5/25/2014 Notre Dame’s Goalie Emerges as Possible Answer to Duke’s Versatile Offense - NYTimes.com

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SPORTS

Notre Dame’s Goalie Emerges as PossibleAnswer to Duke’s Versatile Offense

By ZACH SCHONBRUN MAY 25, 2014

BALTIMORE — Duke needed eight playmakers, six goal scorers, five key

defensemen and two goalies to beat Denver on Saturday and advance to

the N.C.A.A. men’s lacrosse title game for a third time in five seasons.

But against Notre Dame on Monday, the Blue Devils’ depth may be a

moot point if they cannot get shots past Conor Kelly’s hot hand in net.

With 37 saves in his past three games, Kelly has stepped up at the

right time for the Fighting Irish, who used his brilliance to stifle Maryland,

11-6, on Saturday at M&T Stadium. The game was only Kelly’s seventh

since he took over as the full-time starter after splitting time with Shane

Doss early in the season.

Notre Dame Coach Kevin Corrigan said Kelly had come into his own, a

transformation the coaching staff began to see during the season.

“He’s been coming to that,” Corrigan said. “You guys see it as a

snapshot, but I see it as an evolution over the course of weeks and months.

We’ve seen Conor have some ups and downs this year, but there’s a reason

why he’s back in goal for us right now.”

Kelly, a junior who had played in only one game before this season,

said dealing with the uncertainty at the beginning of the season required a

mental adjustment. Since taking over in net, he has made physical

adjustments that have paid dividends, too.

“I’m playing my angles better,” Kelly said, “and putting myself before

5/25/2014 Notre Dame’s Goalie Emerges as Possible Answer to Duke’s Versatile Offense - NYTimes.com

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the shot in better positions that give me the best chance of saving it.”

When Notre Dame played Duke on April 5, Kelly entered midway

through the game, with the Fighting Irish trailing by 6-2. He made seven

saves but let up nine goals in a 15-7 loss, and it was not until several weeks

later that he earned the starting spot for good.

While his late emergence represents a major change for Notre Dame

since that matchup, Duke has remained relatively static — the same

offensive juggernaut, with a host of talented scoring options and seemingly

unparalleled depth.

The Blue Devils played Denver without their second-leading scorer,

the injured Josh Dionne, but it hardly mattered; they scored 15 goals on 38

shots, committing just six turnovers.

“The way we look at it is, there’s six offensive players,” the senior

Christian Walsh said. “We have designated attack and midfield positions,

but in our offense, everybody can play every position.”

He added, “That’s kind of what our offense is about: sharing the ball,

playing unselfish, and everybody can play every position.”

A factor in Maryland’s struggles against the Irish’s defense was the

team’s inability to get shots low on Kelly, who made most of his saves at

eye level. If Notre Dame can make that happen against Duke, the Irish

could neutralize the Blue Devils’ many weapons.

“Hopefully, we can give C. K. shots that he likes to see,” Notre Dame

defenseman Stephen O’Hara said, “and he can eat them up.”

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