AKRON, Ohio — Notre Dame went toe-to-toe with No. 14 Akron on the road in the NCAA Tournament second round on Sunday but were defeated by a score of 1-0 due to an 88th minute goal.
The Irish end the season with a record of 9-7-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish absorbed some early pressure in the opening minutes from the Zips, as Blake Kelly made a big early save to keep the match scoreless.
Notre Dame’s first good chance came in the 12th minute, as Nolan Spice played Wyatt Borso into the box and the senior fired an effort on frame but the Akron keeper managed to parry it away.
The Zips put a shot just wide of the near post in the 42nd minute and then Notre Dame had a great look at goal in the final 30 seconds of the half. Burton had a shot from a tight angle that hit the side netting after the Akron keeper was out of the play.
The match was scoreless at the half and each team had three shots on target over the opening 45 minutes of play but neither team was able to score the breakthrough.
Notre Dame nearly had the opener in the 59th minute, as Ren Sylvester sprang into the open field but the Akron keeper came off his line and got a touch as Sylvester tried to round the keeper, sending it out for an Irish corner.
In the 84th minute the Irish had a great chance. Freshman Karson Baquero fired a shot that was redirected from an Akron defender just wide of the near post for a Notre Dame corner.
On the ensuing corner Ferguson fired a shot off the crossbar and then the followup effort from Baquero was pushed just over the bar.
Moments later the Zips found the winner in the 88th minute, taking advantage of a deflection in the box off a corner that dropped right to Matthew Paiva who scored what turned out to be the match-winning goal.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“Obviously I want to give credit to and congratulate Akron, we knew they were a good team and we wish them the best in the next round. With that said I couldn’t be prouder of the way they handled the season and I think it was summed up today against a good team.
“We knew they had a little more rest than us on the road. We competed so well. Our guys are such competitors and they competed with class and quality. On another day maybe we get the goal off the corner but today we didn’t. I couldn’t be prouder to be the coach of this team.”
On the seniors…
“I just want to thank the seniors for unbelievable leadership both on and off the field. Both the guys that played a lot and the ones that didn’t just really led this team so well this fall and I’m really going to miss them. I want to thank them for everything they have given this program and Notre Dame.
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