No. 25 Louisville handed No. 2 Notre Dame its first loss of the season after six wins with a 1-0 win before 4,043 fans at Lynn Stadium. Senegalese-born Mohamed Thiaw, a transfer from CincinnatiState, had the lone goal when he lobbed Irish goalkeeper Chris Hubbard from 40 yards for his fourth goal of the season in the 25th minute.
Notre Dame’s best chance came in the 85thminute when Cardinal keeper Stefan Cleveland made a great leaping save on Jon Gallagher‘s right-footed shot and punched it over the crossbar.
“It feels good and I think wedeserved it as well,” said Louisville coach Ken Lolla. ” I thought we were a little bit nervous and had some jitters, but after about the 15-minute mark, we started playing. Once we started, Ithought we ended the first half pretty well and what a goal by Mo. In the second half, I thought we simply managed it and didn’t give anything away. We defended very well but it seems like Stef needsto come up with one each game and he was huge on that late shot. They’re a very good team and that’s a huge win.”
Cleveland, a two-time first team All-Ivy League selection and the 2015Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year at Dartmouth, registered his fifth shutout for the Cardinals, who are 5-1-1. He is attending Louisville as a transfer student.