#10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse (1-2) lost a tough one to the #1 Maryland Terrapins (5-0) 11-9 at Arlotta Stadium. A great defensive effort, intense ground ball play, and flashy scoring were not enough to overcome some very untimely turnovers and difficulties at face-off.
We apologize for the late recap!
The Scoring
Pat Kavanagh led Irish scorers with 2 goals and an assist, with Dobson and Westlin adding 2 goals each. Chris Kavanagh, Bryce Walker and Will Agrick scored a goal each. Dobson had two assists.
Cohen, Cochran and Pat Kavanagh had 2 caused turnovers each. PKav also had SIX ground balls from the attack position, an incredible stat showing his determination. In fact, ground ball numbers were once again great across the board.
Entenmann had 10 saves on 21 shots on goal.
Notre Dame was 2 of 3 man-up, and was a perfect 25 for 25 clearing, while holding Maryland to 19 of 22.
The faceoff unit had another hard day, winning only 6 of 24 (including a 4 for 4 start). 18 Irish turnovers are a moderately untidy total, but that figure flatters the boys a bit. The timing of the turnovers was often particularly unfortunate. Shots per possession reflected the poor timeliness of the turnovers, dipping below 1 per possession after posting a nearly 1.5 figure last week.
26 Irish saw the field, including 5 freshman.
Maryland Goalie Logan McNaney saved 12 of 21 shots on goal. Maryland scoring was balances across 7 players.
The Plot
Notre Dame opened the scoring in the first minute on a Westlin goal assisted by Dobson. Maryland tied the game, but a goal by Will Angrick had the Irish leading 2-1 at the end of the quarter. The Irish played very well to start the game, but it definitely felt as thought the Irish would come to regret missed opportunities. The boys were 4 for 4 on faceoffs, had 13 shots, and dominated ground balls, yet only had 2 goals to show for it.
The faceoff and turnover situation started to deteriorate in the second quarter, and Maryland got the upper hand scoring. A late Westlin goal let the Irish go to halftime only down 4-5.
Maryland found early success with their adjustment to invert coming out of halftime. With their faceoff unit dominating, this led to 3 quick Terrapin goals before the Irish were able to make defensive adjustments. Things looked bleak, but Chris and Pat Kavanagh scored late in the quarter to keep the Irish in reach at 7-9.
The teams exchanged goals early in the 4th, with Jackoboice scoring late in the quarter to put the Irish down 1 and holding all the momentum. However, some costly turnovers and a late Maryland goal let the visitors run out the clock on the Irish for a 9-11 final score.
Thoughts
We have to begin with the positives as there were quite a few. The ability of the Irish attack to will themselves into ground ball wins is simply incredible. That energy is contagious and clearly inspires the rest of the team. The defense also continues to play at a very high level. Holding Maryland to 11 is not something likely to be repeated by any other team on the Terps’ schedule. Finally, the man-up unit finds consistent success. These factors alone will win a lot of games.
The concerns are certainly obvious. The underclassman-led faceoff unit is still learning to play at this level. They show flashes of brilliance like their 4 for 4 in the first quarter, but they still don’t have the experience to make adjustments like the top units. The Irish will go into games expecting a possession deficit while this gets sorted out. The problem is that the Irish can’t struggle at the dot and also be sloppy with turnovers and only score an inefficient 2 goals on 13 shots in the opening quarter. The margin isn’t there to do this against the #1 team.
Still, the Irish haven’t suffered in the rankings because most can see this team has championship level ability. The defense is top notch and there really isn’t any substitute for the energy the offense brings to these games. Any improvement in the faceoff unit and some better care with the ball will definitely result in some high quality wins with these foundations.
Next
It doesn’t get any easier for the boys as they go on their first road trip to play #11 Ohio State. They will face another top faceoff specialist in Justin Inacio and will look to continue their development. The Buckeyes are 4-1 and coming off a loss to Cornell. The teams have one common opponent so far in Detroit Mercy, against whom the Buckeyes won 18-7 compared to 24-2 for the Irish. The game will be on Saturday, March 12, at 3:30 pm in Columbus (BTN).
#GoIrish
