ANNAPOLIS, Maryland – No. 10/8 Notre Dame fell to fifth-seeded Penn State in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Sunday afternoon by a score of 14-12.
The attacking duo of Chris Kavanagh and Devon McLane carried much of the load on the day, each scoring three goals and adding two assists totaling five points apiece.
Kavanagh ends his Notre Dame career as one of the most decorated players in program history, ranking third in career points (242) and second in career goals (151).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Fighting Irish held a 3-2 advantage after the opening 15 minutes of play. The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Notre Dame fired back with three straight to close out the quarter. The Irish goals came from Will Maheras, Seymour and Kavanagh.
Penn State scored within the first 90 seconds of the second quarter to level the game at 3-3 and then the rest of the half was all Notre Dame, as the Irish scored the final five goals of the frame to take an 8-3 lead into the halftime break. Taylor scored twice in the outburst along with goals from Kavanagh, McLane and Angrick.
One of the plays of the half came from Shawn Lyght, who intercepted a pass, ran the length of the field before feeding Kavanagh for the goal, marking Lyght’s first point of his career with the assist.
The Nittany Lions opened the second half with two straight goals to trim the lead to three at 8-5. The two sides then traded a goal, moving the score to 9-6 with 10 minutes left in the stanza.
The Irish reeled off three straight to push the lead to six at 12-6 off two goals from McLane and one from Kavanagh with just under six minutes left in the third.
Penn State refused to go away, scoring the final three goals of the frame to make it a 12-9 game heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
The Nittany Lions carried the momentum into the final frame, scoring five goals while holding the Irish scoreless to come away with the 14-12 win.