Notre Dame roundup: Chris Kavanagh leads men's lacrosse past Ohio State
After a surprising loss to Georgetown on Feb. 25, Notre Dame men’s lacrosse is back on the right track as it defends its 2023 national championship. Led by junior attackman Chris Kavanagh‘s 8 points, the No. 2/3 Irish dispatched RV/RV Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
Kavanagh scored 5 goals and dished out 3 assists, including one to junior attackman Jeffery Ricciardelli in the early fourth quarter that would eventually become the game-winning goal. With the win, Notre Dame improved to 4-1 on the season.
After his career high-tying performance in both goals and points, Kavanagh is tied for the team lead with graduate attackman Jake Taylor in the former and his brother, graduate attackman Pat Kavanagh, in the latter. The Rockville Centre, N.Y. native has 15 goals and 8 assists so far in 2024, giving him 23 points.
Notre Dame returns home at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, when the Irish will take on No. 19/12 Michigan in South Bend. The Wolverines are 5-2 so far this season, coming off a loss to No. 12/19 Harvard.
Notre Dame softball goes 4-1 in Huntington, W.V.
In softball, the Irish participated in Marshall March Madness over the weekend in Huntington, W.V. against Indiana State (two games), Marshall (one) and Ball State (two). The Irish went 4-1, splitting the two Ball State games, and one of their strongest hitters set a new program record.
With a walk in the bottom of the first inning Sunday against the Cardinals, first baseman Karina Gaskins drew her 121st career base on balls. That’s the most walks any Notre Dame softball player has drawn in program history. Gaskins blasted a 2-run homer in the third, giving the Irish a five-run lead that would hold for the duration of their 11-3 win.
Notre Dame is 12-9 (0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Up next is a home-opening double header against Bowling Green on Tuesday in South Bend.
Irish fall to Virginia in women’s lacrosse
It’s been a bumpy road for No. 8 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse since the Irish pulled off a monumental upset over No. 1 Northwestern. Notre Dame fell to 5-2 (1-2 ACC) on Saturday after losing to Virginia 12-10 at home.
After entering the fourth quarter down 11-8, the senior Irish midfielder Mary Kelly Doherty scored 2 quick goals to bring Notre Dame within 1. However, Virginia struck back with a goal of its own and held the Irish scoreless the rest of the way.
A two-game road trip awaits Notre Dame this week, staring with a matchup against No. 23 Brown and ending with a difficult ACC game against No. 2 Boston College.
Notre Dame baseball swept by Virginia Tech
From March 2 to March 10, Notre Dame played eight games against Virginia Tech across four sports. The Irish went 1-7, although they won the most important matchup on their way to an ACC women’s basketball tournament championship.
In baseball this weekend, the Hokies dominated the Irish, sweeping the three-game series by a combined score of 32-16. Notre Dame fell behind early each time and couldn’t climb out of the holes, exemplified by its 4-run rally in the ninth inning Sunday falling short and ending in an 11-8 loss.
The Irish (9-5, 0-3 ACC) will look to rebound Tuesday and Wednesday with a two-game road series at Radford before traveling to Tallahassee, Fla. for a three-game weekend set against Florida State.
