April 2, 2005
HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth College (4-2), ranked 19th, broke an 8-8 deadlock with a pair of goals in the final three minutes, keying a 10-9 victory over #9 Notre Dame (5-2) Saturday afternoon in men’s lacrosse action at Scully-Fahey Field. The Irish, who play their final two home games of the season next weekend – welcoming Denver on Thursday at 4 p.m. (EST) and Air Force on Sunday at Noon – have seen both of their losses this season come by a single goal on the road against nationally-ranked teams.
Dartmouth held an 8-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but junior All-American A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) tied the game with an unassisted goal with 7:11 remaining. Big Green senior M Ben Grinnell – an honorable-mention All-America selection last year – then put his team ahead by scoring an unassisted tally with just 2:54 to go. Notre Dame won the ensuing faceoff, but Dartmouth forced a quick turnover and, after a timeout, got a goal from junior M Alec Hufnagle, off an assist from sophomore A Nick Bonacci. That made it 10-8 with only 1:27 remaining in the game.
The Big Green won the next faceoff and controlled the ball for nearly the remainder of the game, but a late turnover gave Notre Dame a chance. The Irish pulled within one when freshman M Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.) took a pass from junior M Drew Peters (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon H.S.) and scored with only 19 seconds remaining.
Irish freshman M Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha Catholic H.S.) outdueled Grinnell on the game’s final faceoff, but the Irish gave away their coveted opportunity on a turnover, as Grinnell picked up a ground ball that allowed Dartmouth to run out the clock on its second top-10 upset in 12 days. The Big Green beat #4 Maryland 7-6 on March 22 in Boca Raton, Fla.
Notre Dame’s offense, which came into the week ranked first in both scoring offense (12.80 goals per game) and man-up efficiency (.542), matched its season-low output and not only did not score on three EMOs, but allowed a pair of man-down goals. The Irish were led by Walsh and junior M Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.), who both finished with two goals and an assist. Senior co-captain A Jim Morrison (Fulton, Md./Mount St. Joseph H.S.) added a pair of goals, while Podgajny and seniors LSM Chris Richez (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport H.S.) and M Colin Fatti (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles H.S.) had one apiece. In addition to Peters, senior co-captain M Brian Giordano (Princeton, N.J./Hun School) and junior M Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) both added assists.
Walsh, who entered the week ranked second in Division I in scoring, continued his streak of having posted at least three points in every game this season. Ryan – who scored on his first two shots to put Notre Dame up 2-0 midway through the first but did not take a shot after that – and Morrison are the only other Irish players who have registered at least one point in every game in 2005. The senior has had multiple goals in six of seven games after coming into his final campaign with just one career goal. Podgajny scored a goal for the first time in four games, while Richez – who was a shortstick middie in his first two collegiate seasons – netted his first of the season.
Clagett continued to be strong at the X, winning 10 of 19 faceoffs. In all, Notre Dame was victorious on 11 of 21, marking the seventh time in as many contests this season that the Irish have won a majority (after doing that just twice in 12 games in 2004).
Freshman G Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep School) was foiled in his bid to become the first Notre Dame goalie ever to win his first five decisions. He faced 51 shots and stopped nearly 70% of those on goal, finishing with a collegiate-high 23 saves. But he also surrendered a season-high 10 goals. Kemp led the Irish with three ground balls.
Dartmouth dominated statistically, holding a 51-32 edge in shots and a 26-16 ground-ball advantage.
Notre Dame led by two goals twice early (2-0 and 4-2), while Dartmouth was not able to get ahead by multiple scores until the final two minutes.
The Big Green registered its first-ever victory over the Irish, having previously lost the other three meetings by an average of 6.00 goals.
SCORE BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot-------------------------------------Notre Dame.......... 2 3 2 2 - 9Dartmouth College... 2 3 3 2 - 10
Notre Dame SCORING: GOALS: Walsh, Pat 2; Ryan, Matt 2; Morrison, Jim2; Podgajny, Michael 1; Fatti, Colin 1; Richez, Chris 1.ASSISTS: Giordano, Brian 1; Karweck, Matt 1; Peters, Drew 1; Ryan,Matt 1; Walsh, Pat 1.
Dartmouth College SCORING: GOALS: Grinnell, Ben 4; Bonacci, Nick 2;Danehy, Ryan 1; Coffin, Jamie 1; Heritage, Brad 1; Hufnagel, Alec 1.ASSISTS: Bonacci, Nick 2; Danehy, Ryan 1.
SCORING SUMMARY: Prd Time Team Type Goal Scorer Assists-----------------------------------------------------------------------------1. 1st 15:00 ND EVEN Ryan, Matt Walsh, Pat2. 7:13 ND EVEN Ryan, Matt Giordano, Brian3. 2:51 DART EVEN Heritage, Brad4. 1:50 DART EVEN Grinnell, Ben Bonacci, Nick5. 2nd 13:29 ND EVEN Morrison, Jim Karweck, Matt6. 10:08 ND EVEN Richez, Chris7. 9:21 DART DN Bonacci, Nick8. 4:59 DART EVEN Coffin, Jamie9. 3:55 DART EVEN Bonacci, Nick10. 1:49 ND EVEN Morrison, Jim Ryan, Matt11. 3rd 10:37 DART EVEN Danehy, Ryan12. 7:05 ND EVEN Fatti, Colin13. 6:25 ND EVEN Walsh, Pat14. 6:09 DART DN Grinnell, Ben Danehy, Ryan15. 4:51 DART EVEN Grinnell, Ben16. 4th 7:11 ND EVEN Walsh, Pat17. 2:54 DART EVEN Grinnell, Ben18. 1:27 DART EVEN Hufnagel, Alec Bonacci, Nick19. 0:19 ND EVEN Podgajny, Michael Peters, Drew
GROUND BALLS - ND 16; DART 26.SHOTS - ND 32; DART 51.SHOTS ON GOAL - ND 17; DART 33.PENALTIES - ND 4/3:30; DART 3/2:30.MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - ND 0-3; DART 0-4.FACEOFFS - ND 11-21; DART 10-21.CLEARS - ND 20-23; DART 22-24.
GOALIES - ND: Kemp, Joey 4-1 (60:00 minutes, 33 shots-23 saves, 10GA); DART: Goldstein, Andrew 4-2 (60:00, 17-8, 9).
A-1002 T-2:04