Irish Clinch ACC Championship with 2-0 Win Over Duke

Box Score (PDF)

CARY, N.C. — The No. 20 Fighting Irish men’s soccer team secured its first ACC Championship title in program history on Sunday, defeating No. 11 Duke 2-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Dawson McCartney opened the scoring early for the Irish, with a goal coming in the fifth minute. McCartney doubled the Irish lead in the 77th minute after finishing off the rebound from his header to give the Irish a 2-0 advantage. McCartney’s brace was the first by any player in an ACC Championship final since UNC’s Ben Speas accomplished the feat in 2011.

That was all the help the Irish defense needed as they held strong for their fourth-consecutive clean sheet. The Irish did not allow a goal in any of their games in the ACC Championship, including not allowing a goal in the penalty shootout in the quarterfinal win over Louisville. Notre Dame became just the sixth team in ACC Championship history to not allow a goal in the entire tournament and first to ever do it while playing four matches.

McCartney’s brace in the title game and goal earlier in the tournament garnered the grad student Most Valuable Player of the ACC Championships honors. McCartney was joined on the ACC All-Tournament Team by Jack Lynn, Philip Quinton and Bryan Dowd.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

The Irish got off to a dream start in the final, scoring in the fifth minute to take an early 1-0 lead. Dawson McCartney dribbled to the top of the box and put his laces through a shot that beat the Duke keeper just inside the right post.

Notre Dame and Duke played even the rest of the first half and the Irish took the one-goal lead into the halftime break.

The Irish nearly doubled its lead in the 51st minute on another effort from outside the box. Ethan O’Brien fired a shot just wide of the far post that would have beat the Duke keeper.

McCartney struck again in the 77th minute, this time a scrappy effort to double the lead and complete his brace. The midfielder headed the ball directly at the Duke keeper, who made the initial save, but McCartney was there to tap in the rebound and make the score 2-0.

ND NOTES

• The Irish have now won seven conference titles in program history (1 ACC, 3 Big East, 3 MCC).
• ND is now 13-6-3 in ACC Championship history over its nine years in the league.
• Notre Dame is now 10-4-2 against Duke in the all-time matchup.
• The Irish did not allow a single goal in their ACC Tournament run, spanning four games (380 minutes)
• The clean sheet is Notre Dame’s 11th of the season.
• McCartney’s brace was the first of his career.
• McCartney now has seven goals on the season, the second most on the team.
• With trips to Louisville, Pitt and Cary within the span of a week, the Irish traveled 2,724 miles roundtrip.

UP NEXT

The Irish will see their NCAA Tournament path at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 15, as the 48-team bracket will be announced on NCAA.com.

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