Nto scores 11th goal of the season and Notre Dame beats Oregon State to reach College Cup final

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Eno Nto scored his 11th goal of the season, Bryan Dowd recorded his 11th shutout of the season and No. 2 Notre Dame beat unranked and shorthanded Oregon State 1-0 on Friday to reach the College Cup championship game for the first time since 2013.

Notre Dame (13-2-6), which has lost once since September, will play Clemson in the national championship game on Monday. The Irish, making their third College Cup appearance, lost to eventual national champion Clemson in 2021, and won their only title over Maryland in 2013.

Oregon State (11-6-5), in its first College Cup, was without head coach Greg Dalby and starting midfielder Javier Armas for violation of NCAA rules.

Nto entered as a substitute in the 30th minute and scored in the 51st. Wyatt Lewis drew the defense at the top of the box and sent a pass to the penalty spot for a wide-open Nto, who settled the ball and half-volleyed it into the bottom right of the net.

Notre Dame has won 34 straight games when scoring first. The Irish continued their season trend of dominating the second half, outscoring opponents 27-6 after halftime.

Oregon State had multiple scoring opportunities in the 67th, but Notre Dame defender Josh Ramsey used his chest to block a shot by Arnau Farnos in front of an empty net. Ramsey quickly got to his feet to deny Farnos again on a rebound attempt.

The Beavers had their eight-game unbeaten run come to an end.

Notre Dame looks for its second win of the season against Clemson after winning 3-2 on Sept. 9 in an ACC opener. Nto also scored in that game.

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