March 28, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In a game that lived up to the billing, the No. 2 University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team topped No. 1 Syracuse in double-overtime, 13-12, on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,602 fans at a sunny Arlotta Stadium. Senior captain Jack Near netted the game winner for the Fighting Irish, who improved to 2-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
It was the first time in program history that Notre Dame defeated a top-ranked opponent. The Irish had been 0-4 all-time against No. 1 teams.
Four different Fighting Irish players – Mikey Wynne, Sergio Perkovic, Nick Ossello and Near – all tallied two goals, while Matt Kavanagh registered one goal and a game-high three assists. Sophomore goalie Shane Doss, the reigning ACC and national (USILA) defensive player of the week, made 12 saves in the win.
Dylan Donahue had seven goals for Syracuse and Nicky Galasso contributed two goals and two assists.
“This was a great day. It was a beautiful day with a great crowd and one versus two, but we play a bunch of teams that could be ranked one or two,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said. “We had a great week of preparation this week, probably our best week of preparation for a game we’ve had and we needed every bit of it.”
Notre Dame (6-1, 2-0) led 5-3 at halftime and exploded with four straight second-half scores to claim a six-goal advantage, which was Syracuse’s largest deficit of the season, by the 8:31 mark of the third quarter. Conor Doyle, Wynne, Kavanagh and Near all scored in that sequence for the Irish.
The Orange (7-1, 2-1) answered by scoring six of the game’s next seven goals. A deposit from Galasso and two more from Donahue, including one in a five-on-five situation, made it 9-6 with just under four minutes left in the third period. Following a goal from Perkovic, Hakeem Lecky scored and Donahue produced two more goals to put the Orange back within one (10-9) with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
Notre Dame’s Jim Marlatt pushed the Irish advantage back to two (11-9) but Syracuse responded with its third 3-0 run of the half. The surge began on Donahue’s sixth goal of the day and a man-up tally from Tim Barber knotted the game (11-11). Donahue gave the Orange its first lead of the afternoon (12-11) at the 1:06 mark of the fourth quarter when he scored with the shot clock on.
Notre Dame sophomore P.J. Finley won the ensuing faceoff and raced down the field and scored the first goal of his career to make it 12-12 with 59 seconds showing on the clock.
The Irish had the first possession of overtime, but could not score and Doss denied Donahue in the waning seconds to force a second overtime.
“He (Doss) gave up a couple (goals) early that were positioning goals and he’s usually really good about not doing that,” Corrigan stated. “But then he stole some, including that last one. (Donahue) gets rid of the ball so quickly that it’s almost impossible for goalies to catch up to that ball. For him to make that save at the end was terrific.”
Syracuse won the faceoff to start the second extra session and after an errant shot, Notre Dame defenseman Edwin Glazener had the back up that gave the Fighting Irish possession. Near, a short-stick defensive midfielder, worked his way around the goal on the other end of the field and buried the game winner, which was his fourth goal of the season.
“We had a huge stop and I’m not sure who got the possession for us on the endline, but it was a great hustle play,” Near said. “We then got the ball up and out. I realized I had a shorty on me and that’s a play we like. I shot it and I wasn’t even sure if it went in or not.”
Ossello won the game’s opening faceoff and scored just 26 seconds in, but Galasso tied it less than a minute later. Wynne put the Irish back up 25 seconds later and Donahue’s first tally of the game made it 2-2 midway through the first quarter. The Fighting Irish used goals from Will Corrigan, Perkovic and Ossello to claim a three-goal lead with 6:40 remaining in the first half. A goal from Syracuse’s Kevin Rice made it 5-3 at the intermission. Syracuse outshot Notre Dame 44-35 and the Orange also held an 18-11 advantage in faceoffs. Bobby Wardwell made 11 saves for Syracuse.
The Fighting Irish return to action next Saturday when they travel to No. 6 Duke. The ACC showdown is slated for 5 p.m. (ET) in Durham, N.C. and it will be broadcast on ESPNU.
March 28, 2015
Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
#1 Syracuse (7-1, 2-1) – 2 1 5 4 0 0 – 12
#2 Notre Dame (6-1, 2-0) – 3 2 5 2 0 1 – 13
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
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