'Lacrosse gods' smile on Thomas Ricciardelli, Notre Dame in NCAA opener
Second-seeded Notre Dame (11-2) advances to a quarterfinal meeting on May 16 with Johns Hopkins, 9-8 OT winners over defending champion Cornell.
SOUTH BEND — This Mother’s Day brunch with upstart Jacksonville wasn’t even two minutes old when Thomas Ricciardelli, senior netminder of Notre Dame lacrosse, experienced what he interpreted as a good omen. William Krupsky, a hulking midfielder for the visiting Dolphins , whizzed a shot past Ricciardelli’s ear that miraculously clanged off the goalpost as the teams were just settling in. A good indicator?
“Absolutely,” Riccardelli said after an eventual 18-5 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. “I’d like to consider those position saves. Realistically, they’re probably not.
” As superstitious as the next goalie, Ricciardelli smiled as he considered a more nuanced definition. “It’s just help from the gods — the lacrosse gods,” he said. “It’s definitely helpful seeing one like that where you’re just like, ‘All right, maybe this is my game,’ and just kind of gain that confidence.
That felt good. ” On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium, May 10 brought a career-high five goals off the sizzling stick of sophomore attackman Luke Miller and three more from freshman Teddy Lally. All told, nine different Irish shooters lit the figurative lamp to help end this Cinderella run for Jacksonville (11-6), playing its fourth game in nine days amid its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
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