Notre Dame men’s lacrosse: Irish ranked 5th in nation in latest poll

After beginning the season 2-0 with dominant wins over Cleveland State and 17th ranked Richmond, Notre Dame men’s lacrosse is now ranked 5th in the nation.

The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team came into the 2020 season ranked 8th in the nation. They squared off against Cleveland State University in their first game of the season, defeating the Vikings easily by the score of 17-7, scoring 13 unanswered goals at one point in the contest.

Following the defeat of Cleveland State, Notre Dame would jump from the 8th ranked team in the nation to the 6th ranked team. After the jump in rankings, the team would face off against a 17th ranked Richmond team that had also jumped two spots in the national rankings prior to the contest.

The Irish lax team would have another dominant performance, downing the Spiders by a score of 13-5. Following the victory, Notre Dame would receive another bump in the rankings, this time jumping from 6th to 5th in the national rankings.

It should also be noted that on February 24th, Nike Lacrosse and Lacrosse Magazine ranked the Irish lacrosse program as the third best program in the nation, behind only Penn State and Yale. Regardless of which ranking one feels holds the most clout, the conclusion remains the same, Notre Dame currently has one of the best lacrosse programs in the entire nation.

Notre Dame came into the year with a highly-touted defensive corps and one of the best midfield groups in the nation, led by Tewaarton Award watchlist candidates Jack Kielty (defense) and Bryan Costabile (midfield). The Tewaarton Award is given to the most outstanding collegiate lacrosse player.

So far Kielty and the Irish defense has remained stout, as was expected and Costabile has been a solid performer with four goals and an assist through his first two games. Fellow midfielders Quinn McCahon and Wheaton Jackoboice have also played prominent roles in the Irish dominance thus far with McCahon netting four goals and Jackoboice scoring two goals and dishing out two assists.

While the Notre Dame defenders and middies have lived up to their lofty expectations so far, the Irish have received contributions at attack and goalie from two freshman phenoms that have helped further propel an already talented team.

Freshman attacker Pat Kavanagh has started the first two games of his collegiate career in impressive fashion. The Rockville Centre, New York native has scored seven goals and assisted on another five goals in what has been an incredible start at Notre Dame for the freshman.

Meanwhile, Kavanagh’s Chaminade High School teammate and fellow freshman sensation Liam Entenmann has been excellent in goal for the Irish, winning the first two games of his collegiate career. Because the Irish defense has been so tough, Entenmann has only faced a total of 23 shots in his first two games, saving 16 of them, but has played impressively nonetheless.

Notre Dame will look to continue their impressive start to the season as they go on the road to face off against the 7th ranked Terrapins of Maryland University on Saturday in what is expected to be one of the most difficult games on the schedule for the Irish.

If Notre Dame can continue their winning ways, there is no reason to believe that they will not be a legitimate contender for a National Championship. Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan has undoubtedly turned Notre Dame into a perennial contender, having had the Irish ranked in the top ten to finish the season in his past nine years.

Despite an impressive amount of conference regular-season championships (23), NCAA tournament appearances (24), conference tournament championships (4), NCAA tournament Final Four appearances (5) and second-place finishes in the NCAA tournament (2), the Notre Dame lacrosse team is still searching for their first National Championship. Perhaps this is the year they finally win that elusive championship for their legendary coach with what looks to be a very talented team.