The St. John’s lacrosse team couldn’t hold an early lead and lost 10-7 at No. 2/2 Notre Dame.
Colin Keegan had three first half goals and four for the game as St. John’s sought the upset. But three unanswered fourth quarter goals from the Irish’s David Earl and Steve Murphy sealed the win for the defending national runner-up.
“[I’m] Bummed,” head coach Jason Miller said. “We played great and had every opportunity to win. I’m disappointed for
our guys.”
The first half was dominated by the Red Storm, who led 5-2 at the break. The defense held the Irish scoreless early in the second quarter as the Storm forced seven turnovers and converted them into goals.
Notre Dame came out of the half and Ryan Foley scored a goal just two minute into the third to cut the lead to 5-3. In the third quarter, both teams went on offensive attacks in the opposition’s defensive zone.
The Irish outshot the Red Storm 16-5 and took the lead 7-6 with 3 minutes to go in the third on an Earl goal. Notre Dame possessed the ball almost the entire quarter during their comeback.
Keegan tied the game up at seven with his fourth goal of the game right before the start of the fourth quarter.
“We played too much defense in the third quarter,” said Miller. “There were some bad breaks in the officiating. We got tired and ran out of gas.”
Kevin Cernuto had four assists while Alex Lagodich, Kieran McArdle and Brandon Ayres all registered goals for the Red Storm.
Goalkeeper Jeff Lowman had 13 saves with five coming in the second quarter, when he held the Irish scoreless.
The Irish were led by Earl’s three goals and two goals from Zach Brenneman.
The weather in South Bend, Indiana was less than stellar during the game. Steady rain and temperatures in the 30’s with strong winds made for some sloppy play.
“I hope this is good for the team, I hope they’re angry,” said Miller. “We were right there with the No. 2 team in the country, and I hope this fuels the fire against Villanova.”
St. John’s (4-7, 2-2) returns home from their road trip to take on Villanova at DaSilva Memorial Field on April 23 at 1pm.
