Earl Scores in OT, Nudges Irish Past OSU

from press release

Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers tracks one of his 10 saves Saturday in the No. 9 Irish's overtime triumph of Ohio State. © TD Paulius/Midwest Lacrosse Photography

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- David Earl (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) goal with 1:41 remaining in the first overtime session gave the No. 9 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team a 7-6 victory over Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium.Earl and fellow junior midfielder Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) both notched hat tricks for the Fighting Irish.  
 
 Notre Dame (5-2) trailed 6-4 entering the fourth quarter, yet the Fighting Irish defense held the Buckeyes scoreless throughout the final period and in overtime. Brenneman sliced the deficit to one (6-5) with his third goal of the day at the 8:49 mark of the fourth quarter. Brenneman has a team-best four hat tricks this season. Earl knotted the game with 3:20 left in regulation.
 
Ohio State (4-3) opened the game’s scoring 36 seconds into the contest on a goal from Mario Ventiquattro. James Green made it 2-0 in favor of the Buckeyes midway through the first quarter. Ventiquattro and Green both scored three goals for Ohio State.
 
Earl put the Irish on the board with 6:48 left in the opening quarter. Ohio State led 2-1 after the opening 15 minutes of play. The Buckeyes regained their two-goal edge on Ventiquattro’s second goal of the day.
 
The Fighting Irish used a 3-0 run to claim a 4-3 lead at the intermission. Junior long-stick midfielder Andrew Irving (McLean, Va./The Hotchkiss School (Conn.)) began the surge at the 11:34 mark of the second quarter with his first goal of the season. A Brenneman goal evened the contest (3-3) with 8:13 remaining in the first half. Brenneman gave the Irish their first lead of the game with 21 seconds left before halftime.
 
Ohio State answered Notre Dame’s 3-0 run with one of its own to start the second half. Ventiquattro completed his hat trick to tie the game with 13:44 remaining in the third quarter. Consecutive tallies from Green gave the Buckeyes a 6-4 lead heading into the final quarter.  
 
Notre Dame out shot Ohio State 27-23. Senior goalie Scott Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) made 10 saves in the victory, while his counterpart Ryan Brant also had 10 stops. The six goals were the fewest allowed by the Notre Dame defense this season.
 
Today was Notre Dame’s second overtime contest of the season. The Irish fell at Drexel, 7-6, in overtime on March 9.
 
The Fighting Irish will open BIG EAST Conference play next Saturday against Rutgers at Arlotta Stadium. Game time is slated for noon (ET).

 
March 20, 2010 – Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
Ohio State (4-3) – 2 1 3 0 0 - 6
#9 Notre Dame (5-2) – 1 3 0 2 1 - 7
 
Ohio State Scoring (goals-assists):
James Green 3-0, Mario Ventiquattro 3-0, Alexan Dominique 0-1, Mike Pires 0-1; Goaltender: Ryan Brant (L, 62:19 10 saves, 7 GA)

Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Zach Brenneman 3-0, David Earl 3-0, Andrew Irving 1-0, Max Pfeifer 0-1; Goaltender: Scott Rodgers (W, 62:19, 10 saves, 6 GA)