March 23, 2003
Hempstead, N.Y. – The 11-th ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Hartford 17-3 on Sunday afternoon. Hartford (1-4) was Notre Dame’s (4-3) first non-ranked opponent of 2003 after opening the season with six straight ranked teams.
The Irish led 2-1 after the first quarter and took a 9-2 lead into halftime before outscoring the Hawks 8-1 in the second half. Notre Dame scored 17 goals for the first time since against Army in the 2001 campaign and won by a margin of 14 or more goals for the first time since defeating Air Force 16-2 in 1999.
Notre Dame’s attack on Hartford was led by a pair of freshmen, Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y.) and Drew Peters (Babylon, N.Y.). Both first-year players scored three goals, while Walsh added three assists and Peters added two of his own. Sophomore Chris Richez (Freeport, N.Y.) also contributed to the Notre Dame offense with two goals and one assist.
Stewart Crosland (Jr., Bethesda, Md.) started at goal for the Irish, playing in 37 minutes and allowing two goals. Senior Nick Antol (Baldwin, Md.) played the remaining 23 minutes of the game for Notre Dame and allowed one Hartford goal.
Notre Dame is next in action on Sunday, March 30, when it hosts Denver at 1:00 p.m. The game will be both teams opening Great Western Lacrosse League game of the season.
–ND–