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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Observer

Irish set for home opener

With the lacrosse season underway, the No. 1 Irish open their home season against Bellarmine on Wednesday.

A Great Western Lacrosse League opponent for Notre Dame, Bellarmine (1-1) last met the Irish (1-0) in 2009, and the Irish won, 11-6.

Notre Dame takes to its home turf after beating No. 13 Georgetown, 12-7, in its season opener Saturday at the Cobb County Classic in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Irish exploded early with four goals in the opening period, as junior midfielder and All-American Sergio Perkovic scored two of his team-high four goals. Junior goaltender Shane Doss notched six saves in that same time, ultimately finishing the contest with 14.

“I think we did really well [on faceoffs] against Georgetown, and we will obviously need that to continue,” senior captain and defender Matt Landis said. “Then our defense played really well. The whole team played very well.”

Those faceoffs will be key to the Irish dominating possession in their games going forward. Junior midfielder P.J. Finley won 16 of 21 his faceoffs against the Hoyas. And in addition to contributing to Notre Dame’s ability to score, dominating possession will help the other Irish in front of their own net as well, Landis said.

“P.J. with faceoffs has been huge in determining our possession,” Landis said. “And from there it’s about holding off the ball when it comes down to it, making good decision and taking good shots.”

Irish sophomore midfielder Pierre Byrne looks towards the crease during Notre Dame’s scrimmage against Air Force on Jan. 30 at Loftus Sports Center. Byrne scored two goals in eight games last season.
Irish sophomore midfielder Pierre Byrne looks towards the crease during Notre Dame’s scrimmage against Air Force on Jan. 30 at Loftus Sports Center. Byrne scored two goals in eight games last season.


Landis said some of the younger players have jumped right in and found their place in the Irish defensive core.

“It take pressure off our defense,” Landis said. “We’re trying all three starters [in a rotation], myself, [junior] Garrett Epple and [senior] Eddy Glazener. There’s a lot of familiarity with how we play and our tendencies, so as the younger guys catch on our defense is going to be really good.”

The Knights, meanwhile, won their season and home opener, 11-10, over Robert Morris on Feb. 13. However they went on to fall 9-7 at Marquette on Saturday. Currently junior attack Tucker Ciessau leads the Knights with five goals and an assist, while fellow attacks Dylan Gatt and Jack Perkins trail close behind with four goals each. And like Doss, Bellarmine sophomore goaltender Chase Rose has gotten off to a solid start, securing 21 saves and posting a 52.5 percent save percentage.

“They have a couple good players and run transition really well,” Landis said. “We’ve been preparing for that. They have some good midfielders that will be a big test, but I think we will handle them really well.”

This early in the season, though, with just two games study, it’s hard to tell just exactly what the Irish are facing in the Knights, Landis said.

“We haven’t really had a chance to watch that much film on them and understand their actions this early in the season, so it will be important for our defense to use what we know about ourselves to properly defend them. And same applies to the offense in order to succeed and score,” he said.

Landis also said the Irish will further hone in on playing to their own strengths playing at home for the first time this season when Notre Dame and Bellarmine meet at Loftus Sports Center on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

“Absolutely, I’m excited to play at home,” Landis said. “It’s our last first home game as seniors, and we’re really excited to get this season underway and back at it at home. I think everyone is really looking forward to it. For the freshman, it’s their first. It’s a really big deal.”