NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 5/4 Notre Dame returns to Arlotta Stadium fresh off an 18-11 win over No. 4/4 Syracuse to welcome unbeaten No. 1/1 Duke at noon on Saturday, April 10. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Notre Dame, Indiana | Alumni Stadium
Schedule: April 10 — Noon ET
Live Stream: ESPNU
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
THE DUKE SERIES
• Saturday will be the 26th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Duke.
• The Irish trail in the series with the Blue Devils, as Notre Dame has a 10-15 record in the matchup.
• The two sides did not play during the 2020 season due to COVID-19 but met three times in the 2019 campaign with the Irish going 1-2.
• The Irish are 2-2 against the Blue Devils when playing at Notre Dame.
CORRIGAN TIED FOR ALL-TIME DI PROGRAM WINS LEAD
• With the win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on April 3, aumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan tied the NCAA record for most wins at a DI program with 310, tying 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 320-165 in his 35 seasons of coaching.
• The head coach is 310-150 in his 33 seasons at Notre Dame.
• Corrigan is the longest tenured men’s lacrosse coach at the DI level.
KAVANAGH’S BREAKOUT SEASON
• Pat Kavanagh has enjoyed a breakout 2021 sophomore season that has propelled him into the Tewaaraton converstation at the midway point of the season.
• The attackman has a team-high 37 points on the season off 26 assists and 11 goals. The 6.17 points per game rank fourth in the country.
• Kavanagh’s 26 assists over his first six games leads the NCAA in assists per game with an average of 4.33.
• Kavanagh couldn’t have started his sophomore season any better, totaling nine points (2G, 7A) in the win over RMU.
• Kavanagh became just the second player in program history to dish out seven assists in a game, joining John Olmstead who accomplished the feat on April 21, 1988 in a win over Wittenberg.
• Kavanagh turned in another monster nine-point performance in the win over No. 4 Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, totaling four goals and five assists.
• This performance earned the sophomore US Lacrosse Magazine National Player of the Week, ACC Offensive Player of the Week and USILA Team of the Week status.
• The sophomore has recorded the 10th and 11th games in program history with nine points, tying the program record, and was the first to do it since his older brother Matt Kavanagh had nine points (3G, 6A) in the win over Syracuse in 2016.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Irish defense leads the ACC and ranks second in the country in scoring defense this season, allowing just 7.33 goals per game.
• Robert Morris (7 goals), Marquette (3 goals), Cleveland State (5 goals) and Syracuse (11 goals) recorded season lows in scoring against the Irish.
• The close defense is comprised of two grad students in Jack Kielty and Kyle Thornton and senior Arden Cohen.
• Thornton has averaged 1.83 caused turnovers per game to lead the Irish and rank second in the conference.
• Kielty and Cohen have started 42 straight games together.
• The Irish SSDMs are the unsung heroes of the defense, as Ryan Hallenbeck, Danny Cassidy, Nick Harris and Tommy McNamara have done an excellent job through four games.
• Hallenbeck (4 goals) Harris (3 goals) and Cassidy (1 goal) have also made contributions in the transition attack for the Irish.
CASHING IN ON THE EMO
• The Irish have been clinical in extra-man opportunities this season, boasting the best unit in the country.
• Notre Dame has converted 13-of-18 man-up opportunities into goals for a rate of 72.2 percent, the best in the nation.
• Will Yorke has been a key in the success for the Irish, scoring six goals on the EMO to lead the country.
IRISH X-MEN
• The Notre Dame duo of Kyle Gallagher and Charlie Leonard have been a force in the 2021 season.
• The Irish have won 71.1 percent of faceoffs this season, going 108-for-152 from the X.
• Kyle Gallagher is 65-for-90 (0.722) on the year with 44 ground balls to rank second in the country in FO percentage.
• Charlie Leonard has also made an impact at the dot, going 40-of-56 this season with 25 ground balls and two goals.
ENTENMANN IS ELITE
• Sophomore goalie Liam Entenmann has been playing on another level this season, leading the ACC and ranking ninth in the country in save percentage (.596).
• Entenmann ranks second in the nation in goals agaisnt average, allowing just 7.35 goals per outing.
• The Chaminade product made a career-high 18 saves while allowing just three goals in the blowout win over Marquette.
STRONG STARTS FOR THE IRISH
• Notre Dame has dominated the opening 30 minutes through five games in 2021, outscoring opponents 54-24.
• The second quarters have been Notre Dame’s best periods to date, recording 34 goals while holding the opposition to just 12 over six games.
• The Irish have held a halftime lead in all six games this season: the Irish led Robert Morris 12-2, Bellarmine 7-4, Marquette 9-2, Cleveland State 8-3, Virginia 7-5 and Syracuse 11-8.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Eighteen different players have found the back of the net for the Irish through five games, combining to score 89 goals.
• Eleven of the 18 scorers have recorded three or more goals on the year.
• Fourteen different players combined to score 19 goals in the win over Cleveland State.
• Thirteen different players combined to score 19 goals in the opener against Robert Morris.
• Nine players combined to score 10 goals in the win over Marquette.