Most athletic teams, whether they be professional or collegiate, treasure the home court advantage. There's something about playing on your own territory that inspires a team to play better.
LaCrosse Club beats Madison
However, the Notre Dame Lacrosse Club hasn't thought much about the home court advantage this season as they've dropped all three of their Stepan Field contests. In fact, Coach Rich O'Leary's stickmen seem to treasure going on the road where they've won five out of six contests. The Irish last proved their affinity for traveling this past weekend when both the "A" and "B" teams travelled to Madison, Wisconsin and swept their respective games against the Madison Lacrosse Club.
The Irish "A" team got things started Saturday morning by defeating their "A" team counterparts from Madison in the University of Wisconsin football stadium 14-3 in a game that was locally televised. "The third and fourth quarters showed our capabilities," O'Leary commented. "We moved the ball and played really well considering we've been hurt by injuries."
Move the ball well was exactly what the stickmen did in the second half as they outscored Madison 9-1. The leader of this blitzkrieg was senior attackman Joe Meares. Playing out of his attack position, Meares collected 3 goals and 2 assists in the first half to finish with a game leading 7 points.
For the "B" game, the action shifted from the football stadium to the John F. Kennedy school on the outskirts of Madison. But the change of sites did not keep the final outcome from varying as Sandy Cochran's team won their first game of the season by clobbering Madison 15-1.
Scoring-wise, the two players who took it the most to Madison were sophomore co-captains Tommy Bingle and Rich Kresock. Both ended up with 6 points for the day; Bingle on 4 goals and 2 assists and Kresock wit 5 markers and 1 assist. Mark Flanagan also tipped the hat for the Irish, scoring 3 goals while Bill Salmon had a goal and an assist. Gregg Bangs and Steve Waterman each added one goal.
Both teams also had games last Thursday and the results were not as good as the Madison games. The "A" team was beaten by Michigan 12-4. "It was a mighty poor game," O'Leary said. "We were just flat. It was probably the worst game of the season for us." Goal scorers for the Irish were Steve Tarnow and Bob Thibodeau with one each and Tom McHugh, who had two goals.
The "B" team was involved in a squeaker with Hope College which saw them lose in the last two seconds of play, 7-6. The Irish had come from a 4-2 half-time deficit to take a 5-4 lead. The teams then traded goals till Hope pulled it out at the end. Tom Bingle had 2 goals and 2 assists to lead the Irish. Other scorers included Rich Kreslock, Jamie Joyce, Gregg Bangs and Roger Monforton.
The "A" team has a game against Ohio State tomorrow at 4:00 pm on the Stepan Fields. All are invited and there is no cost.