DURHAM, N.C. – For the second straight week and third time this season, the No. 1 Fighting Irish faced the No. 3 team in the country, this time in the form of the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils in Durham, and for the third time this season the Irish came away victorious. Notre Dame defeated the Blue Devils by a score of 15-12 to improve to 7-1 on the season and 2-0 in ACC play.
Pat Kavanagh had his best game of the season, leading the attack with seven points off four goals and three assists despite being matched up against a first team All-American. His brother Chris also had a big game, scoring four goals and adding an assist in the win. Graduate student Devon McLane added two goals and two assists while Jake Taylor scored twice on the day.
Liam Entenmann was great in goal, making 14 saves against one of the top attacks in the country. The 14 stops give him 633 in his career, which ties him with Joey Kemp (2005-08) for most career saves in program history. Entenmann also led the Irish in caused turnovers with two.
Will Lynch also continued his great season at the faceoff dot, winning 15-of-28 against preseason first team All-American Jake Naso.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish struck first, as Pat Kavanagh got Notre Dame on the board with the opener to make it 1-0. Duke answered less than 30 seconds later to level the score at 1-1. Two minutes later it was Pat Kavanagh again, scoring on the opposite wing for his second of the day to regain the lead at 2-1.
Both Duke and Notre Dame scored at the end of the quarter to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Irish after the opening 15 minutes of action. Notre Dame’s goal came off an extra-man opportunity from Devon McLane, his first of the afternoon.
The hosts scored the first two goals of the second quarter to take their first lead of the day at 4-3 but the Irish immediately responded in a big way. Notre Dame ended the half on fire, scoring five unanswered goals to take an 8-4 lead into the halftime intermission. Both Pat and Chris Kavanagh scored twice and Fulton Bayman scored one, as the Irish defense locked down the Duke attack to gain the four-goal lead.
Duke ouscored the Irish 3-2 in the third period, trimming the Notre Dame lead to 10-7 entering the fourth. The Blue Devils scored three of the first four goals before McLane scored his second of the day to give the Irish a three-goal advantage heading into the final frame.
The Blue Devils came out firing to start the fourth, scoring four of the first five goals to level the score at 11-11. The Irish showed great resilience, bouncing back with three straight of their own over a six-minute span to all but seal the win. Dobson scored the first in the run followed by two from Jake Taylor.
After Duke trimmed the lead to 14-12 with a minute left, Chris Kavanagh scored his fourth goal of the day into an empty net in the waning seconds to make the final score 15-12.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- For the first time in program history, Notre Dame has logged three regular season wins over top-three opponents in the same season.
- With the win, the Irish level the all-time series with the Blue Devils at 16-16. Notre Dame has now won five straight in the matchup, dating back to the 2022 season.
- The Irish three-goal win marks the largest defeat the Blue Devils have suffered when playing in Koskinen since falling to High Point by a score of 13-9 on Feb. 6, 2019.
- Notre Dame has now scored 15 or more against the Blue Devils in Durham in back-to-back trips, marking the first time doing so in the all-time series.
- Chris Kavanagh registered the 16th hat trick of his career and now has eight career games with four or more goals.
- The Irish attack has finished in double-figures for goals in every game this season.
- Lynch has now won the faceoff matchup in seven of eight games, despite facing some of the top FOGOs in the country.
- Entenmann has recorded double-digit saves in four of his last five outings.
UP NEXT
The Irish remain on the road, taking on No. 12/13 Cornell in another ranked matchup at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 14. The game will be played at a neutral site in Brookville, N.Y. at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium on the campus of Long Island University. The game will air on ESPN+ and to purchase tickets, click here.
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