Notre Dame Men’s Lacrosse Dominates Maryland 11-8

On a sunny, 57 degree day in College Park, Maryland, the Notre Dame Men’s lacrosse team moved to 4-0 on the season with an emphatic 11-8 win over the Maryland Terrapins. It was the Irish’s fourth straight win to start the season and our fourth straight game scoring over ten goals. It was also the second straight game of holding our opponent to under ten goals.

This season is young, but if there is one thing we are learning early on with our Irish it is this: Notre Dame will come at you in waves over the entire field; each week it could be someone completely different, but in order to beat this team, you will have to bring your A-game both offensively and defensively. Anything less than that and you are not beating the Irish. Case in point on Saturday, Notre Dame went on a 7-0 run to turn a 4-3 Terp advantage into a 10-4 Irish lead.

So much for flying under the radar, huh? I think this year’s Notre Dame lacrosse team knew what they had coming out of the fall and they were fine with people not thinking that highly of them and being ranked pre-season #7 or #8. But the word is out and with our Irish are now ranked #1 in both polls; we have once again become the hunted in Division I college lacrosse.

Now it’s time to live up to the new expectations.

Let’s get into it, and as I was able to watch this one through the Big Ten Plus channel ($12 / month), I wrote down notes while doing so.

First Quarter

It was the regular starting ten for the Irish and Aidan Diaz-Matos won the opening faceoff to himself. Right off the bat we noticed that Maryland was not long poling Matt Jeffery which was a different look from other teams in the weeks past. Quickly the Irish got on the man-up after a head shot from Will Schaller; Will Angrick made them pay with a goal from up top to make it 1-0 Irish. Things went back and forth for the initial third of the period with Maryland coming up with some big saves on an Irish fast break to keep the score at 1-0. Maryland would get the next two with one coming from up top by Elijah Stobaugh and then Leo Johnson netted his first on the day to make it 2-1 Terps with 4:05 to go in the quarter. That is where we would end the quarter, a 2-1 Terps advantage.

Btw, for those either watching live or seeing the game on the replay, I could not help but notice how many different ways the announcers said some of the last names of our Irish players. There were at least six or seven names they could not get right out throughout the afternoon.

Second Quarter

Great defense by Notre Dame to start the quarter and we saw a shot clock violation on Maryland. Right away we noticed that Teddy Lally was on the field for the Irish, this time on the first line midfield in a hybrid role with Will Maheras taking a hit in the first quarter (we did not see him the rest of the way). Notre Dame tied it at 2-2 with Luke Miller in transition, a nifty bounce shot on the fast break after a nice ground ball by Christopher Iuliano.

Maryland would then draw a penalty on late push by Matt Jeffery and Chris Lyons made us pay as he hit home to make it 3-2 Terrapins with 8:52 to go. Following a great ride by Notre Dame, Maryland couldn’t get the faceoff over the line; the Irish took over and Brock Behrman hit Jalen Seymour up top who then put it home from the wing making it 3-3 with 7:32 to go. Another goal by Maryland made it 4-3 at the 6:54 mark, this time coming off a failed clear from the Irish. Notre Dame got back on the board with a Behrman goal from Lally to make it 4-4 with 5:29 to go. Another Maryland turnover after winning the faceoff and Matt Jeffery gave the Irish the lead with a strong move from the wing; 5-4 Irish with 4:37 left. The Irish would close out the scoring in the quarter with Luke Miller hitting Brock to make it 6-4 Notre Dame after the first 30 minutes.

Third Quarter

Maryland started the quarter with possession and continued to shoot low on Thomas Ricciardelli. They could not get home and Matt Jeffery to Luke Miller coming from behind made it 7-4 Irish with 11:46 to go. Some GREAT defense by the Irish and Luke Miller with another goal, a lefty snipe up top from Behrman; it’s 8-4 Irish with 8:17 to go. The barrage continued and Behrman hit home from up top from Luke Miller; 9-4 Irish 6:42 to go. Less than a minute later, Teddy Lally coming from X, made it 10-4 Irish and Maryland called timeout. Some more really strong defense from the Irish and Nate Schwitzenberg hit the crossbar from distance with Maryland going with the ten-man ride. Finally, AJ Larkin would end the seven goal skid with a big goal which made it 10-5 Irish with 1:16 to go. That is where we would finish at the end of three.

