CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Irish fell to No. 1 seed Virginia in the ACC Championships title game on Saturday by a final score of 10-4 at Klockner Stadium. Saturday’s final appearance was Notre Dame’s fourth in just six years in the ACC, including its third straight.
The Irish goals came from Bryan Costabile, Connor Morin, Nick Stinn and Griffin Westlin.
Sophomore goalie Matt Schmidt made 10 stops in the game, posting back-to-back 10 save performances.
All-Tournament Team
Notre Dame placed three players on the ACC All-Tournament team, as Costabile, Schmidt and Charlie Leonard each earned the honor. Costabile has earned All-ACC honors in each of his three seasons and Schmidt has been named to the team for each of the last two years.
How It Happened
The Irish and Cavaliers played to a standstill after the opening 15 minutes, as the score was level at 2-2 heading into the second quarter. Virginia scored the first two goals of the day before Costabile scored on an extra-man opportunity with a shot from distance. Less than two minutes later Nick Stinn buried a shot past the UVA goalie to tie the game at 2-2 with four minutes left in the first frame.
The Virginia defense kept the Irish attack at bay in the second quarter, holding Notre Dame scoreless. The hosts managed to score three goals in the quarter to take a 5-2 lead into the halftime break.
The Cavaliers scored the first five goals of the second half to put the contest out of reach with the score 10-2 with nine minutes left in regulation. The Irish added two goals in the final seven minutes, courtesy of Morin and Westlin to make the final score 10-4.