WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's lacrosse team (5-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) held a 5-1 halftime lead, scoring four unanswered goals to end the half, but No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1, 4-0 BIG EAST) rallied back in the second half, as the Hoyas were held to two goals in a 9-7 loss on Sunday afternoon at Multi-Sport Field.
Senior midfielder Zack Angel (Park Hall, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) scored two goals, while Zac Guy (Tully, N.Y./Tully) and Jason McFadden (Bel Air, Md./Calvert Hall) each had a goal and an assist in the loss. Junior defender Chris Nourse (Erieville, N.Y./The Hotchkiss School) had four caused turnovers and two grounballs.
Georgetown opened quickly as senior midfielder Francis McDonough (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) scored on a feed from McFadden just under two minutes into the game to give GU a 1-0 lead.
The Fighting Irish tied the score with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter on Eric Keepeler's goal, but junior attack Travis Comeau (Red Deer, Alberta/The Hill Academy) put GU back in front, finding the top left corner of the cage to make the score, 2-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The Hoyas dominated the second quarter, as Guy scored at the 11:45 mark. Angel scored just over a minute later, dodging his way to the crease to beat ND goalie John Kemp to give GU a 4-1 lead. Senior midfielder Gerry Reilly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Xavier) scored with 6:47 left in the half to give GU its largest lead of the game, 5-1.
Notre Dame took over in the second half, as Ryan Mix got ND started with a goal at 9:23 left in the third quarter. Westy Hopkins scored at the 8:09 mark to bring ND within two, before Bobby Smith scored with one second left in the quarter, making the score 5-4 going into the fourth quarter.
The Irish continued to rally, scoring the first three goals of the fourth quarter to open a 7-5 lead. McFadden ended the six goal rally, scoring an unassisted goal at 8:13 to bring the Hoyas back within one goal, at 7-6, but Notre Dame answered with two more goals, before Angel scored the final goal of the game with 57 seconds left on an assist from Jeff Fountain for a 9-7 final.
Senior goalie Matt Winter (New Haven, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) made 10 saves, allowing nine goals in the loss for GU. ND's John Kemp stopped 13 shots, while allowing seven goals for the victory.
The Hoyas return to action next Saturday, when they travel to Syracuse, N.Y. to take on the Orange at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.