Fourth Quarter

Notre Dame almost made it 11-5 early in the 4th, but a diving goal by Teddy Lally was called off for a crease violation. Soon after, Josh Yago would get on the board with his first to make it 11-5 Notre Dame with 10:36 left. Maryland would score next as Leo Johnson netted one from up top; 11-6 ND with 8:03 to go. Notre Dame had a really bad man-up sequence, Maryland caused a turnover and scored making it 11-7 with 5:27 to go. From there it was a really good save by Thomas with a little over 5 minutes to go and Notre Dame would focus on slowing the ball down on the offensive end of the field. Another HUGE save by Thomas with under 4 to go before Braden Erksa went GLE, spun and scored to make it 11-8 Irish with 2:29 to go. From there, it was about getting possession and the Irish were able to hold onto the ball and get the big time road win 11-8.

Notre Dame improved to 4-0 while Maryland dropped to 1-3 on the year.

Some Notes and Thoughts

I am going to go rapid fire here with some of what came to my mind during the game watch:

Yago, Miller and Behrman are playing some OUTSTANDING lacrosse right now as an attack unit. The ball is moving and it is going from stick to stick with goals coming from all angles.

Love Miller and Behrman from distance with their quick releases. I think it is surprising goalies how much zip they have on their shots and how few wasted movements they have when they get the ball. They are shot ready.

11 points for Miller and Behrman on the day. Two players coming into their own.

This Notre Dame offense is so unselfish. The goals are coming from all over and it is really fun to watch.

Max Busenkell is going to have a breakout game here soon. And think about that for a second, that this offense has played that well and Max hasn’t hit the stat sheet a ton. It’s coming.

Not a whole lot of opportunities for the Irish man-up unite this year; still need to see what we have there as the season moves along.

I said that I thought last week’s defensive performance against Georgetown was our best of the season. Well the defense topped it on Saturday as we held the Terps scoreless for an over 20 minute stretch.

Maryland went 15-23 from the faceoff dot and still lost by three. That tells you how good the defense for the Irish was on the afternoon.

Will Donovan and Christopher Iuliano at LSM is quite the duo right now. Hot take, let’s get Iuliano into a single digit # for his jersey.

Once again, as we have seen this whole season, such good defense by the Irish in the middle of the field. The SSDM unit is playing lights out right now proving that they are one of the stronger units in the country.

Good to see Thomas Porell out there in the 4th Quarter getting some run.

Maryland was getting home with some low shots on Thomas, but when it mattered most, when Maryland was trying to get the score closer late in the 4th, Thomas made two pinpoint saves.

Love when Notre Dame just gives the ball to Matt Jeffery and lets him clear. His speed and athleticism is off the charts.

Will Schaller could have had a bunch of penalties called on him this game. Not could have. Should have.

Maryland losing three in a row under John Tillman does not almost ever happen.

What’s Next

The Irish travel down to Columbus to take on the 6-0 Ohio State Buckeyes. This will be a must watch matchup as these two schools do not like each other very much. Last year, OSU beat ND at Arlotta and celebrated all over the field. Then the Irish went down to Columbus and ended the Buckeyes season with a dominant win in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Defense is the key for Ohio State and they are led in goal by pre-season first team All-American, Caleb Fyock. Unfortunately for OSU, they are missing Bobby Van Buren who tore his ACL before the start of the season. Really a shame as he is one of the best defenders in college lacrosse. We continue to wish him a speedy recovery.

It’s another opportunity for the Irish to get better and for us to continue to build our resume for the NCAA tournament. We are about two months away from that time; can’t believe I am even writing those words right now.

David Brogan and I will have you covered with a review of the Maryland game and a deeper preview of the OSU game on the “Exit 77” podcast which should drop later this week.

Okay Irish fans, that will do it for this week. Time to get a big W down in southern Ohio. And for any of you in the area, be on the lookout for the Irish possibly visiting an ice cream shop over the weekend. It is former ND lacrosse player Nick Harris’ parents’ treat every time the Irish come to town! Shout out Stu Harris!

Let’s Go Irish!

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