Pat Kavanagh signs NIL partnership with CityLax, Ney York City non-profit

By AIDAN THOMAS sports editor

o n m onday afternoon, c ityLax, a non-profit organization dedicated to growing the game of lacrosse in n ew York c ity, announced a partnership with n otre d ame senior attackman Pat Kavanagh. FU nd (Friends of the University of n otre d ame) helped in the creation of the n IL deal. FU nd is a non-profit helping n otre d ame student-athletes promote charitable organizations. h owever, they are independent from the University.

In their organization description on the press release, c ityLax describes their mission as “introducing and expanding lacrosse into n ew York c ity schools and geographies that historically have had little or no access to the game and that are predominantly comprised of populations from lower-income families.”

Kavanagh hails from the Long Island area, and he’ll serve as a c ityLax ambassador for the upcoming season. That’ll include hosting a meet and greet online session and a few other updates throughout the season. c ityLax recently fully funded a middle school program in honor of Welles c rowther. c rowther played for b oston c ollege, but he died in the World Trade c enter attacks on 9/11. Kavanagh posted on his Instagram on m onday evening, announcing the partnership. h e referenced the program in honor of c rowther as an example of c ityLax’s “excellent track record of fundraising for great causes.” h e noted that, while he grew up, c rowther was one of his heroes.

In addition to his ambassador role, Kavanagh took his partnership a step further. The senior announced he will donate $10 for every ground ball he picks up this year. Last year, Kavanagh picked up 39 ground balls, leading all non-faceoff players for the Irish. In his statement, Kavanagh encouraged everyone to donate. h e offered a GoFund m e link for followers to join him in his cause. h is full statement read:

“To help us grow the game one ground ball at a time, I will be donating $10 for every ground ball I pick up this year, and I hope you can consider donating as well. Goals and assists are great, but ground balls truly win games, and I cannot wait to fight extra hard for ground balls this year in support of this amazing mission. c ityLax has an excellent track record of fundraising, and recently fully funded a middle school program in n Y c in honor of Welles c rowther, who has been a hero of mine growing up. To join me in this great cause, please donate here.” h e is one of two Irish players to gain first or second-team honors, joining senior goaltender Liam e ntenmann. Five n otre d ame players earned preseason All-American honors in total.

Kavanagh and his Irish teammates begin their season on Wednesday, Feb. 15. They’ll battle m arquette, an annual rival for the past nine full seasons. Kavanagh is a preseason second-team All-American.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu situation where a bad decision could affect us.” corrigan said that he isn’t dwelling on last year, and he has emphasized moving forward with his team this season.

“every year starts new,” corrigan said. “We come in and we rebuild it for this year’s team. That’s our focus. We have not talked about last year since that first preseason meeting that we had. We haven’t mentioned it since then and i don’t really intend to until after we win the championship.” senior goalie Liam entenmann also shared his disappointment with the way last season ended.

“it definitely stung. i’d be lying if i said it didn’t sting,” entenmann said. “it was a heartbreaking ending to an incredible run. That 6-0 run was probably one of the most special things i have been a part of on or off the field.” entenmann and the irish now understand the importance of every game more than ever –even in non-conference play.

“We have to treat our first game like it’s the national championship,” entenmann said. “because if we drop a few games like we did at the beginning of last year, we aren’t going to have that chance. We might as well treat every game like it’s the national championship.” and with the irish defense looking a bit different this year, corrigan is especially excited to have a quality veteran like entenmann in the cage.

“When you do have some new faces down there, it’s nice to have an old hand in the cage. and not just an old hand, but a guy that’s playing as well as we have had anybody play. he is playing so well in the preseason,” corrigan said. “he’s a guy that’s improved every year.” corrigan praised entenmann’s ability to compete and improve throughout his career. corrigan mentioned senior defender marco napolitano as a player that has stepped up for the irish defensively.

“he’s so competitive with himself. he hates to give up a goal at any time. he has just been great, and he has been better every year,” corrigan said.

“he’s playing better than he’s ever played,” corrigan said. “he’s been really good, and he’s going to make us better along with the new guys.”

The irish will have a tough nonconference schedule against preseason no. 1 maryland, no. 3 Georgetown and no. 11 ohio state. Last year the irish lost to all three of them. and corrigan knows that his team can’t do that again this season.

“We had a few injuries going into the early part of last season, and it took us a little while to find our stride,” corrigan said. “We know we can’t do that this year. i think the guys understand that we have to be ready to play and win early. more than anything else, this is a great opportunity to play a schedule like ours. Who doesn’t love playing the top teams in the country week after week.” despite playing all three teams tough last year, the irish came up short in part because of the experience of the opposing team’s faceoff taker. corrigan is confident in sophomore Will Lynch, who has improved immensely since last season.

“We played those guys all well last year. We just didn’t win,” corrigan said. “We had some challenges with a young faceoff guy who came right into it by playing against three of the best faceoff guys in the country. [Will has] grown up a ton since then and is really playing well.” entenmann said he is excited about the bond his team has across the board.

“The thing that excites me the most is how much of a group we are off the field,” entenmann said. “The reason i’m so excited about that is that it translates to on the field as far as camaraderie, positive reinforcement, constructive criticism when needed and overall encouragement. i think this is overall a testament to how close we are as a group of people and group of friends.” although entenmann is preseason all-acc, he says his focus is squarely on the team’s success.

“i know it sounds really cliche but i really try not to pay attention to that preseason stuff,” entenmann said. “They’re preseason rankings for a reason. my goal is to do what i can do to help the team overall, and i don’t really care if that results in all-acc or all-american or whatever it may be. The thing that is most important to me is becoming the best we can be every day, and hopefully that results in a national championship. That’s obviously what we are working towards.”