COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 1/1 Notre Dame outlasted No. 7/6 Ohio State in a battle of the unbeatens at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium on Saturday afternoon, picking up its third straight ranked win in as many weeks.
The victory improves Notre Dame’s record to 5-0 on the season, three coming against ranked opponents.
Luke Miller had a career day and continued his impressive run of play. He followed up his first career hat trick from last week with a career-high four goals to pace the attack. Josh Yago also notched a hat trick, his third of the season, with a four-point performance from three goals and an assist.
Thomas Ricciardelli had his best game in goal, making 13 saves, including one in the final seconds, while allowing just eight goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish were the first to strike, scoring on the first possession of the game as Matt Jeffery found Miller in space on the right wing, who fired his shot into the back of the net. Less than 5 minutes later Josh Yago scored to push the lead to 2-0 with 8 minutes left in the first frame.
The Buckeyes responded with two goals of their own to close out the opening 15 minutes of play and level the score at 2-2.
Notre Dame took advantage of a man-up opportunity with Miller scoring his second goal of the afternoon off the feed from Will Angrick to make it 3-2 early in the second quarter.
Ohio State once again answered, scoring the final two goals of the half to take a 4-3 lead into the halftime break.
Notre Dame scored on its opening possession coming out of the intermission, courtesy of Jalen Seymour’s rocket from the wing off the pass from Max Busenkell to tie the game at 4-4.
Ohio State then scored the next two goals to take a two-goal advantage at 6-4 before Yago found the back of the net for the second time in the game to make it 6-5 heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
The Fighting Irish carried the momentum into the fourth quarter and scored twice in the first three minutes of the period to retake the lead at 7-6. Will Maheras scored the first with an acrobatic catch and finish before Miller completed his hat trick with a bouncer from close range.
The Buckeyes regrouped and managed to once again bounce back with two goals of their own to go back on top at 8-7 with just under 7 minutes left in the fourth.
Notre Dame dug deep and equalized less than a minute later off Miller’s fourth of the day. Then, with less than three minutes remaining, Maheras found Yago, who fired in from the left wing for his hat trick to give the Irish a 9-8 advantage at the 2:47 mark.
The Irish defense held firm over the final moments, including a save from Ricciardelli in the closing seconds to deliver Notre Dame the 9-8 victory over Ohio State in Columbus.
STAT OF THE GAME
Miller scored a career-high four goals and has seven over his last two games. After recording four points off two goals and two assists in his freshman season, Miller has 12 goals and six assists through five games this season.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish improved to 38-13 against Ohio State in the all-time series.
- The Irish are now 3-0 in road games this season, including two against ranked opponents.
- Notre Dame has been stingy on defense, holding each of the last three opponents to less than 10 goals, all against ranked opponents.
- Yago recorded his third hat trick of the season and recorded his fourth game of the season with four or more points.
- Maheras registered two assists, tying his career high for assists in a game.
- Seymour has now scored in all five games this season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame finishes its three-game stretch against Big Ten teams with a home matchup against Michigan at Arlotta Stadium at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 14. Admission to the game is free and it will air on ACCN.
— ND —