(Photo Courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)
After falling in each of their past three contests, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with a 12-7 victory over the visiting Michigan Wolverines.
With Andrew Darby matched up on him, Notre Dame’s top scorer Pat Kavanagh was held without a goal for the first time this season and second time in his career. However, the junior would look just as dangerous as he showcased his feeding skills with four assists on the day, including one to his brother, Chris. Three of Kavanagh’s helpers came during the the Irish’s six-goal run that lasted from the 14:11 mark in the second through the 13:50 mark in the third where Notre Dame was able to settle in and roll, taking a 6-2 lead at half and getting up 7-2 early in the third quarter.
Chris Kavanagh also had four points as he ended the day with three goals and one assists. Two of his goals came during the Irish’s five-goal second half run that answered two straight from Michigan that cut the Notre Dame lead to three, 7-4.
Outside of the Kavanagh’s, the Notre Dame midfield was able to get going and constantly win those matchups from up top. Wheaton Jackoboice and Eric Dobson combined for four goals while Will Angrick and David Lipka also had one apiece.
After getting just one shot in a settled possession through the first seven and a half minutes of play, the Wolverines would eventually settle in and see both Ryan Cohen and Michael Boehm find the back of the net to give them the 2-1 lead at the end of the first. However, that would be the only lead the Wolverines would ever see and Boehm’s goal would be their last for roughly 21 minutes.
Anchored by a 19-save effort from Liam Entenmann, the Notre Dame defense suffocated the Michigan offense for much of the game, holding them scoreless in the second quarter and to just four goals through the first three periods as a whole.
Josh Zawada’s first goal of the game came with 6:41 left in regulation and capped off a three-goal Michigan run to cut the Irish lead to five. However, that Zawada score would prove to be the last of the game as the Wolverines were unable to get anything else as they committed two turnovers (one caused) and failed to get any of their six shots in those final six minutes and change to go.
Michigan won the battle at the faceoff dot with Justin Wietfeld going 16-for-23 (69%) and Shane Carr played as well as anyone, making 17 saves with a 58% save percentage. However, despite those two performances helping to keep the Wolverines alive, 18 turnovers (10 caused), a 16-of-23 (69%) mark in the clearing game, and getting beat 30-23 in the ground ball battle helped write Michigan’s downfall.
Princeton Knocks off Penn in Overtime
With 2:15 left in the overtime period, Coulter Mackesy dished it back to an open Chris Brown as a Penn defenseman broke his stick. Brown would take a step and put it past Emmett Carrol to secure the 21-20 win over Penn in what was an offensive clinic.
A five-goal Penn run in the third quarter helped them take their first lead of the game, 16-15, with 2:11 left in the frame. That run highlighted a period that saw the two teams combine for 13 goals. The Quakers would then tie things up at 19 with 6:40 left and after Chris Brown answered to give the Tigers the late lead, Ben Smith would get one to go on the doorstep for what would be the overtime forcing goal.
Penn won the ensuing faceoff and called a timeout to draw up a potential game-winning play. The Quakers got a good look on cage but Erik Peters came up clutch with the save to make sure extra lacrosse was had.
Princeton opened the game on a 3-0 run before adding two more to take a 5-2 lead at the end of the first. The Tigers hot start helped them outscore the Quakers 11-8 in the first half and take that two-goal lead heading into the break.
Chris Brown led the way for the Tigers with nine points off six goals and three assists. Alexander Vardaro also had five points (3G/2A).
Sam Handley had 11 points (3G/8A) for the Quakers. Emmett Carrol came in for Patrick Burkinshaw in the fourth quarter and ended the day with five saves, four of which came in the fourth quarter. Penn won the battle at the faceoff dot with Jamie Zusi and Chris Arceri combining to go 52% (21-for-40).
Maryland Wins National Title Rematch Against Virginia
In what was a battle between unbeaten No. 1 and No. 2, and a rematch of last year’s national championship game it was the Maryland Terrapins who came out on the winning end, 23-12. The win keeps Maryland at No. 1 and avenges their last two losses to the Cavaliers, which each ended their season (2019 NCAA quarterfinals, 2021 NCAA championship).
The Terrapins got up 2-0 to start and never trailed. After a relatively even 18-minutes of play with both sides going back and forth, Maryland took their 7-5 lead and broke it open as they showcased how they can and will stack goals in the most dangerous way possible.
A Logan Wisnauskas score off a Keegan Khan feed was the start off a five-goal run and 6-1 run to end the first half and pull the Terrapins ahead 12-6. Maryland would then go on a three-goal run in the middle of the third and once again around the same time frame in the fourth. They ended the contest on a five-goal run to seal the deal.
A big part of the Terrapins success was due to their success at the faceoff dot with Luke Wierman going 64% (25-for-39). Maryland also caused 10 of the 17 Virginia turnovers with the duo of Alex Zappitello and Brett Makar playing strong. Logan McNaney made 12 saves in cage.
Keegan Khan (4G/3A) led the Terrapins with seven points while Anthony DeMaio tallied six points (2G/4A) and Logan Wisnauskas had five (3G/2A).
