After losing all three attacking starters from their previous season, the 2026 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team was going to need someone to step up on offense. For the first three games of the season the solution has been a graduate transfer from Air Force, forward Josh Yago. He has nine goals and four assists this year and has been the key leader for an offense that now leads college lacrosse in goals per game.
In his debut outing for Notre Dame, Yago led the team in goals, collecting four, all of which came in the second half. He was the key factor in icing that game against Marquette, as his first goal started an 8-3 run and gave the Irish a 16-11 win. In the team’s next contest against Bellarmine, the Irish broke a program record for most goals in a game in the 29-10 win over the Knights. Yago contributed two goals and two assists. Then, against the first ranked opponent of the season, Yago contributed a hat trick and two assists to beat No. 4 Georgetown 15-9.
If one was asked to name a star on this offense, Yago is surely the attacker to pick. However, the stats show that there isn’t a true star on this Notre Dame team. The Irish have gotten goals from eight or more players in all three of their games this season and having that many different weapons to get scoring from is huge for the team’s success. After the Georgetown game, Yago was asked about what has allowed him to be so successful this year, and he mentioned the team’s chemistry and selflessness. “We all share the ball. It’s not a 1-on-1 matchup for anybody. We’re playing 6-on-6. You look at the box scores, and everyone is contributing, whether it’s the fifth attackmen or our sixth middie,” Yago said.
38th-year head coach Kevin Corrigan also praised Yago’s performance. More specifically, he talked about Yago’s versatility, adding, “the thing I like most about him is the variety of plays he can make. He’s good on the wing, he’s good up top, he’s good with the ball in his stick, he’s good off-ball and he’s good inside.”
The coach mentioned the experience Yago brings to an inexperienced group of attackers. “There are not a lot of guys who have that kind of skillset and also the maturity that comes with playing at Air Force the past couple years, and that makes him a really tough cover,” he said.
Corrigan also praised the many options that the team has and how a big part of the reason Yago earned favorable matchups was because the Irish had so many threats for the Georgetown long-stick defenders to take on. Overall, Corrigan was very pleased with Yago’s performance against Georgetown, and how he has fared in favorable midfield matchups through the start of the campaign.
The Irish were ranked No. 7 heading into the Georgetown game, and Irish players may have taken that personally. “We, as a group, feel like we are being overlooked right now,” Yago said. “We’re here to play. We’re gonna show the world that, and today I think we did,” he said.
It’s safe to say that the Irish are no longer being overlooked, as the newest rankings by Inside Lacrosse ranked the Blue and Gold at No. 2. The games ahead do not get much easier though, as the team’s next contest is a tough matchup against the No. 9 Maryland Terrapins, who finished as the runners-up just last season. The Irish have a lot of different weapons offensively, and Yago will be as important as any of them for the team to continue its success throughout the remainder of the year.
