The Georgetown Hoyas handed Notre Dame men’s lacrosse its only loss of the 2024 season in South Bend. In 2025, they represented the first test of 2025 for the No. 1 Irish. Last year’s matchup was an 11-10 defensive battle ending with a Georgetown game-winner in overtime. This year’s contest took a similar tune, but this time, the nation’s best outlasted the Hoyas 11-9 on the road en route to their first ranked win of the season.
Notre Dame set the tone in the opening frame, opening up with 6 unanswered goals, including two from senior midfielder Will Angrick along with scores from senior attacker Chris Kavanagh, senior midfielder Fisher Finley, junior long-stick midfielder Will Donovan and senior midfielder Jalen Seymour. The Hoyas responded with a 6-0 run of their own, scoring the quarter's final 2 goals before carrying momentum into the second where they leveled the score at 6-6. Graduate midfielder Devon McLane’s first and Kavanagh’s second of the day closed out the half, giving the Irish an 8-6 advantage after 30 minutes.
Scoring slowed down in the second half, as both teams played to a scoreless third quarter. In the first five minutes of the fourth, after Seymour struck again followed by sophomore midfielder Jordan Faison’s first goal of the season in his first game back, it appeared the Irish might cruise to victory. However, the Hoyas fought back once again, scoring 3 straight to trim the lead to 1 with four minutes remaining. That’s when Kavanagh proved why he is on the short list of college lacrosse’s best. With under two minutes remaining, his team on the ropes, the captain went to work from the left wing, driving at the goal and converting a diving effort through contact. Junior goalkeeper Thomas Ricciardelli stuffed Georgetown’s final good look at goal to all but seal it for the Irish.
Filling the shoes of Liam Entenmann is near impossible, but Ricciardelli gave his best impression of the legendary Notre Dame netminder on Saturday. After winning the starting job, he played his best game, starring with 16 saves on the day. His saves played a pivotal role in shutting down the Georgetown offense and helping the Irish hang on to their lead in the fourth quarter, where he made four of his 16 all in big moments.
While not the most explosive offensive output the Irish have produced, the Notre Dame midfield powered the attack facing one of the best defenses in the country, scoring 8 of the team’s 11 goals. In a game where the possession battle was especially vital, senior FOGO Will Lynch came through at the dot, securing 15 of 22 faceoffs while scooping eight ground balls. Notre Dame extends its program-best win streak to 17 games, winning 39 of its last 42 dating back to April 2, 2022. Kavanagh’s hat trick and assist moved him to fifth on the Notre Dame career goals list and fifth on the career points list, the senior now boasting 121 and 193 respectively.
The Irish now set their sights on a battle between the nation’s best with No. 2 Maryland on March 1 in Bobby Dodd Stadium for the Atlanta Lacrosse Invitational.
