NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A David Earl (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) goal with 1:41 remaining in the first overtime session gave the No. 9 Notre Dame men's lacrosse team a 7-6 victory over Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium. Earl and fellow junior midfielder Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) both notched hat tricks for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame (5-2) trailed 6-4 entering the fourth quarter, yet the Fighting Irish defense held the Buckeyes scoreless throughout the final period and in overtime. Brenneman sliced the deficit to one (6-5) with his third goal of the day at the 8:49 mark of the fourth quarter. Brenneman has a team-best four hat tricks this season. Earl knotted the game with 3:20 left in regulation.

Ohio State (4-3) opened the game's scoring 36 seconds into the contest on a goal from Mario Ventiquattro. James Green made it 2-0 in favor of the Buckeyes midway through the first quarter. Ventiquattro and Green both scored three goals for Ohio State.

Earl put the Irish on the board with 6:48 left in the opening quarter. Ohio State led 2-1 after the opening 15 minutes of play. The Buckeyes regained their two-goal edge on Ventiquattro's second goal of the day.

The Fighting Irish used a 3-0 run to claim a 4-3 lead at the intermission. Junior long-stick midfielder Andrew Irving (McLean, Va./The Hotchkiss School (Conn.)) began the surge at the 11:34 mark of the second quarter with his first goal of the season. A Brenneman goal evened the contest (3-3) with 8:13 remaining in the first half. Brenneman gave the Irish their first lead of the game with 21 seconds left before halftime.

Ohio State answered Notre Dame's 3-0 run with one of its own to start the second half. Ventiquattro completed his hat trick to tie the game with 13:44 remaining in the third quarter. Consecutive tallies from Green gave the Buckeyes a 6-4 lead heading into the final quarter.

Notre Dame out shot Ohio State 27-23. Senior goalie Scott Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) made 10 saves in the victory, while his counterpart Ryan Brant also had 10 stops. The six goals were the fewest allowed by the Notre Dame defense this season.

Today was Notre Dame's second overtime contest of the season. The Irish fell at Drexel, 7-6, in overtime on March 9.

The Fighting Irish will open BIG EAST Conference play next Saturday against Rutgers at Arlotta Stadium. Game time is slated for noon (ET).

* * * *

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State men's lacrosse team lost in overtime at No. 13 Notre Dame, 7-6, Saturday in Notre Dame, Ind. Seniors James Green and Mario Ventiquattro each had a hat trick to provide the scoring for the Buckeyes, while freshman goalie Ryan Brant had 10 saves in his first career start.

"I'm proud of the way the team competed and played today," Nick Myers, Ohio State head coach, said. "It was a tough loss but something we can ultimately build on moving forward."

The game was the first of five-consecutive road contests for Ohio State (4-3). The team will play at Fairfield Tuesday night in its first ECAC League game and will take on Quinnipiac Saturday in Hamden, Conn.

The Buckeyes opened the game vs. Notre Dame (5-2) with a 2-0 lead. Ventiquattro scored just 36 seconds into the contest and freshman Dominique Alexander set up Green for a tally at 7:37. The Irish cut the lead in half on David Earl's goal less than a minute later (6:48), making the score 2-1 Buckeyes after one quarter.

Mike Pires set up Ventiquattro three minutes into the second quarter but the Irish scored the last three goals of the stanza to send the teams into halftime with Notre Dame ahead, 4-3. Andrew Irving answered Ventiquattro's goal 26 seconds later to cut the lead to one (3-2). Zach Brenneman scored the next two goals, tying the game at 8:13 and giving the Irish their first lead of the game with 21 seconds left in the quarter.

1 2    Next  »

2010-03-20