SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 1 Fighting Irish open postseason play with a semifinal matchup against No. 8 Virginia in the ACC Tournament at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, May 1 at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will air on ACCN.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina | American Legion Memorial Stadium
Schedule: May 1 —5 p.m. ET
TV: ACCN
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 ninth ACC Championship this weekend. The Irish have an all-time record of 8-5 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 eight 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.
• During the 2024 iteration 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 VIRGINIA SERIES
• Friday will be the 25th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Virginia. The Irish and Cavaliers are deadlocked at 12-12 entering the contest.
• The Irish have won four of the last five matchups, including two games in postseason play (2023 NCAA semifinals & 2024 ACC semfinals).
• Virginia was victorious in the regular-season matchup in Charlottesville this season, winning by a score of 11-9, which was Notre Dame’s only loss of the season.
• Notre Dame is 2-1 against Virginia in ACC Championship play, recording wins in the 2024 semifinals and the 2018 title game.
RESUME BUILDING
• Notre Dame has never shied away from playing the top teams in the country and has racked up wins, especially over the last few seasons.
• The Fighting Irish are 30-8 against ranked teams since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• Seventeen of the 30 wins have come in blowout fashion with the Irish winning by five or more goals.
• Furthermore, Notre Dame has faired just as well against the best of the best, posting a record of 22-5 against teams ranked in the top 10 of the USILA poll at the time of the matchup since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• The Irish are 7-0 against ranked opposition this season and 5-0 against top-10 teams (Syracuse, UNC, Richmond, Georgetown and Ohio State).
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
• Notre Dame enters the weekend allowing just 8.27 goals per game, ranking third in the country and first in the ACC.
• The Irish have held Georgetown (9), Michigan (4), Richmond (8), UNC (5) and Duke (6) to season lows in goals scored this season.
• The Fighting Irish turned in arguably the best defensive performance of the season, holding UNC to a season-low five goals in the 10-5 victory. Only two of the five goals were scored in settled six-on-six possessions.
• Notre Dame held Maryland to eight goals in College Park, which is tied for the Terps lowest scoring output in a home game since the advent of the shot clock in 2019.
• Schwitzenberg has earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice this season following wins over Maryland and UNC.
• Notre Dame held Richmond to just eight goals, tying its mark for the lowest they have scored in a game this season.
• The Irish had their most disruptive performance of the season in the win over No. 3 Georgetown, limiting the Hoyas to just nine goals while recording a season-high 19 caused turnovers.
• Lyght finished the contest against Georgetown with a season-high three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
• Donovan has been a menace to opposing attacks, recording 11 caused turnovers and 34 ground balls.
• The short-stick defensive midfield unit that consists of Christian Alacqua, Chris Reinhardt, Kyle Bergen and Miguel Iglesias has impressed this season as well.
LYGHTS OUT
• For the second-straight season, Shawn Lyght was named the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, becoming just the third player in league history to earn the honor multiple times.
• Lyght joins Notre Dame legends Matt Landis and Liam Entenmann as the only three to accomplish the feat.
• The junior was selected as the Schmeisser Award co-winner following an incredible sophomore season in 2025.
• The defenseman was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year following the 2025 regular season as voted on by the league’s coaches.
• Lyght was also named a USA Lacrosse First Team All-American following the 2025 regular season.
• In the win over UNC last 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.
• This season’s matchup against Duffy he limited the junior to two points off a goal and assist and the assist came off a man-down situation in which Lyght was not on the field.
• Lyght consistently draws the No. 1 option for the opposing attack throughout the season.
BACK BETWEEN THE PIPES
• Goalie Thomas Ricciardelli was named the ACC Goalie of the Year following his impressive 2026 regular season, leading the Irish to the ACC regular season title.
• The senior is 10-1 on the season, making 123 saves while allowing 8.06 goals per game, ranking fifth in the country.
• Ricciardelli is playing his best lacrosse of the season, as he has finished with a save percentage of higher than .600 in five of his last seven outings.
• Ricciardelli has recorded a save percentage of .500 or better in nine of 11 games this season.
The senior was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season following the win over Duke, as he finished with 17 saves while allowing just six goals in the victory in Durham.
• The shot stopper turned in arguably his best performance of the season in the win over No. 1 UNC, making 16 saves while allowing just five goals while adding three ground balls and a caused turnover.
• The New Canaan, Connecticut, native allowed a season-low four goals while making 11 saves in the win over Michigan on March 14.
• In the win over No. 1 Richmond, the senior was masterful, making 14 saves while allowing just eight goals to help the Irish knock off the top-ranked Spiders.
