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Notre Dame Beats Penn State: OT Lacrosse Thriller

Notre Dame made the trek to Penn State’s University Park Campus for what many thought would be a great early season game… and this one delivered in a major way as the visiting Irish emerged with a 10-9 OT win over the host Nittany Lions, which saw action up through the very last second of play.

PSU’s Conor Doyle scored a late assisted goal to tie the game at 8 with only 24 seconds left in regulation. Then Notre Dame’s Liam O’Connor scored an unassisted goal to put Notre Dame up 9-8, with only 16 seconds left. With less than a second left on the clock though, Tom LaCrosse got another equalizer for PSU, and forced extra time.Davis_Sammy (A13-ST-ND) DSC_8963

(Photo Credit: Steve Tressler, Penn State Athletic Communications)

In the extra period, Notre Dame’s Matt Kavaugh caught a pass from Ryan Foley and put away the game winner, to keep Notre Dame perfect on the year. The loss drops Penn State to 2-1 on the year, but it also cements them as a potential Final Four team, as Notre Dame is on just about everyone’s list as a real title contender. ND now sits at 3-0, and is a definite Top 3 team right now. Penn State should still figure in to the Top 5 or 6 teams with ease.

Tom LaCrosse led the PSU midfield with a hat trick, while Jack Forster had three goals an assist. Austin Kaut gave up 10 goals, and made 10 saves, in the tough OT loss. Notre Dame was led by Conor Doyle, who also went 3-1 for four points, and had seven players register 1 or 2 points in the game. John Kemp was Kaut’s equal as he made 10 saves to secure the win.Kaut_Austin (A13-ST-ND) DSC_9019

ND held a slight edge in shots (38-34), and PSU edged the Irish in GBs (27-26), but also had three more turnovers than ND (19-16). Both teams were good on clears, even on face offs, and disciplined on man down. ND went 0-3 on the day, while PSU went 1-4.

Notre Dame plays UNC on March 2nd, while Penn State takes on Ohio State on the same day. Both of those games should be absolute gems!