The Irish win the ACC tournament; we have the #1 seed in the NCAA tournament as we look to go back to back
It’s been a long week, and because of that, my apologies, I am a bit delayed in getting my column out to you all…
But there is no time like the present! And it’s always fun to put together an article on the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish lacrosse team, it’s always great to cover off on what’s happened over this past week and it’s so neat to look ahead to what is in front for our boys.
I took a look back, and last year on May 10th, 2023 I wrote my “Time to Be Great” article here on OneFootDown. You can read what I wrote there as we looked to get our NCAA tournament run started with an upcoming matchup against Utah. Here is a quick snippet from my writing:
“No need to go through the full bracket and whether or not the Irish should be seeded #3, there is no time for that as the seedings are the seedings and they are set. With the Irish at #3, if things play out true to form, we would be looking at a Final Four of #1 Duke versus #4 Maryland and #2 Virginia versus #3 Notre Dame. I am only going to cover off on this quickly, but what Notre Dame lacrosse fan would not want to see the Irish avenge their only two losses in the regular season in the Final Four against UVA, and then try to change our 0-5 record in the postseason against Duke on Championship Monday? To be the best, you have to beat the best, and right now the seedings are saying that Duke and UVA are better than the Irish. It would be a fitting end to the 2023 Notre Dame lacrosse revenge tour and not sure I could imagine a more magical run for our first ever lacrosse National Championship (and of course Coach Corrigan’s first championship as well). It’s too far away to think about that and now it is only time to focus on the Utah game and “Time to be Great.””
Things worked out pretty true to form last year with the only caveat being that it was Penn State versus Duke in the other semifinal matchup. Other than that, our Irish did what they had set out to do coming off the tough end to the 2022 spring. It was a season to remember and a weekend for the ages as we hoisted our first ever national championship trophy.
Now we are here in 2024 and our Irish are ranked #1 and have are the #1 seed as the tournament gets underway this weekend. Notre Dame will play on Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12th as we will take on Albany who beat Sacred Heart in the play-in game on Wednesday night. This is the NCAA lacrosse tournament and because of that, every game will be a battle so it doesn’t matter who Notre Dame plays, that team will be ready and fired up coming into Arlotta for a 5 PM EST matchup (ESPNU).
Lots more to write about around the tournament, but let’s first look back at last weekend and what we saw as the Irish won the ACC Tournament in dominating fashion, first beating Virginia 18-9 and then besting Duke 16-6. Both games were played down in Charlotte and it was so awesome to see so many Irish fans in attendance to cheer on the team.
I am not going to do a regular recap and cover off on each quarter in each game, but thought I would take a look at some of the key factors to our winning this weekend. From there we will look at the tournament and some additional Irish news as one of the things that happened this week was that the PLL draft took place.
All right, so much to talk about around Notre Dame lacrosse, let’s get after it…
Notre Dame Team Depth
We have been talking about this all year, but the Notre Dame depth was on full display on Friday and Sunday in Charlotte. Against Virginia, we saw FOURTEEN (14!!!) different players score goals for the Irish. On Sunday against Duke, it was NINE (9) players who got on the board with goals and THIRTEEN (13) overall players getting at least one point on the day. That is some serious rotation of the players and the the biggest thing we have been seeing of late is the rise of the third line midfield with Jalen Seymour, Bryce Walker and Fisher Finley getting run. We have been talking about this third line all season and hoping they will get their opportunity and over the last stretch of games they have finally gotten their opportunity….and it has paid off with massive dividends. Being able to run out nine offensive middies across the course of a game has made Notre Dame a more complete team. Not only can this line compete and run with any other midfield line in the country, but they give Notre Dame the chance to rest our top two lines so they can be fresher as the day goes on. I am not sure if any other team in the country is running three midfield lines, let alone having a third line that legitimately could be a first line midfield on most other teams in the country. Against Duke and Virginia, with the temperatures starting to get hotter and with stamina and energy being at a premium, the Irish were the fresher, deeper and more complete team on the field. This is going to pay off on a huge level here in May and I for one am beyond excited around what having three complete midfield lines can mean for this team in the weeks ahead.
Also noted within our depth is players like Fulton Bayman, Tyler Buchner, Jeffery Ricciardelli, Colin Hagstrom, Danny Parker, Andrew Greenspan, Will Maheras, BJ Burlace, Brock Behrman, Nate Schwitzenberg, Will Gallagher, Alex Zepf, Ronan Doherty and Thomas Porell getting some good run over the weekend.
To note, we did not see Christian Alacqua this past weekend, something for us to watch as we hope he is okay and ready to go for the NCAA tournament. He has been an important part of our SSDM unit this whole year, we will see what happens this weekend.
