CLEVELAND, Tenn. — If soccer games were scored based on time of possession, Notre Dame would have won going away Thursday night.
As it stood, the Irish found themselves fighting for their lives.
Down 1-0 to Baylor with 40 seconds remaining, the Irish’s Blaise DiStefano fired a shot from 40 yards out, sailing past Red Raiders keeper Will Thoni and forcing the two teams to settle for a 1-1 tie on the second evening of the Cleveland Kickoff Classic.
Notre Dame (1-1-1) controlled possession for most of the second half and had taken what it thought was a 1-0 lead when Andy Helms connected on a free kick, but the referees conferred and decided that Helms had moved the ball prior to the kick, which disallowed the goal.
“We did a much better job of keeping possession in the second half and had some better chances to score,” Irish coach Jim Schermerhorn said. “When Andy scored and it was taken away, our heads went down.”
Baylor took advantage moments later, as Freddie Miller found a streaking Brandon Eaves on the right side. Eaves was able to fire in a score to give the Raiders the lead in their third game in three days.
The Irish found themselves in scramble mode and had a couple of close opportunities shut down by the tough Baylor defense, including a diving header by Ramsey Seagle on a cross.
The game was in stoppage time when DiStefano’s heroics occurred.
“I thought we played well,” Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. “We didn’t lose, but we weren’t defending like we should have. The heart and determination we needed, we didn’t have in the last 40 minutes — especially in the last three, four minutes when we really needed it.”
Said Schermerhorn: “When they scored, it was a real uphill road. We kept battling; then Blaise hit the great shot to tie. Overall I am pretty pleased, but it’s a tough game to not win.”