April 22, 2008
USAFA, Colo. – Seventh-ranked Notre Dame captured a 13-5 win over Air Force in Great Western Lacrosse League play on Tuesday afternoon at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. The Fighting Irish used a balanced offensive attack that featured 10 different goalscorers to claim their third victory in the last five days. Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney), Alex Wharton (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) and Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) all registered two goals and one assist for the Irish.
Notre Dame (10-2, 3-1) put the game out of reach early by jumping out to a 7-0 lead with 7:21 remaining in the first half. The Irish were up 5-0 by the end of the first quarter. That marked the fifth time this season that the Notre Dame defense has held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter of play. The five goals allowed were the fewest surrendered by the Fighting Irish this season.
Kelly McKenna (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) started the scoring for the Irish with a goal at the 11:46 mark of the first period. Dan Gibson (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis Univ. School) followed with a tally 32 seconds later. Krebs delivered his first goal of the game to make it 3-0 and it was soon a four-goal advantage thanks to a man-up score from Wharton. A goal from Hicks concluded the first-quarter scoring.
The Irish run continued into the second period with tallies from Hoff and Wharton. Air Force (3-8, 1-3) finally reached the scoring column with 5:27 left in the half with a goal from Dan Gnazzo. After the Falcons made it 7-2, Notre Dame scored six straight goals. Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) and Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) notched scores to make it 9-2 at the intermission.
Goals from Hoff and Hicks made it an 11-2 Fighting Irish lead at the end of the third quarter. A man-up goal from Peter Christman (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) was followed by a Billy Maloney (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) score to give Notre Dame an 11-goal advantage, its largest lead of the afternoon. Air Force deposited the final three scores of the contest.
The Falcons held a 39-37 shot advantage for the game. Notre Dame senior goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) earned the win by making nine saves and allowing two goals in 50:04 of play. Sophomore Brendan Moore (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) surrendered three goals and made one save in relief of Kemp. Brian Wilson picked up the loss by giving up eight goals in 48:11 of action.
The Fighting Irish will close out the regular season with a home GWLL showdown against Ohio State on Sunday, April 27. Game time is set for 12 noon (ET) at Alumni Field on the Notre Dame campus.
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#7 Notre Dame (10-2, 3-1) – 5 4 2 2 – 13
Air Force (3-8, 1-3) – 0 2 0 3 – 5
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Ryan Hoff 2-1, Alex Wharton 2-1, Neal Hicks 2-1, Peter Christman 1-2, Zach Brenneman 1-1, Michael Podgajny 1-0, Grant Krebs 1-0, Dan Gibson 1-0, Billy Maloney 1-0, Kelly McKenna 1-0, Duncan Swezey 0-1, David Earl 0-1; Goaltenders: Joey Kemp (W, 50:04, 9 saves, 2 GA), Brendan Moore (9:56, 1 save, 3 GA)
Air Force Scoring (goals-assists):
Dan Gnazzo 1-1, David Rose 1-0, Chris Tubesing 1-0, Griffin Nevitt 1-0, Colin Lockhart 1-0, K.J. Landgraf 0-1; Goaltenders: Brian Johnson (L, 48:11, 9 saves, 8 GA), Woody Johnson (11:49, 2 saves, 5 GA)