Irish men’s lacrosse advances to Final Four with win over Johns Hopkins

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WNDU) - After missing the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2005, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team is heading to championship weekend for the first time since 2015.

The No. 3 Irish defeated No. 6 Johns Hopkins by a final score of 12-9 on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Final Four for the sixth time in program history.

Johns Hopkins took an early 1-0, but the Irish quickly captured their first lead of the afternoon thanks to goals from Jack Simmons and Chris Kavanagh. From there, the two teams traded blows before Notre Dame closed the first half strong with three goals to take a 7-4 lead into halftime.

Johns Hopkins trimmed Notre Dame’s lead to one in the third quarter, but the Irish responded three straight goals to end the period. They extended their lead to five early in the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Kavanagh, Simmons, and Jake Taylor all posted hat tricks in the winning effort.

With the win, Notre Dame will be heading to Philadelphia next Saturday, May 27, to face No. 2 Virginia in the semifinals. First draw is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner advances to the national championship on Memorial Day.

The Irish will likely have revenge on their mind, as their only two losses this season came to Virginia.

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