May 5, 2007
HAMDEN, Conn. – The No. 8 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will carry an eight-game win streak into the 2007 NCAA Tournament after a 14-9 victory over Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon at Quinnipiac Lacrosse Field. The win gives the Irish, who wrapped up the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title last weekend, a perfect 5-0 mark in the GWLL this season. Sophomore attackman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) led the way for the Irish with six goals, while senior Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) chipped in three goals and two assists.
Notre Dame (11-3, 5-0) broke open a 1-1 contest by going on a 9-1 run to take a 10-2 lead by the early stages of the third quarter. The surge began with back-to-back goals from Hoff on assists from Ross Zimmerman (Utica, Mich./Brother Rice) and Will Yeatman (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo). Hubschmann then cracked the scoring column to give the Irish a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hoff notched his third goal, on an assist from Hubschmann, in the early stages of the second quarter.
Quinnipiac (6-7, 1-4) finally responded as Todd Kaiser scored with 10:29 left in the second quarter to make it 5-2 in favor of the visitors. Hubschmann and Hoff came right back and scored to give Notre Dame a five-goal cushion at halftime (7-2).
The second half opened with Peter Christman (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) assisting Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) on Notre Dame’s eighth goal of the game. Hoff kept the run going as he registered his fifth and sixth goals on assists from Yeatman and Ryan Cunn (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip), respectively, to give the Fighting Irish a 10-2 lead with 10:29 left in the third quarter.
A 5-0 run by Quinnipiac put the Bobcats within three (10-7) with 8:54 remaining in the contest. Mike Stottler ignited the surge with two scores in a row before three straight goals from Mike Annunziata.
Hubschmann put a halt to the run with his third goal of the day with 6:47 left in the game. Freshman Grant Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) scored off a Cunn pass 45 seconds later to give the Irish a 12-7 lead.
A Tucker Prudden goal cut the Bobcat deficit to four before freshman Mike Creighton (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) put the Irish up 13-8 with his first goal of the season at the 4:41 mark of the fourth quarter. Stottler scored his third goal to make it 13-9 and Yeatman responded with a tally to make it a 14-9 final in favor of the Irish.
Notre Dame opened the game’s scoring as Lucius Polk (Washington, D.C./St. Albans) netted an unassisted goal two minutes into the contest. Quinnipiac responded as Kaiser scored to knot the game with 10:39 left on the clock in the first quarter.
Junior goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) picked up his 11th win of the season by making 10 saves. Quinnipiac’s Jamie Prudden stopped 13 Irish shots. Notre Dame out shot Quinnipiac 39-24 and held a 47-28 advantage in ground balls.
Notre Dame will find out its NCAA Tournament first-round opponent when the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse selection bracket is announced live on ESPNU tomorrow from 9 to 10 p.m. (ET). In addition, ESPNEWS will air a short selection announcement segment after 9:15 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. The bracket will be posted on www.ncaasports.com. The first round will take place next Saturday (May 12) and Sunday (May 13) at campus sites.
Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team by logging onto und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000. You can also sign up to receive text message score updates through Irish Alert. Log onto und.com for more details.
#8 Notre Dame (11-3, 5-0) – 4 3 3 4 – 14
Quinnipiac (6-7, 1-4) – 1 1 2 5 – 9
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Ryan Hoff 6-0, Brian Hubschmann 3-2, Will Yeatman 1-2, Michael Podgajny 1-0, Lucius Polk 1-0, Mike Creighton 1-0, Grant Krebs 1-0, Ryan Cunn 0-2, Peter Christman 0-1, Ross Zimmerman 0-1; Goaltender: Joey Kemp (W, 60:00, 10 saves, 9 GA)
Quinnipiac Scoring (goals-assists):
Mike Annuziata 3-1, Mike Stottler 3-0, Todd Kaiser 2-0, Tucker Prudden 1-1, Jon D’Ascoli 0-2, Chris Griffin 0-1, Alex Marotto 0-1, Gary Messina 0-1; Goaltenders: Jamie Prudden (L, 59:25, 13 saves, 14 GA), Roger Fish (0:35, 0 saves, 0 GA)