No. 15 Notre Dame upset the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals 2-1 in overtime Saturday after a hard-fought battle on a rainy day at Alumni Stadium.
Notre Dame (7-3-1, 3-1-0 ACC) got off to a hot start Saturday, as freshman forward Jack Lynn intercepted a backpass shortly after the opening whistle, and, after rounding the Louisville (6-2-2, 3-1-1 ACC) goalkeeper, sent a shot on target in an effort to give the Irish an early 1-0. But a Cardinal defender managed to get back toward the goal in time to set the shot off of its line and the two teams remained scoreless.
However, such an early aggressive start for the Irish would end up paying off soon after Lynn’s efforts, as senior defender Felicien Dumas kicked a cross from the left flank and Lynn won the battle toward the net to give senior forward Thomas Ueland the opportunity to send one just inside of the far post and hand Notre Dame a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.
Twenty minutes later, graduate-student midfielder Blake Townes nearly extended the Irish lead to two, as he took a shot that had a chance from close range within the box, but sophomore Louisville goalkeeper Jake Glenovatch managed to make an excellent save to keep the game within one goal.
Louisville came back out in the second half with some pace, and junior midfielder Cherif Dieye went on to strike one into the bottom corner of the Notre Dame goal to bring the Cardinals even with the Irish at 1-1.
After the first 10 minutes of the second half, Notre Dame managed to control the pace of the game, but although it created a number of promising scoring opportunities, the team was ultimately unable to capitalize after 90 minutes of play. The game was sent to overtime, Notre Dame’s fourth of the season, having tied the first one and lost the next two.
Notre Dame came out in overtime with a purpose, and in the 92nd minute, Ueland found himself with an opportunity in the box, but he was chased down by a Louisville defender from behind. After the contact, the officials determined the Irish would be awarded a penalty shot. Senior midfielder Sean MacLeod calmly delivered, nailing the shot and handing the Irish a 2-1 victory.
For the Irish, the win marked their fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season. The Irish will continue conference this Friday on the road against No. 23 Duke, starting at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.
