Notre Dame men’s lacrosse to face the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA national semifinal this Saturday at 2:30 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (ESPN2). The lads’ quest continues with an all-or-nothing game against the team that has given them the most trouble this year.  The Irish are excited for the opportunity to play and wouldn’t have it any other way.

76 degree temperatures and partly cloudy skies are forecast. For our part, we’re packing our bags and heading to Philadelphia!

How They Got To Philadelphia

In last weeks quarterfinals, Notre Dame beat Johns Hopkins, 12-9, and Virginia beat Georgetown, 17-14. Virginia is 13-3 for the season with losses to Maryland and Duke twice, and Notre Dame 12-2 with two losses to Virginia, the first in South Bend and the second in Charlottesville.

They say it’s difficult to beat a team three times in a season.  As Virginia coach Lars Tiffany notes, there isn’t a lot of data to support this. It’s also true that the overall series between these two ACC powerhouses has been incredibly streaky.  The Cavaliers have one the last six meetings, and the Fighting Irish won the previous seven. But Virginia is a three-loss team and not invincible, and the Irish made great progress solving the particular challenges the Hoos present.

Rocket Surgery and the Privilege of Pressure

Coach Corrigan and Coach Tiffany spoke to the media and stated in poetic terms what lies in front of these two great lacrosse teams.  A relaxed Coach Corrigan understands that these teams know each other well, having played twice in the last month and a half. The task before the Irish is not “Rocket Surgery” as he cleverly put it. They know their opponent and know their own assignments.  The burden is simply to perform and take advantage of the chance the team worked hard to get. A more philosophical Coach Tiffany came to the same understanding noting “pressure is a privilege.”  The feeling on both sidelines is the same. The teams worked hard to get here and are embracing this difficult challenge.

These are the 1st and 2nd most efficient offenses in the county. Notre Dame is the most efficient defense in the country and has the top save percentage. Virginia is tops overall according to the computers. These are teams that know how to play and who are ready to handle the pressure of the big game.

Expectations

While the teams know each other well and the outcome will be decided mostly on who can execute better, we have to think there will be some subtle adjustments to continue the positive trend against the Cavaliers. But we don’t think there will be a clever and unexpected change employed by either team.  What we will look for is simple:

  1. Playing 60 minutes with intensity: The first two games with Virginia were very close through most of the game, with Virginia pulling away towards the end. The margins between these teams is too small.  The Irish can’t afford a let up in intensity that creates a late gap. Also, if the boys can come out of the gates intense and execute well, it could surprise an unsuspecting Virginia team with an early Irish lead. Put them in a position that they aren’t familiar with and see how they handle the pressure!
  2. Activating key threats: In the recent Virginia games, and especially in the previous game against Johns Hopkins, the opponents’ defense has put excessive focus on Pkav which has slowed the offense down a decent bit.  The Irish have used an array of solutions in other games, including having PKav operate in open space near the restraining line and changing the geometry the opponent planned to defend. We’ll probably also see a lot of midfielder based offense taking what the Kav-focused defense is given. Forcing the defense to send resources to the middies would open up the attack, and if they don’t adjust, the Irish will take the shots that are given. Both are good results. The midfielder option probably hinges on Dobson forcing the issue against an LSM, which he is more than capable of doing.
  3. Slowing down the Virginia offense and preventing runs: It is no secret that this Virginia offense is very skillful, with the likes of Conner Shellenberger and Xander Dickson (and faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla). However, this doesn’t mean they are unstoppable.  Notre Dame held them to their lowest point total of the season, and teams like Duke being able to slow them down enough to force a Virginia defeat. If the boys can control the aforementioned attackmen, it would drastically slow their offense and would give them a great chance at success. What they have to avoid is Virginia’s superpower: the scoring run.  The Cavaliers’ greatest strength lies in being able to have a burst that overwhelms their opponent. In the first game, the burst came very early and had the Irish in catch up mode the entire game. In the second, the Irish had the upper hand but let a late Cavalier burst turn the tables.  The boys have to make Virginia grind from beginning to end.

As we saw in the North Carolina game, a pole alone doesn’t neutralize Dobson.

Please take a look at our friend Drew Brennan‘s thoughts on this Final Four game.

The Irish have waiting eight years to get back on this stage, and Saturday’s game is a key and expected step in the quest that began last May. We have no doubt the Irish will do what they need to do to prevail.

 

#GoIrish