SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 6 Notre Dame enters posteseason play as the top seed in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte. The Irish will play in the semifinals against the No. 4 seed Syracuse at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, May 2 on ACCN. With a win the Irish would advance to the title game on Sunday, May 4 at noon ET on ACCN. All games will be played at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina | American Legion Memorial Stadium
Schedule: May 2 — 5 p.m. ET
TV: ACCN
Tickets: Click Here
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
IRISH IN THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Notre Dame is playing in its eighth ACC Championship this weekend. The Irish have an all-time record of 8-4 at the ACC Championships.
• The Irish have won three ACC titles in its previous seven appearances, winning the 2014, 2018 and 2024 championships.
• The Fighting Irish have advanced to the title game in five of the last seven ACC Tournaments.
• Notre Dame claimed an ACC Championship title in the team’s first season in the league in 2014. Notre Dame won a pair of one goal games over Maryland (6-5) in the semifinal and Syracuse (15-14) in the final.
• In 2018, Notre Dame defeated Duke in the semifinals by a final score of 14-11 before claiming the crown in a dominant 17-7 win over Virginia at Klockner Stadium.
• Last season the Irish rolled through the tournament, defeating Virginia in the semis by a score of 18-9 before taking down Duke in the final with a 16-6 victory to take the title.
THE SYRACUSE SERIES
• Friday will be the 23rd meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Syracuse.
• The series is all level at 11-11 with the Syracuse victory earlier this season in the dome.
• Notre Dame has won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the two programs, including seven of eight.
• The Irish and Orange have played seven times over the last five seasons, with Notre Dame scoring at least 18 goals in five of the seven meetings.
• Surprisingly, this will only be the second matchup between Notre Dame and Syracuse in an ACC Tournament game and the first in over a decade.
• The only other matchup between the two sides came in ND’s first season playing in the league in 2014 and the Irish defeated the Orange in the title game, winning a 15-14 thriller. Notre Dame goalie Connor Kelly made a huge save with two seconds left in the game to seal the victory and Matt Kavanagh finished with six points off 4G and 2A on his way to being named the tournament MVP.
MAY MADNESS
• The Irish are unbeaten over their last 13 games in the month of may, with the streak stretching back to the 2022 season.
• Last season Notre Dame went 6-0, winning by an average margin of 7.67 goals per game while winning the ACC Tournament title and the NCAA Championship.
• In 2023 the Irish defeated UNC in the final game of the regular season before reeling off four wins in the NCAA Tournament to capture their first national title.
• The active winning streak began during the end of the 2022 regular season, as the team posted wins over Syracuse and Duke to close out the year.
KAVANAGH LEADS THE ATTACK
• Chris Kavanagh leads the Irish in points this season with 53 off 31 goals and 22 assists.
• The senior has 229 points off 143 goals and 86 assists and currently ranks third in program history for career points, second for career goals and seventh in career assists.
• Kavanagh turned in the greatest statistical offensive season in Notre Dame history last year, setting the program record for points in a season with 81.
• The attackman totaled 44 goals and 37 assists during the 2024 season.
• Chris joined his brothers Matt (42G, 33A – 2015) and Pat (31G, 49A – 2024) as the only players in program history to record 30+ goals and assists in the same season.
• The Rockville Centre native earned NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player honors after a prolific four-game stretch in the tournament in 2024, recording 22 points off 14 goals and 8 assists.
• The attackman put an exclamation mark on his season with a 5-goal performance in the national title win over Maryland, tying the program record for goals in an NCAA tournament game.
• Kavanagh set the program record for points in an NCAA Tournament game against Georgetown in the quarterfinals, totaling eight points off five goals and three assists. The five goals tied the program record for most goals scored in an NCAA Tourney game.
• Kavanagh picked up right where he left off to open the 2025 season, posting a career-high nine points (4G, 5A) to finish just one point shy of the program record held by his brother Pat.
• Kavanagh not only paced Notre Dame’s offense in 2023 but his 46 goals ranked third all-time in program history for a single season, just three behind Randy Colley’s record of 49 goals set in 1995.
• The Rockville Centre, New York, native has scored a goal in 33 straight games and has recorded a point in 55 of 56 games in his career. Kavanagh has posted multiple points in 51 of 56 games in his career.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
• Notre Dame is allowing just 8.55 goals per game this season, ranking fifth the country and leading the ACC.
• Opponents have been held to single-digit goals in all eight of Notre Dame’s victories during the 2025 season.
• Notre Dame has limited ACC opponents to seven goals or less in three of four contests this season.
• The Irish finished 2024 allowing just 8.94 goals per game, leading the country, despite playing six games against opponents that ranked in the top 15 in goals scored per game.
