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Notre Dame

Notre Dame men’s lacrosse to begin NCAA Tournament at No. 4 Ohio State

IMG_9992by: Tyler Horka05/05/25tbhorka
Chris kavanagh
Notre Dame men's lacrosse attackman Chris Kavanagh. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)

To keep the dream of winning a third consecutive national championship alive, Notre Dame men’s lacrosse must avenge a loss to an opponent it was already defeated by earlier this season. The unseeded Fighting Irish (8-4) begin the 2025 NCAA Tournament on the road at No. 4 seed Ohio State (14-2) on Sunday, May 11.

The Buckeyes beat the Irish, 10-9, at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend on March 8.

Ohio State is coming off a victory in the Big 10 championship game. The Buckeyes handled Maryland, 14-10, to claim the conference crown. Notre Dame meanwhile, lost 14-12 to Syracuse in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. The Irish had won three games in a row and five of their last six entering the tournament. Their last two losses are to the Orange, and their last loss to a team not named Syracuse was against Ohio State.

Notre Dame would not have to worry about facing Syracuse again until the national championship game if the Irish are to advance that far. The Orange are on the opposite end of the bracket. If the Irish upset Ohio State, they’ll play the winner of No. 5 seed Penn State and Colgate in the quarterfinals with a spot in the Final Four on the line. This year’s Final Four takes place May 24 and 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

On the same side of the bracket as the Irish, No. 1 seed Cornell will face the winner of UAlbany and Siena. No. 8 seed North Carolina and Richmond are the possible opponents for Cornell if the Big Red inevitably take out one of the play-in teams, as they should. Cornell is 14-1 and has a 10-game winning streak, the longest in the country, going into the postseason.

In addition to Syracuse, the other side of the bracket features No. 2 seed Maryland, No. 3 seed Princeton and No. 7 seed Duke. The Irish lost to the Terrapins, 11-10, but beat the Blue Devils, 14-7. In addition to the victory over Duke, Notre Dame has wins over North Carolina and Georgetown to make it three triumphs over teams in the NCAA Tournament field.

Notre Dame is led by senior Chris Kavnagh‘s 53 points. He also leads the team with 31 goals, which is a higher total than the Irish’s second-leading scorer, Jake Taylor, has points (30). It hasn’t been as high-flying of a season for the Irish as the last two, as evidenced by more losses this year alone than in the last two combined, but when they’re at their best the Irish can still compete at an extraordinarily high level.

It’s time to see if they’ve got any of that left in them when it matters most.

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