DURHAM, N.C. — The No. 1/1 Fighting Irish grinded out a 7-6 win over No. 16/15 Duke inside Koskinen Stadium on Saturday, improving to 9-1 on the season and 2-1 in ACC play. Notre Dame has now won three straight, all coming against ranked teams.
Thomas Ricciardelli was masterful in goal, making 15 saves while allowing just six goals to keep the Duke offense quiet throughout the game.
Matt Jeffery turned in the best game of his Irish career, scoring a hat trick and finishing with a career-high three goals. Freshman Dylan Faison also had a breakout performance, finishing with a career-high three points on two goals and an assist.
Tyler Spano continued his impressive form at the dot, winning 7-of-11 faceoffs while picking up six ground balls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame scored on the game’s opening possession as Matt Jeffery beat his defender and finished past the goalie with a lefty finish on the run to give the Irish an early 1-0 lead within the opening minute of play.
The remainder of the first frame was dominated by both defenses as neither side was able to find the back of the net for the remainder of the quarter. Ricciardelli was sharp early, making three stops in the opening 15 minutes of play.
Duke quickly evened the score at 1-1, taking advantage of an extra-man opportunity in the first minute of the second quarter. The Irish immediately answered, scoring 30 seconds later, as Will Angrick buried his shot off the feed from Will Maheras to retake the lead at 2-1.
The Blue Devils managed to score the final two goals of the first half to take a 3-2 lead into the halftime intermission, marking just the second time the Irish have trailed after the first 30 minutes of play this season.
After a scoreless first seven minutes of the third, the Irish offense came to life, scoring four straight to take a 6-3 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the quarter. Jeffery got the attack going with an incredible spin move to get open before scoring his second of the day.
Jalen Seymour followed with his first goal of the game, firing high into the top corner to give the Irish a 4-3 lead. Jeffery completed his hat trick with his third of the day before Dylan Faison scored his first to complete the run and build the three-goal lead.
Duke was able to pull one back right before the end of the third, scoring on a man-up situation to make the score 6-4 heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Faison was able to push Notre Dame’s lead back up to three at 7-4 with 5:50 left in the game, finding space and shooting into the far corner for his second of the afternoon.
Duke scored twice in the final six minutes of play but the Irish defense held strong and didn’t let the hosts complete the comeback, as Notre Dame won by a score of 7-6.
STAT OF THE GAME
Notre Dame has held seven of its last eight opponents to single-digit goals, all resulting in victories. The Irish have given up a combined 19 goals in the last three games, all coming against ranked opponents.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish improved to 19-16 against Duke in the all-time series and have won each of the last eight matchups, the longest streak in the series.
- Each of the last six wins over the Blue Devils have been by three goals or more.
- The Irish have now won 54 straight games when holding their opponent to less than 10 goals in a game, a streak that dates back to the 2019 season.
- Notre Dame is now 18-5 in regular-season ACC contests since the start of the 2022 campaign.
- The victory gives the Fighting Irish a record of 29-8 against ranked opponents since the beginning of the 2023 season.
- Ricciardelli has finished with double-digit saves in each of his last six games.
- Jeffery’s hat trick is the first of his career and he now has a career-high 12 goals on the season.
- Faison recorded his first multi-point game of his career with a goal and an assist.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame wraps up the regular season with another marquee matchup, taking on No. 5 Syracuse at Arlotta Stadium at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 25. Admission to the game is free and it will be streamed on ACCNX.
— ND —