• Ricciardelli impressed in his debut season, leading the ACC and ranking sixth in the country goals against average (9.14).
• The shot stopper made 158 saves during the 2025 campaign while allowing 121 goals.
• The goalie saved at least 50 percent of shots he faced in 10 of 14 games last season.
• In his first NCAA Tournament appearance, Ricciardelli turned in an incredible performance against No. 2 Ohio State, making 15 saves while allowing just six goals for a mark of 71.4 percent.
EVERYBODY EATS
• The Irish can beat you in a number of ways, as the attack has been very balanced this season.
• The Fighting Irish have four attackmen that have recorded at least 20 points through 11 games.
• Josh Yago (22G, 13A) leads the team in points with 35 followed by Luke Miller (23G, 9A) and Brock Behrman (14G, 11A). Teddy Lally (11G, 9A) has excelled off the bench, adding 20 points to bolster the unit.
• Will Maheras has paced the midfield with 25 points (12G, 13A). Matt Jeffery (13G, 5A) has added 18 points. Will Angrick (10G, 3A) has recorded 13 while Jalen Seymour (10G, 2A) has 12 on the season.
• Twenty different players have registered a goal this season and 25 have tallied at least one point during the 2026 season, including 19 with multiple points.
DOMINATE THE DOT
• Tyler Spano has stepped up and produced big-time performances in the month of April, taking on two of the top FOGOs in the country.
• The junior enters the matchup with the second-best faceoff winning percentage in the ACC (.597).
• Facing Brady Wambach of UNC, who entered the matchup with the best percentage in the country, Spano won 10-of-17 faceoffs against the Tar Heels along with six ground balls to help the Irish win the possession battle.
• A week prior he faced Richmond’s Vincent Gaylord, who came into the game ranked in the top 10 in faceoff winning percentage in the country, and won 16-of-22 faceoffs while also scooping up nine ground balls and adding an assist.
• Spano has won 59.7 percent of faceoffs on the season (89-of-149) and has a team-high 53 ground balls.
INSTANT IMPACT
• A number of newcomers to the 2026 squad wasted no time making a first impression.
• Graduate transfer Josh Yago leads the team in points with 35 (22G, 13A) after posting at least three points in nine of 11 games this season, including season-high five-point efforts in wins over No. 3 Georgetown, which helped the grad student earn ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and No. 1 Richmond.
• Teddy Lally has 20 points on the year off 11 goals and nine assists. The freshman has recorded multiple points in six games this season and notched his first career hat trick in the win over No. 1 UNC with three goals.
• Junior transfer Tyler Spano has won 89-of-149 faceoffs at the dot with the Irish and leads the team in ground balls with 53.
• Aidan Diaz-Matos scored a goal within the first minute of the season opener off a faceoff win and is 55-of-101 at the dot on the year and is third on the team in ground balls with 31.
• Miguel Iglesias has made an impact at both ends of the field as a SSDM, scoring a goal in two games while also putting in sound defensive shifts.
• Christopher Iuliano has played multiple positions for the Irish, filling in at close defense against Bellarmine and playing LSM for the majority of the season while also registering shifts on the wings for faceoffs. The freshman has 17 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
FROM THE GRIDIRON TO THE LACROSSE FIELD
• Two Notre Dame lacrosse players on the 2026 squad also are on the football roster, as Matt Jeffery and Dylan Faison are both dual-sport athletes.
• Jeffery was the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2025 after making an impact in the midfield.
• Faison was the No. 1 ranked incoming player in the class of 2026 before he reclassified and joined the Irish for this spring semester.
• Jeffery has been productive in his sophomore campaign, posting 18 points off 13 goals and five assists despite drawing a pole in the majority of matchups.
• The sophomore had a breakout performance in the win over Duke, scoring three goals for his first career hat trick.
• Faison has broken into the rotation as of late, playing on the second-midfield line and scoring his first career goal in the win over No. 1 Richmond.
• The freshman then scored two goals and added an assist in the win over Duke.
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
• Notre Dame enters the weekend averaging 13.0 goals per game, ranking it 15th in the country despite facing six of the top-20 ranked defenses in the country.
• The Irish also rank 16th in the country in points per game with a mark of 20.55.
• The Fighting Irish are sharing the ball at a high rate, averaging 7.55 assists per game, which ranks 17th in the nation.
CORRIGAN ALL-TIME DI PROGRAM WINS LEADER
• With the win over No. 1 Duke on April 10, 2021, 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 379-181 in his 40 seasons of coaching.
• The head coach is 369-166 in his 38 seasons at Notre Dame.
• Corrigan is the longest tenured men’s lacrosse coach at the DI level.