If there is one thing we have learned over the years, it is that the Notre Dame versus Ohio State lacrosse game is going to be a battle. That was no different this past Saturday as a back and forth matchup between our Irish and the Buckeyes came down to Notre Dame getting one more goal and Thomas Ricciardelli making one more stop. In the end, the Irish walked out of Columbus with a 9-8 win, moving to 5-0 on the season and solidifying the #1 ranking in the polls.
There is lots to talk about around
this win and we will get into more into detail on the game on the upcoming “Exit 77” podcast as David Brogan and I will be recording later this week.
In the meantime, let’s look at this game as a whole and what some of the storylines were around the big Irish victory.
How did the Irish win this game?
Let’s start with Thomas Ricciardelli.
By far this was Thomas’ best game of the season and it was so great to see it coming in a matchup against the goalie that many are saying is the best in the country in Caleb Fyock. Thomas was excellent on Saturday and right off the bat you could tell he was dialed in with three early saves to keep the Buckeyes off the scoreboard. Secondly, he never let OSU get more than a two goal advantage which was huge. The Buckeyes had a few opportunities to extend their lead and each time he was there to make the stop. Lastly, this game was won in the final five minutes as Thomas made multiple big stops down the stretch, including one with a few seconds left to preserve the win.
As a nice reward for all this, Thomas was named the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the week with his 14 overall saves. Kudos to Thomas, awesome to see him play at such a high level.
Luke Miller and Josh Yago stepped up big time.
In a game where Notre Dame only had four overall scorers finding the back of the net, the Irish were paced by Luke Miller’s four goals and Josh Yago’s three goals. Will Maheras and Jalen Seymour were the other two scorers, but the overall day belonged to Luke and Josh with Yago putting in the game winner with a little under three minutes to go. It’s really fun watching Luke Miller’s game evolve as he now has 12 goals and 6 assists on the season and is tied with Yago for the overall team lead with 18 points. He is finding different areas on the field to beat his man, he is playing within the offense, and he is scoring from a variety of angles. Same with Josh Yago, he has been very consistent this year and when the Irish needed a goal to win, it was a laser to the top corner to give the Irish the victory.
Now that we have talked about the some of the key players from Saturday, let’s talk about the overall defense of the Irish. This unit is becoming if not already, elite. This was an excellent game from this group and I think it continues to speak to the overall experience and feel of this unit. We have a close defense that is now on their second year in a row of a core group of Shawn Lyght, Nate Schwitzenberg and Will Gallagher. Add in the second year of Thomas Ricciardelli starting and there is just a cohesiveness and familiarity that this group plays with that is noticeable. Now we add on top of this the LSM play from Will Donovan and Christopher Iuliano and we have the middle of the field covered with two lock down defenders. Finally, our SSDMs in Christian Alacqua, Chris Reindhardt, Kyle Bergen and Miguel Iglesias, are playing at a very high level as well. It is a well orchestrated symphony right now and it’s a unit that will have the Irish in every game this spring.
Ohio State has a very good offense and I think they will continue to put up points this year as the season moves along. Notre Dame did an incredible job of limiting space for OSU, sliding at the right times, and not allowing some of their outside shooters to get time and space to hit the cage.
As a side note, I continue to be impressed with Ohio State’s Garrett Haas. He is so quick and has a tremendous change of direction that he uses at all times during games. He is a tough defend and when he is on and making plays, OSU is a really good team.
Some Overall Notes
Okay, let’s be honest, this was a HUGE win for Notre Dame’s RPI. As we look at the Big Ten and their ability to get bids into the NCAA tournament this year, we have to imagine that it is going to come down to Maryland, Penn State, Ohio State and Johns Hopkins. The Irish are now 2-0 against the Big Ten with the ability to make it 3-0 with Michigan at Arotta this upcoming weekend. We all know how much the committee looks at SOS and RPI and Notre Dame is currently sitting in a good spot.
The officiating on Saturday left a lot to be desired. There have not been a lot of penalties called in the Notre Dame games so far this year, but on Saturday there were a total of eight penalties called, with five on the Irish and three on the Buckeyes. I thought the officials let the players play at one point, but then they didn’t. I thought overall both coaches had a lot that they could complain about in this one.
Some great chemistry is forming between Josh Yago and Will Maheras. They are playing really well with the pick game up top and Will assisted on two of Josh’s goals while Josh assisted on Will’s one goal of the day. Although if pressed, I wonder if Yago would say if he was trying to skip pass to Will Angrick before Will pulled it out of the air and then hit home.
We are getting so close to Matt Jeffery and Max Busenkell really taking off. It’s just a matter of time before these two really start to hit the stat sheet. When they do, the rest of college lacrosse better look out. Getting these two fully into the mix will make the Irish just that much harder to defend.
Let’s keep an eye on that second midfield line for the Irish this upcoming Saturday. Against Ohio State we saw Teddy Lally get some run with this group, along with Gavin Burlace. Both came in for Fisher Finley so it will be interesting to see how this second midfield line shapes up against Michigan.
As stated above, this was a very even matchup and with the score tied at 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8, the overall final of 9-8 reflected the back and forth aspect of the game.
Additionally, the overall stats of the game were pretty even too with both Notre Dame and Ohio State only failing on one clear, Notre Dame won the FO dot going 12-21, and Ohio State had one more ground ball than the Irish. Really the one area where Ohio State had a clear advantage was in the overall shots at 37-28.
With the defensive battle that took place on Saturday, lots of lacrosse pundits recalling the days of the Great Western Lacrosse league and what that looked like back in the day when the Irish took on the Buckeyes.
Not a bad weekend for Irish sports in Columbus. The men’s hockey team swept the Buckeyes in three games making it a 4-0 few days for Notre Dame.
What’s Next for the Irish
The Michigan Wolverines are coming to Arlotta on Saturday for another big matchup as the Irish look to go 6-0 before getting a two week break before their next game. It’s another opportunity to beat a Big Ten team and finish the regular season at 3-0 against the conference, squarely putting the Irish in a terrific spot when it comes time to discuss seeding and the NCAA tournament.
Michigan is 3-4 on the year and after starting off with three dominating wins, they have now lost four straight as their competition has increased. It’s been a tough go for them with their defense letting in an average of almost 15 goals across these last four games. Their offense has also taken a step back and failing to get to ten goals in the last two games against Denver and Harvard.
Some familiar faces to Irish fans will be on Michigan’s sidelines as Liam Entenmann and Will Corrigan are on the Wolverine staff. So neat to see these two coaching at the highest levels and would imagine this will be a bittersweet moment for them as they will be on the opposite side of the field from where they were for so many years. No matter the outcome, anyone else excited to watch the handshakes after the game? What a cool moment that will be on a variety of levels when the coaches get to each other.
We say this each and every week….it’s hard to win college lacrosse games so you have to bring your intensity and that competitive mindset each and every time you step out on the field. Saturday will be no different and there is nothing Michigan would like to do more than end their skid and beat the #1 ranked team in the country. The Irish can’t look ahead to their week off and we must continue to play our game and be the best team on the field.
It’s going to be a great matchup at 12 PM EST on Saturday and if you have the chance to be there, get out to Arlotta and cheer on the boys. After this game, there are only five more regular season games and only two more opportunities to see the Irish play in South Bend.
Let’s Go Irish!
