Notre Dame roundup: Men’s lacrosse wins top-five matchup vs. Syracuse

On the Saturday before Easter, Notre Dame men’s lacrosse goalie Liam Entenmann reached his stick out and said a prayer.

No. 3 Syracuse, down 13-10 to the No. 1 Irish in the early fourth quarter in South Bend, passed the ball to an open man to Entenmann’s left and then across the goalmouth. Graduate midfielder Jake Stevens had a wide-open net until somehow, some way, Entenmann dove to make the save of the year.

#𝐒𝐂𝐓𝐨𝐩𝟏𝟎 𝐍𝐨. 𝟏 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲

As if there was any doubt, Liam Entenmann's incredible save in the 4th quarter earned the top spot on the countdown.#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/wVKpAf9kOB

— Notre Dame Lacrosse (@NDlacrosse) March 31, 2024

Notre Dame held on to win 14-12, beating a top-five opponent and firmly cementing its place at the top of the men’s lacrosse rankings. The Irish improved to 6-1 and 1-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

While Entenmann starred with 8 saves, the scoring was as evenly distributed as it’s been all season for Notre Dame. Junior attackman Chris Kavanagh, graduate attackman Pat Kavanagh and senior midfielder Eric Dobson tied for the team lead with 3 points, and no one scored more than 2 of the team’s 14 goals.

Up next for the Irish: a matchup with Duke, who moved up to No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse rankings after Syracuse fell to No. 4 following its loss. The Blue Devils are 10-2, and they’ll host Notre Dame at noon ET on Sunday in Durham, N.C. in a rematch of last season’s national championship game.

Notre Dame women’s lacrosse moves up to No. 1

Notre Dame women’s lacrosse (10-2, 4-2 ACC) has extended its win streak to five. The Irish took down a struggling Pitt team by a whopping 21 goals Saturday in South Bend, winning 26-5 over the 3-10 Panthers.

In doing so, the Irish jumped up to No. 1 on USA Lacrosse’s top 20. Notre Dame now has the No. 1 teams by at least one prominent ranking in both men’s and women’s lacrosse as the calendar flips to April.

Graduate attack Jackie Wolak led the way for Notre Dame, tallying a career-high 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists). Fellow graduate attack Madison Ahern scored 4 goals, and the third was her 200th of her career. Additionally, senior midfielder/draw specialist Kelly Denes controlled 16 draws. That tied a single-game program record for draw controls, capping off a banner day for the Irish all around.

A matchup with Duke awaits Notre Dame this weekend, as the Blue Devils travel to South Bend at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday. USA Lacrosse ranks Duke No. 19 in its top 20.

Fighting Irish softball loses rubber match to North Carolina

In a Thursday-Saturday series against North Carolina, Notre Dame lost the first, won the second and lost the third. The Irish fell 4-3 to the Tar Heels on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C., falling to 21-12 (6-6 ACC).

UNC pulled even with Notre Dame in the ACC standings with the win.

In the Saturday matinee, the Irish tied the Heels in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI double from junior infielder Jane Kronenberger. But in the bottom of the seventh, the Tar Heels walked it off with a run-scoring double from junior pitcher/utility player Carlie Myrtle.

With a runner on first, Myrtle smashed a ball to left field that went over the head of junior outfielder Emily Tran. Graduate infielder Abby Settlemyre beat the relay throw home, and that was that in Chapel Hill.

Notre Dame has two mid-week games coming up, both in South Bend. The Irish host IUPUI at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Michigan at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, then they’ll stay home for a three-game weekend set against Virginia starting at 5 p.m. ET on Friday.

Notre Dame baseball swept by North Carolina State

It’s been a rough season for head coach Shawn Stiffler and the Notre Dame baseball team, and that continued this past weekend in Raleigh, N.C. NC State swept the Irish in a three-game series Thursday-Saturday, dropping them to 14-12 (2-10 ACC).

Notre Dame is firmly at the bottom of the ACC Atlantic division, 2.5 games behind sixth-place Louisville. The Irish are tied for last in the conference as a whole with Pitt, who also sits at 2-10 in league play.

NC State run-ruled Notre Dame in Game 1 on Thursday, winning 10-0 in 8 innings. The Wolfpack walked the Irish off in the next two games, the first of which came on a walk-off homer from graduate infielder Garrett Pennington.

Notre Dame will look to get back on track at 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday in South Bend against Michigan State before a three-game, Friday-Sunday home series against Clemson.