In professional golf, an annual debate rages on regarding the best golfer never to have won a major. In lacrosse circles, that debate would center on one team: Notre Dame.
Since the program’s debut in the 2010 NCAA tournament final that Duke won with a 6-5 overtime thriller, the Fighting Irish have been on the precipice of joining the elite group of national champions, making three Final Four appearances and falling in the title game again to Duke in 2014.
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But coach Kevin Corrigan said the players and coaches don’t belabor themselves with imagining what might have been or what might happen.
“Our goal is to compete at the highest level that we’re capable of competing at, and if that’s at the championship level – which I think it has been for the last number of years – then that’s great,” he said. “I think we have a chance of competing at that level, but we don’t go out with the goal of doing anything. We go out with the goal of having a great day today, and taking one more step toward becoming the best team we can possibly become. That’s all we talk about, and it’s all we do. You can ask me that question 30 different ways, and I still would say that we don’t talk about any of that other stuff. That’s what we do.”
As has become tradition, Notre Dame’s strength resides in a defense that returns six of seven starters in three defensemen, one goalkeeper, one long-stick midfielder and one short-stick defensive midfielder. The unit is anchored by senior Matt Landis, who was recognized as the top defensive player in Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2015.
The Fighting Irish also welcome back a trio of offensive threats, including senior attackman and Tewaaraton Award finalist Matt Kavanagh. But the program also has a few holes to fill, which is part of the reason Corrigan is not willing to compare his current squad to previous incarnations.
“I’m not sticking my head in the sand,” he said. “We’ve got some known quantities who are great players, and that’s a great place to start for building a team. But you don’t win games with three guys and you don’t win games with four guys or five guys. You win games with 20 guys or 30 guys and in our opinion, 50 guys. Everybody has a role to play, and how well does everybody play their role and how well does everybody accept their role? Those are questions that get answered over weeks and months of practices and games. Those are the things that define whether you’re capable of being that team standing at the end.”