April 8, 2006
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior midfielder Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) netted the game-winner with 4:16 left to play as Notre Dame downed Butler 9-8 in men’s lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon in the Butler Bowl. The contest was the Great Western Lacrosse League opener for both squads and the Irish improve to 7-2 overall on the season, while the Bulldogs fall to 3-7. Notre Dame’s Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) collected his first hat trick of the season and he also dished out an assist to post a team-high four points.
A key span in the game occurred when Walsh netted two goals with less than a minute left in the first half to tie the contest at 3-3 heading into halftime. The first tally was assisted by Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep) with 53.5 seconds left on the clock and the second came with just 1.6 seconds remaining on a pass from Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley).
Butler would regain some of the momentum early in the second half as Jeremy Sieverts scored an unassisted goal with less than two minutes gone by in the third quarter. However, the Irish would respond with back-to-back scores from Liva and Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton). Freshman Peter Christman (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) collected the assist on Liva’s tally, while Podgajny assisted on Hubschmann’s man-up goal. Hubschmann now has a team-high 17 goals.
The Bulldogs countered with two scores of their own from Adam Wade and Cliff Smith to take a 6-5 lead with 6:20 left in the third period.
A 3-0 run by the Fighting Irish would give Notre Dame its largest lead of the game at 8-6 with 12:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. Freshman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) began the surge off a pass from Walsh with 5:45 left in the third to knot the game at 6-6. Karweck would notch his first goal of the afternoon less than a minute later with the assist going to Hubschmann. Walsh then connected on his third goal of the day on Christman’s second assist of the game.
Butler responded yet again as Smith and Ben Sultze notched tallies to even the contest at 8-8 with just 5:48 left. Notre Dame did not waste much time as Karweck put back a rebound with just over four minutes remaining to give the Irish the lead. Notre Dame goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) and the rest of the Fighting Irish defense held down the Bulldogs for the remainder of the contest to preserve the victory. Kemp, a sophomore, made 10 saves on the day as did Butler’s Ryan Kaiser.
The Bulldogs held a 2-0 advantage after the first quarter of play on goals from Smith and Sultze. Notre Dame’s Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) sliced the deficit in half with his sixth goal of the season less than a minute into the second quarter. Wade put Butler up 3-1 with 11:09 left before Walsh found the back of the net twice in the final minute of the opening half. Walsh, the reigning GWLL Player of the Week, now has 11 goals and 14 assists on the season for a total of 25 points, which is second on the team behind Hubschmann’s 27.
The Fighting Irish out-shot the Bulldogs 32-29 and went 13-21 in faceoffs thanks to a solid day by sophomore Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha). Notre Dame also converted on 16 of 20 clear attempts.
Notre Dame will now travel out west for a pair GWLL showdowns. The Irish face No. 19 Denver on Friday, April 14 and Air Force on Sunday, April 16.
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#8 Notre Dame (7-2) – 0 3 4 2 – 9
Butler (3-7) – 2 1 3 2 – 8
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Pat Walsh, 3, Matt Karweck 2, Bill Liva 1, Brian Hubschmann 1, Matt Ryan 1, Ryan Hoff 1.
Assists: Peter Christman 2, Michael Podgajny 2, Brian Hubschmann 1, Matt Karweck 1, Bill Liva 1, Pat Walsh 1.
Butler Scoring:
Goals: Cliff Smith 3, Adam Wade 2, Ben Sultze 2, Jeremy Sieverts 1.
Assists: Doug Mathias 2, Will Morgan 1, Cliff Smith 1, Brian Welch 1.
— ND —