The Irish proved to be too much for Butler Thursday as they topped the Bulldogs 15-5. After getting off to a 1-3 start, the Irish have rebounded strongly - winning five of their last six games. No. 13 Notre Dame improved its record to 3-1 in the GWLL and 6-4 overall. "After our loss against Ohio State, we became determined to win," Irish attack Pat Walsh said.Butler could not stop Notre Dame from winning their third consecutive conference match after a strong offensive performance. Notre Dame scored seven of the first eight goals of the match to take a commanding lead early in the contest. Brian Hubschmann led the Irish in scoring as he netted three goals for the team. "He is one of our best offensive players and it is important because he takes the attention away from our opponent's defense and it allows opportunities for other players on our team to score," Walsh said. Walsh, Matt Karweck, Matt Howell and Lucious Polk each scored two goals apiece. A strong effort was made by the Irish defense, led by goalie Stewart Crosland. Crosland came away with another strong defensive performance after making 10 saves. He was relieved by Sean Quigley with just three minutes left in the match. Notre Dame took 53 shots and held a 40-35 advantage in ground balls. The team also won 12 of 24 face-offs.Butler was led by Phil Brauch who scored two goals, Anthony Crimmins who made a goal and an assist, and the team's leading scorer, Colin Joyce who netted one goal for the team. Goalie Sam Ashley made 19 saves. The loss drops Butler to 0-3 in the GWLL, 5-6 overall for the season.Despite impressive wins over their last three opponents, the Irish have not changed their goals from the beginning of the season. "Our main focus is still to just go out and win," Walsh said. "We are just trying to play for 60 minutes and just taking it one step at a time." Notre Dame will wrap up its stretch of four games in 10 days by facing Fairfield Sunday at noon at Moose Krause Stadium. The match against Fairfield will be the team's final home game.
