Notre Dame Men’s Lacrosse: Irish use dominant 4th Quarter, beat Virginia by an 11-9 final score (2024)

The final regular season game for Notre Dame men’s lacrosse was a thrilling one as we were in Charlottesville to take on the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia. In a game that saw Notre Dame down 4-6 at halftime and eventually down 4-7 early in the third, the Irish came storming back to take an 8-7 lead and eventually scored the final three goals of the contest to win 11-9. The victory moved Notre Dame to 10-1 on the season, 4-0 in ACC play and now we look ahead to the ACC tournament. The Irish will face the Cavs on Friday night in a rematch, with the winner taking on the winner of the Duke vs Syracuse tilt.

If last week’s third quarter against North Carolina was one of the best we have played all year, then this fourth quarter is right up there as it showcased what makes Notre Dame the #1 team in the country. In the final 15 minutes we won the faceoff battle, we won the ground ball battle, we won the turnover battle, and we won the goal scoring battle. Our poise, our confidence and our depth were all on display as we dominated the final quarter and walked out with an awesome win.

Along the way, Pat Kavanagh became the all-time Notre Dame lacrosse leader in points as he supplanted himself as the greatest to ever put on an Irish uniform.

All right, so much to talk about around this game, let’s get after it...

First Quarter

Will Lynch was back out there at the faceoff dot for the Irish, great to see. First possession for the Irish came up empty, but Notre Dame rode hard and caused a turnover to then get the ball back. Soon after we saw Chris Kavanagh hit Devon McLane in front for a transition goal to get us up 1-0 just over a minute into the game. On Virginia’s first possession, Notre Dame came out with Shawn Lyght on Connor Shellenberger, a bit of a surprise as I think a lot of us thought that would be Chris Conlin. Virginia scored on their next possession with McCabe Millon coming out of the box and he took it to the cage and hit home from in close to tie it 1-1. Soon after there was a nice ground ball pickup by Christian Alacqua to get the Irish possession and Max Busenkell drove the lane and hit a wide open Chris Kavanagh for an easy goal. What a pass! The Irish went up 2-1. Some good offense from Virginia and Connor Shellenberger got it home from out front and made it 2-2 with 7:51 to go. Jordan Faison would hit the pipe, a loose ball ensued and the Irish showed some serious grit and got the ball back which led to a Pat Kavanagh goal off a rocker move. What a move! That made it 3-2 Irish at that point. Next we saw our third midfield line get out there, great to see them out there early in the first quarter. Virginia got the final goal of the quarter as Thomas Mencke knotted things up at 3-3 and that is where things would stand after the first 15 minutes (Reilly Gray hit the pipe with about 25 seconds left).

Second Quarter

Virginia got on the board first with a goal a little under a minute into the quarter to make it 4-3 Cavaliers (Payton Cormier with a twister). To note, Tyler Buchner was out there on the faceoff wing early in the quarter. Notre Dame would head to the man-up as Jake Taylor got knocked over and we would make them pay as Jake Taylor scored from in front off a feed from Chris Kavanagh which made it 4-4. Shortly after we saw Will Donovan with a great pick off of a Shellenberger pass, really good play to thwart a Cavalier possession. Jeffery Ricciardelli was out there early in the second quarter as the Irish mixed up our attack unit. Virginia made it 5-4 with 9:16 to go and UVA got the next one as well which made it 6-4 Cavs with 5:25 to go (Cormier again). Fulton Bayman out there in the second quarter too and he was robbed from in close by Matthew Nunes. UVA called timeout with a little over a minute left in order to set up a late shot, but that is where things would end as we headed to halftime: UVA 6, Notre Dame 4.

Third Quarter

Virginia got on the board first with a quick goal to make it 7-4 Cavaliers just 16 seconds into the quarter (Payton Cormier scored off the faceoff). Great job by Will Lynch to win the next faceoff to stem the tide, but Notre Dame turned it over due to a shot clock violation. Some great defense by the Irish kept it at three goals and then an awesome feed from Carter Parlette in transition where he hit Pat Kavanagh in front of the goal for sweet score to make it 7-5 with 9:52 to go. Lots of chaos on the next couple of possessions with both teams running up and down the field a bunch, and eventually Chris Kavanagh missed an open net on loose ball pickup. Great check from Nick Harris caused a turnover with about 5:35 to play and Pat Kavanagh hit Max Busenkell who hit home on a rocket from the wing to make it 7-6 with 4:46 to go. Team technical penalty on UVA made it a man-up opportunity for the Irish as Notre Dame got the ball without a faceoff. Chris Kavanagh hit Jeffery Ricciardelli for a quick stick that made it 7-7 with 3:50 to go. Notre Dame won the ensuing faceoff and Fisher Finley hit Pat Kavanagh behind the cage who hit Jake Taylor in front for a one timer which made it 8-7 Irish (Pat Kavanagh became the all-time Notre Dame points leader on the assist). UVA went on the man-up on a Chris Kavanagh penalty and Cormier got his fourth on the day to tie things at 8-8 with 28 seconds to go. That’s where the quarter finished as we headed to the final 15.

