Virginia Lacrosse Dominated by Notre Dame 18-9 in ACC Semifinals

Matt Newton | May 3, 2024

Connor Shellenberger attempts a shot during the Virginia men's lacrosse game against Notre Dame in the ACC semifinals. / Notre Dame Athletics

The losing streak continues for the Virginia men's lacrosse team.

It was a short stay in Charlotte for the Cavaliers, who unceremoniously exited the first ACC Men's Lacrosse Tournament to be played in five years with a lopsided defeat to a familiar opponent. Just six days after falling to the Fighting Irish in the regular season finale, No. 5 Virginia (10-5) suffered its fourth-straight loss and second in a row to No. 1 Notre Dame (11-1), who sent the Cavaliers packing with an 18-9 defeat in the semifinals of the 2024 ACC Men's Lacrosse Championship on Friday evening at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

While the first meeting a week ago in Charlottesville was a hard-fought battle that the Cavaliers let slip through their fingers due to costly turnovers, the rematch was a bloodbath. Notre Dame scored the first four goals of the game, held a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 10-3 at halftime. That advantage was never in doubt, as the Fighting Irish led by as many as 12 goals en route to the blowout 18-9 victory.

Devon McLane led the way offensively for Notre Dame with four goals, but 14 different Irish players scored in the game. The player of the game was Liam Entenmann, who allowed only six goals while making a season-high 18 saves, completely smothering any chances the Cavaliers had of getting their offense going.

Those opportunities were few and far between as Virginia's offense never got into a rhythm. Payton Cormier had three goals and an assist and became the ACC's all-time leader in career goals with 214, while Shellenberger had two assists to break the ACC's assist record with 185.

Notre Dame won the faceoff battle 18-12 and had a 30-25 advatnage in ground balls. Though the Cavaliers turned the ball over significantly less and were much better on the clear than last week, their execution on offense and defense simply wasn't nearly good enough to keep up with the Fighting Irish, who continued to cement themselves as the best team in the nation and seem well on their way to repeating as national champions.

Notre Dame advances to take on Duke in the ACC Championship Game on Sunday, while Virginia will await its NCAA Tournament fate, which will be revealed during the Selection Show this Sunday at 9:30pm on ESPNU.