How star freshmen Jordan Faison, Shawn Lyght bolstered Notre Dame men’s lacrosse

On April 3, Notre Dame freshman Jordan Faison told reporters that he felt like he forgot how to play lacrosse in his first practice with the Irish.

Faison spent the fall with the football team, sitting and watching for the season’s first six weeks before breaking into the wide receiver rotation and eventually becoming Notre Dame’s top pass-catcher. After a short break for the new year, he went back to work with the program he originally committed to as a scholarship midfielder.

To say he caught up quickly would be a massive understatement.

“Jordan went from being on the fourth-line midfield to the first line, and one of our best players within a few weeks during preseason,” graduate student attackman Pat Kavanagh said Thursday.

Faison has started every game for the defending-national-champion and No. 1-seed Irish. He’s scored 18 goals, which is good for fifth on the team. He also caused a turnover toward the end of Notre Dame’s 18-17 win over Cornell on April 14. Graduate student goalie Liam Entenmann said the Irish wouldn’t have come out on top that day without Faison.

Entenmann and Kavanagh, both finalists for the Tewaaraton Award as the top player in men’s college lacrosse, have been wildly impressed with Faison and freshman defenseman Shawn Lyght. On a veteran-dominated team, the two youngsters are catalysts for Notre Dame’s push for back-to-back titles.

“I think they both might be 18 years old, which is crazy to think about,” Kavanagh said. “They’re so mature and so unbelievably athletic and great teammates.”

Lyght has also started every game, locking down the back end for the Irish. His impact shows up on the stat sheet, but not next to his name.

Take the ACC Tournament, for example, in which Notre Dame cruised by No. 6 Virginia and No. 2 Duke 18-9 and 16-6, respectively. The Cavaliers are led by graduate student attackman Connor Shellenberger, while the Blue Devils feature senior attackman Brennan O’Neill. Both are Tewaaraton finalists alongside Kavanagh and Entenmann. In fact, O’Neill won the award last season.

They combined for 3 points in those two games. That, his teammates believe, is largely a credit to Lyght.

“He’s covered multiple first-team All-Americans at this point,” Entenmann said. “It’s crazy to think in his first 12 or so games, he’s covered those guys. Going forward, it’s really exciting to see. Even though it’s my last year, I’m really excited to see the type of career that Shawn has.”

If Kavanagh was a media member, Lyght would be on his first-team All-American ballot. He would also be Kavanagh’s pick for the Schmeisser Award, which goes to the best defenseman in the country.

“Every guy that he guards every week is kinda — you don’t really hear from them, see their name on the stat sheet too often,” Kavanagh said.

As top-50 national recruits, Faison and Lyght probably thought they’d have a chance to play early at Notre Dame but “weren’t vocal about it,” Kavanagh recalls. They put their heads down, worked their way up the depth chart and relied on their experienced teammates.

By doing that, Lyght and Faison earned their teammates’ trust almost instantly. Once that happened, their athleticism and skill took over.

Yeah, it makes so much sense why Notre Dame freshman Jordan Faison is a heckuva football player too. Can’t teach quick twitch. You got it or you don’t. He’s got plenty. pic.twitter.com/d0X8TjRSqO

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) May 3, 2024

Faison said he had to adjust to the speed of the game once he picked up a stick for the first time in months and began practicing in January. That happened quickly; he scored his first goal 38 seconds into his college career in a 25-3 win over Cleveland State on Feb. 14.

“The guys helped me get back on track and kind of developed me,” Faison said. “That development kind of happened rapidly. I’m very grateful for them.”

Lyght and Faison — particularly the former, guarding some of the best players in the country — have taken on massive roles for the Irish this season. Their responsibilities will only grow as their careers move along, though.

Kavanagh, Entenmann and senior midfielder Eric Dobson are all out of eligibility after this season. Once they leave, and attackmen Chris Kavanagh and Jake Taylor leave a year later, Lyght and Faison will be the stars of the show.

The way Entenmann and Kavanagh see it, the maturity that helped Faison and Lyght break out as freshmen will make them strong team leaders when they get to that point.

“Just guys that are very unselfish, don’t really care about individual stats, more about the team,” Entenmann said. “So they’ve both been incredible.”