UVA Men's Lacrosse Unravels Against Notre Dame: Four Takeaways

Virginia headed into the locker room tied three apiece with Notre Dame at Arlotta Stadium before falling to the Fighting Irish by a score of 12-7 as the Hoos completely unraveled, similar to last week's loss to North Carolina. Here are five takeaways from Virginia's third straight ACC loss.

Matthew Nunes and the Virginia Defense Stands Tall in the First Half

The senior goalie found his rhythm after letting in two early goals, closing out the half with eight saves and one goal allowed. Along with Nunes' strong presence in cage, the Cavs defenders put their bodies on the line with multiple blocked shots. The strong defensive effort of limiting Notre Dame attackman Chris Kavanaugh and Jake Taylor was impressive, allowing no points in the first half from either after they combined for the opening goal. This strong defensive effort limited the Fighting Irish to three first-half goals, tied for their lowest total this season.

STANDING ON HIS HEAD!#GoHoos🔸⚔️🔹 pic.twitter.com/OnLvjWrZDT
— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) April 12, 2025

Virginia's Offense Continues to Stagnate

The lack of answers continued on the offensive side of the ball for the Cavaliers as they only scored three first-half goals before only netting one goal in the third quarter. The attack unit of Ryan Colsey, Truitt Sunderland, and McCabe Millon combined for a mere four points, with Millon finishing 0/7 on shooting and three turnovers. Looking to the midfield, Jack Walshe and Will Inderlied each netted a goal but, similar to the attack unit, struggled to win their matchups.

The Cavs shooting also continued to falter as they shot an embarrassing 21.2% clip, while the Hoos failed to eclipse double-digit scoring for the fourth time this season. To add to the dismay, Virginia finished ⅕ on man-up as nothing clicked in South Bend. The additions of an incoming first-year class led by Brendan Millon and the debuts of Kyle Colsey, Ryan Duenkel, and Sean Browne will help next season, but with the current talent on the field, the expectation would be more than what's been seen these last few games.

Virginia Unravels in Second Half for Second Straight Game

In Chapel Hill, the Cavs trailed by three at the half before losing by nine; against the Fighting Irish, it was a similar story. The Hoos rolled into the third quarter tied with Notre Dame at three, and out of the locker room, the defense remained stout, allowing no goals through the first 11 minutes of the quarter. Then, the Irish erupted with four straight goals to close the quarter before three more to start the fourth, sucking the lifeblood out of Virginia. Whatever it is, a trend is emerging: the Cavaliers have a problem when it comes to closing out games. This same theme was prevalent against Maryland, where Virginia trailed 5-4 at half before losing 12-6.

In the second half, the Irish were scoring in all sorts of ways including this goal by Jake Taylor.

🤯🤯🤯

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT GOAL! Jake Taylor moves to fifth in program history for career goals with 123 and the lead is 3! Watch on ESPNU.#SCTop10 x #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/oGN3mDEAC2
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) April 12, 2025

Despite Three Straight ACC Loses a Win Over Duke Rifles Virginia Into the ACC Tournament

Although things seem dire for Virginia, despite sitting at 5-7, there is still a path to the NCAA tournament. Virginia plays Lafayette next week before hosting Duke to close the regular season. Duke is 0-2 in the ACC and plays Syracuse next Saturday. However, even if the Blue Devils beat the Orange, if the Hoos beat Duke, they automatically qualify for the ACC tournament due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. If Virginia makes it to the ACC tournament, two wins against strong ACC competition would likely boost the Cavs' RPI enough to lift them into the NCAA tournament.

Time will only tell if Virginia can turn its season around at the last possible moment. Virginia returns to action on Saturday, April 19th, against Lafayette at Klöckner Stadium.