Strength on Defense
On Friday against Notre Dame, Connor Shellenberger had zero goals and two assists. On Sunday against Notre Dame, Brennan O’Neill had one goal and zero assists. So across two of the best overall players in the country, the Notre Dame defense held those two to a total of one goal and two assists. And if you watched the game against Duke and saw O’Neill’s goal, you know that was a generous opportunity to score his lone goal.
Lacrosse defense is a team game and while individual matchups are important and get studied / analyzed all week, what you have to be able to do as a team – when playing the game – is manage your switches, know your slide packages, play good off ball defense, and communicate as a team.
Notre Dame did a tremendous job on all fronts this past weekend as we held two of the more talented offensive teams in the country to under ten goals in each game. And it wasn’t just the close defense, but it was also our SSDM unit and our LSMs that continued to prove they are some of the best units in the country. It was a complete and overall dominant performance from our defensive unit and it really was fun to watch. They are peaking at the right time and kudos to the players and coaches for a job BEYOND well done.
Outstanding Goaltending
Included with our defensive talk is the goaltending for the Fighting Irish. And Liam Entenmann was just unreal this past weekend as he continues to prove himself as the best goalie in the country. It does not go unnoticed here how many times he makes difficult saves look easy and if you rewatch games on a regular basis, you will always find a save that Liam makes at a crucial time which prevents a run from our opponent, prevents a momentum switch, or prevents a closing of the scoring gap. These saves happen every game and we all know that lacrosse is a game of momentum. This is one of the biggest things that Liam does….stopping our opponents from even getting the chance to change the outcome the game. This is a stat that will not show up in the scoresheet, but it is the #1 reason he is the best in the country right now.
Faceoffs and Time of Possession
How many times were you watching the Irish this weekend and seeing the ball in our offensive side of the field? The faceoff unit, led by Will Lynch, did an all around awesome job this past weekend and it allowed our Irish to play to the best of our abilities. When we win faceoffs, when we get ground balls, when we own the time of possession…there is not a team in the country that can beat us.
Dominating Consistency
There is just something about the consistent nature with which Notre Dame is playing lacrosse these days. Whether in person at these games or watching on TV, we have come to expect a consistent level of play from our Irish. This team comes to each game with a mindset to dominate and they have consistently delivered that over these last two months.
Leadership coming to the forefront
I don’t think we can be talking about what Notre Dame is doing without focusing as well on the leadership that is embedded within this team. And that starts up top with our four captains: Liam Entenmann, Max Manyak, Eric Dobson and Pat Kavanagh. It continues with the senior class who has been so integral in everything Notre Dame has done in the last four years. They have kept this team focused, they have not let the team get complacent and they have kept their eyes on the ultimate prize. When we won the ACC tournament, it seemed like it was just another win, that is was just another weekend. Everyone on this team knows what the ultimate goal is and the leadership on this team is making sure that everyone knows where our focus is moving forward.
Playing your best lacrosse
With that leadership and with that dominating mindset comes some of the best lacrosse we have seen from Notre Dame this year. We are playing at an extremely high level right now and when we do play at this level, it is very hard for others to compete against us. No better time of year to be playing your best, and an awesome job by everyone involved to be where we are at today with this mindset.
Great Job by the Coaching Staff
While the players play the game, it is the job of the coaching staff to put everything together and put the team in a position to win. This coaching staff has done a really good job throughout the whole season on a variety of levels. If you think about it, there was so much to manage coming into this year and coming in as the defending national champions. The fall was a celebration tour, the Princeton scrimmage was a wake up. Then when the season started, that Georgetown loss could have gone one of two ways. The way that it has gone has been exactly where the coaching staff wanted things to head and has gotten us to this point in the season. We are playing at an extremely high level with buy-in from every single player and person involved within Notre Dame lacrosse. Kudos to Coach Corrigan, Coach Wellner, Coach Wojcik and Coach Garnsey. Awesome work.
Tournament bracket and some thoughts
Here is the full bracket breakout for the NCAA tournament as the sixteen team field is now set with Albany winning on Wednesday night. Not a ton of surprises in the field outside of the Ivy League only getting Princeton in. There could be a case for Yale, Cornell and Penn to all be in there, but Michigan stole a bid by winning the Big Ten. Other than that, there are a lot of teams that are coming off losses as we head into play this weekend. We could analyze this forever, but the seeds are set, the games are scheduled, and there is no better time to be a fan of college lacrosse than right now. Let’s Go!
