SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 6/6 Notre Dame and No. 3/3 Maryland will face off in a marquee non-conference showdown at noon ET on Sunday, March 3 at Arlotta Stadium. The game will air on ESPNU.
GAME DETAILS
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Arlotta Stadium
Schedule: March 3 — Noon ET
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
THE MARYLAND SERIES
• Saturday will be the 17th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Maryland. The Irish trail the Terrapins 7-9 in the matchup.
• Six of the last seven matchups have been extremely tight with the games being decided by two goals or less.
• Three of the last five matchups have went into overtime.
• The Irish came away victorious in one of the best games of the season last year in College Park, earning a 13-12 win in three overtimes.
• Pat Kavanagh scored his only goal of the game in the third overtime to deliver the Irish the victory. His brother Chris, led the team in scoring with three goals in the game.
VIDEO GAME NUMBERS
• The Irish enter Sunday’s matchup ranked second in the country in scoring offense (18.67 goals per game), points per game (30.0) and assists per game (11.33).
• For the first time in program history Notre Dame recorded back-to-back 20+ goal performances, coming in its first two games of the season.
• The combined 46 goals over the two games shatter the previous program record for most goals in back-to-back games, as the 1992 squad previously held the record with 40 goals.
• Both the 22-goal win over Cleveland State and the 13-goal victory at Marquette represent the largest margin of victory for the Irish in the respective all-time series.
• The Irish have also played fairly clean games thus far, as they are averaging just 11.67 turnovers per game which is the fourth best mark in the country.
PICK YOUR POISON
• The Irish starting attack has combined for 41 points through two games.
• Pat Kavanagh (3G, 12A), Chris Kavanagh (8G, 5A) and Jake Taylor (11G, 2A) are already each in double figures for points on the season.
• The three attackman have a combined 420 points in their career off 234 goals and 186 assists.
• The Irish starting midfield also presents headaches for the opposition with Eric Dobson, Jordan Faison and Devon McLane each presenting different challenges to try to stop.
• McLane leads the unit with seven points (7G, 2A) while Faison has six (6G, 1A) and Dobson has added three (3G, 2A).
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Irish have allowed just 22 total goals over the course of the season, giving up tjust 7.33 goals per game, which leads the country.
• Notre Dame picked right up where it left off on defense, turning in a dominant performance in the season-opening win.
• The unit allowed just three goals, which is tied for the second fewest given up by ND in a season opener in program history.
• The Irish finished 2023 allowing just 9.69 goals per game, leading the ACC and ranking sixth in the country, despite playing nine games against opponents that ranked in the top 10 in goals scored per game.
• Notre Dame led the ACC and ranked ninth in the country in caused turnovers per game last season, averaging 9.69.
• The Irish recorded at least 10 caused turnovers in nine of 16 games last season.
• Notre Dame held opponents to 10 or fewer goals in 10 of 16 games during the 2023 campaign, including four of the last five on the way to the title.
• The Irish limited the opposition to 12 or fewer goals in 15 of 16 outings last season.
THE CONDUCTOR
• Pat Kavanagh became the first Notre Dame player to be named a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist two times, earning the honor in 2021 and 2023.
• The Rockville, New York, native broke the program record for points in a season in 2023 with 77 points off 25 goals and 52 assists.
• Kavanagh became the program record holder for career assists during the 2023 season and has 147 in his illustrious career.
• The attackman also shattered his own single-season program assists record in 2023, totaling 52 on the season. Kavanagh now holds the top three marks for assists in a season.
• Kavanagh is also the only player in program history to record 10 points in a single game, a feat which he has achieved three times in his career.
• The graduate student is off to a flying start in 2024, earning ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after his first week of play in which he totaled 12 points off two goals and 10 assists.
• Kavanagh has recorded two or more assists in every game this season.
THE STOPPER
• Grad student Liam Entenmann cemented his status as the top goalie in the country with his play in 2023, being named the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Outstanding Goalie by the USILA, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, ACC Goalie of the Year and NCAA Championships Most Valuable Player.
• Entenmann led the ACC and ranked sixth in the country in goals against average, allowing just 9.55 goals per game in 2023.
