Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 AUGUST 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE S hortly after Notre Dame men's la- crosse fell to Georgetown in 11-10 overtime Feb. 25, Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan called his mom. He passed their conversation along to his players, who had just suffered their first loss in 301 days and first home loss in 337. They needed to hear it. "She told him, 'You're only champi- ons for one day,'" graduate student at- tackman Pat Kavanagh told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "It was basically just a total reset —we put last year's championship completely behind us. We were never talking about it again." It was a wake-up call. Despite winning the program's first national title in 2023 and entering 2024 with nine returning starters, the Irish were not invincible. And not only that, they were one or two losses away from serious danger. Looking at its upcoming schedule, Notre Dame knew there would be no off weeks. It was juggernaut after jug- gernaut after juggernaut. If Corrigan's group played like it did against George- town in any one of those games, it could very well lose again. The Irish also remembered what happened in 2022, when they believed they had a shot at a title but missed the NCAA Tournament due to three early- season blemishes — starting with a home loss to Georgetown. "We did not want to put ourselves in a vulnerable situation toward the end of the year," Corrigan said. "We were very aware of that, and that just amped it up." And amp it up, they did. "I think the week of practice lead- ing up to Maryland, which was the next game after Georgetown, was probably the most intense and competitive week of practice that I've been a part of at Notre Dame," graduate student goalie Liam Entenmann said. Players were more physical than usual, sometimes to the point of out- right pushing and shoving each other. They went back to the basics, running what Kavanagh described as "gritty" ground ball drills. At one point, Kavanagh and Enten- mann — co-captains who were team- mates in high school and are very close friends — got in each other's faces and started jawing at each other. "Nothing bad," Entenmann said. "Just out of straight competitiveness." After the Georgetown game, Pat Kava- nagh and his brother, junior attackman Chris Kavanagh, stayed in the locker room for some time. They asked themselves what identity they wanted this team to have as it looked to repeat as champions. They found that identity quickly. Notre Dame never lost again. "It was a blessing in disguise," Pat Ka- vanagh said. "Looking back after how the rest of the season played out, it was exactly what we needed." 'POETRY IN MOTION' The Irish scraped by with victories of three goals or less against Ohio State, Syracuse, Duke, Cornell and Virginia during the regular season. But in the ACC Tournament, the Irish found their stride. More specifically, they blew the two teams many considered to be their big- gest threats for a repeat championship completely out of the water. "It certainly was a bit of a surprise to us," Corrigan said. "We played very well, and the matchups those days favored us." Notre Dame beat Virginia 18-9 in the UNSTOPPABLE Notre Dame men's lacrosse makes 'best team ever' case, winning second straight national championship Brothers, left to right, Pat Kavanagh (49 assists, 80 points) and Chris Kavanagh (44 goals, 81 points) led Notre Dame offensively. Pat finished as the Tewaaraton Award winner (best male lacrosse player nationally) and the ACC Male Athlete of the Year, and Chris was named the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Championship. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS