Here's why we should all pay attention when the Fighting Irish lacrosse team plays in the NCAA tournament this month:
- Pat Kavanaugh. The younger brother of one of the all-time greats, Matt Kavanaugh, may be even better and more fun to watch. Quick, fearless and creative, he finds crazy ways to score, apparently developed when he and his brothers were playing in the backyard growing up in Long Island. He alone is reason enough to watch.
- Coach Kevin Corrigan set the record this year for the most wins by a lacrosse coach at one school in NCAA history. Right now, he is to lacrosse what Andy Reid was to the NFL until the Super Bowl last year: the most accomplished coach not to win a title. This team has great potential to get him his first.
- Loaded with talent: The irish have stars at every position. They are a very complete team, and experts are calling them the most complete team in the college game right now ... possibly.
- Their 7-3 record features blowing out #9 Syracuse twice, dominating Duke in giving them their first loss 13-8, then leading at Duke 12-7 with 8:40 to go in the game when things went haywire. Duke, which is also an uber-talented team, scored five goals to tie it up and then got the game winner in OT -- though Kavanaugh had actually won the game for ND except for he lost his shoe. In other words, and stop me if you have heard this before, but the Irish got robbed in a loss at Duke. Check out the link below to see the insanity of what happened to cancel out Kavanaugh's game-winning goal. Lacrosse is a sport where you can take a shot to the head from a huge metal rod and action will keep going, but a play is called dead because a defender steps on a guy's foot and removes his shoe? Come on.
- The first loss of the season came in ND's first big matchup against Virginia, currently ranked #5. The Wahoos are a tough matchup because their offensive skill is off the charts. It was the irish's first big challenge of the year and they lost by one goal.
- The third loss of the year was at UNC, currently ranked #2 after giving Duke their second loss of the season on Sunday. In our only game against UNC, the Irish failed to get the ball from the defensive end to their offense after three crucial defensive stops in the second half, and it cost them in a loss by two goals. For those unfamiliar with the sport, lacrosse presents a "full court press" every time you get the ball due to the distribution of players across the field. Getting the ball into the offensive end is a "clear;" the defensive "ride" tries to keep the clear from happening. ND's ride is very good. UNC's ride won that game for them.
- Keep an eye on these guys. They deserve it. And GO IRISH
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpGFAp5XNBw
ranked in top 10 and swept UNC over the weekend.