Senior Kailene Abt scored two goals in the 6-5 double overtime loss to Cornell.

Irish Lose In Double Overtime To Cornell, 6-5

March 20, 2011

Lutherville, Md. – Notre Dame and Cornell traveled to Maryland to face each other in what became a defensive battle on Sunday afternoon as the Big Red handed the Irish a 6-5 loss in double overtime in a game played at St. Paul’s School.

Cornell’s Jessi Steinberg capped her three-goal afternoon when she beat Irish goalkeeper Ellie Hilling just 18 seconds into the second overtime stanza.

Steinberg’s goal capped what turned into a defensive struggle all afternoon as the Irish scored four times in the first half, holding the Big Red off the scoreboard and Cornell returned the favor in the second, blanking the Irish while scoring four of its own. In the first overtime, the teams traded goals before Notre Dame surrendered the game winner in the sudden death extra stanza.

Senior Kailene Abt led the Irish with two goals while Kaitlyn Brosco, Shaylyn Blaney and Kaitlin Keena had single goals. Cornell got single goals from Katie Kirk, Kelly Lang and Olivia Knotts to compliment Steinberg’s hat trick.

The loss drops Notre Dame to 3-4 on the season while Cornell improves to 3-3 overall. The Irish are next in action on Sunday, March 27 when they travel to Hempstead, N.Y. to face the Hofstra Pride in a noon game at Shuart Stadium.

Defenses dominated most of the first half as it took almost 17 minutes to score as Blaney broke through on Cornell goalkeeper Kyla Dambach to score with 13:35 left in the opening half to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.

Abt would score the next two goals, making it 2-0 at 6:20 and then 3-0, scoring with 34 seconds left in the half. Keena notched her lone tally, beating the Dambach and the clock with a goal with just three seconds left in the half to give Notre Dame a 4-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, it was the Big Red that slammed the door, limiting the Irish to just five shots and no goals in 30 minutes of playing time. Cornell finally got a shot past Notre Dame goalkeeper Ellie Hilling with 19:51 left in the second as Steinberg picked up her first of the afternoon to cut the lead to 4-1.

Lang scored her goal less than two minutes later at 17:27 to cut the Irish lead in half and Kirk’s goal at 14:43 made it 4-3.

Steinberg tied the game with her second of the contest at 8:19 and that would close the scoring during regulation for a 4-4 game after 60 minutes.

In the first overtime, Brosco beat Dambach with a free-position shot with 2:10 remaining in the six-minute extra session. Notre Dame would hold that lead until 24 seconds remained when Knotts converted a feed from Lang to tie the game at 5-5.

In the second overtime, Steinberg ended Notre Dame’s chance for a win when she beat Hilling at 2:42, just 18 seconds into the period.

Cornell out shot the Irish, 21-17, for the game. Hilling made seven saves in 66:18 of playing time while Dambach made four stops in the win.

GAME SUMMARY               1    2   OT  2OT - F#14 Notre Dame (3-4)       4    0    1   0  - 5Cornell (3-3)              0    4    1   1  - 6
ScoringFirst Half:Time Team Score Goal Assist13:35 ND 1-0 Shaylyn Blaney Maggie Tamasitis 6:20 ND 2-0 Kailene Abt Jenny Granger 0:34 ND 3-0 Kailene Abt (2) Kaitlyn Brosco 0:03 ND 4-0 Kaitlin Keena
Second HalfTime Team Score Goal Assist19:51 COR 4-1 Jessi Steinberg17:27 COR 4-2 Kelly Lang14:43 COR 4-3 Katie Kirk Free-position shot 8:19 COR 4-4 Jessi Steinberg (2)
First OvertimeTime Team Score Goal Assist 2:10 ND 5-4 Kaitlyn Brosco Free-position shot 0:24 COR 5-5 Olivia Knotts Kelly Lang
Second OvertimeTime Team Score Goal Assist 2:42 COR 5-6 Jessi Steinberg (3) Katie Kirk
Goalkeepers:Notre Dame: Ellie Hilling (66:18 min; 6 goals against; 7 saves)Cornell: Kyla Dambach (66:18 min; 5 goals against, 4 saves)
Total Shots: Notre Dame: 17, Cornell: 21Ground Balls: Notre Dame: 17, Cornell: 19Draw Controls: Notre Dame: 6, Cornell: 9Caused Turnovers: Notre Dame: 9, Cornell: 7