Irish Breakdown

Maryland Tops Notre Dame 11-10 in Lacrosse Showdown of the Year

A rematch of last season's national championship didn't go Notre Dame's way in the second half
Nick Shepkowski|
iSep 15, 2018; South Bend, IN, USA; A general view of the Golden Dome on the campus of the University of Notre Dame before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Vanderbilt Commodores at Notre Dame Stadium.
iSep 15, 2018; South Bend, IN, USA; A general view of the Golden Dome on the campus of the University of Notre Dame before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Vanderbilt Commodores at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The game of the year, at least to to date, for the men's lacrosse season didn't go Notre Dame's way on Saturday in Atlanta. The top-ranked and two-time reigning national champion Fighting Irish fell to No. 2 Maryland in a rematch of last season's NCAA championship game, 11-10.


Maryland goalie Logan McNaney was a outstanding, recording 16 saves, including a critical stop in the closing seconds to secure the win. Senior Eric Spanos scored three goals for Maryland (5-0), with his final goal giving the Terps a 10-7 lead with just over 11 minutes left.

As has been the case several times in recent years, Notre Dame (3-1) mounted a comeback despite the deficit as Chris Kavanagh scored twice to get the Irish back within one. Daniel Kelly's man-down goal for Maryland pushed the lead back to two.

Notre Dame football wide receiver Jordan Faison scored to get the Irish within one, but McNaney turned away a Kavanagh shot with just 23 seconds left to put the Irish away.

Despite being outshot 43-29 and trailing in groundballs (37-19) and faceoffs (18-6), Maryland forced 17 turnovers and emerged victorious against a top-ranked opponent for the third consecutive time.

Notre Dame returns to action next Saturday when it will be at home to host Ohio State in a game that can be seen on ACC Network.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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