CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Fighting Irish picked up three big conference awards on Tuesday afternoon as Thomas Ricciardelli earned ACC Goalie of the Year honors, Shawn Lyght was selected as ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan was named ACC Coach of the Year as voted on by the league’s coaches.
Ricciardelli becomes the second Notre Dame player to be named ACC Goalie of the Year since the award was created during the 2023 season, joining his predecessor Liam Entenmann who won it in 2023 and 2024. The Irish have now won ACC Goalie of the Year in three of the four seasons it has existed.
The shot-stopper leads the ACC in save percentage (59.1) and goals against average (8.06) and ranks in the top five in the country in each category. He has recorded a save percentage of .500 or higher in nine of 11 games this season and made a season-high 17 saves in the win over Duke.
Lyght has now been named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, earning the program’s eighth ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. The Irish have earned the ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor more than any program in the league since the award was created during the 2012 season.
Lyght joins Matt Landis (2015, 2016) and Liam Entenmann (2023, 2024) as only players in league history to earn Defensive Player of the Year multiple times after also capturing the award last season.
Corrigan has now earned ACC Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons after guiding the Fighting Irish to the ACC regular season title and a 10-1 record in the regular season. Notre Dame has recorded four wins over top-five ranked teams at the time of the matchup, winning each by at least four goals.
Notre Dame totaled four All-ACC Team selections, tied for the most of any team in the league. Ricciardelli and Lyght were joined by Will Donovan and Matt Jeffery. The Irish have now had 24 All-ACC Team selections over the last four seasons, the most of any ACC team.
Donovan is now in rarified air, earning All-ACC Team selections in all four years of his career. The LSM is just the third Notre Dame player to become a four-time All-ACC selection, joining Irish legends Pat Kavanagh and Liam Entenmann. He also became the first LSM in league history to receive the distinction four times in a career.
Jeffery earned his first All-ACC honor of his career but earned league honors last season as well, being named the ACC Freshman of the Year.
The Irish open postseason play in Charlotte with the ACC Tournament semifinals at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, May 1, as they take on Virginia. The game will be broadcast on ACCN.
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