March 11, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior attackman Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) registered a six-point performance with one goal and five assists and three Irish players totaled two goals apiece as No. 12 Notre Dame claimed a 9-7 victory over North Carolina in men’s lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at Moose Krause Stadium. The win improves the Fighting Irish record to 2-1 on the season, while the loss drops the Tar Heels to 2-4.
Netting two goals apiece for the Irish was the senior trio of Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton), Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) and Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley). Hubschmann also collected two assists on the day to bring his team-leading point total to 10 and Karweck, who has now scored a point in 11 straight games dating back to last season, had one helper.
It was a game of runs as Notre Dame would string together five straight goals to go up 8-3 early into the second half, yet North Carolina would respond with four scores in-a-row to make it an 8-7 contest with 4:09 left to play. Ryan then netted the tally that iced the game with 2:51 left on an assist from Karweck.
North Carolina out-shot Notre Dame 25-20 and the Tar Heels also held a 44-35 advantage in groundballs. Sophomore Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) made seven stops for the Irish and Grant Zimmerman made nine saves for the Tar Heels. The Fighting Irish defense stopped six of 16 clear attempts for the Tar Heels, while the Irish converted 16 of 17 clear attempts.
Walsh put the Irish on the board with 8:24 left in the first quarter as he took a pass from Hubschmann and sent it in for his fourth goal of the season. That marked Notre Dame’s first score in the opening period this season. North Carolina’s Ryan Blair knotted the game at one two minutes later on an assist from Michael Burns. The Irish would then run off two straight on goals from Ryan and Karweck to end the period.
The Tar Heels notched the first two scores of the second stanza with goals from Bart Wagner and Sean Link to even up the game at three.
Notre Dame would then tally the next five goals in the contest, with Walsh assisting on four of them. Hubschmann and Karweck netted the first two scores and then junior Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep) found the back of the net with just 10 seconds remaining in the half.
Freshman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) scored his third goal of the year to put the Irish up 7-3 less than a minute into the second half. Hubschmann finished off the run with his second goal of the day.
The Tar Heels countered with unassisted goals from Nick Tintle and Wagner to round out the third period. Link and Ryan Walterhoefer then netted scores on assists from Wagner, who had a team-high four points for the Tar Heels. The Walterhoefer tally was the only man-up goal of the contest.
Ryan would then put a halt to the North Carolina surge with his second goal of the day to give the Irish a 9-7 victory.
The Fighting Irish return to action on Tuesday, March 14 with a road contest at Villanova. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. (ET).
Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team by logging onto und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
North Carolina (2-4) – 1 2 2 2 – 7
#12 Notre Dame (2-1) – 3 3 2 1 – 9
North Carolina Scoring:
Goals: Bart Wagner 2, Sean Link 2, Ryan Blair 1, Nick Tintle 1, Ryan Walterhoefer 1.
Assists: Bart Wagner 2, Ryan Blair 1, Michael Burns 1.
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Brian Hubschmann 2, Matt Karweck 2, Matt Ryan 2, Pat Walsh 1, Ryan Hoff 1, Bill Liva 1.
Assists: Pat Walsh 5, Brian Hubschmann 2, Matt Karweck 1.
— ND —