NOTRE DAME – No. 12/10 Notre Dame (6-5, 1-2 ACC) suffered just its second defeat at Arlotta Stadium this season against No. 10/8 Cornell (8-4, 2-2 Ivy League) by a final score of 11-9 on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon.
After trailing Cornell by four midway through the fourth quarter the Irish scored three straight goals to cut the score to one at 10-9 but were unable to complete the comeback.
Junior Bryan Costabile led the Irish attack with a game-high three goals. The midfielder finished the week with seven goals over the two games (scored four against Marquette). Junior Brian Willetts added two goals and an assist while sophomore Connor Morin had a goal and an assist.
Notre Dame face-off man Charlie Leonard dominated the X, finishing 20-for-23 on the afternoon, matching his career high for face-off wins in a game.
How It Happened
The defenses dominated the first quarter as both attacks had to adapt to the cold and rainy conditions. Both teams scored once in the first 15 minutes, as Costabile got the Irish on the board in the first four minutes. The junior forced a turnover on the ride, scooped up the ground ball and then had a creative finish to put Notre Dame on top 1-0.
The Irish and Big Red traded goals for the entire second quarter, both sides finding the back of the net three times to make the score 4-4 at the half. Willetts, Costabile and Eric Restic provided the Irish scores. Restic’s goal came off a feed from Willetts and the junior shot and barely beat the halftime horn, going in with 0.2 seconds left in the half for the first goal of his career.
After Cornell scored the opening goal in the third quarter, Morrison Mirer tied the game at 5-5, as he cut through the Big Red defense and bounced a shot past the goalie. Less than a minute later Morin found Willetts on the doorstep who caught and finished in one motion to put the Irish on top at 6-5 with five minutes left in the frame.
Cornell responded with the biggest run of the game, scoring five unanswered goals between the end of the third and first nine minutes of the fourth frame to go on top 10-6 with six minutes left to play.
Notre Dame fought back as Morin cut the visitor’s lead to three at 10-7 with 5:23 left in the game. Less than a minute later Notre Dame struck again on a low shot by Costabile to give the junior his third goal of the afternoon and draw within two at 10-8. The Irish then won the ensuing face-off and Leonard found Gleason on the edge of the crease. Gleason fired in his first goal of the day to make it a one-goal game at 10-9 with 4:21 on the clock.
Unfortunately, Cornell answered with its 11th goal of the day with just less than three minutes left to go back up by two goals. The Irish had a number of chances in the final minutes but could not convert and the Big Red escaped with an 11-9 win.
Notre Dame Attacking Player Of The Game
Costabile produced his second straight hat trick and now has a team-high six on the season. Costabile leads Notre Dame with 29 goals and has 76 in his career.
Notre Dame Stat Of The Game
The Irish won 20-of-23 face-offs against Cornell, all coming from Leonard. For the second time this season Leonard reached 20 wins at the X and scooped up double-digit ground balls with 10 on Sunday.
Notre Dame Notes
- Restic scored the first goal of his career in the second quarter, becoming the ninth Notre Dame player to record the first goal of their career this season.
- With a goal on Sunday, Mirer has scored three of his four career goals in the last two games.
- Goalie Jack Zullo stopped 12 Cornell shots, marking his third straight double-digit save performance.
Up Next
The Irish wrap up the regular season at Arlotta Stadium at noon ET on Saturday, April 20 against North Carolina in an ACC tilt. The game will air on ESPNU and be streamed via the WatchESPN app or WatchESPN.com.
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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