No. 1 Notre Dame 1, Duke 0
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- A set piece that resulted in a Patrick Hodan goal in the 59th minute made Notre Dame's ACC championship debut a successful one as the top-ranked Fighting Irish bested Duke 1-0 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday evening at Alumni Stadium.
Notre Dame (12-1-5) will face No. 12 Virginia on Friday in the league semifinals. Virginia handed Notre Dame its only setback of the season, a 2-0 decision on Oct. 26 at Alumni Stadium.
The first half of Tuesday's affair didn't feature much offense as the Fighting Irish recorded the only three shots of the stanza. The second half was a different story as Notre Dame upped the offensive pressure in a major way, resulting in a 13-3 shot discrepancy in favor of the hosts for the half.
The lone score occurred in the 59th minute when Fighting Irish midfielder Connor Klekota sent a free kick to forward Harrison Shipp, who chipped the ball to Hodan, who scored from seven yards out for his fifth tally of the campaign.
Duke (8-5-6) did not register its first shot of the match until the 64th minute. Fighting Irish goalkeeper Patrick Wall needed two saves to post his third consecutive shutout and his eighth overall of the campaign. Notre Dame will take a season-best scoreless streak of 320:25 into Friday's match against Virginia.
In addition to holding a 16-3 shot advantage against Duke, Notre Dame also had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. The Blue Devils committed 21 fouls, while the Irish were whistled for nine.
The Fighting Irish, who shared the ACC regular-season title with Maryland, are the tournament's No. 2 seed and Duke was the seventh seed. The loss snapped Duke's eight-game unbeaten streak.
No. 4 Maryland 2, Boston College 0
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Junior Mikias Eticha’s second-half strike proved to be the difference as Maryland defeated Boston College 2-0 in the ACC tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at Ludwig Field.
The Terrapins (11-3-5) piled on the pressure from the opening whistle against the Eagles (7-9-2). Sophomore Tsubasa Endoh added an insurance goal late in the second half and the Terps tallied 20 shots on the night.
Boston College keeper Alex Kapp starred in the first half, notching five of his seven saves in the opening stanza.
Eticha broke down the BC defense in the 52nd minute. He dribbled the ball onto his left foot and unleashed a strike from 25 yards that found the upper-left corner. The goal was Eticha’s first of the season.
Endoh put the game to rest in the 72nd minute. Freshman Michael Sauers served the ball into Endoh, who volleyed the ball past Kapp for his third goal of the year.
No. 12 Virginia 1, No. 9 Wake Forest 0
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Todd Wharton scored on a penalty kick in overtime to lift No. 12 Virginia to a 1-0 win against No. 9 Wake Forest on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals of the ACC championship at Spry Stadium.
Virginia advances to take on No. 1-ranked Notre Dame on Friday.
UVa eliminated Wake Forest from the ACC tournament for the sixth consecutive season; the Cavaliers are now 17-0-4 all-time against the Demon Deacons in the ACC tournament.
Virginia scored the game winner 3:44 into the overtime period. The chance was created after Marcus Salandy-Defour slipped a ball past the Wake Forest defense to find a streaking Jordan Allen down the left flank. As Allen crossed into the box, he was fouled and taken down by a Wake Forest defender, and UVa was awarded a penalty kick.
Wharton calmly stepped to the spot and beat goalkeeper Andrew Harris for his third goal of the year. It marked the Cavaliers' lone shot on goal in the contest. Wake Forest held a 12-8 edge in shots, although UVa took the only two shots in the overtime period. The Demon Deacons took seven corner kicks to five for the Cavaliers. Both teams were called for 13 fouls.
Virginia goalkeeper Calle Brown made three saves as he recorded his second consecutive clean sheet. The Cavaliers claimed their ninth shutout in 18 games while playing in their eighth overtime match of the year.
Virginia now will have a rematch with Notre Dame in the semifinals. UVa handed the Fighting Irish their lone loss of the season on Oct. 26 in a 2-0 contest in South Bend, Ind.
