Denver Tops Notre Dame in Rematch
It was a different dynamic than when Denver and Notre Dame last met in the NCAA tournament — a 16-4 blowout won by the Pioneers in last year’s NCAA quarterfinals.
Both the Pioneers and Irish are different teams since then. Each has also grown since Notre Dame’s 11-9 win over Denver on March 10 in what was the Irish's chance to get revenge.
Entering Sunday’s NCAA First Round rematch, the Irish were one of the hottest teams in the country, using a healthy Brian Costabile and Mikey Wynne to take the ACC title. As for Denver, it ended the regular season on a sour note, being held to three goals in a Big East title game loss to Georgetown.
Momentum was in the favor of Notre Dame entering Sunday, but Denver paid no mind. The Pioneers got six points (3G, 3A) from Austin French and held the Irish offense in check down the stretch to pick up the 9-7 victory and advance to their seventh NCAA quarterfinal in the past eight years.
In doing so, Denver snapped Notre Dame’s streak of eight consecutive trips to the quarterfinals.
Tewaaraton finalist Trevor Baptiste won 14 of 20 faceoffs and Ethan Walker recorded a hat trick for the Denver effort. Walker scored twice in the first half, helping the Pioneers jump out to a 4-1 lead early. Ryder Garnsey picked up two second-quarter goals to pull Notre Dame back within 5-3 at halftime.
Notre Dame seized the momentum out of halftime at home, scoring three out of four goals to jump into the lead for the first time. Costabile, Garnsey and Wynne scored in the run that extended into the fourth quarter and the Irish a 7-6 lead with 11:38 left.
The lead didn’t last long, as Baptiste turned in two of his biggest faceoff wins this season — both of which translated into Denver goals, one from French and the other from Walker. Within two minutes, Denver took the lead back at 8-7.
Notre Dame put the pressure on the Denver defense with just over five minutes remaining, but couldn’t get past goalie Alex Ready, Instead, it was Colton Jackson cashing in on a ground ball and making it 9-7 with 4:04 left.
The Pioneers remained strong in the back through the final minutes, helping clinch the victory and advance to meet No. 2 seed Albany in the quarterfinals. Ready finished with a season-high 10 saves.
The storyline is already being hyped. Trevor Baptiste against TD Ierlan — a gift for all lacrosse fans next weekend.
Johns Hopkins Rallies at Homewood
Johns Hopkins found itself down 8-3 in the third quarter against a Georgetown team that had all the momentum. Then, Kyle Marr took over. He scored five straight goals to lead the Blue Jays all the back and force overtime. Shack Stanwick provided the game-winner for Johns Hopkins to advance to meet No. 4 Duke. Read more about the big comeback.
Maryland Survives a Test from RMU
Maryland trailed 6-3 at halftime in College Park, but unleashed its offense on Robert Morris in an 11-goal second half to get past a stingy play-in winner and advance with a 14-11 victory. The Terps' offense found it mojo just in time.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S TOURNAMENT SCORES
No. 1 Maryland 14, Robert Morris 11
No. 5 Johns Hopkins 10, Georgetown 9 (OT)
Denver 9, No. 7 Notre Dame 7
Cornell 10, No. 8 Syracuse 9