Fourth Quarter

Will Lynch won the opening faceoff and it would be a sign of things to come across the fourth quarter. Notre Dame’s opening possession had some good looks but turned into a shot clock violation. UVA’s first possession saw them hit home as Ryan Colsey fired a low rocket which made it 9-8 Cavaliers. Notre Dame went on the man-up for 30 seconds but the Irish came up empty and UVA came down in transition, but we caused a turnover and saw a great ground ball pick up from Eric Dobson. Eric stayed on the field and eventually got the ball back up top and hit Devon McLane coming from behind X for a beautiful feed and finish which made it 9-9 with 10:40 to go. After a non-call that looked like they were going to call a penalty, the Irish got the ball at even strength and Jordan Faison drove from up top and beat his man to make it 10-9 Irish with 9:12 to go. The third line midfield was out there with 8 minutes to go, the coaching staff showing faith in this unit. Big unforced turnover by UVA to get Notre Dame the ball back with a little under 7 minutes to go. Notre Dame went on the man-up with 5:48 to go, Virginia would get possession, clear it, but an awesome hustle play from Chris Kavanagh to follow the defender into the irish zone and he stick checked the ball out to get us back the possession with a fresh 80 on the shot clock. Max Busenkell made them pay with a tremendous feed inside to Devon McLane who scored with one second left on the shot clock to give the Irish an 11-9 lead with 3:41 to go. Soon after, UVA got possession, but then immediately turned the ball over as Will Donovan picked up an errant pass to get us the ball back with 2:16 to go. After some back and forth, the Cavaliers got the ball back with 59 seconds left and the Irish called timeout. Will Donovan then caused a turnover on a check against Griffin Schutz and that is where things would end at 11-9. The Irish moved to 10-1 on the season and 4-0 in ACC play.

Notes and Thoughts

THE GOAT: Pat Kavanagh is the all-time Notre Dame lacrosse points leader as he finished Saturday with four points and moved to 274 total points for his career. He passed Randy Colley who set the record at 273 back in 1994.

I have said a lot about Pat Kavanagh over the last couple of years in my articles, but Pat Kavanagh is just built differently. If I can go to a hockey analogy, Pat Kavanagh to me is similar to my favorite hockey player of all time - Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks. They are similar in that Pat was not heavily recruited / Duncan was not a high draft pick; not a lot of people thought either would be a key piece to the puzzle of their teams; not everyone believed they could lead their teams to greatness.

All Duncan Keith did was probably be the best defenseman in the NHL for a six year stretch, win two Norris trophies, one Conn Smythe trophy and three Stanley Cup championships. He was also an alternate captain for the Hawks and will eventually have his jersey retired at the United Center and head to the hockey Hall of Fame. He had a quiet and humble nature to him, he was pretty reserved, but whenever he was on the ice, you just knew no one would work harder, no one would would be fiercer, and he would not let the Hawks lose.

Similar to Duncan, there is this quiet nature to the way Pat plays the game of lacrosse. When you see him in interviews, you can tell he doesn’t want the attention, and only in big moments do you see his emotion come through. But when he steps out onto the field, I don’t think there is a more ferocious competitor in all of college lacrosse (and it has been this way for the last few years). He has an ability to bring everyone on the Notre Dame team up to his level and he just refuses to let his team lose. You could tell how much last season meant to Pat coming off the heartbreak of 2022, and there was no way he was going to let the 2023 season finish without a championship. Watching him gut it out over Memorial Day weekend last year, and then celebrating with his teammates and family as a national champion, that will be forever ingrained in Irish fans’ minds. There is no one who deserves it more than him, no one works harder and no one gives his all more than him.

Thanks Pat Kavanagh for all that you have done for Notre Dame lacrosse. You are going down in history as the greatest to ever play at Notre Dame, and it is so well deserved. Take a bow.

Okay, now onto the rest...

Two goals for UVA across the last 29 minutes of the game. That is ELITE defense. In total, Notre Dame gave up a total of three goals in the second half to the Cavaliers. If we look at what Virginia did the week before and what they have been averaging across the season (15 gpg), to hold this team to single digits across 60 minutes is a pretty monumental task. Shawn Lyght held Connor Shellenberger to three points and when it came down to it, our entire defensive unit made the plays, we made the saves, we made the rides, we made the stops and we proved once again that we we can play shut down defense against the best of the best. Not to mention we have the best goalie in the world, Liam Entenmann, as the backbone of the whole operation.

