SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Mohamed Omar and Jack Lynn each netted goals as the Irish earned a 2-1 win over Virginia on Friday night at Alumni Stadium.
With the victory, Notre Dame improves to 5-4-1 overall and 2-1-1 in ACC play while Virginia drops to 3-6-1 and 0-4-0 in the ACC.
Michael Pellegrino and Dawson McCartney each collected assists for the Irish, while Bryan Dowd earned the victory in goal for the Irish.
As a team, the Irish outshot the Cavaliers, 16-4, including a 7-1 mark in shots on goal. Notre Dame also earned a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish opened the contest on the front foot, and were rewarded with the game’s opening goal off the foot of Omar in the 22nd minute. Omar headed the ball just inside the far post off a corner kick by Pellegrino for his second goal of the season.
Notre Dame outshot Virginia 7-3 in the opening half, including a 3-0 mark in shots on frame. The Irish also racked up seven corners to Virginia’s one in the first 45 minutes.
Lynn doubled the Irish lead in the 64th minute when he buried a feed from McCartney. The play started with McCartney regaining possession for the Irish just over midfield and passing the ball to Lynn, who converted from 12 yards out from the left side of the box.
Virginia found the back of the net in the final minute to erase the clean sheet, but the Irish held on for the 2-1 victory.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the performance…
“Obviously really proud of our guys’ performance. Virginia is a really good team and it was going to take our best performance to get a result and I really think to this point that was our most complete performance over the course of a game so far this season.”
On the set-piece goal early…
“Those are huge. In tight games it is something we have been tweaking and working on and it was a great service from Michael Pellegrino and a great header by Mohamed Omar and it opened up the match and we were very good in transition.”
On the performance from the midfield…
“I thought we did great. We have a good group that keeps our energy up and we can rotate guys in. They did an awesome job and everyone that came in just played a huge part in the victory.”
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
The Irish outshot the Cavaliers 16-4, including an 8-1 advantage for shots on target.
NOTES
- Lynn’s goal is his fifth of the season and 26th of his career.
- The senior has now scored four goals in his last four games.
- Omar’s goal is his second of the year and third of his career.
UP NEXT
The Irish play their third straight match in Alumni Stadium, taking on Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 5. The match will air on ACCN.
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