Apr 1, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish midfield Jack Near (38) brings the ball up field against the St. Johns Red Storm at the Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

The Irish were unable to fend off the the Greyhounds in a battle for a shot to be crowned National Champion, Notre Dame fell short to Loyola (MD) 7-5.  In waning moments of the game it looked like the Irish would pull off an unbelievable comeback scoring back to back goals in the fourth quarter, but there was just too much ground to cover before the final whistle blew.

Eric Lusby, a graduate student for Loyola (MD), scored a total of 13 goals up to this point in the tournament, five of the goals came against the Irish today.  Loyola just seemed to have the edge over the Irish throughout the game.  Loyola (MD) will face the winner of the Maryland vs. Duke game in the National Championship, which will be held in Gillette Stadium at 1 p.m.  on Monday, May 28th.

Notre Dame played well overall. They started out hot, leading 3-1 at the end of the 1st quarter and 6-4 at the half. Their worst quarter was the 3rd. The Irish had many turnovers couldn’t get anything going offensively. But that all changed in the 4th quarter when ND put up 6 goals to close out the game, 12-10.

The game took a scary turn with 7:41 left after Ryan Foley gave Notre Dame a 9-8 lead. Virginia’s Scott McWilliams lowered his left shoulder and slammed into Foley’s chin after the goal. Foley had to be taken off by a stretcher; no official word has been said on how he is doing.

Senior midfielder Max Pfeifer registered 3 goals and 1 assist for the Fighting Irish, while junior midfielder Steve Murphy also had four points on 2 goals and 2 assists. Senior attackman Sean Rogers chipped in 2 goals for Notre Dame.

ND’s defense was led by goalie John Kemp, who made 14 saves for the Irish.

Notre Dame (13-2) will face top-seeded Loyola (16-1) on Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The winner will play again on Monday for the championship.

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The first match-up was difficult for both teams. Notre Dame knocked off Yale, 13-7, while Virginia edged Princeton 6-5.

Sunday will be the 7th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Virginia. The Cavaliers lead the series 5-1, including a 3-0 mark in the NCAA tournament. However, every game was played in Virginia. So, hopefully this time will be different.

Payer to watch on UVA-

Senior attackman Steele Stanwick will be vital to the Cavaliers’ offense. With 27 goals and 46 assists on the season, Stanwick is definitely someone to keep an eye on. Irish goalie John Kemp will be tested.

Team capitan Nicholas Beattie will be back for the first time since a leg injury against Duke the first game of the year. The Irish look re-energized and ready to go.

Score Prediction-

Notre Dame 10, Viginia 8.

The Irish will most likely be trailing at halftime, but I fully expect for them to pull out the victory.

The winner of the Notre Dame-Virginia contest will face the winner of the quarterfinal tilt between Loyola and Denver in the semifinals on Saturday, May 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Game-time: 12pm ET

Location: PPL Park (Philadelphia, PA)

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