Notre Dame Lacrosse Open thread

[T-Boone]

Sam Assaf - I believe he's a walk on for lacrosse as well

I sat next to him the only time I’ve been to ND Stadium in 2017 for Wimbushs first game.
He was a friendly kid. Told me about the LT Salyar who he said went to his school and was the number 1 recruit in the country. What happened to Salyar ?

 

[T-Boone]

I’ve got to admit lacrosse is better than field hockey -which I do like a lot but is a bit slow and tedious. Lacrosse should be in the Olympics.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Question for those that follow Lax closely.

Is there elite recruiting behind this?

And, how repeatable is this success, year after year? I don’t mean winning a ship but is the talent on the roster and future rosters one that should expect to compete for it year in and year out?

The great thing with this team rolling is that success is certainly sustainable. ND is a great cultural fit for some of the biggest hotbed areas and schools. This is why the Ivies are still competitive at the top level. The future is very bright for the program.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Great run by a truly great team. One of the deepest I’ve ever seen. Not many teams can roll 3 midfields deep at you. They mentioned yesterday what we’ve said here all year about Faisons impact drawing the pole. The Kav brothers are so much fun to watch play the game. Just relentless competitors in all aspects. Liam is an all timer as well. Another great season.

 

[NewEnglandGuy]

Loved watching every second of the tournament.

Looking at the roster:
Grad students who are gone -
Pat Kavanagh
Jake Taylor
Devon McLane
Liam Entenmann
Reilly Gray
Nick Harris

Eric Dobson, a senior, will also be gone - drafted 12th overall by PLL.

The team will lose 5 of its top 8 players for total points in 2024

Returning:
Shawn Lyght Frosh - named all tournament
Jordan Faison Frosh - 5th on team in points
Will Lynch Junior - faceoff specialist
Ben Ramsey Junior - name all tournament
Chris Kavanagh Junior - MOP and broke record for points in season for ND with 81

Other players who scored in final 4 who are returning:
Will Angrick
Fisher Finley
Max Busenkell
Jalen Seymour

Strengths for next year:
1. Return of Chris Kavanagh
2. Growth of Jordan Faison
3. Faceoffs. I know he didn’t have a stellar day against Maryland, but after going 18-for-23 in winning face-offs against Denver in final 4, Will Lynch had the top spot in the nation statistically with a season percentage of .636.
4. #1 recruit overall, midfielder Matt Jeffrey
5. Coaching. We have one of the best to do it. Year in and year out this is a strength.

Biggest question as a novice: Goalie - Zepf or Ricciardelli next year? And how far of a drop off will there be compared to a top 5 draft pick in Entenmann?

Love to see the program get the 4th ever back to back to back championship and first since 96-98 Princeton.

 

[Rocketman84]

I sat next to him the only time I’ve been to ND Stadium in 2017 for Wimbushs first game.
He was a friendly kid. Told me about the LT Salyar who he said went to his school and was the number 1 recruit in the country. What happened to Salyar ?

Jamaree Salyer? Plays G for the Chargers and was a 6th Rd pick. He was the #1 OG in the country but a top 10 recruit.

 

[stpeteirish]

Zepf replaced Liam at Chaminade also. Anyone know how that worked out?

 

[NDFAN2008]

With Chris back and Faison and one of the top recruits they should be one of the contenders.

 

[arrowryan]

I have to assume that they’ll bring in the best through the portal, on top of what they already have.

 

[ndfanatic78]

I’ve got to admit lacrosse is better than field hockey -which I do like a lot but is a bit slow and tedious. Lacrosse should be in the Olympics.

It will be starting the next Olympics after this upcoming one.

 

[fightingirish26]

Loved watching every second of the tournament.

Looking at the roster:
Grad students who are gone -
Pat Kavanagh
Jake Taylor
Devon McLane
Liam Entenmann
Reilly Gray
Nick Harris

Eric Dobson, a senior, will also be gone - drafted 12th overall by PLL.

The team will lose 5 of its top 8 players for total points in 2024

Returning:
Shawn Lyght Frosh - named all tournament
Jordan Faison Frosh - 5th on team in points
Will Lynch Junior - faceoff specialist
Ben Ramsey Junior - name all tournament
Chris Kavanagh Junior - MOP and broke record for points in season for ND with 81

Other players who scored in final 4 who are returning:
Will Angrick
Fisher Finley
Max Busenkell
Jalen Seymour

Strengths for next year:
1. Return of Chris Kavanagh
2. Growth of Jordan Faison
3. Faceoffs. I know he didn’t have a stellar day against Maryland, but after going 18-for-23 in winning face-offs against Denver in final 4, Will Lynch had the top spot in the nation statistically with a season percentage of .636.
4. #1 recruit overall, midfielder Matt Jeffrey
5. Coaching. We have one of the best to do it. Year in and year out this is a strength.

