SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The top-seeded Irish outscored UAlbany 10-4 over the final 30 minutes of play to advance to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals in a first-round win over UAlbany by a score of 14-9 at Arlotta Stadium on Sunday evening.
No. 1 Notre Dame will face No. 8 Georgetown on Long Island in Hempstead, New York, on Saturday, May 18 at James M. Shuart Stadium. The winner will advance to Championship Weekend in Philadelphia over Memorial Day Weekend.
The Irish attack was paced by five-point efforts from both Pat and Chris Kavanagh, as Pat finished with three goals and two assists while Chris totaled a goal and four assists. Both Devon McLane and Jake Taylor also tallied hat tricks, as McLane finished with a game-high four goals and Taylor added three.
Will Lynch was masterful from the faceoff dot, winning 18-of-26 attempts, including going 8-for-9 in the fourth quarter. The junior scooped up a season-high 12 ground balls in the winning effort.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both goalies and defenses were the story of the opening 15 minutes of play, as the Irish led 2-1 at the end of the first frame. McLane got the Irish on the board for the 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game. After a Great Dane goal leveled the score at 1-1 the Irish retook the lead off a goal from Taylor with under five minutes left to give the Irish the one-goal lead.
Notre Dame extended its advantage to three by scoring the first two goals of the second stanza, as Gray and McLane found the back of the net to put the Irish in front 4-1 with 8:36 left in the half.
The rest of the half flipped on an Albany goal where the Irish were whistled for a three-minute non-releasable penalty, in which the Great Danes leveled the score at 4-4 with two goals off the advantage. The Great Danes managed to score with seven seconds left to take a 5-4 lead into the halftime break.
The Irish offense came to life out of the intermission, scoring the first four goals of the third quarter to retake the lead at 8-5. The Irish goals came from Chris Kavanagh, Max Busenkell, McLane and Pat Kavanagh. After the Great Danes pulled one back with six minutes left in the period, Taylor scored the final goal of the frame to make the score 9-6 at the end of the third.
Notre Dame kept its foot on the gas entering the fourth quarter, outscoring UAlbany 4-1 over the first six minutes to take its largest lead of the day at 13-7 with nine minutes left in regulation.
UAlbany managed to score two of the final three goals of the game but the Irish came away with the 14-9 win to advance in the postseason.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- Notre Dame improves to 26-25 in NCAA Championships history, including a record of 21-11 over the last 12 tournament appearances.
- The Irish have now advanced to the quarterfinal round in 12 of their last 13 appearances.
- Notre Dame extends its win streak to 11 games, which is the longest since winning 15 consecutive games during the 2009 season.
- The Irish are 4-0 against UAlbany in the all-time series, including a record of 3-0 in NCAA Tournament matchups.
- With the win, Notre Dame improves to 11-3 in NCAA Tournament games played in South Bend.
- The Notre Dame attack has finished in double-figures for goals in every game this season.
- The Irish defense held the Great Danes to just nine goals, marking the fifth straight game they have limited opponents to single digits.
- Pat Kavanagh has recorded at least three points in every game this season.
- McLane registered his sixth hat trick of the season and he now has 16 goals over his last five games
- Jake Taylor’s three goals gave him is seventh hat trick of the year
- With five points, Chris Kavanagh has reached the five-point mark in eight games this season.
UP NEXT
The Irish advance to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals at James M. Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York to take on No. 8 Georgetown for a chance to go to Championship Weekend in Philadelphia. The game will be played on Saturday, May 18 and it will air on ESPNU.
— ND —