Our #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse (9-1, 3-0 ACC) travel to Charlottesville to take on the #5 Virginia Cavaliers (10-3, 1-2 ACC) this Saturday at 2:00 (ESPNU). It looks like the teams may have a soggy grass field as morning rain is forecast
The Triangle of Doom
A pattern has developed at the top of the ACC for a few seasons where the teams have largely fallen into a regular stalemate (The Triangle of Doom). Notre Dame beats Duke, Duke beats Virginia, Virginia beats Notre Dame. It’s among the reasons why the Irish overtime victory over the Hoos in the 2023 national semifinal was so special. The Triangle of Doom suggested the boys were strong underdogs, as supported by their two difficult regular season losses to the Cavaliers.
The first two sides of the triangle have played out: Notre Dame beat Duke, and Duke beat Virginia. The Irish look to change the geometry and continue the success they found in Philadelphia last May.
A few notes about North Carolina
We didn’t have a opportunity to recap the convincing 14-6 win over the Tar Heels last weekend. We encourage you to read our colleague Drew Brennan’s recap on OneFootDown for the game particulars.
We’ll add a few thoughts from the game that will relate to the upcoming Virginia contest. The first is the success of the faceoff tandem of Colin Hagstrom and Andrew Greenspan, in the absence of Will Lynch due to injury, was a pleasure to watch.
Our second note applies to the use of depth generally. The coaching staff appeared to make a point of going deep into the roster early and often. They trusted a third midfield line if Seymour, Finley and Walker to meaningful game minutes, and they produced results. Gallagher returned to the defensive rotation, and Ricciardelli, Bayman and Behrman got front-line attack minutes. Even Tyler Buchner was inserted for legit minutes as a 5th SSDM option.
A lot more players entered the game late, but is was a relief to see the roster expanded during critical game moments. With the rigors of the ACC Tournament, the heat of the warmer months, and the NCAAs quickly approaching, having a broad array of players the coaches can trust will have a positive impact on this team’s championship prospects.
The Cavaliers
The Irish are catching their Virginia rival at a very difficult time. The Cavaliers lost two games in a row (Duke 12-18 and Syracuse 17-18) for the first time in a very long while. The thought that they may lose three in a row is not something anyone considered going in to this season.
Do not let these recent bumps in the road deceive you. Virginia remains an incredible powerful team that have given the Irish matchup problems for many years.
Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier remain premier offensive threats, and they are joined this year by freshman superstar McCabe Millon.
Matt Nunes returns in goal, and the Irish will have to face the giant, disruptive Cole Kastner on defense again (Kastner will be playing basketball for Stanford next year).
Our Three Questions
We’ll be keeping an eye on these three issues in Charlottesville:
- Trust depth: The injury absence of faceoff specialist Will Lynch illustrates the need to manage playing time. It’s the time of year when the weather starts getting warm and the bumps and bruises of the season start to really accumulate. Trusting the third midfield line, the reserve attackmen, and the 5th and 6th SSDM to give the team meaningful minutes will be important to the long-term success of the team. It is also important against Virginia specifically as they aren’t afraid to run and contest the middle of the field. Fresh legs late in the game will be helpful.
- Manage the forest: Virginia’s giant, rangey defenders have historically given the Irish attack trouble. They just physically take up a lot of room on the inside. The Irish will need to get them moving to create space and seams.
- Don’t let Virginia run: Notre Dame will need to be disciplined in the middle of the field and in their shot selection to avoid giving the Cavaliers opportunities in transition. Virginia will take any opportunities to run, and they are very good at it. Don’t get trapped in the middle, and don’t let the Nunes make clean saves.
The Virginia game is always fun to watch. Klockner Stadium may be our second favorite venue after Arlotta, and the contrast in styles between the teams always makes for an interesting contest. It’s also a matchup that has given us some of our favorite moments in recent Notre Dame history: Perkovic in overtime, the Sexton & Landis groundball scrum, Epple to Garnsey gamewinner, and, of course, the Taylor Twister last May.
Just some absolute freakness from Jake Taylor on that twister pic.twitter.com/2ycGgqQw6r
— Jordie (@jordiebarstool) May 27, 2023
#GoIrish
ND-Atl 2.0
Seemed like another great game…again my understanding of lacrosse is very low, but this was mostly a case of both defenses outplaying both offenses?
The defenses had a good day for sure. Virginia’s enormous size continues to be a matchup problem, and they also included a few gimmicks to slow down the offense. The good news going into the rematch on Friday is that these gimmicks tend to only work once.
The ND half-field defense was solid. The staff trusting freshman Lyght to cover Shellenberger was inspired. There are always things to clean up, but Shellenberger could beat Lyght on the Dodge, and that really frustrated Virginia.
Slick field conditions didn’t do the offenses any favors, either.
We’ll elaborate more in our recap, but the ND use of depth was critical. Virginia was hoping to wear down the Irish by relentlessly contesting the middle of the field. It made for great TV, but the constant supply of fresh Irish players turned the tables on Virginia. In the 4th quarter our boys were still going full gas and executing well, while Virginia spiralled into fatigue-induced sloppiness. It’s hard to express what a luxury it is at this point in the season to confidently run 9 midfielders, 5 SSDMs, and 5-6 attackmen.
*couldn’t beat
Right on, thanks! Can’t wait for the recap