I know, I know, it’s tough to take the spotlight off of Notre Dame football ever, but cast your eyes this way for just a second: Notre Dame Lacrosse is at it again. For the second time in three years, the Irish will move on to the Final Four, and they look to bring the Championship Trophy back to South Bend for the first time.
The Irish set out this season knowing that they had something special brewing inside the walls of Arlotta Stadium — they began the season with a #9 overall ranking, and they were facing an immediate test at home playing the #2 Duke Blue Devils — the same team that had knocked them out of the NCAAs the two previous seasons. It was the perfect measuring stick to see if they had made strides in the offseason, and a chance to prove it against one of the sport’s perennial powerhouses. And prove it they did, with a resounding 7-3 victory over the guys from Durham, NC, in front of 2000+ fans that came out even in frigid February weather in South Bend. From that moment on the bar was set: championship or bust. And after going 11-1 in regular season play (with wins over six ranked teams), it was clear that this team had as a good a shot as any of winning it all.
The team showcases the #1 scoring defense in the country, headed by junior goalie John Kemp and senior defenseman Kevin Randall (up for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award), but also has tremendous scoring capabilities, as upperclassmen Max Pfeifer, Steve Murphy, and Sean Rogers form a formidable trio on the attack. This allows the Irish to play the game at any pace, and their balance is far too much for most teams to match.
So how have they advanced to the Final Four this time? In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, they defeated Ivy League Champion Yale, and then they followed that up by knocking off the defending National Champion team — Virginia — that was ranked 5th overall, in a 12-10 thriller. Notre Dame has demonstrated that if they can continue to play with poise and confidence, they should be able to bring home the title.
So next up the Irish face their stiffest test yet, #1 seeded Loyola (16-1 overall). The game will take place this Saturday, May 26th at 2:30 PM at Gillette Stadium, and will be broadcast on ESPN2/ESPN3. Make sure you tune in for a chance to see an elite Irish team try to find their way back to the Championship Game, so they can take care of some unfinished business.
- The Shirt 2016: A ND Student’s Perspective - April 21, 2016
- Thank you, DJ - April 4, 2016
- The Stages of Watching a Notre Dame Basketball Game - March 25, 2016
Big Red
Go Irish! Beat Greyhounds!