Irish beat Penn 10-8 on Senior Day at Arlotta

Our Irish lacrosse team finishes the regular season at 8-3 overall; 3-1 in the ACC

Photo Credit: Notre Dame Lacrosse Twitter

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in South Bend, in front of over 4,500 fans, the Irish used a dominant third quarter to beat the Penn Quakers. It was another slow start for our Irish, but we turned it on after halftime to outscore Penn by eight goals to two goals in the final 30 minutes. The win at Arlotta finished off our regular season, but it was hopefully not the last home game of the season. If we finish strong in the ACC tournament, we will then be looking at a home matchup in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a little over a week.

Coming in at 8-3 overall on the season, our Irish won their last three ACC games to finish at 3-1 and co-champions of the conference (with North Carolina). Why there are co-champions when we won the head to head against the Tar Heels, that is a question for another day.

Lots to discuss around this game, but with the win, the Irish all but locked up a berth in the NCAA tournament. What is still to be decided is where we will be seeded with so much to be determined in conference tournaments across this weekend. It is definitely conceivable that with two Irish wins in the ACC tourney we could be looking at a top 4 overall seed. Win on Friday against the Orange and we will certainly be hosting. Lose to Syracuse and we might be looking at being on the road come Mother’s Day weekend.

David Brogan and I have you covered with the all the Irish news on the most recent “Exit 77” podcast – Episode 114 and follow as well our friends at 18Stripes for their write-up on the victory over Penn.

Okay, let’s get into it, but first let’s recognize all the Notre Dame seniors and fifth year seniors: Colin Hagstrom, Jake Taylor, Greg Campisi, Casey Doyle, Devon McLane, Ridge Johnson, Jeffery Ricciardelli, Michael Ridgway, Fisher Finley, Logan Gutzwiller, Will Angrick, Ronan Doherty, Tyler Buchner, Will Lynch, Ben Ramsey, Jalen Seymour, Chris Kavanagh, Alex Zepf, Mason Wordelman and Pat Eilers.

While some of these student athletes could be back next year, wanted to say THANK YOU to these players for all they have done for Notre Dame lacrosse. Lots more to come this year, but sure it was a rewarding Senior Day in the Bend.

What I liked about Notre Dame on Saturday at Arlotta

Actually, check that. I am going to start out with what needs to improve as we head into the postseason. Over the last three games, the Irish have six first half goals. Over the same three games, we have 28 goals in the second half. There is a stark contrast with what we are doing offensively across the halves and if we want to make a deep run in the tournament, we are going to have to be more consistent across the first 30 minutes of the game. Come May, teams are going to buckle down even more and our overcoming a deficit will be that much harder and tougher to accomplish. Teams have clearly been looking to shut down Jake Taylor at the start of the game, and with that, we sometimes get too bunched up on offense. On Saturday against Penn there did not seem like there was any space to operate, everyone was a little too close and we just could not get our offense going. We have been down 4-1 to UNC at half and then 6-2 to Penn at half. Getting off to a better start needs to begin this weekend, we need to find some new unlocks early in the game. Let’s see what adjustments we make and see what changes those new wrinkles will bring.

Okay, now back to what I liked….So great seeing the games that Devon McLane and Chris Kavanagh had on Saturday. Across these two we had seven goals and three assists. Penn could not find an answer for this duo across the second half, and when the Irish needed goals to make a run, these two scored our only two goals and then the first four goals of the second half. Let’s keep this going!!

Another very strong effort by our overall defense, especially in the second half. Similar to our offense turning things on across the second half, our defense has done the exact same as they are locking down opponents to the tune of two UNC goals and two Penn goals across the last 30 minutes of each of those games. It is a team effort and the boys are looking really good, communicating well and we continue to move up the defense efficiency rankings. We are founding into form at the exact right time of year; so good to see and so much fun to watch.

Will Lynch and Colin Hagstrom owned the day at the faceoff dot winning 15 of 22. Additionally, across the strong third quarter they won eight of nine and Penn barely had the ball over the definitive fifteen minutes of the game. Once again, awesome to see these two step up when needed most and we will be counting on them in the weeks ahead, especially as the weather gets hotter and the games get played so close to each other.

Fisher Finley was ready to go when his number was called. Great to see him back out there playing with some confidence. He had a big time goal on the day and let’s see if this maybe unlocks him as we get May underway. I think we all remember his goal against Maryland in last year’s final; now is the time for that type of play to come to the forefront for our Irish offense.

Notre Dame 40 ground balls to Penn’s 18. We’ve said it before, but ground balls in lacrosse are all about who wants it more. Who is willing to hustle, put their body out there and come out of the scrum with the rock. The Irish did a tremendous job on Saturday of winning the battle on the turf; I am sure there is nothing the coaching staff likes to see more than us dominating in that column.

Ten goals for our Irish with six of them being assisted. Definitely something we like to see when it comes to our Irish and ball movement. Our offense, like many others, is at its best when the ball is moving in and out of sticks and when we are hitting the next open man for a pass and a goal. Let’s keep this going and going and going and going.

Other Notes in General

Matt Jeffery took a big hit on Saturday and left the game with a neck brace. Hope he is okay and that he is feeling better. His health is the most important thing and it was good to see him walk on the field on his own. Not sure if and when he will be back this year, but hoping for a speedy recovery for him.

With Matt Jeffery an unknown and probably out this weekend, that means we have to mix up our middie lines a little bit. Will Maheras was running on the first line on Saturday and Fisher Finley came in on the second. Will be curious if that will be the same on Friday or if Max Busenkell goes back up to that first line.

The man-up unit continues to change personnel and is still looking to get itself set. Not the most ideal situation at this time of year, but let’s see if a good week of practice brings something more out of this unit. Brock Behrman was out there on Saturday as he has a quick release and has a pretty smooth stick.

Lots of accolades for Notre Dame players as the ACC came out with their season awards this week. Congrats to the following:

Matt Jeffery – ACC Freshman of the Year

Shawn Lyght – ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year

Chris Kavanagh – ACC Offensive Player of the Year

Jake Taylor, Chris Kavanagh, Will Donovan, Shawn Lyght, Ben Ramsey and Thomas Ricciardelli all were named All-ACC Team.

All well deserved and certainly felt there were a couple more who could have made this team.

What’s Next

The ACC tournament gets underway starting on Friday down in Charlotte. Here are the opening matchups:

Notre Dame vs Syracuse at 5 PM EST

North Carolina vs Duke at 8 PM EST

Ever since that Saturday up in the Dome, we have been asking for another opportunity to take on the Cuse. The defeat that day in April was the worst loss we have had in a few years time; it was a game that our Irish went up early in, but then Syracuse dominated for a very long stretch.

The 2025 revenge tour starts now and if this year’s Notre Dame team is like the teams from years past, getting another shot at the Orange is just like getting another shot at Ohio State, Maryland, Virginia and Georgetown. Those four teams and Syracuse are the only teams that have beaten us in the last three years. When we have had the chance to vanquish early season losses later in the year, we have done so in dominating fashion.

That is what I am looking for from our Irish on Friday. We need to be physical, we need to win on ground balls, we need to control the inside, we need to ride, we need to force turnovers, we need have great passing, we need to finish our shots….and we need to take it to the Orange from the outset. 60 minutes of Notre Dame lacrosse. That is what we all want and what I think we all expect.

Win on Friday and then we get either Duke or Carolina for the ACC tournament championship and what should then be a top 4 seed in the tournament.

It’s that time folks. We have finally and fully reached that point in the season. It is finally May. Six games to go from here on out for our Irish. Let’s do this!!

“Time To Be Great.”