Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2025 41 BY TODD D. BURLAGE R ock bottom arrived for Will Angrick in February 2023 when the budding Irish lacrosse star was sidelined for his entire sophomore season after suffer- ing a torn ACL only about a week before opening day. Coming off a solid freshman year when he played in all 12 games, tallied 10 points and scored at least 1 goal in seven straight games, the gifted midfielder couldn't wait to make an even bigger impact during his second season. Instead, the Bethesda, Md., native faced surgery and rehab. "I was playing my best lacrosse at that point," Angrick said. "When that happened, it was easy to ask, 'Why me?' and have some self-pity. It was super tough on me." Tough indeed, but through the support of his teammates, coaches and the Notre Dame medical staff, Angrick worked through his rehab and gained an entirely new appreciation for the program. "I still felt like I was part of the team, even though I obviously couldn't con- tribute on the field," he said. "But be- ing around the guys and watching them play on Saturdays, and then to win the national championship, that was still a magical season." Back to full health as a junior in 2024, Angrick helped the Fighting Irish to their second straight national title last season when he recorded 9 points in six postseason games, including 1 goal and 1 assist in the national title game victory over Maryland. And now as a senior team leader, An- grick entered this postseason looking for an encore performance, and a third straight national championship at the only school and team he ever wanted to attend and play for. Angrick's father, Bill, as well as an aunt and two uncles, all attended Notre Dame. "My whole family bled blue and gold and were Irish fans. I was just kind of adopted into the fandom. I've always loved Notre Dame," said Angrick, who became a campus regular at Irish foot- ball weekends as a youngster. "Even if I wasn't a big fan of the school, I would've still picked it as the place I wanted to go because of the strong academic, athletic and cultural aspect there is here." Will Angrick became an Irish lacrosse fan in 2010 when he attended the national championship game between Notre Dame and Duke at M&T Bank Stadium in Balti- more, in front of 38,000 attendees. "Even though Notre Dame lost that game, I never stopped dreaming about playing here and getting a chance to com- pete in that kind of atmosphere," said An- grick, who will return to the Irish for a fifth season in 2026 as a graduate student. Angrick and Notre Dame were set to begin their push for a third consecutive national title with an NCAA first-round game May 11 at No. 4 seed Ohio State. ✦ Irish Roundup BASEBALL (26-19 OVERALL, 12-15 ACC) Won eight straight games from April 15-27, including a pair of three-game ACC sweeps at Stanford and home versus Cal during which it outscored its two Golden State foes 54-18 … Lost to Purdue 11-5 April 29 … Took two of three games at home against Louisville May 1-3. MEN'S GOLF Placed 10th at the ACC Championships with a 9-over-par team score of 873 April 24-28 in Bowling Green, Ky. WOMEN'S GOLF Finished 15th in the ACC Championships with a 53-over team score of 917 April 16-19 at Greensboro, N.C. MEN'S LACROSSE (8-4 OVERALL, 3-1 ACC) Picked up a 12-6 win at North Carolina April 19 and notched a 10-8 triumph over Penn April 26 in South Bend … Fell to No. 4 seed Syracuse 14-12 in the semifinals of the ACC Championship May 2 at Charlotte, N.C. … Earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship and was set to face No. 4 seed Ohio State in the first round May 11 at Columbus, Ohio. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (7-8 OVERALL, 2-7 ACC) Closed the season with a 17-6 win over Louisville April 17 in South Bend … Did not qualify for the ACC Championship. SOFTBALL (23-30-1 OVERALL, 7-17 ACC) Finished the season with nine losses in their final 13 contests … Earned the No. 11 seed in the ACC Championship and was set to face No. 6 seed North Carolina in the first round May 7 in Brighton, Mass. MEN'S TENNIS (14-15 OVERALL, 1-12 ACC) Earned the No. 15 and split its two matches in the ACC Championship April 16-17 at Cary, N.C., defeat- ing No. 10 seed Miami 4-3 in the first round before falling 4-1 to No. 7 seed Duke in the second round. WOMEN'S TENNIS (21-6 OVERALL, 9-3 ACC) Earned the No. 6 seed and split its two matches at the ACC Championship April 17-18 in Cary, N.C., topping No. 14 seed Wake Forest 4-2 in the second round before losing 4-1 versus No. 3 seed North Carolina State in the quarterfinals … Received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships and played in the Columbus Regional hosted by No. 4 overall seed Ohio State … Defeated UIC 4-0 in the first round May 2, before falling to the Buckeyes 4-1 May 3. Through Hardships And Triumphs, Senior Will Angrick Has Lived It All N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S Angrick had 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points, which ranked fourth on the team, through 12 games this season. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS