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MLAX: No. 1 Notre Dame beats No. 5 Virginia, 11-9, to finish regular season

Tyler James

All Star
Staff
Dec 31, 2021
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Notre Dame men's lacrosse finished its regular season Saturday by completing a sweep of ACC opponents.

The No. 1 Irish capped a 4-0 conference record with an 11-9 victory over No. 5 Virginia.

Notre Dame (10-1) did so with a strong defensive performance. The Irish held Virginia (10-4, 1-3 ACC) to its lowest goal opponent since May 2022. The Cavaliers scored six goals in the first half but only managed six shots on goal in the second half.

Notre Dame goaltender Liam Entenmann saved 11 shots in the game. Virginia's Matthew Nunes saved 10, but he allowed 11 in a losing effort.

The 11 goals for Notre Dame are its second-lowest total of the season behind a 10-goal performance in an overtime loss to Georgetown in February.

Seven Notre Dame players accounted for goals in the win over Virginia. Devon McLane led the Irish with three goals. Pat Kavanagh and Jake Taylor both logged two goals. Chris Kavanagh, Jordan Faison, Jeffery Ricciardelli and Max Busenkell each put one in the net.

Faison scored the go-ahead goal at 10-9 with 9:12 remaining in the game. McLane beat the shot clock on an assist from Busenkell with 3:41 left to give Notre Dame a little breathing room.

Pat Kavanagh, a graduate student, added two assists to set Notre Dame's career points record with 274. He surpassed Randy Colley's 273, which was set in 1995. Chris Kavanagh, Pat's younger brother, and Busenkell also added tallied two assists on the attack.

The Irish picked up a season-high 50 ground balls. Entenmann and Will Lynch each picked up six ground balls.

Notre Dame's 10-1 record includes a 5-0 record against top-10 opponents this season. The Irish have won eight straight games in a season for the first time since winning 10 in a row during the 2012 season.

No. 1 seed Notre Dame and No. 4 seed Virginia will meet again Friday in Charlotte, N.C., at American Legion Memorial Stadium for the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The game will be televised on ACC Network at 5 p.m. EDT.

No. 2 seed Syracuse (11-4, 3-1) and No. 3 seed Duke (11-4, 1-3) will play Friday at 8 p.m. The champonship game will be played Sunday, May 5, at 12 p.m.

BOX SCORE: Notre Dame 11, Virginia 9
 
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