Last year I picked the first round winners, but this season has been so unpredictable around matchups and who is the better team each and every week. If you put me to the fire, here are the teams that I think are making it to the round of 8:
Notre Dame, Penn State, Duke, Princeton, Michigan, Syracuse, Virginia, Johns Hopkins
Notes and Thoughts
Big news this week for some of the Irish as the PLL draft took place on Tuesday night. Three members of Notre Dame heard their name called with Liam Entenmann going #5 to the Atlas, Pat Kavanagh going #6 to the Cannons and Eric Dobson going #12 to the Chaos. Congrats to these three players, and a special congrats to the Kavanagh family as Pat will be joining his brother Matt on the roster in Boston. What a family moment for them!
A generational talent.
The @PLLAtlas got the greatest goalie in ND men’s lacrosse history.#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/kcrYWwCpfQ
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) May 7, 2024
The Kavanagh Brothers Pt. 2
The most decorated attackman in ND lacrosse history will join his brother Matt, another ND legend, on the @PLLCannons.#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/7L8jVmoVwS
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) May 7, 2024
The Lefty Hammer
We can’t wait to see what Eric Dobson does with a 2-point line at the next level.#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/bI6aO13DLX
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) May 8, 2024
USA Lacrosse Magazine announced their All-American teams and NINE (9) Notre Dame players made the list. Congrats to the following:
Pat Kavanagh (1st Team), Ben Ramsey (1st Team), Liam Entenmann (1st Team), Will Donovan (2nd Team), Chris Kavanagh (Honorable Mention), Eric Dobson (Honorable Mention), Devon McLane (Honorable Mention), Will Lynch (Honorable Mention) and Chris Conlin (Honorable Mention).
I don’t have much of an argument across this except that I think Will Lynch should be higher as he has had such a good year. I also think Carter Parlette could have gotten an Honorable Mention spot at SSDM. Lastly, I would not have minded seeing Shawn Lyght being named an Honorable Mention for his outstanding freshman campaign.
9️⃣ @USALacrosseMag – , the most of any program in the country.
Pat Kavanagh (1st Team)
Ben Ramsey (1st)
Liam Entenmann (1st)
Will Donovan (2nd)
Chris Kavanagh (HM)
Eric Dobson (HM)
Devon McLane (HM)
Will Lynch (HM)
Chris Conlin (HM)#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/4R0fCiukJE— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) May 9, 2024
Fred’s Pics
Fred Assaf was everywhere this past weekend covering the ACC tournament down in Charlotte. Thanks always to him for his pics, they are so good and you can see them below. The close-ups from the Duke game are just AWESOME. All photo credits to Fred Assaf.
What’s Next
The “Time to Be Great” mantra is here. This is what this year has been building toward and it’s crazy to think that in 18 days the 2024 NCAA lacrosse champion will be crowned in Philadelphia.
The Irish get our road to Philly underway with the Albany Great Danes coming to visit Arlotta for the first round matchup. Albany got here through winning the play-in game on Wednesday against Sacred Heart by a final of 13-7. They are led by LSM Jake Piseno who has been all over the internet this year with videos of his play and some of the goals he has scored. And like they always do, Albany has some dynamic offensive talent who will hit you with lots of creativity over the course of an afternoon. Definitely something to keep an eye on as the game gets underway on late Sunday afternoon.
No need for speeches or pep talks this year as the entire season we have been the hunted. We have done an unreal job of getting ready and prepared for each and every game we have played and we know we are going to get our opponents’ best game. It has been seen time over time that this is a team that doesn’t flinch and one that will be ready to show up and show out when the moment comes.
I get the sense that winning last year took so much of a weight off so many peoples’ shoulders as it relates to Notre Dame lacrosse and our first national championship. This group is playing free, they are playing unencumbered and it is noticeable and palpable. They are playing like the best lacrosse team in the country, they are playing each game like it is their last and they are playing for each other.
Continue to do so this upcoming Sunday and we will be okay, we will show everyone what it means to play Notre Dame brand of lacrosse.
If you are near Arlotta, get there as it will be the last time to see our Irish in South Bend this season.
And to all the Moms out there and to all the Moms in our lives (shout out Bridget, Jackie, Joan, Betsy, Kelly, Kate and Al), enjoy your day on Sunday, Happy Mother’s Day. You deserve it each and every single day.
Final, final…the next Exit 77 podcast should be coming your way tomorrow on Friday. David Brogan and I will break down the ACC tournament and look ahead to Albany and the brackets as a whole. Also, don’t forget to follow along with 18Stripes, here is their article on Notre Dame winning the ACC tournament.
Go Irish….”Time to Be Great!”
Sunday’s Matchup is Set
ND vs. Albany | 5 PM | Arlotta Stadium
️: https://t.co/Jjd8Q9PrG6 pic.twitter.com/uGm3Fg100y
— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) May 9, 2024