Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Five Questions With … MEN'S LACROSSE SENIOR MATT KAVANAGH In 2015, senior attack Matt Kavanagh earned first-team All-America ac- colades and was named a Tewaaraton Award (nation's top player) finalist after leading the Irish in scoring with 52 points (27 goals and 25 assists). This year, Kavanagh has helped preseason No. 1 Notre Dame get off to a 4-0 start by tallying three goals and a team-high six assists. As of March 8, he stood fourth on Notre Dame's career scoring chart with 184 points (104 goals and 80 assists) — one behind Mike Sullivan (1989-92), eight behind Pat Walsh (2003-06) and 89 behind Randy Colley (1991-95). BGI: How did you end up at Notre Dame? Kavanagh: "I played hockey a lot growing up, and lacrosse didn't start re- ally picking up until high school. I was actually also looking at some schools for hockey, and I had a couple buddies who were playing lacrosse at Maryland that really wanted me to go there. "But getting into Notre Dame was a dream come true, and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up." BGI: How do you feel about the team's play so far? Kavanagh: "We had a really good win against Georgetown in Atlanta. You never really know what you have until the first game because you battle against your own guys in practice, so we were happy with how we looked that game. "In the other games, we've been able to play a lot of guys and see what kind of depth we have." BGI: You guys were ranked the preseason No. 1 nationally, which comes with some pretty heavy expec- tations. Is it national championship or bust this year? Kavanagh: "Personally, for me, I think that every year [is] — but as a team, I don't think we really think about it. I know it sounds corny and cliché, but we really do take it one day at a time. "We just try to get better every day in practice and I think if we put in the work and execute on game days, we'll get the results we want." BGI: There are a few highly anticipated games on the home schedule this year. Which one are you looking forward to the most? Kavanagh: "Obviously, you have to look at the Denver game. We lost to them in the NCAA semifinals last year and they ended up winning the NCAA championship. "That's an important game for us. Duke and Virginia are other big ones, so those are three I'm really looking forward to." BGI: Did that Denver loss serve as motivation of sorts in the offseason? Kavanagh: "I would definitely hope so. We don't want to have that feeling at the end of the year again. "I think it was in the back of everyone's minds when we got back in August, but it's also a new season and one we're feeling pretty confident about." — Jordan Wells KAVANAGH