Notre Dame men's lacrosse defeats Johns Hopkins, reaches third Final Four in four seasons

A displeased Kevin Corrigan challenged his No. 2 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team to tighten up after a sloppy first half in Saturday’s national quarterfinal matchup against Johns Hopkins.

In particular, Corrigan said on the ESPNU broadcast, its defense had to be better. The Irish delivered, and then some.

Tied 6-6 with the unranked Blue Jays at halftime, Notre Dame put Hopkins’ offense in a sleeper hold. Deadeye outside shooting provided more than enough goals at the other end. Johns Hopkins came to play, but when the Irish brought their A game in the second half, the Blue Jays couldn’t take wing.

Notre Dame beat Johns Hopkins 15-9 on Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y., and advanced to its third Final Four in four seasons. The Irish will take on the winner of No. 3 North Carolina and No. 6 Syracuse in the national semifinal next Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.

“Something happened at halftime for Notre Dame,” ESPNU analyst Ryan Boyle said. “They played at a professional level. They were so clean with the ball. They were organized.”

“I’ll tell you what happened at halftime: Kevin Corrigan yelled at them,” fellow analyst Quint Kessenich responded.

Corrigan’s halftime message worked, and the Irish are two wins away from their third championship in four years.

Like it does every game, Notre Dame got its offense from a variety of sources. Five players scored at least twice, but graduate student attackman Josh Yago led the way with 4 goals and 3 assists.

Yago, a transfer from Air Force who leads the Irish with 47 points, got clean looks from the outside and took advantage, firing the ball past senior Johns Hopkins goalie Oran Gelinas. He found success early in the second half on the bounce, taking advantage of Gelinas’ 6-foot-4 height and attacking the bottom corners.

“My teammates just put me in great position to make plays all day, and I was fortunate to capitalize on it,” Yago said after the game.

Notre Dame’s midfield excelled as well, led by two-sport star Matt Jeffery. The sophomore who plays wide receiver and contributes on several special teams units for the football team scored 2 goals and dished 3 assists, using his elite speed and acceleration to put himself in position to make plays.

Not to be outdone, Notre Dame’s defense limited to Johns Hopkins to just 26 shot attempts after allowing 9 in the first quarter. For comparison, the Irish had 41. Junior defenseman Shawn Lyght, a Tewaaraton Award finalist, and his teammates made life extremely difficult for the Blue Jays offensively. Senior goalie Thomas Ricciardelli had 6 saves as well.

“I think our midfield is definitely the strength of our team, but we also have an attack unit that can score and a defense unit that can hold it down, and we have an All-American goalie,” Yago said. “I think from top to bottom, we’re one of the best teams in the nation, and we’re gonna show it.”

Notre Dame survived a strong initial push from Johns Hopkins, aided by less-than-ideal turf on Hofstra University’s field. The Blue Jays play a slower pace and the Irish like to get out and run, so the slippery surface that Corrigan called “terrible” in a mid-game interview was an advantage for the underdogs.

However, Notre Dame’s talent and depth prevailed. The Irish scored 3 goals in the first 5 minutes of the second half, and they didn’t look back.