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#6 Irish Advance To NCAA Quarters With 10-8 Win Over Drexel

DENVER – No. 6 seed Notre Dame fought off a second-half rally from Drexel to come away with a 10-8 win in the opening round of the NCAA Championships. The win gives the Irish a quarterfinal matchup against the winner of Maryland and Vermont at Arlotta Stadium on Sunday, May 23.

The Irish attack was led by Wheaton Jackoboice, who notched a hat trick with three goals, none bigger than his third of the day to put the Irish on top 9-8 with 1:19 to play in the game. Tewaaraton finalist Pat Kavanagh and Morrison Mirer each added two goals to propel Notre Dame to the win.

Sophomore goalie Liam Entenmann was brilliant in the cage, stopping 17 shots in the winning effort for a save percentage of .680.

The Irish also got a boost at the dot, as Charlie Leonard (8-of-10) and Kyle Gallagher (7-of-12) combined to win 15-of-22 faceoffs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Irish built a 4-2 lead after the opening 15 minutes of play. Jackoboice got the Irish on the board in the first minute and then Drexel responded with two goals of its own to go up 2-1. The Irish managed to score the final three goals of the quarter off goals from Jackoboice, Mirer and Yorke.

Kavanagh scored the first two goals of the second quarter, including a highlight-reel behind-the-back effort, to push the advantage to four at 6-2. Both the Dragons and Irish each added a goal in the final three minutes of the half to make the score 7-3 at the break.

The Dragons came out of the intermission and scored four of the five goals in the third period to cut the Irish lead to just one at 8-7.

Drexel managed to level the score early in the fourth quarter at 8-8, setting up a dramatic finish. After the Drexel goalie made a number of stunning saves in the fourth the Irish finally found the back of the net. Jackoboice made a run down the alley and finished high and inside the far pipe to give Notre Dame the 9-8 lead.

The Irish won the ensuing faceoff and added a goal late when Mirer fired into an empty net for his second of the day, sending Notre Dame to the semifinals.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Entenmann made a number of highlight reel saves, coming up with 17 in the game. His 17 saves are just one shy of tying his career high, which he notched earlier this season in a win over Marquette.

STAT OF THE GAME

The Irish held Drexel to just eight goals, marking just the second time the Dragons have finished in single digits in the scoring column during the 2021 season.

NOTRE DAME NOTES

  • The Irish advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
  • Notre Dame’s midfielders finished with seven of the team’s 10 goals. Each member of the second midfield unit (Mirer, David Lipka and Sean Leahey) each scored at least once.
  • Jackoboice’s hat trick was the second of his season and third of his career.
  • Mirer has now combined to score six goals over his last two NCAA Championships openers, as he scored a career-high four goals in the 2019 win over Johns Hopkins.
  • Saturday’s contest was Notre Dame’s seventh straight game against an opponent ranked in the top-10 of the USILA Poll.

Up Next

The Irish will face the winner of No. 3 seed Maryland and Vermont in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships on Sunday, May 23 at Arlotta Stadium. Start times will be announced following the first round games and the game will air on ESPNU.

— ND —

The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.

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