Kavanagh Brothers and Connor Shellenberger Light Up College Lacrosse Week 2
Just like the Ivy league schools, Notre Dame opened up its lacrosse season in week two. The Fighting Irish beat up on their competition in their opening two games of the season. The Blue and Gold beat Marquette 21-10 on Wednesday and then carried the winning ways onto Sunday beating Cleveland State 18-8.
Notre Dame is led by the dynamic duo of brother’s, Chris and Pat Kavanagh. Sophomore Chris Kavanagh leads the team with nine goals and 15 points on the season, and older brother Pat has an astonishing 12 assists and 14 points on the season. The Fighting Irish are looking scary thanks to the brother duo they have firing on all cylinders.
Talking about dynamic duos, two of the best college lacrosse coaches of all time faced off against each other on Friday. John Danowski and Bill Tierney, coaches of Duke and Denver, faced off in what could be their final matchup against each other. Danowski’s Duke squad proved to be too much for Tierney’s Pioneers as Duke beat Denver 14-13 in an overtime thriller.
Brennan O’Neill has not slowed down, he now has 13 goals 10 assists and 23 points on the season. Dyson Williams finally recorded his first assist of the season; it can now accompany his 16 goals.
Following suit with some other top players in the country, arguably the best player in college lacrosse, Connor Shellenberger, lit up the Harvard Crimson. Shellenberger had three goals and seven assists in the 25-21 Cavalier victory. He now has six goals and 10 assists on the season in just two contests.
In a battle of two top ten programs, Penn proved to be too strong for Georgetown. Tucker Dordevic continues to light the lamp tallying three goals against Penn. However, Cam Rubin outperformed Dordevic scoring four goals of his own helping lead the quakers to victory.
In another highly anticipated matchup, Loyola faced off against Johns Hopkins in a Saturday afternoon showdown. Luke Staudt has been the man for the Greyhounds, he has 29 saves and 12 goals against on the season for a spectacular 71% save percentage. Staudt's strong play helped lead Loyola to a 13-8 victory over the Blue Jays.
Jake Stevens and Sam English were two of the big name players headed into the season for the Princeton Tigers. Both started the season in stellar fashion, but another player is starting to bud and sprout for Matt Madalon’s squad.
Braedon Saris, a Culver product like Stevens and English, has started the season on a tear for the Orange and Black. Saris has four goals and five assists to start the season for the Tigers after only having one assist in two games for Princeton last year.
Reese Burek, standout midfielder for West Point, helped Army secure its first two wins of the season. Burek has 10 goals and three assists on the season and has helped fuel a solid Black and Gold squad.
Somewhat of a shorter recap this week, but there were plenty of interesting and exciting games this past week. This upcoming week has some more exciting matchups so expect a longer, more thorough recap next week.
Hayden Lewis is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email lewis1818hayden@gmail.com.
