No. 6 Virginia and No. 23 Notre Dame Play to a 0-0 Draw
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 6 Virginia (9-2-3, 3-2-2 ACC) recorded its eighth shutout of the season in a 0-0 draw against No. 23 Notre Dame (8-5-2, 3-3-1 ACC) at Klöckner Stadium on Tuesday night (Oct. 23).
Virginia goalkeeper Colin Shutler (Broadlands, Va.) made two saves to earn his eighth clean sheet of 2018 while his counterpart Duncan Turnbull got in front of four Cavalier shot attempts.
“I think this was a tough night physically for both teams with the tight turnaround,” head coach George Gelnovatch said. “It’s not easy playing two ACC games this close and you could see both teams got tired as the game wore on and in turn became more resolute in not getting scored on. We’ll take the point and get ourselves ready for a tough UNC game (Friday – Oct. 26).”
Virginia Held a 15-8 shot advantage in the contest including a 10-2 edge in the second half. Off a corner kick in the 90th minute, Virginia defender Prosper Figbe (Ilorin, Nigeria) had his header attempt blocked on the goal line in perhaps the closest chance of the night. The ensuing rebound was headed just over the crossbar by Aboubacar Keita (Columbus, Ohio).
Midfielder Cabrel Happi Kamseu (Harare, Zimbabwe) had a game-high five shots including three of the five Cavalier attempts on target. The first year had his shot late in the first overtime session turned away by Turnbull. Classmate Daryl Dike (Edmond, Okla.) added a season-high four shots.
The double overtime match was the third for Virginia this season, playing a 0-0 draw against Maryland in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 3 and tying Virginia Tech 1-1 at home on Sept. 7. The Cavaliers and Fighting Irish have played four overtime games since 2013, all four have ended in draws.
Virginia will conclude the regular season on Friday (Oct. 26) when it travels to No. 5 North Carolina. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start and will air live on ACC Network Extra.
Additional Notes
• Tuesday’s match was a makeup game from Sept. 14 postponement due to Hurricane Florence.
• Notre Dame is Virginia’s most played opponent since 2013, squaring off a total of 11 times. The Cavaliers hold a 4-3-4 edge in those games.
• With Clemson defeating Syracuse, 3-2 on Tuesday (Oct. 23), Virginia is assured a home game in the upcoming ACC Tournament. North Carolina clinched its fourth-straight Coastal Division title with a 1-0 win over Duke.
• Notre Dame came into the contest ranked fifth in the NCAA RPI. Virginia’s final three opponents all rank in the top-5 (Wake Forest – 1; Notre Dame 5; North Carolina – 4).
• Virginia closed its regular season home slate with a 6-2-2 mark at Klöckner Stadium.