March 20, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A balanced offensive attack and a strong defensive performance led the No. 3 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team to a 9-4 victory over No. 8 Ohio State on Wednesday afternoon inside the Loftus Sports Center.
Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh posted a game-high four points on two goals and two assists for Notre Dame (5-1). Senior attackman Sean Rogers added two goals and one assist. The Irish had seven different goal scorers in the contest.
Fighting Irish senior goalie John Kemp matched a season-high total with 11 saves. The Notre Dame defense held the Buckeyes scoreless from the 12:14 mark of the first quarter until there was 10:47 left in the game, a span of 46:27. Ohio State (5-2) entered today averaging 11.8 goals per game this season.
All five Notre Dame wins this season have come against a team ranked in the top 10 of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll at the time of the contest. This is the first time the Irish have defeated five top-10 opponents in the same season since the 2010 campaign.
“Ohio State is a very good offensive team. They’ve been giving teams fits all year,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said. “I think we really benefitted from playing Denver on Saturday because they are very similar in their styles. They are both very unique to the rest of the lacrosse world, but similar to each other in their styles.”
The Fighting Irish scored less than a minute into the contest when Ryan Foley took a pass from Jim Marlatt and deposited the ball into the back of the net. Ohio State tied the game (1-1) on a Reegan Comeault goal with 12:14 left in the opening quarter.
Notre Dame started a 5-0 run on a Conor Doyle goal with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter. That goal gave the Irish the lead for good. A Nick Ossello tally put the Irish up 3-1 by the end of the first quarter. Kavanagh assisted on both scores.
The Fighting Irish defense kept the Buckeyes off the scoreboard for the entire second and third quarters. Notre Dame used second-quarter goals from Ryan Mix, Marlatt and Kavanagh to take a 6-1 lead into intermission. Rogers and Doyle had assists during that stretch.
“We played a very, very good first half today,” Corrigan said. “We are a tough team to come back on from five goals down. I’m still waiting for us to put a full 60 minutes together. We’re about halfway through the year now and it’s time for us to really kind of know ourselves better and have a sense of what the plays we can make and which ones we need to take a pass on.”
Following a scoreless third period for both squads, Ohio State snapped its drought on a Comeault goal with 10:47 showing on the clock in the fourth quarter.
A Rogers goal off a feed from Tyler Kimball put Notre Dame back up by five (7-2) with just under 10 minutes left in regulation. A Buckeye tally from David Planning 25 seconds later cut the Irish lead to four (7-3).
Rogers once again gave the Irish a five-goal cushion (8-3) when he scored off a pass from Foley with 5:25 remaining. The Buckeyes quickly answered back on a man-up goal from Jesse King, but that would be their final goal of the afternoon. A man-up tally from Kavanagh produced the final outcome.
The Fighting Irish were 1-for-1 in man-up opportunities, while the Buckeyes were 1-for-3. Notre Dame outshot Ohio State 42-27. Buckeye goalie Greg Dutton made 10 saves in the loss. The Irish won the faceoff battle as junior Liam O’Connor was 9-of-17.
Notre Dame opens BIG EAST play Sunday at Rutgers. Faceoff is slated for 1 p.m. (ET) in Piscataway, N.J.
March 20, 2013 – Loftus Sports Center – Notre Dame, Ind.
#8 Ohio State (5-2) – 1 0 0 3 – 4
#3 Notre Dame (5-1) – 3 3 0 3 – 9
Ohio State Scoring (goals-assists):
Reegan Comeault 2-0, David Planning 1-0, Jesse King 1-0, Turner Evans 0-2, Logan Schuss 0-2
Goalie: Greg Dutton (L, 60:00, 10 saves, 9 GA)
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Matt Kavanagh 2-2, Sean Rogers 2-1, Conor Doyle 1-2, Jim Marlatt 1-1, Ryan Foley 1-1, Nick Ossello 1-0, Ryan Mix 1-0, Tyler Kimball 0-1
Goalie: John Kemp (W, 60:00, 11 saves, 4 GA)
— ND —