Syracuse men’s lacrosse prepares for a matchup with talented Notre Dame

Syracuse men’s lacrosse is scolding hot. No, that’s not an April Fool’s joke. This past weekend, the Orange (6-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) picked up their third straight win. That means another victory this Saturday would make ‘Cuse history – for the first time under second-year head coach Gary Gait SU will have won four in a row.

Number three came in a big silver award – the Kraus Simmons Trophy. Syracuse steamrolled Hobart in an 18-7 thrashing, keeping the trophy in the 315. The Orange have now retained possession of the coveted prize 33 times in the 36 years it’s been contended for. And it can’t come at a more deserving time. Over this three-game stretch, the ‘Cuse has outscored its opponents by a total of 35 goals, making life absolutely miserable for opposing goalkeepers.

The Statesmen jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but it was all Orange after that. SU fired back with a 7-0 run to take a lead that would never leave its side. While the offense did prove to win the day for Syracuse, slow starts have become a familiar sight for the Orange.

“We kind of have the tendency to start a little slow,” goalkeeper Will Mark said postgame. “We did that against Hofstra, too. So, I think we just need to come out of the gate a little faster, but there were really no adjustments. We were prepared and we knew exactly what they wanted, so we just need to settle in a little quicker”.

The SU attack was the story of the day, bombarding Hobart with shot after shot. The ‘Cuse amassed 60 shots throughout the contest. While only 31 of those shots actually found the target, the Statesmen were under consistent pressure and saw no way out.

Stealing the spotlight was Syracuse freshman Joey Spallina, notching six points on the afternoon for the third consecutive game. The Long Islander finished with four goals and added two assists, two of those goals were the product of the trademark no-look backhanded shovel shot. The former number one overall recruit is now up to 27 goals on the season to lead the team. And with his four scores, Spallina moved into 10th place on SU’s freshman scoring list, passing head coach Gary Gait.

But if you ask Joey, the list was never even on his mind.

“I had no idea,” the freshman said postgame. “It’s pretty cool, but we’re just looking forward to Notre Dame now.”

When you hear Notre Dame, especially around the St. Patrick’s Day season, Luck of the Irish might come to mind. But no luck has been needed in South Bend this spring. The No. 3 Fighting Irish (6-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) have been one of the nation’s top squads so far this season.

This weekend will mark the 20th meeting between Notre Dame and Syracuse, the Orange holding a slim 10-9 all-time advantage over the Irish. Yet ND has been on top as of late, winning the last five games between the two, including both meetings last season. The ladder of the two came in the form of an 18-11 loss in SU’s regular-season finale, capping off one of the worst campaigns in program history.

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Fast forward to 2023, and the Irish are real contenders to host the national championship trophy in a few months. Notre Dame started the season winners of six straight, including victories over then-No. 4 Maryland and then-No. 10 Ohio State. ND averages the third-most goals per game in the nation, and through just seven games, has notched 111 total goals. Twelve of those goals have come on man-up opportunities, with the Fighting Irish boasting the second-best team in the country at converting extra-man attempts. It wasn’t until this past Saturday that Notre Dame dropped its first game of the year, losing its number-one ranking. The defeat came at the hands of then-No. 3 Virginia 15-10. Now, the Irish are looking to return to their winning ways.

The name to know for Notre Dame is Kavanagh. Pat and Chris Kavanagh lead the ND attack unit and have caused problems for opponents all season long. The duo who hail from Rockville Center, N.Y. are the younger brothers of Matt Kavanagh, one of the greatest players to ever come through South Bend’s lacrosse program. So far this year, Pat and Chris have combined for 35 goals and 69 points to contribute a major part in this team’s early success.

Pat Kavanagh came into the season as Tewaaraton Award favorite and has had a solid campaign thus far. The senior has 12 goals and 26 assists, leading the Irish with 38 points. But his younger brother, Chris, has stepped into the spotlight as the focal point of the attack. The sophomore already has a team-high 23 goals after finishing with just 22 last year.

If the high-powered offensive skillset isn’t enough reason to tune in to watch the pair, the work that Pat is doing off the field this season is something more to root for:

Defensively, the Irish have been among the top in the country this season. ND ranks sixth in the NCAA in goals allowed per game (9.14). To give credit where credit is due, we can’t move on without talking about one of the top goalies in the game, Liam Entenmann. The senior is one of the leaders on this Notre Dame squad, stepping between the pipes to lead this stout Irish defense. The Point Lookout, N.Y. product, fresh off winning gold in the U21 world championship this summer, carries a 57% save percentage that is seventh-best in all of D-1.

Last season, Notre Dame didn’t make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 after finishing the season 8-4. The Irish started slowly sitting at 2-4 before winning six straight and sharing the ACC title with Virginia. Still, that wasn’t enough to earn a bid. Head coach Kevin Corrigan is in his 35th year with the Irish, making him the longest-tenured D-1 lacrosse coach. In the preseason, Corrigan said last year’s result doesn’t deter from the week-to-week mission.

"Our goal is not going to be if we are playing in the tournament, rather who we are playing."

A chance for a fourth-straight win in the Gary Gait coach era comes Saturday in the Dome. For Syracuse, it marks both the home finale of the 2023 campaign and Senior Day. The Orange have had great success in the past with the final home game of the season, going 35-6 all-time in the regular season home finale since 1981. The Irish aim to play spoiler to the afternoon’s festivities and get right back to their winning ways. Game time is set for 2 p.m. with WAER’s Coverage rolling at 1:30 p.m. with McClurg Team Countdown to Faceoff.