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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Goal with 12 seconds remaining stuns Irish

Notre Dame and Ohio State each had spurts of momentum on Wednesday at Moose Krause Stadium. But the Buckeyes had the final spurt, as the Irish fell 9-8 to Ohio State in their first Great Western Lacrosse League game of the season.Despite establishing a 3-0 lead and holding a 7-4 margin going into the fourth quarter, the Irish fell thanks to a late 5-1 Ohio State surge. The loss marks Notre Dame's fourth in its last five games.The early barrage of Irish goals was similar to the four-goal onslaught to open a victory over Hofstra last Wednesday. Players knew even after the goals, however, that a victory over Ohio State would not be easy."We felt confident after the first quarter, but we knew that we had to keep it up," midfield Drew Peters said. "Three goals is not much in lacrosse." The Buckeyes fought back in the final minutes of the first quarter and produced two goals. The drive continued until halftime as the Irish found themselves with a slim 4-3 lead."We were playing well defensively and knew that a couple of their goals came from penalties," Peters said. "We wanted to come back in the second half and take over." The Irish regained focus and came out with intensity in the second half as seniors Matt Howell and Dan Berger both scored goals. The Notre Dame rally gave them a 7-3 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.But the Irish were unable to hold off the Ohio State offense for the final quarter. The Buckeyes went on to score four consecutive goals which gave them an 8-7 advantage, their first lead of the game. "It was disappointing when we found ourselves behind for the first time, " midfielder Brian Hubschmann said. "We saw that they were playing the full sixty minutes and that is where we were falling short."Hubschmann was able to respond for the Irish with 28 seconds left to tie the match 8-8, but the Buckeyes responded with 12 seconds remaining to give them the 9-8 victory.Notable figures in Wednesday night's game were Huschmann, who had two goals and two ground balls, and Steve Clagett, who led the team in ground balls with seven. Tom Randisi was Ohio State's leading scorer with four goals and four ground balls. Josh Lesko led the team with seven.This is the second consecutive win for Ohio State against Notre Dame.The Buckeyes defeated the Irish 11-5 last season. Ohio State is now 6-2 after its fifth straight victory. Notre Dame stands at 2-4. The Irish's next opponent is Darmouth Sunday at Moose Krause Stadium.