March 19, 2016
By John Heisler
Junior All-America midfielder Sergio Perkovic scored the tying goal with 23 seconds remaining in the fourth period and then notched the game-winning tally 29 seconds into the overtime session.
Those two scores completed the hat trick for the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, product and lifted second-rated Notre Dame (5-1 overall, 1-0 ACC) past Virginia 8-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s lacrosse opener for the Irish.
It was the second overtime outing in a seven-day span at Arlotta Stadium after top-rated Denver snuck past the Irish 9-8 in extra time last Sunday.
It was the ninth time in his career that Perkovic scored three or more goals in a game. He had four scores earlier this year against both Georgetown and Detroit.
“People are scheming for Sergio–they’re ready for him and sliding quickly to him. He’s not getting a lot of great looks,” said Irish coach Kevin Corrigan. “But he’s unafraid of the moment at the end of the game–he’s going to do what he can to make a play and that’s pretty special.”
The victory extended Notre Dame’s winning streak over the Cavaliers to four in the first appearance for Virginia (3-5 overall, 0-2 in ACC play) at Arlotta Stadium.
In a contest that featured many long possessions early by both teams, the Irish ran out to a 2-0 lead on goals by senior captain Matt Kavanagh (at 7:34 of the opening period) and junior midfielder Ben Pridemore (at 10:03 of the second).
Junior Irish goalie Shane Doss got off to a strong start, holding Virginia scoreless for the first 22:20 of the game. But once the Cavaliers got started they made it rough on the home team.
Down a pair of goals, Virginia notched the next four scores–the last two of the second period and the first two in less than half a minute of the third period.
Greg Coholan scored first for Virginia and James Pannell followed 1:13 before the break to tie the game at two. With Kavanagh serving a penalty from the last seven seconds of the first half, Ryan Lukacovic gave the visitors their first lead 12 seconds into the third period-and Zed Williams made it 4-2 for Virginia 13 seconds later.
Mikey Wynne and Perkovic scored for Notre Dame in the middle of the third period to tie the contest at four-then Virginia grabbed leads of 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 on tallies by Williams, Pannell and Lukacovic (his score came at 1:24 of the fourth period).
Another Kavanagh goal tied the game at 5-5 at 1:26 of the third period, while Eddy Lubowicki connected at 2:27 of the fourth period to tie it 6-6.
From there Perkovic did the rest. He led both teams with 10 shots.
Trevor Brosco, Pierre Byrne, Ryder Garnsey, Lubowicki, Perkovic and Drew Schantz each accounted for a Notre Dame assist.
Doss finished with 14 saves, while Virginia’s Matt Barrett made 11. The visitors won 14 of 18 face-offs.
Notre Dame returns to action next Saturday with a 1 p.m. EDT contest in Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio State.
| Score by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F |
| Virginia (3-5) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Notre Dame (5-1) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Virginia Scoring:
Goals: James Pannell 2, Zed Williams 2, Ryan Lukacovic 2, Greg Colohan 1; Assists: Pannell 1, Coholan 1
Notre Dame Scoring:
Goals: Sergio Perkovic 3, Matt Kavanagh 2, Mikey Wynne 1, Ben Pridemore 1, Eddy Lubowicki 1; Assists: Trevor Brosco 1, Pierre Byrne 1, Ryder Garnsey 1, Perkovic 1,
Lubowicki 1, Drew Schantz 1
Goalkeepers
Virginia: Matt Barrett, 6, 60:29, 8 goals against, 11 saves
Notre Dame: Shane Doss, W, 60:29, 7 goals against, 14 saves
University of Notre Dame Athletics Communications contact:
John Heisler
Senior Associate Athletics Director
112 Joyce Center
Notre Dame, IN 46556
574-631-7516 (office)
574-532-0293 (cell)
heisler.1@nd.edu
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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