DURHAM, N.C. – A lot was at stake today for ACC positioning between No. 7 Notre Dame women’s soccer and No. 19 Virginia Tech. The Fighting Irish (10-2-4, 4-1-4) were looking to build upon their NCAA resume while clinching a spot in the ACC Tourney. Unfortunately, the Hokies (11-3-3, 6-1-2) played spoiler, downing the Irish 2-0 to hand Notre Dame its second loss of the season. The Irish were riding a 14-game unbeaten streak heading into today.
One more regular season game remains, and there will be a top-25-ranked ACC team that doesn’t make the conference tournament, which only admits six. The Irish will host Pitt on Thursday, Oct. 31, in a pivotal match to ensure a spot in the league tourney. That match will kick off at 7 p.m. ET inside Alumni Stadium on ACCNX.
Since Notre Dame defeated Stanford earlier in the season, they control their own destiny—win and get in. Stanford hosts Cal in its regular-season finale on Thursday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame outshot Virginia Tech 10-6 in the first half, but shots on goal were tied at 2-2. Thus it was very much a feeling-out period for both with a slight advantage to the home team with the Irish owning 59 percent of the possession.
Annabelle Chukwu, Charlie Codd and Morgan Roy each had two shots in the half, but the best chance came from Izzy Engle in the 18th minute. Roy passed a dangerous ball from the right side on the ground that found its way to the top of the six-yard box. Engle slid for the shot but it was deflected enough to go just wide right.
Then just like that, the Irish found themselves in a 0-1 hole after the Hokies scored in the first nine seconds of the second half. Virginia Tech hit a deep ball into ND’s defensive third right off the kick. Then Sarah Rosenbaum collected it a few yards outside the box and let it rip to the upper-right corner.
Virginia Tech’s second goal came in the 77th minute after the Hokies were awarded a free kick on Notre Dame’s half of the field. The ball was played just inside ND’s box as a Hokie redirected it with her head into the six-yard box area. From there, VT picked up the scraps and tucked it away for the 2-0 lead.
Virginia Tech packed it in from there, which meant Notre Dame held the ball in their half of the field for the majority of the second half. The Irish recorded a couple of close calls, nearly connecting on a couple of dangerous crosses deep inside the box.
Notre Dame finished with 19 shots compared to Virginia Tech’s 10. Shots-on-goal finished at 6-5 in ND’s favor. The Hokies committed 16 fouls compared to Notre Dame’s seven.
UP NEXT
Pitt on Halloween night will mark the program’s Senior Night, in which they will honor its two seniors and three graduate students before the game.
— ND –