NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 2/2 Notre Dame has a rematch against No. 3/3 Duke after winning the first matchup at Arlotta Stadium on April 10. The Irish face the Blue Devils in Durham, North Carolina, this time around with opening faceoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 22. The game will be broadcast live on ACCN.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Durham, North Carolina | Koskinen Stadium
Schedule: April 22 — 7 PM ET
Live Stream: ACCN
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
THE DUKE SERIES
• Thursday will be the 27th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Duke.
• The Irish trail in the series with the Blue Devils, as Notre Dame has a 11-15 record in the matchup.
• The two sides played just over a week ago, with the Irish winning by a final score of 13-8 at Arlotta to hand the Blue Devils their first and only loss of the season.
• Notre Dame’s defense held Duke to its lowest scoring output of the season with eight goals while the midfield duo of Morrison Mirer (4 goals) and Wheaton Jackoboice (3 goals) led the Irish attack.
CORRIGAN BECOMES ALL-TIME DI PROGRAM WINS LEADER
• With the win over No. 1 Duke on April 10, 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 321-165 in his 35 seasons of coaching.
• The head coach is 311-150 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 39 points on the season off 27 assists and 12 goals. The 5.57 points per game rank sixth in the country.
• Kavanagh’s 27 assists over his first seven games leads the NCAA in assists per game with an average of 3.86.
• 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 7.43 goals per game.
• Robert Morris (7 goals), Marquette (3) and Duke (8) 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 1.86 caused turnovers per game to lead the Irish and rank second in the conference.
• Kielty and Cohen have started 43 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 (2 goals) have also made contributions in the transition attack for the Irish.
KIELTY’S GOT IT COVERED
• Grad student Jack Kielty has put on a defensive clinic this season, locking down some of the best attacking talents in the country.
• Kielty was named US Lacrosse Magazine National Player of the Week following his performance against Duke, holding Michael Sowers to just one assist in the win.
• The defenseman also held Robert Morris’ Ryan Smith (currently 9th in goals per game) to a season low one goal and three points.
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 15-of-22 man-up opportunities into goals for a rate of 68.2 percent, the best in the nation.
• Will Yorke has been a key in the success for the Irish, scoring seven 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 65.7 percent of faceoffs this season, going 115-for-175 from the X.
• Kyle Gallagher is 67-for-101 (0.663) on the year with 45 ground balls, a goal and three assists to rank eighth in the country in FO percentage.
• Charlie Leonard has also made an impact at the dot, going 45-of-68 this season with 27 ground balls, two goals and an assist.
ENTENMANN IS ELITE
• Sophomore goalie Liam Entenmann has been playing on another level this season, leading the ACC and ranking second in the country in save percentage (.597).
• Entenmann ranks second in the nation in goals agaisnt average, allowing just 7.44 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 61-29.
• The second quarters have been Notre Dame’s best periods to date, recording 38 goals while holding the opposition to just 15 over seven games.
• The Irish have held a halftime lead in all seven games this season: the Irish led Robert Morris 12-2, Bellarmine 7-4, Marquette 9-2, Cleveland State 8-3, Virginia 7-5, Syracuse 11-8 and Duke 7-5.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Nineteen different players have found the back of the net for the Irish through seven games, combining to score 102 goals.
• Seven of the 19 scorers have recorded eight 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.