April 27, 2018
By John Heisler
University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan didn’t mince words last Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after his Irish dropped a late one-goal game to North Carolina to fall to 6-5.
After three losses in their last four games, the Irish postseason hopes were being called into question in some circles.
So Corrigan made it quite clear to his players that they needed to do some damage the next weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
And what better way to merit attention than by coming from behind to beat the top-ranked team in the country (in the USILA poll).
The third-seeded Irish did exactly that Friday night at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a 14-11 victory over second-seeded and 12-2 Duke added significantly to the Notre Dame resume in their best-quality victory of 2018.
Notre Dame did it in great part in the ACC semifinal by playing with poise and efficiency from the opening whistle. Freshman goaltender Matt Schmidt excelled early, making seven first-half saves after making seven in the entire ballgame a week ago in Chapel Hill.
It was an emotional triumph for the third-seeded Irish.
And it hardly could have come at a better time.
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If there was any question whether the Irish players heeded Corrigan’s message from the previous weekend, junior attack Ryder Garnsey helped answer it with two goals in the first 3:38.
The Irish fired off the first seven shots of the game, as three Duke turnovers kept the Blue Devils from even attempting any sort of shot until the 6:47 mark of the opening period.
Then all-ACC sophomore midfielder Bryan Costabile scored three times in succession in a 2:14 span early in the second period for a 5-1 Irish advantage.
The first of that trio at 11:32 meant Notre Dame already had scored more than it had in its entire 8-2 loss to Duke three weeks ago in South Bend. The last of the three qualified as highlight reel stuff, as he fired it backwards over his right shoulder while moving away from the net.
The Irish looked like they would take a four-goal lead into intermission, only to see Duke score twice in a 20-second span in the final minute to cut the Irish advantage to 6-4.
“That was a great half,” Corrigan said at the break. “But it’s 0-0 now, we need to go back out there and do exactly what we did in the first half.”
Brendan Gleason made it 7-4 38 seconds into the third period — then Duke caught fire and tied it at seven at the 5:42 mark.
Notre Dame regained a two-goal lead on tallies by Gleason and Garnsey, only to see Duke score three in a row once again (in a 2:13 span) for a 10-9 Blue Devil lead at 9:22 of the final period.
From there it was all Irish:
–Garnsey made a perfect pass on the goal mouth to Mikey Wynne who tied it at 7:44.
–After a wild loose ball at midfield, the Irish found a wide-open Garnsey who converted at 4:49 to put Notre Dame on top for good.
–Garnsey’s fifth goal of the night under a full moon followed by a Brian Willetts score gave the Irish a three-goal margin.
–After Duke scored at 1:07, Gleason finished it against a double team into an open cage at :27.9 for the final 14-11 score.
It marked the most goals of the season for Notre Dame.
Garnsey’s five goals (plus an assist) matched his most productive contest of 2018 (he had those same numbers in the Irish loss to Michigan). He was brilliant at times Friday.
Neither Costabile nor Gleason played against the Blue Devils three weeks ago in South Bend on a frustrating afternoon in which the Irish notched only five shots on goals.
Friday night against that same Duke team, Costabile had a hat trick and an assist and Gleason contributed his own three goals and three assists (those six points matched his career high).
Schmidt made all three of his second-half saves in the final 3:47 of the game.
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“We had our backs to the wall and our guys knew it,” acknowledged Corrigan after it ended.
“We said to our guys last weekend that we don’t have time to cry about this. They went all in on it. They were into every play tonight from the opening whistle.
“I just know that if we didn’t get this win we lost a chance to get two wins this weekend. Then you’re leaving it in all kinds of people’s hands.
“We told our guys the only way we can know we’re in the (NCAA) tournament is if we win these last three games (the Irish finish at home versus Army May 5).
“Then we know we’ll be there.”
Notre Dame’s 60-minute attention to detail and outsized aggressiveness Friday night suggested the Irish had something to prove. They committed only two second-half turnovers.
Notre Dame’s season-high six final-period goals matched the six they scored in the final period this year versus Michigan and the first period of the win against Denver.
“The first time we played these guys we lost our poise,” added Corrigan. “And then everybody started to press.
“Tonight even after (Duke) went up one you didn’t sense any loss of energy or loss of focus.”
The ACC no longer has an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. And so even an Irish win in the Sunday noon title game does not guarantee a postseason invitation for the Irish.
But Corrigan and his team gave every indication Friday night that they understand what’s at stake these days.
It qualified as their best all-around effort in 2018.
Sunday represents one more opportunity to set the stage for May.
Senior associate athletics director John Heisler has been following Notre Dame athletic fortunes since 1978.