March 25, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A program record-tying seven goals from sophomore attackman Matt Kavanagh propelled the seventh-ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team to a 13-7 victory over Ohio State on Tuesday afternoon at a blustery Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The contest was delayed for over a half hour due to snow and Ohio State’s Carter Brown scored the only goal of the opening quarter. It marked the first time all season the Fighting Irish were held scoreless for an entire quarter.
“We knew it was going to be an ugly game with the conditions and it was an ugly game. I think both teams had over 20 turnovers,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said.
Following the slow start, Notre Dame (4-2) responded with five consecutive goals in a span of 5:33 to claim a four-goal lead by the 2:20 mark of the second quarter. Kavanagh scored the opening three goals for the Irish with the first two coming 21 seconds apart. Conor Doyle and Jim Marlatt both registered scores in a 19-second span to make it 5-1.
Ohio State (2-6) received goals from Turner Evans and Reegan Comeault in the final 45 seconds of the first half to cut the Irish cushion to two (5-3) by the intermission. The Buckeyes’ run spilled over into the second half as Jesse King and David Planning scored to tie the game (5-5) with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter.
The series of spurts continued as the Fighting Irish scored three straight times beginning with a man-up goal from Doyle with just over a minute left in the third period. Kavanagh found the back of the net less than a minute later to give Notre Dame a 7-5 lead heading into the final stanza.
“Matt Kavanagh was terrific today,” Corrigan said. “He scored two or three goals in scramble situations, which he is so tough in.”
The Fighting Irish advantage increased to three on a Sergio Perkovic tally, but scores from Evans and Planning sliced the Buckeye deficit back to one (8-7) with 12:20 remaining in the contest.
Kavanagh began Notre Dame’s final surge to victory when he notched his fifth goal of the afternoon with just over 11 minutes left. Following a Jack Near goal, Kavanagh scored again to make it 11-7 with 8:43 showing on the clock. Man-down goals from Kavanagh and Liam O’Connor, who went 14-for-23 in faceoff attempts, seven seconds apart put the finishing touches on the win.
“We told our guys it was going to be a 60-minute game and they (Ohio State) were going to make it a low-possession game and we just needed to stay with it and we did. We made the stops that we needed to late in the game to win,” Corrigan said.
Notre Dame held a 31-22 shot advantage and freshman goalie Shane Doss made five saves in the victory. Scott Spencer had six stops for Ohio State. The Fighting Irish defense held the Buckeyes to 0-for-3 in man-up chances, while Notre Dame was 1-for-4.
Kavanagh’s seven goals matched the program record held by Randy Colley (1993 vs. New Hampshire) and Ryan Hoff (2007 vs. Drexel). Kavanagh also had an assist in the game and his eight points were one shy of tying the program standard.
Notre Dame returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday at No. 10 Syracuse. Faceoff is slated for noon (ET) inside the Carrier Dome and the contest will be broadcast on ESPNU and WatchESPN.
March 25, 2014
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
#7 Notre Dame (4-2) – 0 5 2 6 – 13
Ohio State (2-6) – 1 2 2 2 – 7
Notre Dame (goals-assists)
Matt Kavanagh 7-1, Conor Doyle 2-1, Jack Near 1-1, Sergio Perkovic 1-0, Jim Marlatt 1-0, Liam O’Connor 1-0, Brian Buglione 0-1
Goalie: Shane Doss (W, 60:00, 5 SVS, 7 GA)
Ohio State (goals-assists)
Turner Evans 2-2, David Planning 2-0, Jesse King 1-1, Reegan Comeault 1-0, Carter Brown 1-0
Goalies: Scott Spencer (L, 58:00, 6 SVS, 13 GA); Nick Doyle (2:00, 0 SVS, 0 GA)
— ND —