Connor Shellenberger and Matt Moore each had three goals and two assists for five points to lead the Virginia offense.
Lehigh Earns Biggest Win of Season at Army West Point
Army’s Jacob Morin scored the final goal of the game with 54 seconds remaining, but the Black Knights would be unable to get anything more as the Lehigh Mountain Hawks ran out the clock to secure the 11-10 victory.
Lehigh opened the game with a 4-0 run and never once trailed. The Black Knights tied things up at 4-4 late in the first half after they rattled off four of their own while holding the Mountain Hawks scoreless during that same 14-minute stretch. However, a Cole Kirst goal made it a 5-4 Lehigh lead at the half.
In the fourth quarter, after getting outscored 4-1 in the third, the Black Knights once again found their mojo and cut the Mountain Hawks’ lead to one with a Reese Buerek goal off a Brendan Nichtern feed. And through the final nine minutes of the game both sides went back and fourth, but the Mountain Hawks never let the Black Knights get ahead.
Cole Kirst led Lehigh with four goals while Mike Sisselberger went 17-for-25 ( at the faceoff dot.
Brendan Nichtern had one goal and four assists to lead Army. Wyatt Schupler made 10 saves.
Cornell Holds off Yale
The Cornell Big Red stay undefeated (6-0) as they took down the Yale Bulldogs, 13-12, on Saturday afternoon to kick off Ivy League play.
Down 5-4 with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter, the Big Red rattled off eight consecutive goals to get up 12-5 early in the fourth quarter. Aiden Blake had three goals during that massive Cornell run the Bulldogs committed five turnovers that limited their time of possession. Four of those turnovers were caused.
Yale eventually ended their 23-minute scoring drought and ended the contest on a 7-1 run. Chris Lyons’ third of the day made it a one-goal game with 3:24 left, but the Bulldogs were never able to tie it up or get ahead. Yale only got off two shots in the final three minutes of the game, hitting the post once and sending another one high.
CJ Kirst led Cornell with four goals while Michael Long had three assists. Chayse Ierlan made 18 saves in cage. Gavin Adler caused two turnovers and scooped up three ground balls.
Chris Lyons led Yale with a hat trick. Matt Brandau was held to one goal and also had two assists. Jared Paquette made 18 saves in cage and Nicholas Ramsey went 21-for-28 (75%) at the faceoff dot.
Harvard Wins First Ivy League Game of Gerry Byrne Era
In what was the Harvard’s first league contest under Gerry Byrne, the Crimson took down the Brown Bears 12-11.
And once again, it was the Crimson defense that helped lead the way to victory. After taking a 12-8 lead with 11:14 in regulation in what was a very back and forth battle, the Bears found a way to get back into it late with two Devon McLane goals capping off a three-goal Brown run to make it a one-goal contest.
McLane got another good look at the cage in the final seconds, but Kyle Mullin was there for his 18th save of the day to seal the deal and secure the Harvard victory.
Hayden Cheek ended the day with four goals to lead the way for the Crimson offense.
Devon McLane had six points (4G/2A) to lead Brown. Matt Gunty went 22-for-26 (84%) at the dot.
Sacred Heart Shocks Hobart in Overtime
The Sacred Heart Pioneers are 1-0 in NEC play after knocking off the Hobart Statesmen 9-8 in overtime. It marks the first win over the Statesmen for the Pioneers since 2018.
Sacred Heart ended the contest on a 6-1 run to come back from down 7-3 and earn the victory. Carson Spooner score the eventual overtime-forcing goal with 9:32 in regulation and Ryan Stout scored the game-winner in the extra period.
Morgan O’Reilly led Sacred Heart with four points (2G/2A) and Nicky LaBanca made 14 saves in cage.
Ryan Archer dished out four assists for Hobart while Chad Bach had a hat trick. Adam Shea went 16-for-21 at the faceoff dot.
Loyola Tops Bucknell For Third Consecutive Win
The Loyola Greyhounds have now won three straight after taking down the Bucknell Bison, 13-9, on Saturday afternoon.
A five-goal Bison run put the Greyhounds down 7-5 at the half and 8-5 early in the third. But soon Loyola would find themselves amidst a run of their own as the Greyhounds scored six unanswered and ended the game on an 8-1 run to secure the win.
Seth Higgings had a career high six points (3G/3A) to led Loyola. Aidan Olmstead had four points off two goals and two assists. Sam Shafer made 13 saves in cage and Bailey Savio went 13-for-23 at the dot.
Connor Davis and Dutch Furlong each had two goals for the Bison.
Other Scores
- Georgetown topped Utah 16-6
- Brendan Krebs had 16 saves in Manhattan’s MAAC-opening win, 9-7, over Quinnipiac
- Kevin Winkoff and Daniel MacKinney combined for 11 points in Binghamton’s 18-10 win over UAlbany
- Tucker Dordevic had nine points (6G/3A) in Syracuse’s 14-9 win over Stony Brook
- Rutgers blew out Hofstra 22-10
- Boston U. beat Holy Cross 16-10 to stay unbeaten
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