SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team put on an attacking display for the ages on Tuesday afternoon, scoring a program-record 29 goals in the 29-10 win over Bellarmine at Arlotta Stadium.
The previous record for goals in a game stood for nearly 43 years, as the Irish scored 28 goals against Mount Union on April 9, 1983.
A number of Notre Dame players had career days but none stood out more than Brock Behrman’s game-high seven points while setting career highs in goals (4) and assists (3). Will Maheras and Jalen Seymour also recorded the first hat tricks of their careers, each totaling three goals on the afternoon.
Josh Yago turned in his second-straight four-point performance with two goals and two assists while freshman Teddy Lally also had a four-point afternoon with a goal and three assists.
In total, 16 Fighting Irish players found the back of the net in the game, with nine recording multiple goals.
The Notre Dame faceoff duo of Aidan Diaz-Matos and Tyler Spano also delivered big performances in the contest. Diaz-Matos won 13-of-17 battles at the dot to go along with seven ground balls while Spano finished 10-for-12 with six ground balls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame was full throttle from the opening whistle, scoring on the first two possessions of the afternoon courtesy of Yago and Luke Miller.
The Irish midfield then got in on the action, scoring the next five goals with two coming from Seymour, one from Matt Jeffery, Seymour and Maheras to push the lead to 7-0 with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
Lally, Seymour and Angrick each scored once more before the end of the opening 15 minutes of play to give Notre Dame a double-digit lead at 10-0 after the first quarter.
The Irish carried the momentum into the second stanza, outscoring the Knights 6-1 to push their lead to 16-1 at the halftime break. Behrman paced Notre Dame with two goals and Yago, Finley, Maheras and Miguel Iglesias each scored one.
Notre Dame started subbing liberally in the second half but still managed to score 13 goals in the final 30 minutes of action. Gavin Burlace, Gavin Lynch, Jake Vasquez and Ryan Sforzo each scored twice in the second half while Brady Pokorny and Colin Kenney each found the back of the net for the first time this season as the Irish cruised to the 29-10 victory.
STAT OF THE GAME
Not only did the Irish break the program’s all-time record for goals in a game but it also set the record for points in a game with 48 off 29 goals and 19 assists, breaking the previous mark of 46 in a win over Denver on April 20, 1992.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- Notre Dame’s 19 assists ties the program record for most assists in a home game and is the Arlotta Stadium record.
- The Irish improved to 7-0 against Bellarmine in the all-time series.
- Notre Dame has won all seven matchups by at least five goals.
- All six offensive starters recorded at least one goal and five of the six players finished with multiple points.
- With the win, the Irish are now 42-4 in home openers, including a 35-3 record under Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan.
- The Irish were perfect in transition, finishing 22-for-22 in the game.
- Notre Dame also took care of the ball, totaling just eight turnovers.
- The Irish outshot the Knights 64-23 in the victory.
- The Irish defense finished with 12 caused turnovers and have now recorded double-digit caused turnovers in both games this season.
- Behrman’s seven points are a season high for any Irish player and a career high for the junior.
- Christopher Iuliano made his first start during his collegiate career.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame plays its first ranked matchup of the season this upcoming weekend, welcoming No. 3/4 Georgetown to Arlotta for a 12:30 p.m. ET tilt on Sunday, Feb. 22. The game will air on ACCNX and admission to the game is free.
— ND —