The #5/7/7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0) steamrolled the Cleveland State Vikings (0-3) 17-7 in front of nearly 1000 fans in the Loftus Sports Center. The Irish open the season with an impressive showing in all aspects of the game. The Irish finished the first half up 12-1, allowing the entire roster to get valuable experience in the second half.
The Data
Quinn McCahon (2g) opened Irish scoring for the season. Bryan Costabile led goal scorers with 4 goals, and freshman Pat Kavanagh led all scorers with 7 points (3g, 4a). McNamara (2g, 1a), Westlin (1g, 2a) and Willets (1g, 1a) had multiple points. Jackoboice, Mirer, and Morin added a goal each, and Cochran impressively led fast breaks from LSM with 2 assists.
Freshman Liam Entenmann started the game in goal and made 8 saves while giving up only 2 goals. Leonard was the first faceoff option and finished his day winning 9 of 15 draws. Kielty and Cohen each had a caused turnover to go with a ground ball, and Cassidy and freshman Nick Harris had 3 ground balls each from the defensive midfield.
Because the lineup changed the second half, we will focus on the first half team stats. The Irish outshot Cleveland State in the first half 34-12. The ground ball advantage was 22-10, and they were a perfect 12 for 12 clearing. The were also 1 of 2 extra-man. In the second half with mix-and-match lineups, the noticeable difference was a very sloppy 12 of 17 clearing.
45 Irish players saw the field, including freshmen Kavanagh, Entenmann, Harris, Ford, Napolitano, Taylor, Lynch, Gray, Moss, Barger, and Young.
Observations
Cleveland State scored quickly off the opening faceoff. It looked like Danny Cassidy got caught a bit flat-footed as the teams substituted offensive players, but he shook it off and won a key ground ball and clear on the next faceoff. McCahon scored soon thereafter, followed by a Costabile lazer. Kavanagh and Jacoboice scored two more within 3 minutes and the rout was on. The Irish didn’t take their foot off the gas on either side of the field until it was time to make wholesale substitutions early in the second half. The Irish tallied 13 straight goals after that initial Viking score.
There were positives in nearly all parts of the game to build upon.
offense
In our preseason summary we noted the importance in the shot clock era of getting to 12 goals early. Against the Vikings, the boys got there by halftime. Most importantly, they did this with balance across the attack, first midfield AND second midfield. Any player who was covered by a short stick defender or against whom the defense was unwilling to slide was able to score against that matchup. Dodges, passes to back pipe, quick passes from X to crashing midfielder, 2-man, transition, etc., there was a little bit of everything. The boys were able to get quality looks early in the shot clock, and it seemed from the broadcast audio that they were being encouraged to take those early looks, something we havn’t seem much of the past few years.
The attack began with Willets/Westlin/Kavanagh and added Chase and Morin for valuable minutes. Kavanagh looked very comfortable quartbacking at X, and seemed to have a particularly good connection with the second midfield, McNamara in particular. Costabile was a consensus All-American coming into the season, but with his added muscle weight and even greater shot velocity, he has the potential of putting up some crazy midfield numbers should the team require it. Most importantly, when things did not go their way, the ride was energetic and effective.
There wasn’t much to criticize. There were a few lay-ups that should have been better placed, more than a few passes were not as sharp as they could be, and the team got a bit too cute and sloppy with the ball in the second half, but these are nitpicky things.
defense
After the first quick goal by Cleveland State, the defense held them scoreless for the next 35 minutes. THIRTY-FIVE minutes. The Vikings only started getting any kind of looks after Notre Dame started substituting out their first unit. Poles were alowed to extend far away from the crease (Kielty was comfortable applying hard ball pressure 10 yards above the restraining line!). Cohen was very strong close in. Aslanian, Hasselbeck, Cassidy and freshman Nick Harris were generally comfortable at SSDM. At LSM, it seems the Irish have and embarrassment of riches, too. Restic and Boyer are excellent, and Cochran and freshman Ford played effectively during their minutes with the main unit. Ball handling was very good the entire first half.
What was noteworthy to us was how far out the defense was allowed to pressure the ball, and how aggressively slides came in to double team. The Irish are made great use of their athleticism.
It’s no secret that we see co-captain Jack Kielty as a Schmeisser Award favorite. His performance in the first game certainly validated our enthusiasm. We look forward to seeing more of this!
On the nitpicky side, communication wasn’t always sharp on a few razor picks, and late in the game outlet passes missed the mark a few time. Fixable things.
specialists
Entenmann got the start in goal. He is a really big presence in goal and made great stops. We noticed he likes to step forward into shots to cut off the angle, and he’s very comfortable in the clearing game. Schmidt relieved him in midway through the 3rd quarter and looked strong as well. Late in the game he didn’t have the benefit of the first defensive unit and got some really hard looks. We can’t criticize him for that. Schmidt is particularly good at making clean saves, and that allowed him to channel his inner Timmy Troutner and launch some long PLL-style outlet passes. They were fun to watch even if not always successful. We would have loved to see Zullo and Nelson get a few minutes, but recognize it would have been unfair to try to get them in while cold.
At the faceoff X, Leonard and the wings had a good day. Frane and Hyland got a lot of opportunities in relief and experimented with a lot of different styles. They weren’t as successful and they would have liked, but it was also their first game experience either has seen in a while. These things will work themselves out.
Summary
What does this win mean in context? It’s easy to dismiss a win against a newer program, but we must consider the value of strong opening games in comparison to the past few years. Last year the 19-6 final against Detroit-Mercy flattered Notre Dame a bit as the Irish were tested by the Titans well into the 2nd half. In 2018, the issue was still very much in doubt late in the 4th quarter with the Irish tied 6-6 late before pulling away for a 10-7 win.
Setting the tone early and playing great, balanced and disciplined lacrosse is evidence of the depth of experience this year’s Notre Dame team brings into the season. It was a great way to start the season.
Up Next
The Richmond Spiders visit South Bend on Sunday, February 23 at noon, ACC Network Extra. The Fighting Irish will look to retaliate after last year’s loss in Richmond.
Women’s Lacrosse
The #7 women’s Fighting Irish lacrosse team has been on a tear. A win at powerhouse Northwestern followed by a demolition of Central Michigan completed a strong week for the team.
#GoIrish
