Just over halfway through the regular season, Notre Dame men’s lacrosse is 6-0 and is the top team in the country, according to Inside Lacrosse. It has put together an incredible resume, beating three ranked teams in those six games, and it had this past weekend off to give it time to recover after the tough schedule it had to start the season. However, even though the first part of the schedule consisted of some incredibly tough opponents, the five games left for Notre Dame are arguably the five most important of the season. All four Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents are still on the schedule, as well as the No. 2 Richmond Spiders, anxiously awaiting the Irish.
To open up ACC play, the Irish will travel to take on the Cavaliers on Saturday, March 28. The Cavaliers are in the middle of a down year, where they are 5-4 and 0-3 against ranked opponents. However, they have a potent offense that can score at a very high level as they are No. 7 in the nation in goals per game, anchored by McCabe Millon, who leads the nation in assists per game and has 19 goals, along with his brother Brendan, who has 20 goals and 24 assists this year. The Irish defense will need to continue its good form, and the offense will need to take advantage of a defense that allows 14.67 goals per game.
The Irish will then face their final nonconference opponent of the year, and it has a chance to be their toughest one. They will travel to the Windy City for Lacrosse Day in Chicago as they take on the No. 2 Richmond Spiders Saturday, April 24. The Spiders are incredibly well rounded as they are No. 4 in the country in both goals per game and goals allowed per game. Starting close defenseman Hunter Smith, the reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, averages three turnovers per game. Notre Dame has faced tough defensive players this season, and Smith will be among the best of those. On the offensive side, the Spiders run a very balanced attack with five players scoring double-digit goals this season. Overall, the Spiders have played a weaker schedule than Notre Dame this season, but they have still defeated top teams such as No. 9 Cornell and No. 14 Georgetown. Their well-balanced team has led them to an 8-0 record and cemented itself as a top team in collegiate lacrosse.
After the Spiders, the real meat of ACC play starts with the Irish returning home to take on the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels Saturday, April 11. The Tar Heels have fallen just short of what the Irish have done this year, averaging 14.67 goals per game and allowing 9.00 goals per game. Their attack is led by one of the best attacking duos in the nation, in Owen Duffy and Dominic Pietramala. The Tar Heels are 8-1 overall and 4-1 against ranked opponents, the only loss being a two-goal loss to the No. 3 Princeton Tigers. Not only are they well rounded, but they have also impressed amidst a very tough schedule. North Carolina could very well be the best team Notre Dame faces this year.
The Irish will then enter the second half of ACC play to take on the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils Saturday, April 18, in Durham, N.C. Right now, Duke scores 17.13 goals per game and only allows 6.86, but those statistics are a bit misleading. Whereas most ACC teams, such as Notre Dame and Syracuse, have played incredibly tough schedules to start the season, the Blue Devils have only played one ranked opponent in eight games. With that being said, they are 8-0 and played mostly drama-less lacrosse. They have the best short-stick defensive midfielder in the country in Aidan Maguire, who has caused eight turnovers and picked up 20 ground balls. For a short stick, those numbers are incredibly impressive. Duke does have some key threats, and they are 8-0 right now, but they haven’t played a strong schedule, so there are still questions about how the Blue Devils can fare against the best of the best.
To cap off the season, the Irish will face off against the reigning ACC Champions in the No. 5 Syracuse Orange. Their final regular-season home game will take place Saturday, April 25. Syracuse has not made things easy on itself by any means. It has played eight ranked opponents in its first 10 games and has impressed going 6-2, its only losses coming to No. 3 Princeton and No. 7 Harvard. Its attack is led by arguably the best lacrosse player in the nation Joey Spallina. Spallina is third in the nation in points this season with 21 goals and 28 assists to his name, and he’s been the leader of a Syracuse offense that averages 13.20 goals per game. Defensively, the Orange boast one of the top goalies in the nation in Jimmy McCool, who has maintained a 0.57 save percentage, the best in the ACC. The intense matchup could very well decide the ACC.
The Irish have put together an incredibly impressive season so far, but in order to ensure a spot in the tournament, the Irish need to pick up at least a few wins in these next five games. They have an incredibly well-rounded team with strong players on both the offensive and defensive sides. The graduate transfer from Air Force, Josh Yago, has scored a team-leading 15 goals in his first six games and he leads an attacking trio of sophomore Luke Miller and junior Brock Behrman that has been deadly so far this season. The defense, anchored by arguably the best close defenseman in the country in junior Shawn Lyght, has only given up 8.45 goals per game this season, which is tied for the seventh best in the nation. The Irish have earned a 6-0 record with massive wins against No. 14 Georgetown, No. 12 Maryland and No. 8 Ohio State. The Irish must continue their strong form if they are to beat these tough teams remaining on their schedule.
