**Photo Credit: Lacrosse Playground**
While the University of Notre Dame defense is an established powerhouse on the back, the Fighting Irish have had difficulty finding the back of the cage. Despite the lack of offensive production, Kevin Corrigan’s Fighting Irish have become an elite program.
A National Championship has eluded Notre Dame in recent years. The Irish have appeared at Championship Weekend twice in the past four seasons, including the program’s first national title game appearance in 2010.
Leading the way for the Notre Dame offense will once again be sophomore Matt Kavanagh, who is coming off an impressive freshman campaign earning Big East First-Team honors. In 16 games the Rockville Centre, NY native lead all Irish offensive categories (32 G, 16 A, 48 P). Kavanagh was the first highly touted offensive recruit in Corrigan’s tenure, which will hope to boost the offensive production of the Irish.
Aside from Kavanagh, senior midfielder Jim Marlatt will be a main source of offensive production for the Irish in 2014. The Clarksville, MD native was second in scoring on the Fighting Irish with 32 points (20 G ,12 A) in 16 games.
With the graduation of stand out attackman Sean Rogers, attackman Conor Doyle will need to step up and become a big time point producer alongside Kavanagh. The Towson, MD native had a breakout season in 2013, posting 20 goals and 10 assists for 30 points, good enough for fourth in team scoring. Senior attacker John Scioscia only saw one game in his first two years in the Blue and Gold, but had a decent junior season contributing 14 goals and two assists for 16 points as a fourth attackman. Look to see the Summit High School product play a large role in the Irish offense this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, Assistant Coach Gerry Bryne only graduated one player from his starting three close defenders in Matt Miller. Returning to the Irish defensive core is senior Brian Buglione and Stephen O’Hara. Buglione, a Vestal, NY native, led all Irish defenders in caused turnovers with 16 while scooping up 25 groundballs. O’Hara, a West Chester, PA native grabbed 32 groundballs while forcing 13 turnovers. Sophomore Matt Landis could slide into the starting LSM position as 2013 starter Tyler Andersen is lost to graduation. The Pelham, NY product saw action in 15 games and caused seven turnovers while grabbing 25 ground balls.
A major question for the Irish will be who will fill in for All-American netminder John Kemp in 2014? It looks like Junior Conor Kelly will fill the void as he was the only Irish goaltender to see action in 2013 as he played 12 minutes and only faced three shots in the contest.
If Notre Dame’s offense can support the iron defense of the Irish, the NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championship may find its way to South Bend, IN for the first time in program history.
