SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The No. 2 Fighting Irish turned in one of their most dominant performances of the season on both ends of the field on Sunday, defeating Jacksonville by a score of 18-5 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Arlotta Stadium.

Notre Dame will take on Johns Hopkins in Hempstead, New York on Saturday, May 16 with a Championship Weekend spot on the line. The game will air on ESPNU.

The victory improves Notre Dame’s record to 11-2 on the season and closes out the home portion of the schedule with an unblemished mark of 6-0

Thomas Ricciardelli was remarkable in goal for the Fighting Irish defense, making 18 saves while allowing just three goals to post a save percentage of 84.2 on the afternoon.

Luke Miller was equally as impressive on the offensive end, tying the program record for goals in an NCAA Tournament game with five to go along with an assist for a career-high six point display.

Matt Jeffery also had a career performance, notching a personal-best five points off two goals and a career-high three assists. Teddy Lally finished with three goals, marking his second career hat trick.

Brock Behrman and Gavin Lynch added two goals apiece in the offensive eruption for the Fighting Irish.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Fighting Irish defense withstood an early offensive flurry from the Dolphins in the opening minutes of play, as Ricciardelli was on his game with four saves. 

The Irish then scored the opener, as Lally found the back of the net in perfect transition offense to increase the Notre Dame lead with his first of the season and then Miller added his first of the day to make it 3-0.

The Dolphins responded with their first score of the game but the Irish were able to tack on two more goals in the final 2 minutes of play courtesy of Miller and Jeffery to put the Irish on top 5-1 after the opening 15 minutes of play.

Notre Dame took complete control of the contest in the second quarter as the defense blanked the visitors in the second quarter while the attack struck for four goals coming from Josh Yago, Jeffery, Lally and Miller to give the Irish a 9-1 lead at the half.

After Jacksonville opened the scoring in the third quarter to cut the Irish lead to seven at 9-2 the Irish responded with a 7-0 run over the next 15 minutes of action to put the game out of reach at 16-2.

The Fighting Irish scored twice more while the Dolphins added three late goals to make the final score 18-5, advancing Notre Dame to the quarterfinals.

STAT OF THE GAME

Notre Dame tied its program record for margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game with the 13-goal win, which also occurred in the 2023 first round win over Utah. The five goals allowed are tied for the fewest given up in an NCAA Tournament game in Notre Dame history and the 18 goals scored rank second in program history.

NOTRE DAME NOTES

  • With the win, Notre Dame improves to 12-3 in NCAA Tournament games played in South Bend.
  • Notre Dame improves to 31-26 in NCAA Championships history, including a record of 26-12 over the last 15 tournament appearances.
  • The Irish have now won 10 of their last 11 NCAA Tournament games.
  • Notre Dame has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship in 14 of the last 16 NCAA Tournaments.
  • The Irish improved to 2-0 against Jacksonville in the all-time series.
  • Notre Dame finishes the season undefeated at home, posting a record of 6-0.
  • The victory gives the Fighting Irish a record of 31-9 against ranked opponents since the beginning of the 2023 season.
  • The Irish have now won 55 straight games when holding their opponent to less than 10 goals in a game, a streak that dates back to the 2019 season.
  • Nine different players scored a goal in the win for the Irish.
  • The Fighting Irish finished with just seven turnovers, their second fewest in a game this season.
  • Fourteen of Notre Dame’s 18 goals were assisted, setting the program record for assists in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • Porell’s goal was the first of his career.

UP NEXT

The Irish advanced to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals at James M. Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York to take on Johns Hopkins for a chance to go to Championship Weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. The game will be played on Saturday, May 16 and it will air on ESPNU.

— ND —