• Entenmann had a save percentage of .570 (196 saves, 148 goals allowed), ranking fourth in the country last season.
• Entenmann made double-digit saves in each of the final 13 games in 2023, including a season-high 18 in the win over No. 1 Duke to win the national title.
• Entenmann currently ranks fourth on the ND all-time saves list with 570 in his career.
THE SCORER
• Chris Kavanagh had one of the most prolific goal scoring seasons in program history in 2023, recording a career-high 46 goals to lead the Irish attack.
• Kavanagh hasn’t missed a beat so far in 2024, as the junior is tied for second on the team in points with eight goals and five assists
•The junior 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 attackman also added 16 assists to total 62 points, which ranks 10th all-time in Notre Dame men’s lacrosse history.
• Chris finished with 10 hat tricks during the 2023 campaign and has 13 in his career.
• The Rockville Centre, New York, native has 76 career goals.
THE SNIPER
• Eric Dobson has established a reputation as one of, if not the best, shooters in the current college game.
• After a big 2023 season, Dobson has been named the USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Midfielder of the Year heading into the 2024 campaign.
• Dobson led the Irish midfield with 34 goals and 11 assists last season.
• The lefty came up clutch for the Irish on the biggest stage, posting a career day with four goals and an assist in the overtime win over No. 2 Virginia.
• Dobson has 75 career goals and 31 career assists.
LYNCH LEVELING UP
• Junior FOGO Will Lynch has gotten off to a great start in 2024, winning 67.4 percent of the faceoffs he hast taken, ranking fifth in the country.
• Lynch is 31-for-46 on the season at the dot, scooping up 19 ground balls.
• The FOGO also has added a goal, scoring in the win over Marquette.
THE ATTACK IS BACK
• The Irish return a lot of firepower from the 2023 roster that claimed the national title, as the top five goal scorers are back in 2024.
• Notre Dame brings back 78.6 percent of its goals (195/248), 77.4 percent of its assists (103/133) and 78.2 percent of its points (298/381).
• Four players who recorded 30+ points last season are back, which include Pat Kavanagh (77), Chris Kavanagh (62), Eric Dobson (45) and Jake Taylor (33).
CASHING IN ON THE EMO
• For the second-straight season, Notre Dame’s man-up offense was among the nation’s best in 2023, scoring on 53.7 percent of its opportunities.
• Notre Dame enters the weekend ranked second in the country with a percentage of 71.4, converting 5-of-7 attempts.
• The Irish finished the 2023 season going 22-for-41 (.537) on the EMO ranking fifth in the country.
• Chris Kavanagh finished seventh in the nation in EMO goals with eight.
• The Irish EMO unit cashed in on 21-of-31 chances (.677) during the 2022 season.
CHALLENGING SLATE AHEAD
• Notre Dame has never shied away from putting together a challenging schedule and the 2024 slate is no different.
• Of Notre Dame’s 11 regular-season opponents, nine are currently ranked in the top 20 in the USILA or Inside Lacrosse Top 20 Polls.
• Each of Notre Dame’s final nine regular season opponents are ranked in the current Inside Lacrosse and USILA polls.
FAISON’S FIRST IMPRESSION
• Jordan Faison wasted no time introducing himself to the college lacrosse world, scoring 38 seconds into the 2024 season for the first Notre Dame goal of the season in his debut.
• The freshman finished with a three-goal hat trick and an assist in the win over Cleveland State.
• The three goals in his first career game are the most by a Notre Dame midfielder in their debut since at least the 2000 season.
• The freshman has scored at least one goal in each game and has six goals and an assist on the season.
FAMILY AFFAIR
• The Fighting Irish feature four pairs of brothers on the 2024 roster.
• The four sets of brothers are BJ and Gavin Burlace, Will and Andrew Donovan, Pat and Chris Kavanagh, and Jeffery and Thomas Ricciardelli.
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 347-175 in his 38 seasons of coaching.
• The head coach is 337-160 in his 36 seasons at Notre Dame.
• Corrigan is the longest tenured men’s lacrosse coach at the DI level.