Biggest question as a novice: Goalie - Zepf or Ricciardelli next year? And how far of a drop off will there be compared to a top 5 draft pick in Entenmann?

Love to see the program get the 4th ever back to back to back championship and first since 96-98 Princeton.

Wasn't it stated a couple weeks ago in this thread that Jake Taylor will be back? Thought that's why he was wasn't selected in the draft.

Edit:

Actually, if what I’ve seen is correct, Jake has another year of eligibility and plans to be back with the team in 2025!

 

[IrishLax]

 

[IrishLax]

Wasn't it stated a couple weeks ago in this thread that Jake Taylor will be back? Thought that's why he was wasn't selected in the draft.

Edit:

Yeah I think his plans right now are to come back.

Starting attack next year is likely Chris Kav / Taylor / Bayman. If Taylor isn’t back then you’d expect Ricciardelli to slot into his spot as an offball guy.

Starting middies no idea except Faison. Buskenell I think has a really good shot to make the jump a first line guy. Angrick is a really smart and solid all around player, and Finley has the physical upside to be “Dobson” type player without maybe as much shooting ability and upside. Bryce Walker is pretty dynamic when healthy. There are a lot of options.

Close defense outside of Shawn Lyght is really the biggest question mark. The team won’t be as thoroughly dominant next year but it’ll be very good and capable of competing with anyone. On paper, I think Syracuse is the team to beat for 2025 but ND solidly in the top 10 again.

 

[ndfanatic78]

Yeah I think his plans right now are to come back.

Starting attack next year is likely Chris Kav / Taylor / Bayman. If Taylor isn’t back then you’d expect Ricciardelli to slot into his spot as an offball guy.

Starting middies no idea except Faison. Buskenell I think has a really good shot to make the jump a first line guy. Angrick is a really smart and solid all around player, and Finley has the physical upside to be “Dobson” type player without maybe as much shooting ability and upside. Bryce Walker is pretty dynamic when healthy. There are a lot of options.

Close defense outside of Shawn Lyght is really the biggest question mark. The team won’t be as thoroughly dominant next year but it’ll be very good and capable of competing with anyone. On paper, I think Syracuse is the team to beat for 2025 but ND solidly in the top 10 again.

Does Buchner have another year or is he done? I thought someone said he had another year to possibly take it to another level.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Yeah I think his plans right now are to come back.

Starting attack next year is likely Chris Kav / Taylor / Bayman. If Taylor isn’t back then you’d expect Ricciardelli to slot into his spot as an offball guy.

Starting middies no idea except Faison. Buskenell I think has a really good shot to make the jump a first line guy. Angrick is a really smart and solid all around player, and Finley has the physical upside to be “Dobson” type player without maybe as much shooting ability and upside. Bryce Walker is pretty dynamic when healthy. There are a lot of options.

Close defense outside of Shawn Lyght is really the biggest question mark. The team won’t be as thoroughly dominant next year but it’ll be very good and capable of competing with anyone. On paper, I think Syracuse is the team to beat for 2025 but ND solidly in the top 10 again.

Hearing whispers of a big name in the portal. Not an ND guy but will shake up next year for sure

 

[NewEnglandGuy]

Yeah I think his plans right now are to come back.

Starting attack next year is likely Chris Kav / Taylor / Bayman. If Taylor isn’t back then you’d expect Ricciardelli to slot into his spot as an offball guy.

Starting middies no idea except Faison. Buskenell I think has a really good shot to make the jump a first line guy. Angrick is a really smart and solid all around player, and Finley has the physical upside to be “Dobson” type player without maybe as much shooting ability and upside. Bryce Walker is pretty dynamic when healthy. There are a lot of options.

Close defense outside of Shawn Lyght is really the biggest question mark. The team won’t be as thoroughly dominant next year but it’ll be very good and capable of competing with anyone. On paper, I think Syracuse is the team to beat for 2025 but ND solidly in the top 10 again.

That’s great to know. Missed the Taylor news.

