Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Game 11 Preview: Syracuse

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 7/6 Notre Dame brings a four-game winning streak on the road into a key ACC contest against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome at noon ET on Sunday, May 1. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

GAME DETAILS
Location: Syracuse, New York | Carrier Dome
Schedule: Sunday, May 1 — Noon ET
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame

THE SYRACUSE SERIES

• Sunday will be the 19th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Syracuse. The Irish trail in the all-time series with the Orange, as Notre Dame has an 8-10 record in the matchup.

• Despite trailing in the series, Notre Dame has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two programs, including four straight.

• Saturday’s matchup will be the second of two games between the two sides this season, as the Irish dominated in the first matchup with a 22-6 win at Arlotta Stadium.

• The Irish received monster performances in the attack from Jake Taylor and Pat Kavanagh. In his first career start, Taylor set the program record for goals in a game with eight and Kavanagh dazzled with a season-high nine points (3G, 6A).

LAST TIME OUT

The Irish turned in a suffocating defensive performance in the 12-5 win over No. 15/16 UNC.

• Arden Cohen locked down Chris Gray, holding him to a season-low three points (1G, 2A).

• The Irish defense held the Tar Heels scoreless for a span of 36:21 from early in the second quarter to late in the fourth quarter.

• Liam Entenmann was strong in cage, making 14 saves while allowing just five goals.

• Eric Dobson scored a career-high four goals and Jake Taylor produced his third hat trick in the last four games with three goals.

THE JAKE TAYLOR EFFECT

• Ever since Jake Taylor was inserted into the starting lineup against Syracuse, the Irish offense has taken off, scoring 68 goals over its last four games (17 per game). The Irish have outscored the oppositing 68-34 over the four-game stretch.

The Irish man-up unit is 7-of-9 over the last four games.

Taylor broke the Notre Dame single-game record for goals in a game in his first career start against No. 18 Syracuse, scoring eight goals.

• Taylor surpassed the previous mark of seven goals which occurred three times prior for Notre Dame. Randy Colley (3/13/93 vs. New Hampshire), Ryan Hoff (3/13/07 vs. Drexel) and Matt Kavanagh (3/25/14 vs. Ohio State) previously held the record.

• Taylor now has 21 goals in his Fighting Irish career and 20 on the season.

Pat Kavanagh has 25 points over the last three games, coming on 9 goals and 16 assists.

THE KAVANAGH BROTHERS

Pat Kavanagh became the fourth Tewaaraton Finalist in program history in 2021 and his brother Chris joined the 2022 squad as an attackman.

• Pat currently leads the team in points (49), goals (20) and assists (29). He is second in caused turnovers (10) and ground balls (35) while Chris is second in points (27) and third in goals (19)

• The brothers have linked up on 11 goals this season, with one assisting the other’s goal.

• In the 2022 season opener, Pat and Chris combined for 14 points off eight goals and six assists, despite each playing less than a half.

• The Kavanagh’s combined for 13 points in the blowout win over Syracuse. Pat had nine points (3G, 6A) and Chris added four (2G, 2A).

• In just 12 games in the 2021 season, Pat became the all-time single-season ND assist record holder, passing older brother Matt (33) for the record. Matt’s 33-assist season came in an 18-game 2014 season.

• Of the five Tewaaraton Finalists, Pat led the group in assists per game (3.17), ground balls (35) and caused turnovers (9).

• In the final game of the 2021 regular season Pat broke the program record for points in a game with a 10-point showing off five goals and five assists in the blowout win over No. 9 Syracuse.

DOMINATING DEFENSE

• Notre Dame enters May with the best defense in the ACC and a top-10 unit in the country, allowing just 9.6 goals per game.

• The Irish have held opposing attacks to single-digit scoring outputs in three of the last four games.

• The Irish defense has caused double-digit turnovers in six of its 10 outings.

• Notre Dame recorded a season-high 14 caused turnovers  against Georgetown on Feb. 26.

CASHING IN ON THE EMO

• Notre Dame enters Sunday’s game ranked first in the country in man-up offense this season in EMO efficiency.

• The Irish EMO unit has cashed in on 17-of-26 chances (.654) this season.

• Seven players have combined to score the 17 goals, with Eric Dobson leading the team with five goals and Jeffery Ricciardelli adding four. Pat Kavanagh, Wheaton Jackoboice and Chris Kavanagh have each scored two man-up goals.

CHALLENGING SLATE

• Notre Dame has never shied away from putting together a challenging schedule and the 2022 slate is no different.

• Of Notre Dame’s 12 regular-season opponents, seven are currently ranked in the top 20 in either the USILA or Inside Lacrosse polls.

• Eight of Notre Dame’s first 10 games have come against teams ranked in the USILA and Inside Lacrosse rankings at the time of the game, including three ranked in the top three.

• Three of Notre Dame’s losses have come against teams ranked in the top four in this week’s polls.

ALL CLEAR

• The Irish have been exceptional at clearing the ball this season, ranking fourth in the country with a 91.3 percentage.

• Notre Dame went 23-for-23 against UNC, 16-for-16 against Duke, 24-for-27 in the win over Syracuse, 23-for-25 against Michigan, 25-for-25 against Maryland, 19-for-21 against Georgetown and 24-for-25 in the win over Detroit Mercy.

CORRIGAN ALL-TIME DI PROGRAM WINS LEADER

• With the win over No. 1 Duke on April 10, 2021, Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan broke the NCAA record for most wins at a DI program with 311, passing Bob Shillinglaw (Delaware).

• Corrigan became just the third coach in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse history to reach the 300-win mark at a single school with the win over Marquette on April 10, 2019.

• Corrigan is one of just four active Division I coaches to reach the 300-win mark in his career.

• Corrigan has an overall record of 327-172 in his 36 seasons of coaching.

• The head coach is 319-157 in his 34 seasons at Notre Dame.

• Corrigan is the longest tenured men’s lacrosse coach at the DI level.