No. 6 Irish Suffer First Defeat Of The Year To No. 9 UVA, 12-11

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 6 Irish dropped a tough 12-11 decision to No. 9 Virginia in Notre Dame’s ACC opener on Saturday afternoon inside Arlotta Stadium.

Graduate student Will Yorke led the Irish attack, scoring a season-high five goals on just six shots. Freshman Eric Dobson also played a major role, firing a career-high three goals for the first hat trick of his career.

Kyle Thornton had a big performance on the defensive end of the field, causing a game-high four turnovers and scooping up three ground balls.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Notre Dame’s attack got off to a slow start, as the Cavaliers built an early 3-0 lead over the first 15 minutes of action but the Irish responded with a big second quarter from on the offensive end.

Yorke scored the first three goals for the Irish in the first five minutes of the second stanza to even the score at 3-3. Less than two minutes later Mikey Drake found the back of the net to put Notre Dame in front for the first time at 4-3. After a Virginia goal leveled the score, the Irish closed the half strong by scoring three of the final four goals to go into the halftime break up 7-5.

Virginia bounced back in the third quarter by outscoring Notre Dame 5-1 to regain the lead at 10-8 with 15 minutes left to play.

Both teams scored once in the first 10 minutes of the fourth frame to move the score to 11-9. The Irish attack went to work and Dobson fired in a rocket to trim the lead to one with four minutes to play followed by Yorke collecting a rebound on the crease and finishing on the doorstep to level the game at 11-11 with 3:24 left on the clock.

Virginia’s Dox Aitken was able to score what turned out to be the game winner with 2:28 left in the game. The Irish managed one last push in the final seconds but Yorke’s effort was turned away to give the visitors the win.

Up Next

The Irish hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Syracuse for an ACC matchup against the Orange in the Carrier Dome. The game will air on ESPNU.

— ND —

The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.

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