Speaking of shut down defense....one of the best players on the field on Saturday was Will Donovan. I think we have to come up with a nickname for him as he has just become so good in his second year for the Irish. Last year he was first-team all-ACC at LSM and I am curious where he will land this year as he clearly deserves that spot, but he is not flashy and he is not loud so a lot of times his play can go unnoticed. I bet though if you asked Lars Tiffany how good he was on Saturday, he would feel the same way. Will Donovan is one of the best LSMs in all of college lacrosse and he proved it again in Charlottesville with his checks, with his on-ball play, with his wing play, with his ground ball play.....with his all-around stellar play. Sticking with my hockey analogies, one of the best to ever play for the Chicago Blackhawks also wore #81 - Marian Hossa. He played with a fire and intensity that seemed a lot of times to be internal as he was not showy or loud, but he was consistently one of the best on the ice every time he stepped out there. And what I loved about Marian was that he was just as good defensively as he was offensively. Will Donovan shares a number with Marian Hossa and they share a whole lot more with regards to their style of play. Notre Dame is lucky to have our #81.

I don’t think that the refs called a tight game as they seemed to let both teams play out there, but not sure I have ever seen a game where more moving picks were called (on both teams). The pick behind X has become a staple for Notre Dame (and other college teams) this year, and It seems in general, college teams are using more picks to either get the man with the ball more open or to cause a switch on defense. Clearly in this game the refs were watching, and if you were not completely still, they were calling a moving pick. Something for us to monitor moving forward.

Not sure if people noticed, but after the Devon McLane goal that put us up 11-9 with 3:41 to go, the coaches made the call to run Chris Conlin and Will Donovan on the wings for the faceoff. Clearly the staff knew how important that faceoff was and they wanted two longpoles out there to give us the best chance to get possession. It paid off as Will got the ground ball, scooped it to Chris and he was able to pass the ball into the offensive end to give us possession and the chance to run 80 seconds off the clock. Nicely done.

Speaking of faceoffs, in the dominant 4th quarter, it was listed as Notre Dame winning five faceoffs and Virginia winning zero. I think that might have been off by one as I think I remember UVA winning one on a whistle call, but either way, it was an awesome fourth quarter from Will Lynch and the faceoff group. Winning these faceoffs gave us possession, it allowed us to get some offensive rhythm and I think in the end it caused Virginia to hurry on their possessions as they just did not know when they would be getting the ball back. It was so good to see Will Lynch back and leading the charge and he stepped up big time when it mattered most. And really, I would be curious to see what the time of possession was across those last 15 minutes, we just seemed to always be in a spot with the ball in our offensive end in the final quarter.

And last note on faceoffs, and they mentioned this on the broadcast as well, but Tyler Buchner was getting some good wing play out there on the day. As Paul Carcaterra said, this subtle move is allowing the Irish to rest Carter Parlette, Nick Harris and Ben Ramsey a little and keeps them a little more fresh as the day moves along. Love this so much and it just continues to show the depth we have and the confidence that the coaching staff has in our players when their #s are called.

Looking at depth, once again, we saw the third line midfield (Fisher Finley, Bryce Walker and Jalen Seymour) out there and we saw them early and often. They got run across all the quarters and it is so awesome to see them getting meaningful minutes in big games. We have talked about this a thousand times before, but having the ability to run nine offensive middies out there is really allowing the Irish to not only go deep, but it gives our first and second line middies just that much more rest as the day goes along. This is going to be so needed as we get to the crunch time of the season and awesome work by the coaches and players to be able to do this. I truly do think this could be one of the biggest factors in our goal of repeating this year - being deep, being healthy and being rested is what could set Notre Dame apart in the weeks ahead.

Max Busenkell played a great game on Saturday. He was consistently beating his man to the cage and he had a really solid all around performance in Charlottesville. He had two big time assists on the day, the first one to Chris Kavanagh and the second to Devon McLane which put the game away for the Irish. And his outside shot continues to get better and better as he is stinging the pipes from 10-15 yards. One of the nicer stories of this year’s Irish has been the rise of Max Busenkell, and so fun to see a young player rise to the occasion as he is going to be a big part of the team across May and in the years to come.

Clearly we were giving Jordan Faison the green light as he took it to the cage starting in the first quarter. I am curious if this was a matchup we had seen in the tape leading up to the game or if was the fact that Jordan had the short stick on him. Either way, he got by his man a lot, but UVA did a nice job recovering and forcing a tough angle shot or forcing the pass to X. When it mattered the most in the 4th quarter though, Jordan beat his man and got it home to make the score 10-9 Irish.

