Feb. 26, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A Matthew Mackrides goal with two seconds left in the first overtime period gave #20 Penn State a 4-3 win over #2 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium. Junior midfielder Ryan Foley had two goals for the Irish.
Notre Dame (1-1) grabbed a 2-0 lead by the early stages of the second quarter. Junior defensive midfielder Quinn Cully put the Irish on top just over three minutes into the contest with the first goal of his collegiate career. Sophomore attackman Westy Hopkins assisted on the play. Foley gave the Irish a two-goal advantage with 11:22 remaining in the half.
Penn State (2-1) responded with three straight tallies to claim the lead midway through the third quarter. Michael Richards started the surge with nine minutes left in the first half. Drew Roper evened the contest with 2:40 showing on the clock in the opening half. The game was tied 2-2 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Mackrides gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the day (3-2) with 7:50 left in regulation. Foley responded for the Irish at the 3:31 mark to even things up at 3-3.
Both teams had possession in overtime, yet it was Mackrides who found the back of the net for the game winner.
“I think we left a lot of plays on the board today,” said Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan. “We simply didn’t make plays. You have to play well and you have to make plays and we made zero plays today.”
The loss snapped Notre Dame’s 15-game win streak in the month of February. The last Fighting Irish setback in February was a 10-9 overtime loss at home to Penn State during the 2002 season. Notre Dame also had won its last seven home games heading into today.
“We have to get back to work on Monday and make ourselves better,” added Corrigan. “I don’t think we had a great week of practice. I don’t think our concentration was great. We were so sharp mentally coming into the Duke game and I don’t think we prepared ourselves in the same way and that’s my responsibility.”
Junior goalie John Kemp made a career-high 18 saves for the Fighting Irish, while Penn State’s Austin Kaut also had 18 stops. The Nittany Lions held a slim 33-32 edge in shots. Both teams won five faceoffs. Freshman Nick Ossello took all 10 attempts for the Irish. Penn State was 0-for-4 in extra-man opportunities and Notre Dame was 0-for-2.
The Fighting Irish return to action on Saturday at Drexel. Face-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. (ET) in Philadelphia, Pa.
February 26, 2012
Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind. (Attendance: 1,426)
#20 Penn State (2-1) – 0 2 0 1 1 – 4
#2 Notre Dame (1-1) – 1 1 0 1 0 – 3
Penn State Scoring (goals-assists):
Matthew Mackrides 2-0, Drew Roper 1-0, Michael Richards 1-0, Tom LaCrosse 0-1; Goaltender: Austin Kaut (W, 63:58, 18 saves, 3 GA)
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Ryan Foley 2-0, Quinn Cully 1-0, Westy Hopkins 0-1; Goaltender: John Kemp (L, 63:58, 18 saves, 4 GA)
— ND —