April 14, 2006
DENVER, Colo. – In a game of runs, No. 18 Denver used a 4-0 surge in the second half to take control of the game and claim an 8-5 win over No. 9 Notre Dame in Great Western Lacrosse League play on Friday evening at Barton Stadium. Ryan Zordani led the way for the Pioneers with two goals and one assist, while freshman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) continued his solid play for the Irish with two goals. Senior attackman Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) also had a two-point game for Notre Dame with a goal and an assist.
Denver (8-4, 2-0) got on the board first and built up a 3-0 lead in the opening period of play. Brett Koll opened the scoring with 5:38 left in the period and then Michael Goltra notched back-to-back tallies to put the Pioneers up by three following the first quarter.
Notre Dame (7-3, 1-1) then continued its trend of second quarter domination as the Irish evened the contest at 3-3 heading into halftime. The Fighting Irish have outscored their opponents 28-9 during the second quarter this season. Hoff put the Irish on the board with 11:39 left in the second period on an assist from Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley). He added his second tally, and 12th of the season, at the 5:39 mark off a pass from Walsh. Junior midfielder Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep) knotted the score at 3-3 just nine seconds later after Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha) won the faceoff. Clagett was 12 of 16 on the night as he was going against Geoff Snider, who entered the game with the second-best faceoff percentage in the nation.
The Irish continued their surge into the second half with a Drew Peters (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) goal, on a Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) assist, to take a 4-3 lead with 12:27 left in the third quarter. Zordani responded with a man-up tally and then an even-strength score to put Denver up 5-4 with 11:45 left in the game.
The Pioneers took a two-goal advantage on a Brandon Barcus score with 8:42 left and then Denver finished off its 4-0 spurt as Snider won the ensuing faceoff and found the back of the net six seconds later to put Denver up 7-4.
Walsh notched an unassisted goal with 4:54 remaining to push the Irish to within two, however an Adam Goodwin tally with 2:11 left made it an 8-5 final.
Walsh now stands alone in fourth-place in Notre Dame history with 169 career points (74 goals, 95 assists). He entered tonight’s contest tied with Tom Glatzel (1998-2001).
Both teams recorded 33 shots, while the Irish held a 35-32 advantage in groundballs. Notre Dame’s Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) made five saves, while Jeb Hollingsworth stopped 15 Irish shots.
Notre Dame will now travel to Air Force for another GWLL showdown on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (MT).
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#9 Notre Dame (7-3, 1-1) – 0 3 1 1 – 5
#18 Denver (8-4, 2-0) – 3 0 1 4 – 8
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Ryan Hoff 2, Pat Walsh 1, Bill Liva 1, Drew Peters 1.
Assists: Brian Hubschmann 1, Michael Podgajny 1, Pat Walsh 1.
Denver Scoring:
Goals: Ryan Zordani 2, Michael Goltra 2, Brett Koll 1, Brandon Barcus 1, Geoff Snider 1, Adam Goodwin 1.
Assists: Brett Koll 2, Brandon Barcus 1, Adam Miller 1, Ryan Zordani 1.
— ND —