April 20, 2008
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The No. 10 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team captured its second win in three days by taking down Lehigh, 14-7, on Sunday afternoon at Ulrich Field. Fighting Irish junior attackman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) scored four goals for the second straight contest to move his team-leading total to 30 for the season.
Hoff also added an assist to make it a five-point performance. Senior Alex Wharton (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) and junior Peter Christman (Simbsbury, Conn./Westminster School) both registered one goal and three assists for Notre Dame. Wharton leads the Irish with 22 assists this season. Sophomores Grant Krebs (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) and Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) netted two goals apiece in the win.
After both teams alternated goals to make it 2-2 at the end of the first quarter, Notre Dame (9-2) tallied nine consecutive scores to take a commanding 11-2 lead with 8:00 left in the third period. The 14 goals marked the seventh time this season that the Fighting Irish have reached double figures in the scoring column. The Notre Dame defense has yet to surrender a double-digit total on the year.
The first five scores in Notre Dame’s 9-0 run came with just 1:14 coming off the clock. Hicks began the outburst with 5:31 remaining in the first half and Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha) followed with a goal six seconds later. Wharton and Hoff then scored 13 seconds apart to give the Irish a 6-2 lead. Krebs and Duncan Swezey (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) finished the opening half off with goals to give Notre Dame an 8-2 lead at halftime.
Scores from Christman, Hoff and Hicks put a cap on the Fighting Irish surge. Lehigh (6-9) ended the drought was Brian Bienemann notched back-two-back tallies to make it an 11-4 game with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
Notre Dame extinguished any hopes of a Mountain Hawks comeback by scoring three of the game’s next four goals. The first was Hoff’s fourth goal of the afternoon and then following a score from Lehigh, David Earl (Simbsbury, Conn./Westminster School) and Matt Ciambella (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) extended the Irish lead to 14-5 with 2:57 left in regulation. Lehigh scored the final two goals to make it a 14-7 final.
The Irish held a 45-29 advantage in shots. Senior Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) earned his ninth win of the season by making eight saves and allowing five goals in 54:26 of play. Sophomore Brendan Moore (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) replaced Kemp for the final 5:34. Eric Spirko received the loss for the Mountain Hawks by surrendering 12 goals and making nine saves in 45 minutes of action. Notre Dame went 17-for-25 in faceoffs, with Clagett winning 10-of-16.
The Fighting Irish return to action on Tuesday, April 22 at Air Force. Game time against the Falcons is slated for 2:00 p.m. (MT) at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. The contest is a make-up for the originally scheduled March 22nd game that was postponed.
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#10 Notre Dame (9-2) – 2 6 4 2 – 14
Lehigh (6-9) – 2 0 2 3 – 7
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Ryan Hoff 4-1, Grant Krebs 2-0, Neal Hicks 2-0, Alex Wharton 1-3, Peter Christman 1-3, Duncan Swezey 1-2, Matt Ciambella 1-0, Taylor Clagett 1-0, David Earl 1-0, Dan Gibson 0-1, Patrick Maloney 0-1, Zach Brenneman 0-1; Goaltenders: Joey Kemp (W, 54:26, 8 saves, 5 GA), Brendan Moore (5:34, 0 saves, 2 GA)
Lehigh Scoring (goals-assists):
Ricky Cornetta 2-0, Brian Bienemann 2-0, Fred Cassilly 1-1, Matt Diehl 1-0, Brant Fischer 1-0, Max Dahlem 0-2, Jonathan Stumpf 0-1; Goaltenders: Eric Spirko (L, 45:00, 9 saves, 12 GA), John Park (15:00, 6 saves, 2 GA)
— ND —