Feb. 17, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A four-point day from senior attackman Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) propelled the No. 11 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team past No. 13 Loyola (Md.), 9-7, in the season-opener for both squads on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,017 fans inside the Loftus Sports Center. Hubschmann notched his eighth career hat trick and dished out an assist as the Irish won their fifth straight season-opener.
Notre Dame (1-0) trailed 7-5 with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter before running off four straight goals to take the lead and hold on for the victory. Junior Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley Park) began the surge with a tally off a feed from senior Lucius Polk (Washington, D.C./St. Albans) with 4:43 left in the third period. Hubschmann then knotted the game less than a minute later with his third goal of the afternoon.
Two goals from sophomore Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) in the fourth quarter would put the game away for Notre Dame. His first tally, which was one of three man-up goals for the Irish on the day, came off a Will Yeatman (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) feed with 8:03 left. The second score came with 5:55 remaining as Hubschmann sent a pass ahead to Hoff and the attackman scooped up the ball and scored to put the Fighting Irish on top 9-7.
Junior goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) had a big day for the Fighting Irish as he made nine saves and held the Greyhounds scoreless over the final 22:56 of the contest.
Yeatman put the Irish on the board early as he notched an unassisted goal just 28 seconds into the game. The freshman attackman collected three points during his collegiate debut on one goal and two assists. Hoff and Polk also notched three points apiece for Notre Dame.
Loyola (0-1) used a 3-0 spurt to gain a two-goal advantage by the early stages of the second quarter. Greg Leonard scored with 2:50 left in the first period and Patrick Kennedy made it 2-1 in favor of the Greyhounds with just six seconds left in the opening stanza. Leonard recorded another goal with 13:11 left in the second period.
Hubschmann put a halt to the streak with an unassisted tally at the 11:14 mark. Polk then took a feed from Yeatman and deposited it to tie the game at three with 7:35 remaining before halftime.
Dan Bauers put Loyola back on top, 4-3, before Hubschmann and Polk struck again to give the Irish a 5-4 advantage with 3:25 left in the second period. A goal from Kennedy with 35 seconds left in the half would make it a 5-5 contest at the intermission.
The Greyhounds struck first in the second half with goals from Shane Koppens and Bauers to make it a 7-5 game with 7:56 left in the third quarter. That would be the last score for Loyola as the Irish defense held tight.
Loyola had a 39-37 advantage in shots, while both teams made nine saves. Notre Dame was 3-for-6 in man-up opportunities and the Greyhounds were 1-for-5.
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#13 Loyola (0-1) – 2 3 2 0 – 7
#11 Notre Dame (1-0) – 1 4 2 2 – 9
Loyola Scoring:
Goals: Patrick Kennedy 2, Dan Bauers 2, Greg Leonard 2, Shane Koppens 1
Assists: Cory Coffman 2, Shane Koppens 2, Ryan Rabidou 2
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Brian Hubschmann 3, Ryan Hoff 2, Lucius Polk 2, Will Yeatman 1, Michael Podgajny 1
Assists: Will Yeatman 2, Ryan Hoff 1, Brian Hubschmann 1, Lucius Polk 1