CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Freshman KK Baffour scored the game-winning goal with less than 10 seconds left to stun Virginia on the road at Klöckner Stadium and deliver Notre Dame a 2-1 ACC victory.
The win improves the Irish record to 2-2-1 on the young season and moves their ACC record to 1-1.
𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐖𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇!
ND clears the corner and springs the counter. Baffour wins it with the clinical finish right before the final whistle and the Irish leave Charlottesville with the win!#SCTop10 #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/7zHhJhK1cT
— Notre Dame Men’s Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) September 17, 2022
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Cavaliers battled to a scoreless stalemate over the opening 45 minutes of play, with both sides getting stuck in on the defensive end for stretches. Notre Dame’s first look at goal came in the 23rd minute, as the press led to a shot from outside the box from Reese Mayer that was pushed over the bar by the Virginia keeper.
Twelve minutes later Bryan Dowd was forced into action on the other end of the pitch, making a sliding save off a scramble from a corner in the box to keep the match level at 0-0.
The Irish wave of subs put the visitors on the front foot in the final 15 minutes of the half but they couldn’t find the opener as the match was deadlocked at 0-0 at the halftime break.
Notre Dame created two great chances in a matter of minutes early in the second half. The Irish earned a free kick in the final third in the 56th minute. KK Baffour provided excellent service and the Cavaliers barely managed to scramble it just wide of the post.
Minutes later Mayer picked out Wyatt Borso in the box but the freshman’s effort went over the bar.
The Irish earned their second corner of the evening in the 68th minute and produced the opener to take a 1-0 lead. Daniel Russo provided excellent service on an in-swinging ball and it deflected off a Cavalier and into the net.
It looked like the Irish were going to be able to keep the clean sheet and escape with the 1-0 win but Virginia managed to level the match in the 89th minute from a scrum in the box following a free kick to make it 1-1.
Virginia won a corner with less than 40 seconds remaining in the match and the Irish managed to clear it out of the area. Matthew Roou corralled the loose ball and played a perfect through ball to Baffour, sending him in on goal just past midfield. Baffour kept his composure and tucked a clinical right-footed effort into the bottom left corner of the goal to give the Irish the win with less than 10 seconds left on the clock.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“I am obviously really proud of the team tonight. Virginia is an excellent team and we knew it would be a very good contest. The guys were great tonight and played with fight and composure for 90 minutes. It was a true team performance capped off by an excellent winning goal by KK. Now we will enjoy it for a few hours and begin to prepare for our next match against Chicago State on Wednesday.”
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
The Irish have now defeated Virginia with virtually no time remaining on the clock twice in the last five seasons. Notre Dame also secured a victory over the Cavaliers in the 2018 NCAA Tournament round of 16 off a header from Jack Lynn with no time left in the first overtime session.
ND NOTES & NUMBERS
- The Irish have now won three of the last four meetings against the Cavaliers.
- Each of the last 11 meetings between Notre Dame and Virginia have either been decided by one goal or ended in a draw.
- Baffour’s goal was the first of his career.
- Baffour becomes the fifth player to score a goal this season.
- Roou picked up his first assist of the season and fourth of his Fighting Irish career.
- Dowd made seven saves, matching his career high
UP NEXT
The Irish return to Alumni Stadium to welcome Chicago State for a match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The contest will air on ACCNX via WatchESPN.
FOLLOW THE IRISH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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