April 8, 2017
By Robby Hamman
DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 3 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team (5-3, 1-3 ACC) fell to No. 10 Duke (9-3, 2-1 ACC) at Koskinen Stadium on Saturday afternoon in a road ACC matchup by a final score of 11-8.
The trio of senior midfielder Sergio Perkovic, junior attackman Mikey Wynne and sophomore attackman Ryder Garnsey each scored two goals for the Irish. Perkovic became just the seventh player in Notre Dame history to reach the 100-goal miletsone for his career and has 101 over his four seasons with the Irish.
How It Happened
Wynne wasted no time in getting the scoring started, firing a beautifule backand goal past the Duke keeper just 54 seconds into the game to give the Irish an early 1-0. The Blue Devils responded emphatically, scoring four straight goals in a span of 3:46 to go on top 4-1. Notre Dame managed to cut the Duke lead to one at 4-3 thanks to goals from Perkovic and Garnsey but the Blue Devils tacked on another goal with under a minute to go in the first frame to take a 5-3 lead into the second quarter.
The two defenses settled in after the high-scoring opening 15 minutes, as each team scored once in the second stanza. Wynne produced his second goal of the day off a pass from Garnsey to trail 5-4 before Duke answered with a goal at the seven-minute mark to take a 6-4 lead into the half.
The Blue Devils controlled the third quarter, outscoring the Irish 4-1 to extend their lead to 10-5 with 15 minutes left to play. Notre Dame’s lone goal in the third came from junior long-stick midfielder John Sexton, scoring in his third straight game.
Perkovic struck in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, firing a shot past the Duke goalkeeper, to pull the Irish within four at 10-6. Garnsey followed with his second of the day to draw the team within three at 10-7. Unfortunately, Duke scored a goal with 1:27 left to push its lead back to four and all but seal the win. Notre Dame’s Brendan Gleason added a goal in the final seconds to make the final score 11-8.
Notre Dame Players Of The Game
Perkovic and Garnsey finished with identical stat lines on Saturday, each scoring two goals and adding an assist to finish with three points. Garnsey scooped up a career-high three ground balls in the performance and has now finished with two or more points in all eight games this season. Perkovic has recorded three-plus points in four straight outings.
Notre Dame Stat Of The Game
Perkovic became just the seventh player in Notre Dame program history to reach 100 goals in a career, as the senior scored twice on Saturday and has 101 goals in his four seasons with the Irish. The 101 goals are the most ever by a Notre Dame midfielder. The senior now has 16 goals against Duke, the most against any team in his career.
Notre Dame Notes
- Perkovic recorded his fourth multi-goal performance of the season.
- With three points Perkovic moved into a tie for 15th place in program history for career points with 122. He is tied with Tom Glatzel (1998-01).
- Garnsey has recorded at least one goal and one assist in all eight games this season.
- Wynne’s two goals give him 16 on the season and 89 in his career, ranking second on the team.
- Gleason has scored in seven of eight games this season, including the last four outings, and now has nine goals on the season
- John Sexton scored his third goal of the season and fifth of his career.
- John Travisano Jr. scooped up a career-high five ground balls.
Up Next
The Irish have a quick turnaround, as the team returns home to Arlotta Stadium to host Marquette at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 11. The game will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra/ESPN3.
— ND —
The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.
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Robby Hamman joined Fighting Irish Media as athletics communications assistant director in September 2016, coordinating efforts for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse program. Hamman is a 2010 graduate of Bethel College, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in sport management and business administration, and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Defiance College in 2013.