Fourth-Quarter Shutout Fuels Virginia's 11-9 Upset Over No. 1 Notre Dame

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia (6-4, 1-0 ACC) held No. 1 Notre Dame (6-1, 0-1 ACC) – one of the nation’s top offenses – scoreless for the final 19:34 and Brendan Millon (2g, 2a) scored the game-winning goal with 3:29 remaining to give the Cavaliers their first lead since the opening quarter on the way to an 11-9 victory at Klöckner Stadium Saturday afternoon (March 28). The win marked the program’s first by an unranked UVA team over a No. 1 opponent. 

After starting the season 3-4, the Cavaliers tallied their third straight victory and captured their first win over an ACC opponent since 2024. UVA also handed the top-ranked Irish their first loss. Notre Dame entered Saturday’s contest as one of only five undefeated Division I teams. 

Virginia’s 11 goals also tied for the most by a Notre Dame opponent this year. The Irish had held their last four opponents – the last three of which were ranked – to single-digit goals. 

In addition to Brendan Millon, Virginia’s offense was led by Truitt Sunderland (2g, 2a), who this past week was honored with a number of accolades, including being added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. McCabe Millon (1g, 3a) was UVA’s third four-point-getter in Saturday’s win. Midfielders Joey Terenzi (2g) and Hudson Hausmann (2g) both proved essential in the Cavaliers’ comeback effort as both notched two goals apiece. Hausmann’s second of the afternoon was the exclamation point in the waning seconds of play. 

Defensively, the Cavaliers were anchored by close defenseman John Schroter (5gb, 2ct) and goaltender Jake Marek (5-3), who finished with 11 saves, his third consecutive performance with double-digit stops. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
Virginia scored back-to-back goals in the first two minutes on strikes from Sunderland and Brendan Millon, but their lead was short-lived as the Irish responded with three straight to flip the score midway through the first. While dodging a short-stick defender from X, Sunderland found Terenzi on the doorstep, who buried the equalizer [3-3], and extended his goal streak to four straight games. UVA struggled in the clear in the first, failing three of its first nine attempts, but made up for it at the faceoff X [6-1] with the help of Andrew Greenspan (9 for 15), who was facing his former team. After UND's three-goal run came in a span of a little over two minutes, the Cavaliers’ defense held the Irish scoreless for the final nine minutes of the first. 

Following a pair of unassisted goals by the Irish to break the 3-3 tie, McCabe Millon hammered home an outside shot on a feed from his brother with less than 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock to pull UVA back within one [5-4]. UND failed a clear and was penalized for delay of game, which led to the game’s first man-up chance with under 30 seconds left in the half, but its goalkeeper Thomas Ricciardelli (11 saves) made a clutch stop on the near post to prevent the Cavaliers from tying the game before the half. 

Virginia tied the score three times in the third quarter, but could not manage to pull ahead just yet. Hausmann’s first goal and Terenzi’s second appeared to shift momentum in UVA’s direction. For the second straight game, Terenzi was in on an end-of-quarter buzzer-beater as he buried his second score on McCabe Millon’s third assist of the day. With the help of Terenzi’s goal, and for the first time this season, UVA found itself tied entering the fourth quarter. 

The Cavaliers’ man-down unit negated their second penalty midway through the fourth. Amid UND’s possession immediately prior to the game-winner, Marek denied a UND outside shot that was fired while the Irish still had 54 seconds left on the shot clock. The Cavaliers nearly lost the ball on the ensuing possession, but UND was signaled for a loose-ball push, which set the table for Brendan Millon to dodge from the far wing, gain just enough separation, and hammer home a low-angle outside shot that got past Ricciardelli. Brendan Millon’s goal gave UVA its first lead in nearly 52 minutes of play. Marek made another crucial fourth-quarter save on UND attackman Josh Yago (2g, 1a) with 2:35 remaining on a stepdown shot that bounced off Marek’s facemask. After the Irish signaled for their second timeout of the fourth, UVA long-stick midfielder Robby Hopper dislodged UND’s top midfielder Matt Jeffery (2g) with an over-the-head check, and the UVA defense corralled the loose ball. With Ricciardelli out of the net, Hausmann split three Irish defenders before scoring with seven seconds remaining as the home crowd roared in jubilation. 

WITH THE WIN... 

• Virginia earned its first three-game win streak since recording seven consecutive victories during the 2024 regular season. 

• The Cavaliers snapped a four-game skid in the series with Notre Dame, dating back to UVA's heartbreaking 13-12 overtime loss at the 2023 NCAA Tournament semifinals at Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia). 

• UVA nabbed its first win over a No. 1 ranked opponent since defeating top-ranked Notre Dame 12-8 at Klöckner Stadium on April 30, 2023, when the Cavaliers were ranked No. 3 in the USILA coaches poll. 

• This year’s UVA squad became the first unranked team in program history to knock off a No. 1 opponent. 

• The Cavaliers snapped an 11-game skid against ranked opponents, dating back to UVA's 13-12 double-overtime thriller over Johns Hopkins at the 2024 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on May 19, 2024. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES 

• Eight of Virginia's 11 goals were assisted. UVA entered Saturday's game as the nation’s leader in assists per game.  

• The Cavaliers are now 5-0 when recording more assists than their opponent. 

• Virginia's 11 goals scored tied for the most by a Notre Dame opponent this season.  

• The Irish entered Saturday’s contest having held its last four opponents – three of which were ranked – to single-digit goals. 

• Senior attackman Ryan Colsey extended his goal streak to 24 games dating back to last year’s season opener, a span in which he’s totaled 52 goals. 

• For the third consecutive game, UVA goalie Jake Marek (11 saves) finished with double-digit saves. 

• McCabe Millon (1g, 3a), who entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 2 in Division I in both assists and points per game, has recorded at least four points in all but one game so far this season. 

• UVA faceoff specialist Andrew Greenspan, who transferred to UVA from Notre Dame for the 2025 season, finished 9 for 15 at the faceoff X. 

UP NEXT 
The Cavaliers travel to No. 4 Duke (8-1, 0-1 ACC) next Saturday (April 4) for their ACC road opener. Opening faceoff is scheduled for noon on ACC Network. 

Virginia will look to snap a 20-game skid in the regular-season series with the Blue Devils, a streak that began in 2005. 

Duke dropped its first game of the 2026 season at No. 7 Syracuse Saturday afternoon, 16-15.