Feb. 24, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Junior attackman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) scored six goals to lead fifth-ranked Notre Dame past Penn State, 15-9, in men’s lacrosse action on Sunday afternoon inside the Loftus Sports Center. Fellow junior Duncan Swezey (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) added two goals for the Irish, while senior Alex Wharton (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) had one goal and a career-high four assists.
Notre Dame (2-0) jumped out to a 7-0 lead by the 14:48 mark of the second quarter. Senior Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) started the Irish surge as he scored with just 37 seconds elapsed in the contest. Colin Igoe (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne/UMass), Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School) and Swezey followed with unassisted tallies to give the Irish a 4-0 advantage with 10:04 left in the opening period.
Hoff notched back-to-back goals with the assists going to Wharton and Dan Gibson (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School) to produce a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. For the second straight game, the Notre Dame defense held its opponent scoreless during the first quarter of play. With 12 seconds gone by in the second period, Grant Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) scored a man-up goal on an assist from Igoe.
Penn State (1-1) put a halt to the Irish streak with a 3-0 run. Colby Rhodes put the Nittany Lions on the board with 14:39 left in the second quarter. Chris Hogan and Brian Shea also netted scores to make it a 7-3 contest with 4:52 remaining in the half.
The Fighting Irish man-up unit would strike again as Wharton fed Hoff with 3:25 left on the clock. Following a Davey Malera (Timonium, Md./Boys’ Latin) goal that gave Notre Dame a six-goal advantage, it was Wharton to Hoff once again to make it a 10-3 Notre Dame lead at the intermission.
The Nittany Lions struck first in the second half on a Rob Forster goal. Wharton responded off a pass from Krebs to make it 11-4 with 7:13 left in the third period. Charley Henneghan and Max VanArsdale registered back-to-back goals for Penn State to slice the lead to five (11-6) by the 6:28 mark of the third quarter.
Notre Dame put the game out of reach with four straight goals. Wharton connected with Hoff for the fourth time on the day to ignite the run. Hoff then scored his sixth goal off an assist from Malera to make it 13-6 in favor of the Irish after three quarters. The six goals were one shy of the school record, which Hoff shares with Randy Colley (’95).
Sophomore defenseman Mike Creighton (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) recorded an assist on a goal from Swezey to put Notre Dame up by eight (14-6). Freshman Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) completed the Irish scoring with 7:27 remaining in the contest.
Penn State scored the game’s final three goals. Will Donley netted two of the scores, while Matt Loy had one.
The Fighting Irish out shot the Nittany Lions, 47-31, while Notre Dame also held an edge in faceoffs, winning 15 of 27. Senior goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) made 10 saves for the Irish, while his counterpart, Drew Adams, had 15 stops.
Notre Dame returns to action with a home tilt against No. 11 Albany on Saturday, March 1. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (ET) inside the Loftus Sports Center.
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Penn State (1-1) – 0 3 3 3 – 9
#5 Notre Dame (2-0) – 6 4 3 2 – 15
Penn State Scoring (goals-assists): Will Donley 2-0, Brian Shea 1-1, Max VanArsdale 1-0, Colby Rhodes 1-0, Matt Loy 1-0, Chris Hogan 1-0, Charley Henneghan 1-0, Rob Forster 1-0, Andrew Mackrides 0-1; Goaltender: Drew Adams (60:00, 15 saves, 15 GA)
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists): Ryan Hoff 6-0, Duncan Swezey 2-0, Alex Wharton 1-4, Grant Krebs 1-1, Colin Igoe 1-1, Davey Malera 1-1, Michael Podgajny 1-0, Zach Brenneman 1-0, Neal Hicks 1-0, Mike Creighton 0-1, Dan Gibson 0-1; Goaltender: Joey Kemp (60:00, 10 saves, 9 GA)