Our #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost to the #5 Virginia Cavaliers (10-6), 15-10, in the ACC tournament semi-finals this past Friday in Charlotte.

There isn’t any way to sugar coat this, it looked bad. The boys will have to refocus before the NCAA playoffs. It’s an issue we unavoidably have to address before moving onto the NCAA Tournament.

A team ranked #1 must be held to the highest standard. This last game wasn’t it, so let’s take care of the housekeeping before the tournament starts.

The Okay

It was not entirely lost, though we have a hard time calling anything from this game good.

At the face-off, Spano and Diaz-Matos both went over 50% to finish 15 for 28. While wing play left a lot to be desired, these two guys remained consistent at the dot and will give us a big possession advantage in the early stages of the playoffs.

The weather was also nice.

The Bad

Only 4 of the goals were assisted. This is just simply a bad offense and frustration leading to desperation. Throughout the season our offense has been team-centric and not dependent on beating a defender one-on-one. When times got tough versus Virginia, the working plan went out the window. The boys need to maintain composure and trust each other. When they are playing together and spinning a defense, nothing can stop them. They need to find their rhythm again.

The problem was most evident in the 5-2 second quarter. And it comes down to composure. We hate to beat a dead horse and resort to platitudes, but the absence of  “togetherness” sums up the problems that occurred.

On both sides of the ball, they had a hard time stopping the bleeding. Defensively, giving up three goals in the last three minutes to end the quarter simply can’t happen. It was particularly concerning that help defense and supporting the front side was far below standard. There was an unusual amount of one-dodge goals in this game. Defenders get beat, that happens. But the breakdown in the help is a problem.

Offensively, in a stretch when not many possessions are going our way, valuing possession length is critical. Give the defense the rest they need and play together to find the best shot, not the first one. Impatience only makes both sides of the field worse. Basic game awareness of this sort was lacking. Playing smarter in the tournament will be needed for the outcome the boys want.

We will leave it at that. A game like Virginia cannot happen again. If there is a silver lining, it’s that North Carolina played even worse against Virginia two days later. That took most of the heat off of the Irish, but the loss and the poor play cost the boys the #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Good News!

The USA Lacrosse All-American lists were released!  Will Donovan and Shawn Lyght were recognized with first team honors. Thomas Ricciardelli was recognized on the second team, and Matt Jeffrey, Will Maheras and Josh Yago received honorable mention notice.

Shawn Lyght is also a Tewaaraton Award finalist.  He’s the first defensemen to be a finalist since Notre Dame’s Matt Landis in 2016.

The Tournament

Jacksonville flattened Robert Morris, 13-7, to earn the right to face the Irish on Sunday. While the Dolphins may not be the most challenging opponent of the season, they are a worthy opponent and an opportunity to show how the team bounces back. 

A win and the boys are off to Shuart Stadium on Long Island to face the winner of Cornell vs. Johns Hopkins. The field has seen many great wins from the Irish. We look forward to seeing them add another to the history books.

It would be a shame to see a season that started so well end with a collapse in confidence and unity. But situations like this are where Corrigan thrives, and we trust him completely.

We know we’re a bit of a downer going into the tournament, but our colleague Drew Brennan has some uplifting words to realign the mood ahead of the tournament.

Our Irish start the NCAA’s Sunday at noon. The boys earned a home game with their #2 seed. It should be a great bounce back game. Make sure to tune in!

 

#GoIrish

Luke Burgar

ND-Atl 2.0