The Irish know they control the outcome against Quinnipiac in their final regular season game this Saturday, but a few extra trips to the Grotto this week can't hurt.
Notre Dame will learn between Wednesday and Saturday if they have a realistic chance to make the NCAA Tournament. The team is 9-4 (2-2 in the Greater Western Lacrosse League) and ranked No. 15 by the Inside Lacrosse Men's Media Poll and No. 18 by the STX Coaches Poll. With only 16 teams making the NCAA Tournament, that ranking may not be enough for the Irish.
"I'm not worried about the polls right now, but things are going to have to fall just right for us to get in," Irish coach Kevin Corrigan said.
Of the 16 available spots, seven go to conference champions and nine are awarded to at-large bids. A committee determines who receives the at-large bids.
"The polls are inaccurate at best because the committee doesn't go by the polls," Corrigan said. "The only way to be certain to get in is to get into the top ten in the eyes of the committee."
Getting into the top ten in the country might be a bit of a stretch for the No. 15/18 Irish, but there are some teams in reach. No. 16/15 Penn State (8-4) plays No. 5/5 Georgetown this weekend for the championship of the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC). With a loss, the Nittany Lions would miss out on the ECAC's automatic bid and finish with a worse record than the Irish.
Another team that Notre Dame could pass is No. 11/12 Towson. The Tigers (8-5) play Delaware (11-4) in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association on Wednesday night. A loss would deprive Towson of their fourth consecutive CAA championship and would guarantee it finishes with a worse record than Notre Dame.
But Coach Corrigan knows that all his team can do is try turn in an impressive performance this Saturday against Quinnipiac, and he sees it as a last chance opportunity to make a statement to the committee.
Quinnipiac (7-5, 1-3 in the GWLL) is coming off an impressive 12-9 win over conference rival Butler.
"It's the only thing we can control," Corrigan said. "The biggest statement we can make is to beat them. I'm not going to worry about the margin because we need to focus on winning the game."