• Notre Dame held opponents to 10 or fewer goals in 12 of 17 games during the 2024 campaign, including seven of the last eight on the way to the title.
• The Irish limited the opposition to 12 or fewer goals in 16 of 17 outings last season.
• Preseason All-Americans Ben Ramsey, Will Donovan and Shawn Lyght each return to the defensive unit along with the addition of Greg Campisi from Harvard.
LYGHTS OUT
• It didn’t take long for Shawn Lyght to make a name for himself in the college lacrosse world, as he cemented himself as one of the top cover defenseman in the country during his 2024 freshman season.
• In the win over UNC this season, Lyght held UNC’s prolific attackman Owen Duffy to just one assist on the day, matching his career low for points in a game.
• Lyght consistently draws the No. 1 option for the opposing attack throughout the season.
• The defenseman held Connor Shellenberger to just one goal between the two matchups, both resulting in wins and he limited Joey Spallina to just one point in their only matchup of the year.
• The sophomore opened the 2025 season against Cleveland State holding his main defensive assignment to zero points.
• Lyght was the only sophmore to earn first team All-America status in the Inside Lacrosse preseason honors.
TAYLOR MADE
• Graduate student Jake Taylor is one of the great finishers in lacrosse, totaling 125 goals in his Fighting Irish career.
• Taylor enters the weekend ranked fourth in program history for career goals and is just two away from passing Mikey Wynne for fourth place.
• The attackman scored seven goals in the season opener to become the 11th player in program history to reach the 100-goal milestone.
• In the 2025 ACC opener against Duke, Taylor scored five goals and added two assists to earn Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week and ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
• Taylor has 18 hat tricks in his Fighting Irish career and has recorded four hat tricks this season.
• The grad student is shooting 54.3 percent on the season, ranking third in the country.
• The Denver native finished the 2024 season with 41 goals on 83 shots, giving him a shooting percentage of .494 which ranked fourth in the country.
• Taylor scored one of the biggest goals in program history, sending the 2023 NCAA semifinal into overtime with a twister against Virignia in the final minute of regulation.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
• The Blue and Gold has scored 152 goals through 11 games this season, averaging 13.82 per game, the ninth best mark in the country.
• Notre Dame ranks ninth in the nation in points per game (21.73), fourth in shot percentage (.329) and 15th in assists per game (7.91).
• The attack has posted double-digit goals in 9-of-11 games this season and has scored at least nine goals in all 11 outings.
• The Irish scored 24 goals in the season opener and recorded 19 assists to total 43 points, finishing just three points shy of the program record for points in a game.
SENSATIONAL SECOND LINE
• Notre Dame’s second midfield unit has been a nightmare for opposing defenses this season, as the trio of Will Maheras, Jalen Seymour and Max Busenkell have combined for 41 points in 2025.
• After transitioning from attack to midfield, Maheras has thrived in his new role, leading the unit with 16 points off eight goals and eight assists, all career highs.
• Seymour is also enjoying his best season in South Bend, racking up 11 goals to go with two assists. The senior has been playing his best lacrosse towards the end of the season, posting five points off four goals and an assist over the last three outings.
• Busenkell has been a consistent producer for the unit, as he has recorded at least one point in eight of 11 games and has six goals and six assists on the year.
DOMINATING THE DOT
• Senior FOGO Will Lynch has won 118-of-195 faceoffs this season for a win percentage of .605 along with 64 ground balls.
• Lynch is currently ranked 11th in the country for faceoff winning percentage.
• The senior enters Friday with 334 career ground balls, the most by any player in program history. Lynch set the record in the win over Georgetown, passing Billy Ahmuty (280 GBs – 1991-94) for the top spot.
• Lynch is coming off his best season in his Fighting Irish career, winning 61.2 percent of his faceoff attempts to lead the ACC and rank fourth in the country.
• The FOGO won 202-of 330 attempts and scooped up a team-high 113 ground balls.
• Over the four NCAA Tournament games Lynch was even better than his season average, winning 63-of-97 (64.9%).
• Lynch added a career-high four goals last season, including one in the ACC Tournament and one in the NCAA Tournament.
• Lynch was named to the All-ACC Team and to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
• The standout won over 50 percent of faceoffs in 12-of-16 games last season.
FAMILY STYLE
• Everyone is eating in the Irish attack this season, as 18 different players have recorded multiple points on the season.
• Nine Irish players have posted up double-digit points through 10 games.
• The Irish have racked up 87 assists on the 152 goals with Chris Kavanagh leading the way with 22.
• In the win over Marquette, all three starting attackmen and all three starting midfielders finished with mulitple goals.