In a spirited contest that had it all, from extended scoring runs and quality goals on both sides to dramatic challenges and tenacious defense, the No. 11 Georgetown Hoyas men’s lacrosse team (2-2, BIG EAST) fell to the No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0, ACC), 11-9. Led by two goals and an assist apiece from star graduate attackers Aidan Carroll and Fulton Bayman (who transferred from Notre Dame), Georgetown’s valiant effort to end the reigning national champions’ 16-game winning streak fell just short.
Coming off a gutsy 8-6 home win against No. 17 Penn, head coach Kevin Warne’s Hoyas rolled into their midday Saturday matchup on Cooper Field with plenty of momentum. However, this was not just any game– head coach Kevin Corrigan and Notre Dame were entering the Hilltop on a mission to extend their relentless domination of the college lacrosse world. With a win, they would extend their winning streak beyond one calendar year. Their last loss? 11-10 to the Hoyas in overtime on Feb. 25, 2024 in South Bend, the winning goal scored by Carroll.
Georgetown was not just looking to shock the world again, but also to avenge an 11-6 loss to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the Division I Men’s Lacrosse tournament last May. No one came closer to beating the Irish that tournament. Now that the Hoyas had home field advantage, the time for revenge was now. The fans also sensed the gravity of the situation, as 2,347 people filled every corner of the Cooper Field stands, with hundreds more lining the northern fence. Many were transplants supporting Notre Dame, but Georgetown students and alumni still made up the majority.
Less than two minutes after the first face-off, senior attacker Chris Kavanagh fired Notre Dame ahead. Georgetown responded with some errant shots, but Notre Dame’s disciplined defense and suffocating pressure forced the Hoyas on to the back foot. After Georgetown’s defense got caught sleeping with goals just 30 seconds apart from senior midfielders Will Angrick and Fisher Finley, a frustrated Warne called timeout with 9:09 to go in the first quarter.
Just 10 seconds later, junior long stick midfielder Will Donovan stole the ball and scored for the Irish from point blank range. The Hoyas continued to look out of their depth, losing 3 consecutive face-offs, missing passes on offense, and getting bullied in transition. Notre Dame senior midfielder/faceoff Will Lynch (no relation to the author) accumulated 8 ground balls by the end of the game, the most by any player. By the 5:45 mark, Notre Dame led 6-0, seemingly setting the stage for a historic rout.
Then, against all odds, Georgetown flipped a switch and came to life. Cooper Field witnessed a Hoya rampage in the last 5 minutes of the first quarter, rewarded by a precise goal from freshman midfielder Owen Horning with 2:06 to go (assisted by Bayman). Junior midfielder Jordan Wray produced the highlight of the quarter for the Hoyas, emerging from the “X” area to will the ball into the net from close range seconds before the buzzer.
For most of the second quarter, Georgetown’s elite defense set the tone. The two teams looked like they had swapped places completely, with the Hoyas forcing the Irish into the same weak shots and turnovers they had committed at the beginning of the game. Every time a Notre Dame attacker tried to make space in the X area, two Georgetown defenders swarmed to successfully block them. This gave the Hoyas ample offensive opportunities, and they took advantage. With 12:38 to go, junior attacker Joe Cesare made it 3-6 with a beautiful shot into the corner from distance. Freshman attacker Jack Ransom hurled in an unstoppable effort from the deep center portion of the attack area 2 minutes later, capitalizing on a power play, and the Georgetown bench went bananas.
7:28: Hammered into the net by Bayman. 6-5. 5:18: Carroll burst by the defender trying to check him and lasered it into the far corner from the right side. Pandemonium. Absolute cinema. 6 goals by Notre Dame answered by 6 from Georgetown, and it looked like the Hoyas might pull off the impossible comeback.
But that seventh goal proved elusive, and the Hoyas would ultimately end the game with 0 minutes in the lead. Sophomore goalie Anderson Moore made a couple highlight-reel saves as Georgetown survived a minute-long Notre Dame power play, but a stumbling run from Kavanagh ended Notre Dame’s scoring drought of over 18 minutes to make it 7-6. He bounced off five Hoya defenders before finding graduate midfielder Devon McLane, who bounced it in from afar. Kavanagh scored a tough one with 1:16 to go, and Notre Dame led 8-6 at the halftime whistle.
The Cooper Field faithful were let down by a disappointing third quarter in which the pressure of the moment got in both teams’ heads. They combined for a grand total of 7 turnovers, 3 penalties, 2 shot clock violations, and ZERO goals. Notre Dame junior goalie Joe Ricciardelli judged a ball poorly and cross-checked a Georgetown attacker trying to recover it, but the Hoyas could not capitalize even with the Irish down a man for 2 minutes. Hoya freshman midfielder Kevin Miller almost scored the goal of the game, but his shot was saved following a spectacular spin move.
Thankfully, the game flow picked back up in the fourth quarter, but not in the way the Hoyas would have hoped. Owen Horning hit a tough shot while falling down but heartbreakingly hit the post, and 30 seconds later sophomore midfielder Jordan Faison (who is also on the College Football Playoff runner-up football team) did the same thing for Notre Dame but scored. Then, with 10:41 to go, senior midfielder Jaden Seymour juked into open space and fired in an uncontested shot to make it 10-6 Irish.
But if this game had shown anything, it was to never count the Hoyas out. Cesare started the comeback less than a minute later, driving inside from the left and unleashing a shot with enough torque to make the goal ring. Notre Dame spent the next possession draining the clock, but sophomore defenders James Carroll and Ty Banks teamed up to force a ground ball before the shot clock expired. Wray found Aidan Carroll, who scored from close range to make it 10-8 with 7:51 on the clock. The Hoya defense then weathered a long possession containing a flurry of Notre Dame shots, holding on for dear life to the possibility of victory. Subsequently, Bayman bounced in his second goal of the game after a long, winding run. The clock showed 4:08, the scoreboard showed 10-9 to the visitors, and the Hoyas had time to pull off the improbable.
With 3 minutes left, Banks and Moore somehow stole the ball from Kavanagh, but Georgetown failed to clear it and the relentless Kavanagh took it back. After a 55-second Notre Dame possession, Kavanagh got the edge running in close from the wing and completed his hat trick, scoring the killer blow. Georgetown challenged for a crease violation, but the call stood. 11-9 Irish.
Graduate midfielder Jack Erb wrenched the ball back miraculously seconds after a Georgetown false start on the face-off, but Ricciardelli saved Miller’s shot comfortably with 32 seconds left and the clock bled down to the final whistle. Notre Dame escaped victorious once again.
Looking back, this game was won, as many are, with face-offs. Georgetown led Notre Dame 43-36 in shots, 12-5 in caused turnovers, and 40-27 in ground balls, but lost 16-7 in face-offs, giving Notre Dame the possession time to eke out a win. Lynch, a Hoftsra transfer, won 15 of the 16 for the Irish; Notre Dame’s strategy of prioritizing his face-off specialization in the transfer portal is clearly paying dividends.
Barring the final goal, this was also a bizarre game of runs: 6-0 Notre Dame, 6-0 Georgetown, 4-0 Notre Dame, and 3-0 Georgetown. In an interview with Inside Lacrosse following the game, Coach Warne said “It was a four quarter game and we played for about three of them. They’re national champs, they had a lot of energy right away. After the first 10 minutes we played the way we wanted.”
The Hoyas will be hoping to bounce back as they hit the road for their next matchup against the Brown Bears (1-2, 0-0 Ivy League) on March 1 at 12:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
