#4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse host the #1 Duke Blue Devils (10-0, 2-0 ACC) Saturday at noon at Arlotta Stadium, ESPNU.

The boys prepare to run the gauntlet, with games versus the #1 team, #1 team again, and then the #2 team. Challenge accepted!

The Opponent

Duke are undefeated after 10 games and will be coming off a 9-day layoff.  The have 5 wins over ranked opponents, but their last two wins, over Syracuse and North Carolina, were only by a goal.

Make no mistake, thier roster is absolutely stacked.  Among the graduate students added to an already excellent team are goalie Mike Adler and perhaps the most sought-after transfer of them all, Michael Sowers. Sowers has already accumulated 51 points!

Duke also has what many consider the top-rated freshman class, which include the number 1 recruit, attackman Brennan O’Neil, and faceoff specialist Jake Naso, both from Long Island’s St. Anthony’s H.S.  O’Neil immediately gelled with Sowers and has 27 goals!  Jake Naso revived Duke at the dot and is winning at a .667 rate.

The above are all in addition to the cast Notre Dame knows well from prior seasons, including Nakeie Montgomery, Joe Robertson, Dyson Williams, and the excellent defender J.T. Giles-Harris.

Depth is off the charts, with 6 double-digit goal scorers among their 19 multiple-goal scorers.

What we think

These teams know each other very well.  Duke is Notre Dame’s most common opponent by some margin.  There are new players on each sideline, but stylistically the teams will know what to expect.

The Irish will have to figure out a way to limit the very productive attack of Sowers-O’Neil-Robertson. At the midfield, the biggest concern will be to keep Montgomery from drawing slides and forcing the defense to recover faster than Duke can move the ball.  This will all be very difficult.

Naso has been very good for the Duke faceoff unit. Gallagher and Leonard are more experienced and can’t let him create at stalemate at the dot.  Notre Dame will need gain a possession advantage.

Lastly, the Irish have to get off to a good start offensively and can’t get bogged down for long periods of time.  Duke has the ability to score consistently, and giving them a head start like the Irish did against Virginia and Syracuse is something important to avoid.

We have to think Duke will look to limit Kavanagh and force the midfield to lead the scoring.  Good news is that the Irish are more than capable of scoring from the midfield and penalizing Duke for focusing too much energy on one player.  Notre Dame will have to utilize its own scoring depth and bring their scoring well into the teens.

Challenge accepted

Duke is ranked #1 for a reason, but playing strong teams like the Blue Devils is what the Irish have to do to earn their shot at a national championship. If we want to be the best, we have to embrace these challenges.  Duke has a deep roster, but so do the Irish! For our part, we are very excited to see what the boys will do at Arlotta, and how they will take their next step towards a championship!

 

Also:  men’s lacrosse isn’t the only team playing a #1 ranked opponent!  The women will be taking on #1 ranked UNC later in the afternoon on ACCN. Please be sure to watch their game and cheer them on too!

#GoIrish