NCAA Lacrosse: No. 3 Notre Dame Beats No. 8 Ohio State in Mid-Week Match Up

Gone are the days of small schools taking all of the glory in the sport of lacrosse. In a terrific mid-week match up, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 9-4 in South Bend. Normally, when you see Notre Dame and Ohio State in the Top 10, you think football. However, these two schools are big time contenders in Division I lacrosse.

Notre Dame has always been a respected program, but their defensive dominance and postseason success have recently made them a staple among the best in the nation year in and year out.

Ohio State has quickly risen up the rankings, with big wins over Penn State and Virginia already in the books. Before falling to the Irish, their only loss was to a talented Denver team; a game they only lost by one goal.

Notre Dame's defense really stepped up to the task at hand last night, allowing the Buckeye offense to score only four goals. This is quite a feat, especially with the new rule changes in 2013 that have seemed to increase pace of play and scoring. John Kemp played exceptionally well for the Irish in goal, saving 11 shots and recording a 73 percent save rate on the day.

Offensively, the Irish were led by Matt Kavanagh who finished with two goals and two assists. Sean Rogers recorded two goals and one assist, while Conor Doyle added a goal and two assists of his own. The Irish went on a 5-0 run early in the game which allowed them to coast to a big victory at home.

Reegan Comeault had two goals for Ohio State, while Turner Evans and Logan Schuss recorded two assists apiece.

Ohio State will face Bellarmine in Louisville, KY, on Saturday.

Notre Dame will travel to Piscataway, NJ, to face Big East foe Rutgers on Sunday.