After dropping two-straight one-goal contests to No. 1 Maryland and No. 9 Ohio State, the No. 8-ranked Notre Dame men's lacrosse team bounced back in a major way Saturday in Ann Arbor. Led by the stellar play of Chris Kavanagh and shutdown net-minding by goalie Thomas Ricciardelli, the Irish returned to their winning ways with a much-needed road victory.
Photo by University of Notre Dame Athletics
Looking for the program's seventh win in eight tries all-time against Michigan, the Irish started hot Saturday afternoon, controlling possession and the tempo of the contest right from the opening face off.
The visiting Golden Domers registered three of the first four goals of the game en route to grabbing a comfortable lead through the first 15 minutes of play. Will Angrick's eighth of the season began the scoring for the Irish one minute in, and even though the Wolverines would respond two minutes later to even the affair at 1-1, the Irish offense was simply too much for a Michigan defensive unit that struggled to keep the blue and white out of the offensive zone.
From the 10:41 mark of the first period to the 8:46 mark in the second, Notre Dame reeled off six unanswered goals -- including two apiece from Devon McLane (fifth and sixth of the season) and Kavanagh (16th and 17th) -- to take a commanding 7-1 advantage.
Though the home squad would grab two straight goals shorty after from Jack Jenkins and Nick Roode, CK's third goal of the game with 3:06 remaining in the half helped the Irish take an 8-3 lead into the break.
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The Wolverines opened the second half by picking up the first goal to pull within 8-4, but shortly after, the Irish began their best stretch of play on the season.
Jake Taylor's second goal of the game at 7:05 in the third quarter began a run of nine straight scores for the Irish, an offensive blitz that extended well into the fourth quarter.
Tallies from Max Busenkell (fifth of the season), Jordan Faison (sixth), Jalen Seymour (sixth), Matt Jeffrey (first), Will Maheras (fifth), and Brock Behrman (second), along with additional goals by Angrick and Kavanagh, enabled ND to blow the game wide open. With less than 10 minutes remaining, the two-time defending national champions found themselves comfortably in control, 17-4.
Notre Dame would add to its total down the stretch en route to picking up an impressive 19-7 victory, and, more importantly, bringing an end to its aforementioned two-game skid.
In the win, Ricciardelli stopped 10 of the 16 shots he faced, while Will Lynch was dominant in the circle, collecting 13 of the 16 face-offs he took on the day. The Irish also outshot the Wolverines, 48-30, including 29-19 in shots on goal.
What’s Next for the Irish?
Notre Dame will host No. 7-ranked Duke at Arlotta Stadium on Saturday, March 29. The game will begin at 1 p.m. ET with coverage anchored by ESPNU.
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