Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team faces No. 1 North Carolina this Saturday, April 11, in an intense ACC challenge as the Irish attempt to topple the Tar Heels.
This past weekend the Irish faced former No. 1 Richmond. The Irish beat the Spiders 12-8, jumping from No. 4 to No. 2, according to polls by Inside Lacrosse.
The Irish are currently 7-1 with their only loss being a surprising defeat to No. 8 Virginia, with a narrow score of 9-11. Similarly, North Carolina is currently 10-1 with their only loss being to No. 3 Princeton. The team rankings are in high competition, with top teams serving losses to one another, keeping the No. 1 spot up for grabs.
The Irish will rely on key scorers such as sophomore attack Luke Miller and graduate attack Josh Yago if they hope to defeat the Tar Heels. Miller had 4 goals during the Irish’s defeat of Richmond while Yago had 3. A transfer from Air Force, Yago now has scored in seven of the eight games the Irish have played, establishing himself as a dangerous offensive threat. Not only has the Irish offense been impressive, but senior goaltender Thomas Ricciardelli had 12 saves when facing Richmond. He also held Richmond to only 8 goals, making it the second-lowest score of the Spiders’ season.
The Tar Heels are coming off of a big win against No. 4 Syracuse and are desperate to defend their top-ranked spot. The Tar Heels’ top scorer of their last game against the Orange was junior Dominic Pietramala, who put up 5 goals in the 14-9 win.
The Irish will have a hard time scoring due to the Tarheels 22-0 record over the last three seasons of only allowing 9 goals or less. A recent addition to the North Carolina impressive defense, freshman goaltender Josh Marcus put up a career high of 15 saves last game against Syracuse, which will also be a challenge for the Irish when hoping to get shots past the four-star recruit.
The game will be a battle and is one of the final three games for the Irish before heading into tournament play. The Irish hope to topple the Tar Heels and capture the No. 1 title, but it will be one of their most challenging matches yet.
The game will be played this Saturday at 5 p.m. at Arlotta Fields. It will also be broadcasted on ACC Network.
