Notre Dame lacrosse rolls past Syracuse into Monday's NCAA title game

Notre Dame’s special teams were too much for Syracuse lacrosse to handle. The second-seeded Irish rolled to a 15-7 win over the sixth-seeded Orange on Saturday, May 23, in a national semifinal behind five extra-man goals in four opportunities. Looking for its third national title in four seasons, Notre Dame (13-2) will face top-seeded Princeton (16-2) on Memorial Day Monday at 1 p.

m. ET in Charlottesville, VA. The Irish won a first-round game at Princeton in 2010 in the schools’ only previous lacrosse meeting.

Three of Saturday’s man-up goals came during a backbreaking two-minute stretch at the start of the final period after Syracuse had closed within two at 9-7. Sophomore midfielder Matt Jeffery’s desperation dodge drew the non-releasable penalty with two seconds left on the shot clock. Brady Pokorny, whose father, Jason, played at Syracuse with current coach Gary Gait, netted a no-look, over-the-shoulder shot to shift the momentum back toward the Irish.

“For us to do what we did on man-up and man-down today is huge,” Irish coach Kevin Corrigan said. “It’s probably the difference in the game. ” The Orange were blanked over the final 16:39 as senior goalie Thomas Ricciardelli put the finishing touches on a 14-save performance.