SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 16/15 Fighting Irish played its best game of the season on Saturday, posting jaw-dropping offensive numbers in the 22-6 win over No. 18/18 Syracuse on Saturday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium.
The story of the day was the performance of junior Jake Taylor, who made his first career start. The attackman set a program record for goals in a game with eight on the afternoon pushing his career total to 11.
Pat Kavanagh continued his trend of dominating the Orange, posting nine points off six assists and three goals, finishing one point shy of the program record which he set against Syracuse last year.
The defense completely locked down the Syracuse attack, holding it to its lowest goal output of the season with six goals. Liam Entenmann was fantastic in the cage for the Irish, making 13 saves while allowing just five goals. The Irish caused 12 turnovers over the 60 minutes of action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish got off to a blistering start on Saturday, scoring nine goals in the first frame, while holding the Orange scoreless. Taylor had a first quarter hat trick and Quinn McCahon added two goals to give the Irish the great start.
Eric Dobson, Chris Kavanagh and Morrison Mirer each scored in the first four minutes of the second quarter to push the lead to 12-0. The visitors finally got on the board with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
The score was 14-3 in favor of Notre Dame with less than a minute left in the second quarter but Entenmann launched a 75-yard pass from his crease which Pat Kavanagh hauled in and scored with one second left on the clock to make it a 15-3 advantage.
The Irish scored the first two goals of the third quarter to extend their advantage to 17-3 and then cruised to the 22-6 victory the rest of the way.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Taylor set the tone early for the Irish, scoring a first quarter hat trick and ending the first half with five goals. The junior’s program-record eight goals surpasses the previous mark of seven 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.
STAT OF THE GAME
With nine points on Saturday, Pat Kavanagh has a combined 28 points over his last three games against Syracuse. He has scored 12 goals and added 16 assists over the three-game period against the Orange.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish have now won four straight games against Syracuse, the longest winning streak for Notre Dame in the series.
- Notre Dame has outscored the Orange 44-14 over the last two matchups, both coming at Arlotta Stadium.
- All six players in Notre Dame’s starting attack and midfield unit scored at least one goal, combining for 18 goals and 10 assists.
- The Irish were a perfect 2-for-2 in the EMO while holding Syracuse to a 0-for-1 performance.
- Entenmann turned in his fifth double-digit save performance of the season.
- Pat Kavanagh now has four games with nine or more points in the last two seasons.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back on the road, as they travel to Durham to face the Duke Blue Devils in a ranked ACC showdown. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 9 and the game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
— ND —