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Notre Dame Preview
The Fighting Irish come into the year #5 in both polls. This is probably the most overrated a Notre Dame lacrosse team has ever been. Notre Dame hasn't finished outside the top 10 in a long time, so they're a pretty safe bet for pollsters to pencil in at the #5 spot, but this year they play 8 of top 9 teams in the country... phrased another way, the only team they DON'T play from #1 through #9 is themselves. That's absurd.
The Big Picture
This is probably the least proven overall defensive until Notre Dame has rolled out in a very long time, but it's the most skilled attack line Notre Dame has had since Hicks/Swezey/Hoff. Notre Dame has two legit A-list players in Jim Marlatt and Matt Kavanagh on offense. Kavanagh could be a legitimate Tewaaraton candidate, and Marlatt will be tasked with most of the heavy lifting on offense. The supporting cast is full of question marks outside of Conor Doyle, who is going to be very good if not great this year at attack. On defense, it's not that any players are "bad"... it's just that there is going to be a lot of unproven pieces asked to step up. Conor Kelly should be VERY good in goal, but he is a first time starter. Either Prevoznik or Landis should be able to step up and replace Matt Miller, but who steps up as a short-stick defensive midfielder? What makes ND's defense so formidable is great goaltending coupled with impeccable coordination. If Notre Dame is going to weather their ridiculous schedule, O'Hara must step up as a big time leader and organize the troops.
Attack
Kavanagh and Doyle are locks to start, and could be one of the better one-two punches in the country. The big question is who is the 3rd starter? You have some really skilled finishers in Ryan Mix and John Sciosia who aren't dodging threats, or you have some unproven guys, like Kyle Runyon who is much more of a dodging threat. The big wildcard is Westy Hopkins. Does he play midfield? Does he play attack? He's going to be value added at one of these positions. The best bet right now would be that he plays midfield.
Midfield
Usually, you need at least one dominant midfield line, and a second very-passable midfield line to field a great team. The best teams often have two very good lines plus a number of specialist defensive minded or "two way" midfielders capable of pushing transition. Notre Dame comes into this year with literally only one player anyone in the country considers proven or dangerous -- Jim Marlatt. Marlatt is a great shooter, and an average midfielder in all other facets. When you talk to coaches about who else would play on the 1s with him... there are not a lot of answers. Will Corrigan played on the 1s for most of last year and absolutely killed the offense. He had one of the worst seasons I've ever seen for a top line midfielder on a #1 caliber team. He's a very heady player, his issue is that he doesn't have a strong offhand and he isn't super athletic. So he's not much of a dodging threat, you can sit on his right hand, and when the ball gets to him the offense basically stalls because he isn't enough of a threat. Does he stay on the 1s this year?
The x-factors are Jack Doyle, Pat Cotter, and all the unknown players. Jack Doyle was at one time the #2 overall recruit in the country and he had a good start to his career at Harvard. But then he had some horrible hip injuries and needed surgery and the Ivy League doesn't let you redshirt... so long story short he's now at Notre Dame for a 5th year to play with his brother. Can he step up or have injuries taken away what made him the #2 player in the country coming out of HS? Pat Cotter missed all of last season with an Achilles tear... how does he come back from that? Who of the freshmen and unproven players are able to step up? Early returns on Perkovic are good, Ossello and Brosco may be able to step up as offensive players this year, as could Pridemore and a number of other players. If there is one thing that could kill this team, it would be if the midfield doesn't jell. Mostly everything this offseason has been attack driven. There are a lot of players not named who SHOULD be good, have not shown out yet.
Defense
You're looking at Buglione and O'Hara returning, who are both good but not flashy defenders. Neither are great ball handlers. Conor Kelly was a Team USA goalie and should be very good if not great in his first year starting. Prevoznik and Landis are the two defenders in line for the last starting spot, and at LSM you're looking at Henry Williams (and/or Landis) as a really good player. Who fills in to supplement that is a bit up in the air. At SSDM, you're definitely looking at Jack Near... and beyond that probably Collins and some fresh faces. Notre Dame should have the horses, but in offseason scrimmages the defense has been streaky.
