April 16, 2006
USAFA, Colo. – Air Force used a five-goal effort from Conrad Lochocki to capture a 9-8 Great Western Lacrosse League win over No. 9 Notre Dame at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Senior attackman Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) notched his third hat trick of the season and his classmate Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) dished out four assists and scored a goal for the Irish in the loss.
Air Force (7-6, 2-0) held a 6-5 lead entering the fourth quarter, however Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) netted the equalizer for the Irish less than a minute into the final period on an assist from Walsh. The Falcons gained a two-goal advantage with 12:24 remaining on scores from Lochocki and John Smith just 22 seconds apart.
Notre Dame (7-4, 1-2) closed to within one at 8-7 when Walsh scored on a pass from Karweck with 11:14 left on the clock. The Falcons responded on a Justin Kuchta score at the 6:02 mark to make it a 9-7 contest. The Irish would not go away as freshman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) netted his second goal of the game, on a Walsh assist, to make it a one-goal affair with 2:51 remaining. The Fighting Irish got a few looks at the net in the final minutes, yet could not get the tying goal in the hard fought and intense league contest.
Hubschmann spearheaded the Irish surge in the first quarter with two goals in the first five minutes of play. He took a pass from Drew Peters (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) and sent it in with 1:22 elapsed in the contest and then found the net again at the 10:27 mark on a dish from Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) to give Notre Dame a 2-0 lead after the first quarter. The first period shutout marked the eighth shutout in a quarter for sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) this season. Kemp made 10 saves on the day for the Irish
The Fighting Irish would extend their run to 3-0 as Karweck took a pass from Walsh and deposited it with 6:39 left in the first half to collect one of his four points on the day.
The Falcons then responded with a 3-0 surge of their own on goals from Lochocki, Will Meister and Griffin Nevitt to make it a 3-3 game at halftime.
Both teams came out firing in the second half as they traded two goals apiece in the first five minutes of play. Lochocki netted a goal 59 seconds into the half to give the Falcons their first lead of the game at 4-3. Hoff then tallied a man-up goal, with the assist going to Walsh, at the 12:38 mark.
Following another Lochocki goal, Hubschmann completed his hat trick with an assist from Karweck to knot the game at five with 10:32 left in the third period. Lochocki struck again with just eight seconds remaining in the quarter to establish a 6-5 advantage.
Air Force held a 34-26 advantage in shots, while each team picked up 30 groundballs. Sophomore Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha) went 12-20 in faceoff attempts for Notre Dame.
Hubschmann now has a team-high 20 goals, while Walsh leads the Irish in assists with 19.
The Fighting Irish return to action on Sunday, Apr. 23 as they take on Lehigh at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. Game time is slated for 2:00 p.m. (ET).
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#9 Notre Dame (7-4, 1-2) – 2 1 2 3 – 8
Air Force (7-6, 2-0) – 0 3 3 3 – 9
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Brian Hubschmann 3, Matt Karweck 2, Ryan Hoff 2, Pat Walsh 1.
Assists: Pat Walsh 4, Matt Karweck 2, Drew Peters 1, Matt Ryan 1.
Air Force Scoring:
Goals: Conrad Lochocki 5, Griffin Nevitt 1, Will Meister 1, Justin Kuchta 1, John Smith 1.
Assists: Kevin Crumrine 1, Will Meister 2, Griffin Nevitt 2.
— ND —