Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Game 9 Preview: Virginia

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 9 Notre Dame returns to Arlotta Stadium for an ACC matchup against Virginia at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 12. The game will air on ESPNU and admission to the game is free.

GAME DETAILS
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Arlotta Stadium
Schedule: April 12 — 5 p.m. ET
Tickets: FREE
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame

THE VIRGINIA SERIES

• Saturday will be the 23rd meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Virginia. The Irish and Cavaliers have played to a standstil in the series as the record sits at 11-11 entering the weekend.

• The Irish have won each of the last three matchups, including two games last season in back-to-back weekends.

• The two sides faced off in the final game of the regular season with the Irish pulling off an 11-9 win in Charlottesville and then the following week in the semifinals of the ACC Championships in Charlotte, where Notre Dame won by a score of 18-9.

• Devon McLane paced the attack with two performances with four points in the wins over the Cavaliers, posting three goals and an assist in the regular-season finale before scoring four goals to send the Irish to the ACC title game.

KAVANAGH LEADS THE ATTACK

• Chris 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.

• The senior leads the Irish in points this season with 40 off 22 goals and 18 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.

• The senior has 216 points off 134 goals and 83 assists and currently ranks fourth in program history.

• 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 30 straight games and has recorded a point in 52 of 53 games in his career. Kavanagh has posted multiple points in 48 of 53 games in his career.

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE

• Notre Dame is allowing just 9.13 goals per game this season, ranking 14th  the country.

• 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.

TAYLOR MADE

• Graduate student Jake Taylor is one of the great finishers in lacrosse, totaling 121 goals in his Fighting Irish career.

• 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 53.7 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 118 goals through eight games this season, averaging 14.75 per game, the sixth best mark in the country.

• Notre Dame ranks sixth in the nation in points per game (23.5), second in shot percentage (.354) and seventh in assists per game (8.75).

• 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.

STRONG STARTS

• The Irish have dominated the opening 15 minutes of play throughout the season, outscoring opponents 37-16 over eight games.

• The 21-goal scoring margin is the largest for ND in any quarter during the 2025 campaign.

• Nineteen of the 37 goals have come from a trio of Irish player, as Jake Taylor leads the way with seven goals and Chris Kavanagh and Will Angrick have each added six in the opening frames.

DOMINATING THE DOT

• Senior FOGO Will Lynch has won 89-of-145 faceoffs this season for a win percentage of .614 along with 56 ground balls.

• Lynch is currently ranked 10th in the country for faceoff winning percentage and 10th in ground balls per game (7.0).

  The senior enters Saturday with 326 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 17 different players have recorded multiple points on the season.

• Eight Irish players have racked up double-digit points through seven games.

• The Irish have racked up 62 assists on the 104 goals with Chris Kavanagh leading the way with 18.

• In the win over Marquette, all three starting attackmen and all three starting midfielders finished with mulitple goals.

• Notre Dame’s midfield has accounted for 45 of 104 goals this season.

ANGRICK’S BREAKOUT SEASON

• Playing the best lacrosse of his career, senior Will Angrick already has set a career high for points in a season with 17.

• His 10 goals seven assists each mark career highs for the senior.

• Angrick has recorded multiple points in five of eight games during the 2025 campaign, as has 2+ goals in four outings.

• The senior leads the Irish midfield in scoring with 10 goals.

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.

• Lyght consistently drew 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.

FROM THE GRIDIRON TO THE LACROSSE FIELD

• Three Notre Dame lacrosse players on the 2025 squad also suited up for the football team in the fall, as Jordan Faison, Tyler Buchner and Matt Jeffery are both dual-sport athletes.

• Faison finished the season with 30 receptions for 356 yards and a TD, including a seven-catch, 89-yard performance in the first round of the College Football Playoff win against IU.

• Buchner was used in trick plays on special teams, picking up a first down on a fake FG against GT and completing a 23-yard pass on a fake punt against USC.

• Jeffery played in three games on special teams during his freshman season, seeing the field against Purdue, Stanford and Navy.

• All three have seen action during the 2025 lacrosse season, as  Buchner has played in five games at SSDM and Faison and Jeffery made their debuts in the win at Georgetown.