Sophomore midfielder Max Pfeifer was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after notching five goals and one assist in two games last week.

Irish Lock Down St. John's In 12-2 Victory To Move To 12-0

April 19, 2009

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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 3 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team scored the game’s final 11 goals to take a 12-2 victory over St. John’s on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field. The win improved the Fighting Irish to a perfect 12-0 on the season and it extended the nation’s longest home field win streak to 25 games.

For the second straight day, the Notre Dame defense allowed just two goals during the entire 60 minutes of play. On Saturday, the Irish downed Quinnipiac 10-2 in Hamden, Conn. Senior attackman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) and junior midfielder Grant Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) paced the Irish offense with three goals apiece against the Red Storm. Krebs also chipped in an assist, while junior attackman Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) had a game-high three assists.

After St. John’s (5-7) took a 2-1 lead with 6:08 left in the first quarter, the Red Storm would not score again for the rest of the afternoon. The Fighting Irish defense locked down on St. John’s to compile a season-best scoreless streak of 51:08. Senior goalie Scott Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) made 10 saves in 56:40 to pick up the win, while freshman Colt Power (Dallas, Texas/Episcopal School of Dallas) had four stops in the final 3:20 of play.

Krebs did not take long to up his team-best point streak to 28 games by scoring just 39 seconds into the contest. The junior has scored a goal in 24 straight games, which is another team-high mark. St. John’s tied the game (1-1) on a Bobby Fitton goal with 8:14 left in the first quarter. Trevor Michaelsen gave the Red Storm their only lead of the game as he scored with 6:08 on the clock in the opening period.

Hicks tied the game off a pass from freshman Nicholas Beattie (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) with 2:43 left in the first quarter. The contest was knotted 2-2 after the opening 15 minutes.

The Fighting Irish grabbed the lead for good as sophomore midfielder Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) scored three minutes into the second quarter. Krebs netted a man-up goal off a pass from Hicks with 3:48 left in the first half to make it 4-2. Krebs then fed Hoff, who put the Irish up 5-2 with just over a minute remaining in the half. Senior midfielder Peter Christman (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) gave Notre Dame a 6-2 lead at halftime as he scored with 38 seconds left.

The only third-quarter score came from Hoff off a pass from Hicks at the 6:18 mark of the period.

Notre Dame upped its lead to six (8-2) as Krebs scored his second man-up goal of the game. The Irish were 2-for-2 in man-up chances on the day, while the Red Storm was 0-for-2. Christman collected the assist on the tally, which was Krebs’ team-leading 24th of the season. Senior attackman Duncan Swezey (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) made it eight straight goals for the Irish as he deposited the ball in the back of the net with 7:11 left in regulation.

Swezey then collected the assist on a Max Pfeifer (Crozet, Va./Western Albermarle) goal with 5:47 on the clock. The goal was the first of the season for the freshman. The Irish won the ensuing faceoff and Hoff scored eight seconds after the Pfeifer goal to make it 11-2. Hicks collected his third assist of the day on the goal. A goal from Beattie with 4:28 left in regulation produced the final outcome.

The Irish won 11 of 18 faceoffs on the day. Sophomore Jake Marmul (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) went 6-4, while junior Trever Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich) went 5-3. The Red Storm held a slight 36-35 edge in shots. St. John’s goalie Gavin Buckley made seven saves in the loss.

Prior to the game, Notre Dame honored its senior class who was playing its final regular-season home contest. The class has established a program-record for wins over a four-year span with its current 47-12 mark. The seniors also have never lost a home game, going 24-0 to this point of their careers. Notre Dame’s current 12-game win streak is a program record.

Notre Dame will wrap up the regular season with a Great Western Lacrosse League showdown at Ohio State on Saturday, April 25. The game is slated for an 11:00 a.m. (ET) start at Ohio Stadium (The Horseshoe).

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April 19, 2009 – Alumni Field – Notre Dame, Ind.
St. John’s (5-7) – 2 0 0 0 – 2
#3 Notre Dame (12-0) – 2 4 1 5 – 12

St. John’s Scoring (goals-assists):
Trevor Michaelsen 1-0, Bobby Fitton 1-0, Jamal Jones 0-1, Harry Kutner 0-1; Goaltender: Gavin Buckley (L, 60:00, 7 saves, 12 GA)

Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Grant Krebs 3-1, Ryan Hoff 3-0, Neal Hicks 1-3, Duncan Swezey 1-1, Peter Christman 1-1, Nicholas Beattie 1-1, Zach Brenneman 1-0, Max Pfeifer 1-0; Goaltender: Scott Rodgers (W, 56:40, 10 saves, 2 GA); Colt Power (3:20, 4 saves, 0 GA)