Division I Men :     Scores • Stats     February 16, 2008 [ The Game Story]
Loyola 6 Notre Dame 7 Scoring: Scoring: Shane Koppens Jake Willcox Collin Finnerty Matt Langan Cooper Macdonnell (1, 3) (2, 1) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) Alex Wharton Duncan Swezey Colin Igoe Dan Gibson Ryan Hoff Neal Hicks Matt Ciambella Zach Brenneman (1, 1) (1, 1) (1, 1) (1, 1) (1, 0) (0, 1) (1, 0) (1, 0) Saves: Saves: Jake Hagelin 11  (0.611) Joey Kemp 13  (0.684) Current Record :     (0-1) Current Record :     (1-0) Go to team page > Go to team page >       The Game Story:

BALTIMORE, Md. - A goal from senior attackman Alex Wharton (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School) with 3:33 left in regulation was the difference as No. 5 Notre Dame downed No. 17 Loyola, 7-6, on Saturday afternoon at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. The game was the season-opener for both teams. The Irish used a well-balanced offensive attack that featured seven different goalscorers and their trademark stingy defense to notch the victory.

It was all Notre Dame (1-0) in the first quarter as the Irish took an early 3-0 lead. Junior attackman Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) struck first on an assist from his classmate Duncan Swezey (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) with 10:50 left on the clock. Hoff led the Irish with 40 goals last season.

The Irish, who connected on 50-percent of their man-up chances in 2007, made it 2-0 with a man-up goal from sophomore transfer Colin Igoe (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne/UMass). Swezey put Notre Dame on top by three as he scored with 48 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. The Notre Dame defense extended its shutout streak versus Loyola (0-1) to 38 minutes, which dated back to last season's contest, by holding the Greyhounds scoreless in the first period.

Loyola cracked the scoring column with 11:49 left in the second quarter as Collin Finnerty collected a goal. Notre Dame responded 38 seconds later as junior Dan Gibson (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School) scored with the assist going to Wharton.

The Greyhounds made it a 4-2 contest on a Jake Willcox goal. Once again, the Irish responded with a man-up tally as sophomore Matt Ciambella (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) registered his first career goal off a pass from Igoe. Notre Dame carried a 5-2 lead into intermission.

Loyola used a 3-0 run in the third quarter to even the contest at 5-5 heading into the final period.

The Irish put a halt to the Greyhound surge as freshman Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) scored on an assist from Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School) to give Notre Dame a 6-5 lead with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter. Loyola countered two minutes later as Shane Koppens scored to knot the game, 6-6.

With just under four minutes left in regulation, the Notre Dame defense came up with a key stop as senior Ross Zimmerman (Utica, Mich./Brother Rice) forced a turnover, which resulted in the game-winning goal from Wharton on an assist from Gibson. From there, the Fighting Irish defense stopped a final Loyola attack to preserve the victory. Senior goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) picked up the win as he made 13 saves, while his counterpart Jake Hagelin had 11 stops.

For the game, Loyola held a slim, 34-32, edge in shots, while Notre Dame went 9-for-17 in faceoffs. The Irish converted on 20 of 27 clearing opportunities and the Greyhounds were 20 of 24.

The win marked Notre Dame's sixth-straight season-opening triumph, a school record. The Irish bested Loyola, 9-7, at home in last year's season-opener.