April 30, 2017
By Robby Hamman
DURHAM, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team fell to North Carolina, 14-10, in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship final on Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.
The Irish received three points apiece from sophomore attackman Brendan Gleason (three goals) and freshman midfielder Bryan Costabile (two goals and an assist). Sophomore attackman Ryder Garnsey added two points on one goal and one assist. Pierre Byrne, Brian Willetts, Robert Collins and Drew Schantz each added a goal in the final.
How It Happened
The Tar Heels came out firing in the final, scoring the first four goals to build an early lead. The Irish got on the board with 3:47 left in the first quarter courtesy of a goal from Costabile. Notre Dame trailed by a score of 4-1 after the first 15 minutes of play.
Gleason cut the lead to two goals early in the second quarter, beating the Tar Heel keeper off a pass from Ryder Garnsey to make the score 4-2 in favor of North Carolina. The Tar Heels then went on another run, scoring three unanswered goals to increase their lead to five goals at 7-2. Schantz scored the last goal of the half to cut the UNC lead to 7-3 going into the break.
The Tar Heels scored the first goal of the third quarter to go back up by five goals. The Irish responded by ending the third quarter with an offensive flury, firing in three goals to draw back within two scores at 8-6. Costabile and Gleason scored the first two goals in the sequence, each notching their second goal of the day. Pierre Byrne capped off the run with his first of the tournament.
After North Carolina scored the first three goals of the fourth frame to push its lead back to five, Willetts and Gleason each found the back of the net to trim the Tar Heel lead to three at 11-8 with just under 10 minutes to play. Unfortunately for the Irish that was as close as they would get the rest of the way as North Carolina won by a final score of 14-10 to take the title.
ACC All-Tournament Team
Notre Dame placed four players on the 12-man ACC All-Tournament Team on Sunday. Receiving the honors for Notre Dame were John Sexton, Shane Doss, Bryan Costabile and Brendan Gleason.
Notre Dame Player Of The Game
Gleason carried much of the Notre Dame attack on Sunday, posting the first hat trick of his collegiate career with three goals. The sophomore finished with a career-high three goals to lead the Irish.
Notre Dame Stat Of The Game
Junior long stick midfielder John Sexton caused a career-high four turnovers in the game, which equal the most any Notre Dame player has recorded in 2017.
Notre Dame Notes
- Gleason is the fifth Notre Dame player to record a hat trick this season.
- Gleason now has a career-high 16 goals on the season and 18 in his Irish career.
- Costabile has 16 goals in his freshman campaign.
- Garnsey finished Friday with a goal and an assist. The sophomore has 19 goals and a career-high 21 assists on the season.
- Garnsey has recorded at least one goal and one assist in 10-of-12 games during the 2017 campaign.
- Schantz scored his sixth goal of the season and ninth of his career.
- Byrne’s goal was his fourth of the season and seventh of his career.
- Robert Collins notched his first goal of 2017 and second of his career.
- Doss finished with 12 saves and has recorded 10-plus saves eight times this season.
Up Next
Notre Dame wraps up the regular season on Saturday, May 6, as the Irish travel to West Point to take on Army. Face off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
— 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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Robby Hamman joined Fighting Irish Media as athletics communications assistant director in September 2016, coordinating efforts for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse program. Hamman is a 2010 graduate of Bethel College, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in sport management and business administration, and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Defiance College in 2013.