BLACKSBURG, Va. — Notre Dame was unable to hold onto a 1-0 halftime lead on the road against Virginia Tech on Friday evening, falling to the Hokies by a score of 2-1.
Sophomore Jack Lynn continued his excellent form of late, scoring his fourth goal in the last three outings and eighth of the season in the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish put together a strong opening 45 minutes on the road, controlling possession and the pace of play, putting the Hokies on their heels. Notre Dame’s best look in the opening stages came in the 18th minute, as McFadden unleashed an effort on goal but the Virginia Tech keeper made a diving save to keep the match scoreless.
All the pressure paid off in the 34th minute, as the Irish struck for the opening goal of the match to take a 1-0 lead. Right after being subbed on, Ben Giacobello received a pass from Lynn and played Lynn in on goal. The sophomore made no mistake with the finish, ripping a shot near post for his eighth goal of the season.
Virginia Tech leveled the match in the 62nd minute after converting from the spot as a result of a handball called on the Irish in the area.
Notre Dame goalkeeper kept the match level in the 67th minute, producing an excellent diving save from a free kick at the edge of the box. However, the Hokies managed to take their first lead of the night in the 80th minute, scoring on a counter off a Notre Dame corner to go up 2-1.
The Irish threw numbers forward in the final 10 minutes but were unable to come up with a tying goal, as Notre Dame fell to Virginia Tech by a final score of 2-1.
HEAD COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the team’s performance…
“Obviously, we are disappointed with the result especially after taking the lead and playing well in the first half. For some reason, we were slow to get started in the second half and they put some pressure on us.
“Our response was good after their goal but unfortunately, they executed a counter attack well and took the lead. We fought hard until the end but lacked the quality to get our second goal. We can’t dwell on this too long as we have a good opportunity coming up in a couple of days against Michigan.”
NOTES
- Lynn leads the Irish with a career-high eight goals on the season, four coming in the last three fixtures.
- Giacobello picked up his second assist of the season.
UP NEXT
The Irish return to Alumni Stadium to take on its third Big Ten opponent of the season at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 22, as Notre Dame welcomes Michigan. The match will air live on ACCNX and will be available to stream through the WatchESPN app.
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