May 13, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A four-goal effort from Matt Ward propelled No. 1 Virginia to a 14-10 victory over No. 15 Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,876 fans at Klockner Stadium. With the win, the Cavaliers move to the quarterfinals of the tournament, while the Fighting Irish end their season with a 10-5 mark overall.
Freshman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) netted his third hat trick of the season for the Irish, while seniors Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) and Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) chipped in two goals and one assist apiece. Fellow senior Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) dished out three assists on the day to end his stellar Notre Dame career just two assists shy from tying the program’s career mark in that category. Virginia’s Ward also collected two assists to complete a game-high five points as did his teammate Danny Glading on two goals and three assists.
Virginia (14-0) opened up a 3-0 lead by the 6:40 mark of the first quarter on two goals from Matt Ward along with a Steve Giannone tally. The defense of the Cavaliers also hounded the Irish early on by not allowing many good looks in the opening period.
Notre Dame (10-5) broke through with under a minute left in the first quarter as Hubschmann netted an unassisted man-up goal to make it a 3-1 game at the end of the first 15 minutes of play. Sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) came up with some huge saves early to keep the Irish in the contest. The sophomore collected a season-high 20 saves on the day.
The Cavaliers regained a three-goal advantage early in the second quarter as Kyle Dixon found the back of the net with just 28 seconds elapsed in the period. When it looked as though Virginia might break the game open, Notre Dame took control of the tempo en route to a 3-0 run to knot the game at 4-4 with 4:18 remaining in the half.
Freshman Peter Christman (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) took a feed from Karweck to slice the deficit to 4-2 with 10:55 left in the second. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to make it a one-goal game, Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep) finally capitalized for the Fighting Irish as he controlled a rebound and sent it in with 4:33 left. Notre Dame’s Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha) won the ensuing faceoff and D.J. Driscoll (Downington, Pa./Malvern Prep) picked up the groundball and found Hubschmann, who sent it in to make it a 4-4 contest.
Virginia soon regained the momentum as the Cavaliers went on a 3-0 run to end the first half and take a 7-4 lead into the locker room. Danny Glading, Garrett Billings and Matt Poskay notched the Virginia goals in that span.
The Cavaliers extended their surge into the second half with scores from Dixon and Ward to up the lead to 9-4 at the 11:36 mark. The Irish kept on fighting with back-to-back goals from Hoff, with Walsh collecting the assist on both tallies.
With the score 9-6 midway through the third period, the Cavaliers rattled off three goals in-a-row in less than five minutes to claim their largest lead of the contest at 12-6. Notre Dame once again struck back with a man-up goal from Karweck on an assist from Walsh to close out the quarter with Virginia leading 12-7.
The Irish would outscore the Cavaliers 3-2 in the fourth quarter yet it would not be enough as Virginia captured the 14-10 win and a berth in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship next weekend. Scoring for Notre Dame in the final period was Karweck, Liva and Hoff.
Virginia held a 50-34 advantage in shots, while Notre Dame won the faceoff battle as Clagett went 16-28. The Irish also converted on three of five extra-man opportunities. Virginia’s Kip Turner made 10 saves on the day.
The final margin was the second-closest for top-ranked Virginia on the season and its closest contest at home.
#15 Notre Dame (10-5) – 1 3 3 3 – 10
#1 Virginia (14-0) – 3 4 5 2 – 14
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Ryan Hoff 3, Brian Hubschmann 2, Matt Karweck 2, Bill Liva 2, Peter Christman 1.
Assists: Pat Walsh 3, Peter Christman 1, D.J. Driscoll 1, Brian Hubschmann 1, Matt Karweck 1.
Virginia Scoring:
Goals: Matt Ward 4, Kyle Dixon 3, Danny Glading 2, Drew Thompson 1, Matt Poskay 1, Steve Giannone 1, Garrett Billings 1, J.J. Morrissey 1.
Assists: Danny Glading 3, Ben Rubeor 2, Drew Thompson 2, Kyle Dixon 1, Matt Poskay 1, Matt Ward 1.
— ND —