Irish Nip Loyola in Georgia
from press release
POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. – A Ryan Hoff
(Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) goal off a feed from Grant Krebs (Annapolis,
Md./St. Mary’s) with 5:29 left in regulation proved to be the
game winner as the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team topped
Loyola College, 10-9, on Saturday afternoon at McEachern High
School in the Atlanta area. The contest was the season opener for
both squads.
Senior goalie Scott Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur), who was
making his first collegiate start, made two crucial saves in the
final minute to preserve the victory for Notre Dame. Rodgers made
11 saves on the day.
Krebs led the Fighting Irish with four points on three goals and an
assist. Fellow junior Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School)
notched a career-high three goals in a return to his home state.
Sophomore David Earl (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) and Hoff
both chipped in two goals each, while senior Duncan Swezey (Ambler,
Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) dished off three assists for the Irish.
Notre Dame jumped ahead first behind a goal from Hicks off an
assist from Swezey with just over six minutes elapsed in the
contest. Loyola responded on a tally from Jimmy Daly. Scores from
Hoff and Earl put the Irish up 3-1 with 1:38 left in the first
quarter. A goal from Loyola’s Eric Lusby trimmed the Irish
lead to 3-2 after the first period.
The Greyhounds continued their run with three straight goals to
begin the second quarter to stake a 5-3 lead by the 11:36 mark of
the first half. Colin Finnerty, who had a game-high four goals,
deposited two of the scores in the surge.
The Fighting Irish answered back with three consecutive goals of
their own. Krebs found the back of the net before Hicks connected
on back-to-back tallies to make it 6-5 in favor of the Irish with
8:45 left on the clock in the opening half. Loyola would score with
under a minute left to make it a 6-6 contest at the
intermission.
Notre Dame opened the second half with a man-up possession and took
advantage as Krebs scored his second goal off an assist from Peter
Christman (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School), who had two assists
on the day. Loyola knotted the score once again behind Finnerty
before Earl put the Irish back on top (8-7) with 21 seconds left in
the third quarter.
Finnerty made it 8-8 in the early stages of the final period.
Krebs completed his hat trick on another man-up goal to put Notre
Dame back on top with 9:19 left in regulation. The Greyhounds
netted an equalizer once again as Daly scored with 7:30 remaining.
Hoff netted the game winner just over two minutes later for the
Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame is now 22-7 all-time in season openers. The Irish have
won a school-record seven straight season-openers.
The Fighting Irish return to the field at Penn State on Sunday,
Feb. 22. The contest is slated for a 1:00 p.m. (ET) start.
Feb. 14, 2009 - McEachern High School – Powder Springs,
Ga.
#17 Loyola (0-1) – 2 4 1 2 – 9
#7 Notre Dame (1-0) – 3 3 2 2 – 10
Loyola Scoring (goals-assists):
Colin Finnerty 4-1, Jimmy Daly 2-0, Cooper MacDonnell 1-0, Eric
Lusby 1-0, Jake Wilcox 1-0, Matt Langan 0-1, Christ Hurst 0-1,
Taylor Ebsary 0-1, John Schiavone 0-1; Goaltender: Jake Hagelin
(60:00, 15 saves, 10 GA)
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Grant Krebs 3-1, Neal Hicks 3-0, Ryan Hoff 2-0, David Earl 2-0,
Duncan Swezey 0-3, Peter Christman 0-2; Goaltender: Scott Rodgers
(60:00, 11 saves, 9 GA)
