SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish sent the seniors and grad students out in fashion in the regular-season home finale, defeating No. 15/14 UNC by a score of 16-9 at Arlotta Stadium.
The Irish attack was very balanced on the afternoon, as 10 different players scored and five players totaled multiple goals in the victory. Eric Dobson paced the attack with three goals and now has recorded a hat trick in three straight outings.
Pat Kavanagh turned in a complete performance with four points off a goal and three assists while also adding four caused turnovers and a ground ball.
Liam Entenmann was masterful between the pipes, making 16 saves while allowing just nine goals in nearly 58 minutes of play. The 15 saves mark a season high for the senior.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish jumped on the Tar Heels early, scoring six times in the first frame while allowing just one to build a five-goal lead heading into the second stanza. Colin Hagstrom scored twice and Jake Taylor, Chris Kavanagh, Brian Tevlin and Griffin Westlin also got in on the action.
Notre Dame found the back of the net first in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 7-1 before the Tar Heel attack came alive and scored the final four goals of the half to trim the Irish lead to 7-5 at the half.
Notre Dame re-established its lead in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 4-1 to extend the lead to 11-6 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
The Tar Heels struck first in the fourth frame before the Irish immediately answered with four straight to put the game out of reach at 15-7. Dobson was instrumental in the spurt, scoring twice. UNC scored twice in the final nine minutes and the Irish struck once to make the final score 16-9.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
The seven-goal win gives Notre Dame eight wins this season of five goals or more and the Irish have now scored 15 or more goals in seven of 10 games this season.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish level the all-time series against the Tar Heels at 11-11 and have won three of the last four matchups.
- Notre Dame held UNC to single digits, marking the fifth time this season the Irish have accomplished the feat.
- The Irish finished with 13 caused turnovers, marking the seventh game this season with 10 or more. The 13 caused turnovers were just one shy of ND’s season high.
- Notre Dame entered the game second in the country on the EMO with percentage of .609 and improved on that mark in the win, cashing in on three of four opportunities on Saturday.
- Dobson recorded his sixth hat trick of the season and now has a career-best 24 goals on the season.
- Pat Kavanagh finished with four points, totaling 199 in his career. He is one shy of becoming just the third player in program history to reach the 200-point milestone.
- Pat Kavanagh’s four caused turnovers are a season high for the senior.
- Entenmann recorded 16 saves, marking his eighth straight game with double-digit saves. Entenmann now has 31 saves over his last two games.
- Hagstrom’s two goals were the first two for his career.
UP NEXT
The Irish hit the road for the final two games of the regular season for two ACC clashes. Notre Dame plays No. 3/4 Virginia at 2 p.m. ET at Klockner Stadium on Sunday, April 30. The game will air on ACCN.
— ND —