One of the things I loved from the Irish on Saturday was our looks that our middies were giving to their teammates who would be behind X but slip to the back side crease when those middies were driving from up top. This was very apparent on the Dobson to McLane goal, but it seemed to happen a few times during the day and I thought it was nice wrinkle that we went with on the afternoon. Great work by the coaches and the players with this play as it was very noticeable on Saturday.

It was noted on the broadcast, but there was lots of slipping from the Irish on the day, and sure this was something that was talked about by the team at halftime. It looked like a lot of the slipping was taking place on the one side of the field, but I am curious if the team discussed changing (or even had the chance to) their cleats and what they were wearing on their feet with the natural grass.

Fred’s Pics

Fred Assaf could not make the game on Saturday so no additional pictures at the bottom of this article. Fred should be back next week for the ACC tournament so get ready to see what he drums up next weekend.

What’s Next

Anyone want to run that Virginia game back? Well you will get your wish as the Irish and Cavaliers will face off again on Friday night in the ACC tournament semifinal matchup at 5 PM EST in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will be the second matchup between the two squads, and as we have said before, we would not be surprised if we saw these two teams meet up a total of three times this year. The other matchup on Friday night will be Syracuse taking on Duke and the winners of these two games will play on Sunday in the ACC Championship.

There is no automatic bid for the winner of the ACC tournament as a conference needs at least six teams to have the winner get the automatic selection. With that being the case, this bracket will be a super interesting one to watch as it’s a certainty that Notre Dame, Duke and Syracuse are in the NCAA tournament no matter the outcome of this weekend. Virginia is one to watch as they enter tourney play having lost three in a row. Lose against Notre Dame on Friday night and they will have lost four in a row and would be 1-4 in ACC play (with their only win being against a .500 North Carolina team). I have not looked enough at the RPI and their overall SOS, but if there is some chaos in some of the other conference tournaments and some teams steal some bids, we could be looking at a scenario where UVA is not hosting an opening round game, and in a completely different situation, there could be a situation where they are not even in the tournament at all. No UVA in the NCAA tournament? It seems crazy, but all one has to do is look at 2022 and see that the committee has made the call to not let one of the best teams (ie Notre Dame) get the chance to play in May.

This will be a very thought-provoking week of practice for Notre Dame and for the coaching staff. Sure the team will be lighter in their workouts with the possibility of playing two games in under 48 hours, and we will then be turning around (whether win or lose) with our first tournament game either on the following Saturday or Sunday at Arlotta. We are assured to be a top seed in the tournament, but I am curious as to where we will end up depending on how all the conference games goes this weekend. If Notre Dame loses on Friday and Johns Hopkins wins the Big Ten, do they get the #1 seed? If Syracuse wins the ACC tournament, do they jump the Irish in seeding? When the coaching staff looks at this weekend, do we look at it as one where we don’t want to expend too much energy in order to get wins? Do we go deep across our roster to make sure we remain fresh overall? It’s a game of chess that I know the coaching staff is up for as we are looking at a possible three games in eight days.

In my personal opinion, I would go all out to get that win on Friday night, and then if you do win, I would play a very LARGE roster of players in the ACC Championship game. Rest the starters and give everyone on the roster a chance to play and contribute as a part of the 2023 season. That is what I would do if I were in charge.

In the end, I think this is the one year that getting the #1 seed does not matter as much as what one’s quarterfinal matchup will be. Get to Memorial Day and it doesn’t matter who you play as you have to win them both to win the Championship. But in a year where parity has ruled the college lacrosse season, there are going to be some really competitive quarterfinal matchups that will take place, and I could see some super exciting and close games that second weekend of the tournament. There will be quarterfinal matchups that will be good for the top seeds and others that will not be so good as there are just a lot of solid lacrosse teams out there this season. Each team matches up differently against one another and that round of 8 will be fascinating to watch.

For our Irish, just play our game, continue to be who we have been throughout this whole season.....and we will be fine. I think that is what we can have faith in around our Irish...if we play like we have all year, then we know we are the best team in the country.

Dial up your TVs, this will be an awesome weekend of college lacrosse, not only across the ACC, but across all the other conferences as well. And get ready folks, May is here.

The NCAA selection show will be Sunday night and we will find out what our path looks like to Philly and our chance to repeat.

Final, final...the next Exit 77 podcast should be coming your way later this week. David Brogan and I will break down the UVA game and look ahead to the ACC tournament and what’s after that.

Okay Irish fans, it’s that time of year....”Time to Be Great.”