March 5, 2016
By: John Heisler
The top-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team broke open a tense, defensive-dominated game against eighth-rated Maryland with five goals in the final period–including three in the final minute–as the Irish ran past the Terps, 9-4.
The third annual Pacific Coast Shootout was played at LeBard Stadium on the campus of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California–and a sellout crowd of 6,970 watched.
“That was an old-school game. It was physical right from the first whistle. Both teams were really well-prepared and played great defense, and it just made it difficult to generate much offensively. I liked the way we kept our composure,” said Irish coach Kevin Corrigan.
Sophomore attack Mikey Wynne led the Irish with four goals, including back-to-back tallies at the 5:22 and 3:29 marks of the final period that broke a 4-4 tie and pushed the Irish ahead for good.
This was a game that was far closer than the final score indicated. Both defenses played lights-out, and both goaltenders made big plays when they were required.
Wynne made it 6-4 with less than four minutes remaining, as he grabbed a loose ball out of a scrum in front of the goal and flipped it in.
Freshman attack Ryder Garnsey scored first for the Irish, then Maryland got goals from Lucas Gradinger and Matt Rambo to lead 2-1 (the Terps’ only lead of the night) late into the first half. Matt Kavanagh’s connection 2:37 before halftime for the Irish made it 2-2 at the break.
Wynne scored 45 seconds into the second half, and a Trevor Brosco goal at 5:17 of the third period made it 4-2 for the Irish. But Maryland responded with goals by Bryan Cole and Isaiah Davis-Allen to tie the game with a little less than 11 minutes left in the final period.
Wynne then connected twice in a row–and Garnsey, Sergio Perkovic and Wynne put the finishing touches on the margin with goals in the final 60 seconds, two of them into an empty net.
Shane Doss made seven saves for the Irish, while Maryland’s Kyle Bernlohr made nine.
The Irish outshot the Terps 37-28, while both teams collected 30 ground balls.
Notre Dame (4-0) returns to South Bend to take on a 5-0 Denver team (the Pioneers rank #1 in the USILA poll) at 5:30 p.m. EDT next Sunday (March 13) at Arlotta Stadium.
The Terps dropped to 1-2.
Score by Period 1 2 3 4 F
Maryland (1-2) 1 1 1 1 4
Notre Dame (4-0) 1 1 2 5 9
Maryland Scoring:
Goals: Matt Rambo 1, Bryan Cole 1, Lucas Gradinger 1, Isaiah Davis-Allen 1
Assists: Adam DiMillo 1, Tim Rotanz 1, Henry West 1, Pat Young 1
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Mike Wynne 4, Ryder Garnsey 2, Sergio Perkovic 1, Matt Kavanagh 1, Trevor Brosco 1
Assists: Brosco 1, Brendan Collins 1, Kyle Trolley 1
Goalkeepers
Maryland: Kyle Bernlohr, L, 59:36, 7 goals against, 9 saves; Dan Morris, :24; 2 empty net
Notre Dame: Shane Doss, W, 60:00, 4 goals against, 7 saves