Former Irish standout, Matt Kavanagh, was named the Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player at the 2018 Major League Lacrosse championship on Aug. 18 in Charleston, South Carolina. Kavanagh and the Denver Outlaws routed the Dallas Rattlers at MUSC Health Stadium, 16-12, to capture their third title.
Kavanagh posted a performance for the ages, finishing with nine points, just one shy of the MLL Championship game record, to lead Denver to the title. The Rattlers’ defense had no answer for the former Irish standout the entire evening.
The MVP scored a team-high four goals and dished out an impressive five assists en route to the victory. The 2016 alum had a hand in 56.2 percent of the team’s goals.
Kavanagh concluded his third season with the Outlaws as the leader in goals (38) and assists (24) while playing in 14 games with Denver.
The three MLL Championships captured in five seasons by Denver ties for the second-most in the MLL. They trail the Chesapeake Bayhawks who have five titles.
Four former Notre Dame standouts played in the title game. Nick Ossello joined Kavanagh on the championship-winning Denver Outlaws side while John Sexton and Jack Near played on the Dallas Rattlers.
Kavanagh was the first player in Notre Dame program history to earn All-America honors in all four years with the Irish. The attackman led the 2016 Irish in scoring with 50 points and a team-leading 29 assists. The three-time all-ACC pick stands second on the Notre Dame career scoring list with 225 points (122 goals and 103 assists, both totals ranking third on Notre Dame’s career charts). Kavanagh registered at least three points in 10 of the 14 contests in which he played in 2016. A Tewaaraton Award finalist in 2015, he notched at least six points 13 times during his career.
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