NOTRE DAME, Ind. - A goal from senior attackman Sean Rogers with 2:35 remaining in the third overtime period propelled the No. 7 Notre Dame men's lacrosse team to a 10-9 win over No. 9 Denver on Sunday afternoon in front of 3,187 fans at Arlotta Stadium.
This was the third straight game-winning tally for Rogers. Last Saturday, he lifted the Fighting Irish to a 6-5 overtime win at Hofstra. He netted the deciding goal in regulation in a 6-5 victory at Drexel on March 3. Junior midfielder Ryan Foley assisted on today's game winner.
Notre Dame (4-1) used eight different goal scorers in the victory. Sophomore midfielder Jim Marlatt had a team-high three points on two goals and one assist, while Rogers also had two goals. Sophomore attackman Westy Hopkins notched one goal and two assists. The 10 Irish goals were a season-high total.
Denver (4-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the contest on a man-up goal from Paul Danko. The Fighting Irish responded with five straight tallies.
The Notre Dame uprising began with 10:24 left in the first quarter as Marlatt deposited his first goal of the day. Hopkins assisted on the play. Foley gave the Irish a 2-1 lead at the 2:28 mark of the first quarter. Notre Dame led 2-1 after the opening period.
A man-up goal from Rogers, on an assist from Marlatt, put the Irish up 3-1 with 12:34 left in the first half. Freshman attackman Conor Doyle scored nine seconds later to extended the Notre Dame lead to three (4-1). The fifth straight goal came from senior midfielder Eric Keppeler at the 11:02 mark of the second quarter. Steve Murphy assisted on the score.
Pioneer goals from Mark Matthews and Alex Demopoulos sliced the Irish lead to two (5-3) by the 9:46 mark of the second quarter. Matthews had a game-high five points on two goals and three assists.
A man-up tally from sophomore attackman Alex Eaton off a feed from Hopkins pushed the Notre Dame lead back to three (6-3) with 5:14 left on the clock in the opening half. That was the first career goal for Eaton.
Demopoulos made it a two-goal affair (6-4) at the 3:44 mark of the half before a Max Pfeifer tally with 31 seconds remaining in the stanza put the Fighting Irish up 7-4 at halftime.
Hopkins extended the Notre Dame advantage to four (8-4) with 8:24 left in the third quarter. However, four straight Denver goals knotted the game, 8-8, by the 8:50 mark of the fourth quarter.
Marlatt halted the Pioneer surge and gave the Irish a 9-8 advantage with his second goal of the game, which came at the midway point of the fourth quarter off a pass from Pfeifer. Denver's Jeremy Noble tied the game, 9-9, with 6:17 remaining in regulation.
Fighting Irish junior goalie John Kemp made seven saves on the day, including two key stops in overtime. Denver's Jamie Faus had 11 saves, yet was unable to play in the third overtime period. Troy Orzech played the final 1:25 for the Pioneers.
Notre Dame's last four games all have been decided by one goal, including three overtime affairs. The Irish are 2-1 in overtime games this season. This was the first triple-overtime contest in Fighting Irish history. It was Notre Dame's first multiple-overtime game since a double-overtime win against Hofstra in 2005.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys with the poise that they are playing with at the end of these games," said Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan. "Our guys are doing a great job. They're hanging in and playing tough and really doing it for the whole time. We haven't had a bad stretch of lacrosse that kind of buries you in these close games. As a result, we've been able to hang around and then we're just a play away all the time."
Notre Dame outshot Denver 41-39. The Pioneers held a 14-11 advantage in faceoffs. Irish freshman Nick Ossello won 10 of his 16 faceoff attempts.
The Fighting Irish return to action on Wednesday at Ohio State. Faceoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (ET) in Columbus, Ohio.
March 18, 2012
Arlotta Stadium - Notre Dame, Ind. (Attendance: 3,187)
#9 Denver (4-2) 1 3 2 3 0 0 0 - 9
#7 Notre Dame (4-1) 2 5 1 1 0 0 1 - 10
Denver Scoring (goals-assists):
Mark Matthews 2-3, Alex Demopoulos 2-1, Jeremy Noble 2-1, Paul Danko 1-0, Wes Berg 1-0, Cameron Flint 1-0, Eric Law 0-1; Goaltenders: Jamie Faus (68:00, 11 saves, 9 GA); Troy Orzech (L, 1:25, 0 saves, 1 GA)
Notre Dame Scoring (goals-assists):
Jim Marlatt 2-1, Sean Rogers 2-0, Westy Hopkins 1-2, Ryan Foley 1-1, Max Pfeifer 1-1, Conor Doyle 1-0, Alex Eaton 1-0, Eric Keppeler 1-0, Steve Murphy 0-1; Goaltender: John Kemp (W, 69:25, 7 saves, 9 GA)