The Fighting Irish come into the year #5 in both polls. This is probably the most overrated a Notre Dame lacrosse team has ever been. Notre Dame hasn't finished outside the top 10 in a long time, so they're a pretty safe bet for pollsters to pencil in at the #5 spot, but this year they play 8 of top 9 teams in the country... phrased another way, the only team they DON'T play from #1 through #9 is themselves. That's absurd.
The Big Picture
This is probably the least proven overall defensive until Notre Dame has rolled out in a very long time, but it's the most skilled attack line Notre Dame has had since Hicks/Swezey/Hoff. Notre Dame has two legit A-list players in Jim Marlatt and Matt Kavanagh on offense. Kavanagh could be a legitimate Tewaaraton candidate, and Marlatt will be tasked with most of the heavy lifting on offense. The supporting cast is full of question marks outside of Conor Doyle, who is going to be very good if not great this year at attack. On defense, it's not that any players are "bad"... it's just that there is going to be a lot of unproven pieces asked to step up. Conor Kelly should be VERY good in goal, but he is a first time starter. Either Prevoznik or Landis should be able to step up and replace Matt Miller, but who steps up as a short-stick defensive midfielder? What makes ND's defense so formidable is great goaltending coupled with impeccable coordination. If Notre Dame is going to weather their ridiculous schedule, O'Hara must step up as a big time leader and organize the troops.
Attack
Kavanagh and Doyle are locks to start, and could be one of the better one-two punches in the country. The big question is who is the 3rd starter? You have some really skilled finishers in Ryan Mix and John Sciosia who aren't dodging threats, or you have some unproven guys, like Kyle Runyon who is much more of a dodging threat. The big wildcard is Westy Hopkins. Does he play midfield? Does he play attack? He's going to be value added at one of these positions. The best bet right now would be that he plays midfield.
Midfield
Usually, you need at least one dominant midfield line, and a second very-passable midfield line to field a great team. The best teams often have two very good lines plus a number of specialist defensive minded or "two way" midfielders capable of pushing transition. Notre Dame comes into this year with literally only one player anyone in the country considers proven or dangerous -- Jim Marlatt. Marlatt is a great shooter, and an average midfielder in all other facets. When you talk to coaches about who else would play on the 1s with him... there are not a lot of answers. Will Corrigan played on the 1s for most of last year and absolutely killed the offense. He had one of the worst seasons I've ever seen for a top line midfielder on a #1 caliber team. He's a very heady player, his issue is that he doesn't have a strong offhand and he isn't super athletic. So he's not much of a dodging threat, you can sit on his right hand, and when the ball gets to him the offense basically stalls because he isn't enough of a threat. Does he stay on the 1s this year?
The x-factors are Jack Doyle, Pat Cotter, and all the unknown players. Jack Doyle was at one time the #2 overall recruit in the country and he had a good start to his career at Harvard. But then he had some horrible hip injuries and needed surgery and the Ivy League doesn't let you redshirt... so long story short he's now at Notre Dame for a 5th year to play with his brother. Can he step up or have injuries taken away what made him the #2 player in the country coming out of HS? Pat Cotter missed all of last season with an Achilles tear... how does he come back from that? Who of the freshmen and unproven players are able to step up? Early returns on Perkovic are good, Ossello and Brosco may be able to step up as offensive players this year, as could Pridemore and a number of other players. If there is one thing that could kill this team, it would be if the midfield doesn't jell. Mostly everything this offseason has been attack driven. There are a lot of players not named who SHOULD be good, have not shown out yet.
Defense
You're looking at Buglione and O'Hara returning, who are both good but not flashy defenders. Neither are great ball handlers. Conor Kelly was a Team USA goalie and should be very good if not great in his first year starting. Prevoznik and Landis are the two defenders in line for the last starting spot, and at LSM you're looking at Henry Williams (and/or Landis) as a really good player. Who fills in to supplement that is a bit up in the air. At SSDM, you're definitely looking at Jack Near... and beyond that probably Collins and some fresh faces. Notre Dame should have the horses, but in offseason scrimmages the defense has been streaky.
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