Good analysis. If you think mids are up for grabs, does a player with the reputation like Jeffrey come in and have as good a year or better in 2025 as Faison in 2024?

And how do you think goal tending looks? Is there a portal need or guys on the roster top 10-15 nationally next year….or just good enough in spots to repeat?

 

[NewEnglandGuy]

Does Buchner have another year or is he done? I thought someone said he had another year to possibly take it to another level.

I did catch the word that he was set to play another year and has a chance to play significantly more minutes.

 

[IrishLax]

Yeah Buchner has another year. He got a good amount of burn at defensive middie towards the end of the year. Should play heavy minutes next year.

 

[FU BK]

Yeah Buchner has another year. He got a good amount of burn at defensive middie towards the end of the year. Should play heavy minutes next year.

Until he transfers back to Alabama....

 

[ndfanatic78]

Yeah Buchner has another year. He got a good amount of burn at defensive middie towards the end of the year. Should play heavy minutes next year.

Hey @IrishLax , I get a defensive middie, but what other types of middies are there? Is it just Offensive and defensive middie, though I have never heard or seen "Offensive middie" used before.

 

[IrishLax]

Hey Lax, I get a defensive middie, but what other types of middies are there? Is it just Offensive and defensive middie, though I have never heard or seen "Offensive middie" used before.

So back in the day most middies played both offense and defensive. Like when I was in high school I did both… you’d play shifts similar to hockey and sub as a line. As more and more specialization started happening coaches started saying “hey I can get more offensive runs out of my best offensive middies if they don’t play defense and are less tired” and also “hey I’ve got these athletes that are really good at defense but aren’t skilled enough to play offense” // “this guy is really good at offense but he’s too small or slow to not be a liability on defense”

So now you basically have “midfielders” who play offense and try to sub off going to defense and “SSDMs” who are short stick defensive midfielders that only sub on for defensive situations, and “LSMs” who are long stick defensive midfielders (you can only have 4 people on the field at a time with a long stick) that also sub on-off.

There are also faceoff specialists, who are technically midfielders, and some other situational guys, but in general it’s a split between “midfielders” and “defensive midfielders”. For Buchner, he hasn’t played lacrosse since high school, and was way too rusty from a stick skill standpoint to play offense for ND but being a good athlete he worked his way into the defensive midfielder rotation by the end of the year because he was physical and fast. With a full season dedicated to lacrosse he actually has a pretty high ceiling and could be a factor on offense but it’s most likely he starts or is on heavy rotation at defensive middie next year because ND has a LOT of depth on offense.

 

[thekid33]

I don't buy the Ivy schools as legit contenders next year. ND, Syracuse, Maryland, UVA ,Duke and Hopkins should all be in the mix. UNC should be greatly improved. I feel as if it's truly wide open going into next year. The sport just keeps growing and getting better. I enjoy soccer, but lacrosse really seems to be the "sport" of the future here. It's really starting to impact our numbers for track and field. Which, stinks for me as a track and field coach, but is promising for lacrosse as a whole.

 

[laughingirish90]

ND also bring in one of the top lacrosse recruits next year

i believe i read recently that they have the nation's top ranked class coming in next fall along with the nation's top recruit from Connecticut but can't remember his name

 

[irishrb]

For anyone in the know...How much of an impact has Garnsey had on Notre Dame's offensive efficiency these past few years? IMO, Corrigan used to handcuff their offense, truly limiting their "loose play." Now you hear Kav saying they practice the BTB passes/plays, are encouraged to play loose, and it shows. I gotta believe Corrigan has grown with the game and is letting people like Garnsey help create this new, progressive offensive identity for the Irish?

 

[stpeteirish]

i believe i read recently that they have the nation's top ranked class coming in next fall along with the nation's top recruit from Connecticut but can't remember his name

That would be Matt Jeffrey from Cheshire Academy. He is also a FB talent who is going to spend the summer with the FB program a la Faison. Not sure where he fits in in FB (slot receiver?) as he was an option QB in prep school., but he's a midfielder in LAX and should fit in to our MF rotation right away.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

This is pretty funny

 

[Steds83]

Pat just won the Tewarraton! Such a special player. Incredibly grateful to have watched him play!

 

[IrishLax]

Well deserved!!

 

[irishrb]

Good for him....and Notre Dame....Such an amazing season!

 

[FDNYIrish1]

What a great season. Well deserved for Kav. Kid is absolutely relentless in all facets of the game. The amount of turnovers on the ride is so impressive to me