#16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish lacrosse (2-4) will host the #18 Syracuse Orangemen (4-4) this Saturday at 2:00 pm (ESPNU).  The teams will use this occasion to raise funds and awareness for mental health matters in honor of Notre Dame’s Tommy O’Brien and Syracuse’s Rob Kavovit.

The Cause

The game is the culminating event of Mental Health Awareness week, which is being sponsored by SAACs “Irish Strong” initiative. Notre Dame Lacrosse is rising to this challenge led by players Jose Boyer and Max Manyak. Jose himself is from Yorktown, New York, the hometown of the Syracuse lacrosse alumnus Rob Kavovit, in whose memory the Orangemen will be playing.

There are many ways we as fans can participate in this project.  We hope our readers will consider these options:

Fans can donate directly to the game fundraiser.

Supporters of either team can purchase their team’s Mental Matters shirt.

The link for the Kavovit 15 for Life foundation can be found here.

Text TommyOBrien to 41444 for the Tommy O’Brien Fund.

Many thanks to our Irish and Syracuse boys for engaging with this important issue.

The Setup

We didn’t discuss last weekend’s 8-12 loss to Virginia.  While the Irish were once again stellar with ground balls, offensive efficiency was far less than optimal. While the faceoff situation was somewhat improved over the first 3 quarters of the game, the challenges the Irish were having getting their shots on cage prevented them from gathering any momentum.

Notre Dame is also being challenged by an accumulation of injuries, particularly on the defensive end.  Carson Cochran was reinjured, and Jose Boyer had to leave the game.  The Irish will be glad to have the benefit of depth, but new players on defense take time to integrate.

The Game

Syracuse has also had its challenges this season with losses to Maryland, Virginia, Army and Johns Hopkins. They do come into the game with some momentum from last weekend’s win over Duke.

The Irish have had recent success against the Orangemen with two lopsided wins against their opponent in 2021.  However, it would not be unfair to say both teams are desperate to leave the field with a win to keep their playoff aspirations intact.

For the Irish, the keys to the game are straightforward: keep up their on-field energy, be more efficient on offense, and communicate well on defense. There isn’t a need to overcomplicate the game requirements, the boys just need to play at the level of their ability.

#GoIrish