re a good team and they are organized defensively. They made it difficult for us. We didn’t play enough quality soccer tonight to break them down and get good chances.”
Notre Dame struck first, scoring in the 12th minute when Anna Gilbertson was led into the box on the near side with a pass from Sabrina Flores. Gilbertson sent the shot in across the front of the goal and past the Cavalier keeper with a sharp angle to put the Irish on top 1-0.
Virginia made several dangerous runs and had chances in the half, but were unable to convert as the Fighting Irish turned away each attack by the home team.
The Cavaliers trailed 1-0 at the half in a tight defensive battle that saw Notre Dame hold a slim 3-to-2 edge in shots.
Virginia came out firing in the second half, notching three quick shots out of the gates as the home team sought the equalizing goal. Each time, the Notre Dame defense turned away the attack.
The Cavalier offense broke through in the 85th minute when Megan Reid got a head on an Irish attempt to get the ball back down the field. Reid sent the ball ahead to Doniak who tapped it out to Hana Kerner (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) on the near sideline. Kerner sent the ball into the box where Brittany Ratcliffe (Williamstown, N.J.) tapped it back to the center to Reuther. Reuther then buried the shot to tie the match 1-1.
At the end of regulation, the score sat knotted with Virginia holding a 10-to-7 edge in shots.
The two squads played through a stalemate until the second overtime period when Notre Dame got the golden goal from Gilbertson to grab the win for the Irish in the 104th minute.
Virginia will return to action on Sunday, hosting No. 19 Duke at 2 p.m. to close out a five-game home stand.
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Chris Graham
