Notre Dame Men's Lacrosse Wins ACC Championship
Limping into the ACC Championship this weekend with a 6-5 record, 1-3 in the league and losers in four of their previous six games, Notre Dame men’s lacrosse won the tournament with a 14-11 upset of No. 1 Duke on Friday and 17-7 versus No. 11 Virginia on Sunday.
Three weeks earlier on April 7, Notre Dame lost 8-2 to Duke — but on Saturday responded with a season high 14-goal output versus the Blue Devils.
Instead of a letdown, head coach Kevin Corrigan’s No. 16-ranked Fighting Irish responded by crushing the Cavaliers 17-7 — their most goals since 2016 — Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville. It was the second ACC title for the Irish since joining the league five years ago.
A 1981 Virginia graduate, Corrigan and the Irish recorded their seventh straight conquest of the Cavaliers.
Sophomores Bryan Costabile and Brian Willetts and junior Ryder Garnsey each tallied three goals, while seniors Mikey Wynne, Brendan Collins and Pierre Byrne had two apiece. The scoring was rounded out by junior Tommy Phillips and senior Jordan Walter.
Costabile was named tournament MVP while Garnsey, senior John Sexton and freshman goalie Matt Schmidt (nine saves versus Virginia) joined him on the ACC All-Tournament team.
After falling behind 1-0 to Virginia, Costabile scored consecutive goals to help the Irish to a 3-1 lead that ballooned to 8-3 by halftime.
Once Notre Dame scored the first three goals of the third quarter for an 11-3 cushion — the largest of the season against any foe — the Irish were not threatened while forcing a season high 25 turnovers. Notre Dame also recorded 45 ground balls, with Sexton picking up a career high eight.
Notre Dame finishes the regular season at home next Saturday versus Army.
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