National Champs: The Irish Capture First National Title In Program History

PHILADELPHIA – For the first time in program history, the Fighting Irish are national champions. The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated No. 1 Duke by a score of 13-9 on Monday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field to secure the 2023 NCAA national title.

The championship is the first in Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan’s illustrious career as the leader of Notre Dame.

Senior goalie Liam Entenmann was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 NCAA Championships, as he put on a masterclass performance in cage on Monday. Entenmann finished with a season-high 18 saves while allowing just nine goals to propel the Irish to the championship.

The Irish defense as a unit held the Duke attack to its lowest scoring output of the season, as its previous low was 12 goals.

Notre Dame’s attack was extremely balanced on Monday, as six different players recorded two goals. Jake Taylor, Chris Kavanagh, Eric Dobson, Quinn McCahon, Jeffery Ricciardelli and Brian Tevlin each scored twice and Jack Simmons added a goal and two assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils scored the opening goal 35 seconds into the game for the opening goal and then it was all Irish for the rest of the half. Brian Tevlin, Eric Dobson and Chris Kavanagh each scored in the first quarter to give the Irish a 3-1 lead after the opening 15 minutes of action.

Notre Dame’s defense continued to put the clamps on the Duke attack in the second quarter, holding the Blue Devils scoreless in the period, while the attack tacked on three more goals to take a 6-1 lead into the halftime break. Jake Taylor and Jeffery Ricciardelli scored the first two goals and then Philadelphia native Quinn McCahon beat the 10-man ride by firing in from beyond midfield for the third goal of the quarter.

The Blue Devils refused to go quietly, as they scored the first four goals of the third in a span of six minutes to cut the lead to one at 6-5. The Irish responded with a man-up goal to push it back to two goals but Duke then scored two more to level the game at 7-7 with a minute left in the third.

The Irish showed their resilience, scoring twice in the final 30 seconds of the third, one from Brian Tevlin and one off a crease dive from Chris Kavanagh just before the game clock expired to give the Irish a two goal lead at 9-7 heading into the final 15 minutes of action.

Dobson scored his second of the game to open the fourth and extend the lead to 10-7 but Duke found the back of the net just two minutes later to make it 10-8.

After the Duke goal it was all Irish, as Notre Dame scored the next three goals in a span of less than two minutes to seal the deal and give the Irish their first national title in program history.

ND STAT OF THE GAME

Facing a first-team All-American in Jake Naso, Notre Dame’s Will Lynch went 12-of-19 from the dot and scooped up a team-high five ground balls for the Irish.

ND NOTES

• The national title gives the University of Notre Dame 34 team national championships in athletics and men’s lacrosse is the ninth different program to win at least one.
• The 14 wins and .875 winning percentage are both tied for second in program history for a single-season and the best marks since the 2009 season.
• The 2023 Irish attack finishes as the most prolific in program history, setting team single-season ND records for goals (248), total points (381) and goals per game (15.5)
• Notre Dame improves to 25-25 in NCAA Championships history, including a record of 20-11 over the last 12 tournament appearances.
• Monday’s title-game appearance marked the third in program history, also playing on Memorial Day in 2010 and 2014.
• The Irish have now won four straight matchups against the Blue Devils and five of the last six meetings.
• Pat Kavanagh set the all-time program record for most points in a single season in the win, finishing with 77 on the season. 
• With 18 saves, Liam Entenmann extended his double-digit save streak to 14 games.
• Jake Taylor finished with two goals and now has 11 straight multi-goal games.
• Jack Simmons finished with three points and has now recorded 10 points over the last three games (6G, 4A).

— ND —