Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1517388
48 APRIL 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE D epending on who you ask inside Notre Dame men's lacrosse circles, you're going to get a different answer on whether playing as the reigning national champions this season is more of a blessing or a curse. Graduate student attackman Jake Taylor believes it's a bless- ing, and that the experiences from winning it all last season will better prepare Notre Dame for when the postseason opens with the ACC Tournament May 3. "It's a good motivator know- ing how winning the title feels, knowing what it's like to be in that position and to have won it," Taylor said. "It shows us ev- erything we need to know about how to get there and how it's possible." No t s u r p r i s i n g ly, ve te ra n Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan takes a slightly different stance. "Last year was wonderful, but last year is over. It was over a day after the championship game," said Corri- gan, who made it to the championship weekend five other times, including two finishes as the runners-up, during his 36 years at the helm before punch- ing his first title ticket in trip No. 6 in 2023. "So, take what good you can from it and guard against looking backwards, or feeling proud or confident about something that this team hasn't accom- plished yet, because that's where the focus needs to be." There's likely a blend of some good and some bad playing as the trophy holders. Corrigan went on to say that there is nothing wrong with taking some of the lessons from last year's first-ever program title and applying them to this season. "As long as it doesn't bring any con- tentment," Corrigan added, "then I don't have any problem with our guys feeling confident after they earned that." Indeed, there is no room for compla- cency with the grind of the ACC sched- ule coming fast, a conference that fea- tured four teams ranked in the top 10 of the media poll released March 11. The Fighting Irish checked in at No. 2 after a 4-1 start. CLEARING HURDLES As a fifth-year player, Taylor is the first to admit that despite all the per- sonal and team successes he enjoyed during his first four seasons with the Irish, his journey hasn't always stayed on course. As a Notre Dame freshman in 2020, the Denver native appeared in two of five games for the Irish before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. With the pandemic behind and Tay- lor set to enjoy a breakout season in 2021, his sophomore campaign ended abruptly when he suffered an ACL in- jury after only two games. Taylor became a starter about midway through his junior season. And despite appearing in only seven of Notre Dame's 12 games that season, he still led the Irish with 27 goals and finished fourth on the team with 29 points. Taylor actually set Notre Dame's single-game record that season with 8 goals against Syracuse in his first career start, earning US Lacrosse Magazine National Player of the Week honors. "Jake has a very unique kind of skill set," Corrigan said. "He's a super smart player. He's very clever. He's very creative and very knowledgeable of the game in terms of knowing how to get himself open. And then part of his skill set is his mind, his cre- ativity, his ability to see things maybe a second or two before other people do." Poised for a breakout senior season in 2023, the unthinkable happened again when Taylor suffered another ACL injury in the preseason that caused him to miss the first month of last season while recovering from surgery. Undeterred, Taylor returned and still finished third on the Irish with 30 goals last year, and ranked sixth in the ACC in goals per game with 2.5. "People have to defend him, they have to account for him at all times," Corri- gan added. "And our guys, on the other hand, having learned how to play with him, they know you always have to keep an eye out for Jake." Memorably, Taylor scored the big- gest goal of Notre Dame's national title run last season in the national semifinal against No. 2 Virginia on a twisting shot from 10 yards that tied the game at 12 with 32 seconds left in regulation, set- ting up a 13-12 Irish victory in overtime. Completely recovered both physically and mentally from his two ACL surger- ies — one on each knee — Taylor is en- joying the most production of his Irish career in 2024 during his fifth season with the Irish. "Being healthier this season has defi- nitely helped me feel more comfortable going into games and being a bit more confident in myself and my abilities," said Taylor, who through five games was Graduate student Jake Taylor was tied for the team lead in goals (15) and was tied for fourth in the ACC in goals per game (3.00) through March 10. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Men's Lacrosse Looking For A Repeat Performance