In the final home game of the regular season, Notre Dame's men's lacrosse team defeated North Carolina 14-6 in front of a crowd of approximately 3,300. The Tar Heels have now lost five in a row and are 6-7 on the season, but still have to face Duke in the final game of the regular season. North Carolina State has not scored more than nine goals in the past four meetings with the Irish.
The two teams were almost evenly matched through the first half of the game, with only one player from Ireland entering the locker room at halftime. For the second time this season, the Irish were actually losing in the first quarter, but it didn't last very long.
However, in the second half, Notre Dame gained momentum and outscored their opponents 9-2.
It was a team win for Notre Dame, with junior attacker Chris Kavanagh having three goals and two assists, graduate attacker Pat Kavanagh having two goals and four assists, and graduate midfielder Devon McClain having three goals. Pat Kavanaugh is three points away from tying Notre Dame's all-time scoring record. Liam Entenman made 12 saves, increasing his career save count to 658, and the defense was extremely destructive on the field, securing 10 turnovers.
With the win, the Irish improve to 3-0 in the ACC before traveling to Charlottesville to face Virginia this Saturday. They can also win at least part of the ACC title for the fourth time in program history. After that, of course, comes the ACC and NCAA tournaments, where the team will look to defend its national title.
The team should also be in a good position to make that happen. The Irish have performed well all year and are definitely one of the teams to beat heading into this year's regular season finale and postseason.