April 7, 2013
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 4 Notre Dame ended the game on a 7-2 run en route to a 13-8 win over Providence in BIG EAST men’s lacrosse action on Sunday afternoon at Lennon Family Field. Senior attackman Sean Rogers paced the Fighting Irish offense with four goals and one assist.
Notre Dame (8-2, 2-1) led 5-4 at halftime, but Providence tied the contest on an Andrew Barton goal with 13:17 left in the third quarter. Fighting Irish sophomore Nick Ossello won the ensuing faceoff and fellow sophomore Conor Doyle scored one of his three goals in the game to give the Irish a 6-5 advantage. Ossello won 17 of his 21 faceoff attempts on the afternoon, while freshman Trevor Brosco was 3-of-3 in faceoffs for the Irish.
“Nick Ossello was terrific today,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said. “Not only was he winning faceoffs, but he also gave us some fastbreak opportunities.”
Providence (7-5, 1-3) responded with a Sean Wright tally, which tied the game (6-6) midway through the third quarter. Doyle put the Irish up for good just 25 seconds after Wright’s equalizer. The goal from Doyle ignited a 4-0 Fighting Irish run.
A man-up goal from sophomore midfielder Will Corrigan, who also had two assists in the game, gave Notre Dame a two-goal edge (8-6) at the 5:55 mark of the third period. Rogers then deposited his third goal of the day to put the Irish up by three (9-6) by the end of the third quarter.
“Sean Rogers finds a way to make the plays that we need on a week-to-week basis. That is what you expect from a leader and a fifth-year senior,” Corrigan said.
The Fighting Irish run continued when freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh converted on a man-up opportunity to make it a four-goal affair (10-6). Providence’s JT Weber stopped the surge momentarily as he cut the Irish lead back to three (10-7) with 5:45 remaining in the game.
Rogers’ fourth goal of the contest put the Irish back up by four (11-7) and junior midfielder Jim Marlatt increased the advantage to five with 2:30 left in the game. Doyle completed his hat trick to give Notre Dame a six-goal cushion (13-7), which was its largest of the day. Weber netted the game’s final goal.
The Friars claimed an early 2-0 lead in the contest on goals from Jake Newman and Brendon McGuire. Notre Dame responded with four unanswered goals to hold a 4-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. Rogers scored the first and last goals of the run, while juniors Westy Hopkins and John Scioscia had goals just six seconds apart.
Providence sliced the Irish lead to one (4-3) on a Kevin Blair tally less than a minute into the second quarter. Marlatt, who had two goals and two assists on the day, put the Irish back up by two (5-3) at the 7:07 mark of the period. A goal from Wright made it a one-goal game at the intermission.
“We had problems turning the ball over in the clearing game in the first half and that allowed them to have sustained possessions,” Corrigan said. “It’s an uphill battle when you’re turning the ball over like that and giving them a second chance. We weren’t able to pull away and get separation because of that and they were able to grind the game out.”
Notre Dame outshot Providence 46-29 for the game. Senior goalie John Kemp made nine saves for the Irish, while Jack Connelly had 13 stops for the Friars. Notre Dame’s defense forced 11 shot-clock warnings on Providence. The Irish were 2-of-3 in man-up chances, while the Friars were 0-of-3.
The Fighting Irish combined to score 30 goals in their two wins this week (Notre Dame topped Marquette 17-5 on Tuesday). The 30 goals are the most for the Irish in consecutive games since the 2009 season when they combined for 32 in wins over Penn State (13-8) and Dartmouth (19-7).
Notre Dame will play host to Georgetown on Sunday. The BIG EAST clash is slated for 11 a.m. (ET) at Arlotta Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and WatchESPN.com.
April 7, 2013 – Lennon Family Field – Providence, R.I.
#4 Notre Dame (8-2, 2-1) – 4 1 4 4 – 13
Providence (7-5, 1-3) – 2 2 2 2 – 8
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Sean Rogers 4-1, Conor Doyle 3-1, Jim Marlatt 2-2, Will Corrigan 1-2, Westy Hopkins 1-1, Matt Kavanagh 1-0, John Scioscia 1-0, Nick Ossello 0-1
Goalie: John Kemp (W, 60:00, 9 saves, 8 GA)
Providence Scoring (goals-assists):
JT Weber 2-2, Sean Wright 2-1, Andrew Barton 1-0, Kevin Blair 1-0, Brendon McGuire 1-0, Jake Newman 1-0
Goalie: Jack Connelly (L, 60:00, 13 saves, 13 GA)
— ND —