Denver lacrosse meets Notre Dame in Final Four, a renewal of Great Western rivalry

Long live the Great Western Lacrosse League.

As Denver prepares for Notre Dame in an NCAA national semifinal, Pioneers coach Matt Brown jogged his memory for games past: the good ol’ GWLL.

“I think when you think of Denver and Notre Dame, you think of western expansion (in college lacrosse),” Brown said Tuesday.

No. 5 Denver meets No. 1 Notre Dame at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. No. 7 Maryland plays No. 6 Virginia at 12:30 p.m.

Both Final Four games are on ESPN2.

It wasn’t long ago Denver-Notre Dame represented one seriously fun rivalry. Notre Dame holds a 14-11 lead in a series that thrived in the Great Western Lacrosse League, which had Denver (13-3) and Notre Dame (14-1) as original members. The league’s final season was in 2009.

“We haven’t played them since 2020. It’s kind of disappointing,” said Brown, a Denver senior in 2005 when the Pioneers beat the Irish for the first time in seven tries. “I thought it was one of the great rivalries in college lacrosse.”

The current Notre Dame side enters the Final Four as the undisputed favorite to win the national title. The Irish’s only loss this season was an 11-10 defeat to Georgetown on Feb. 25.

“We’re here for one thing. We’re here to be the best team we can be,” said Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan, who, in his 36th season, is the longest-tenured coach in Division I lacrosse.

A longstanding series, however, does not make a memorable rivalry.

Memorable matchups do — and Denver-Notre Dame is familiar with high stakes.

Denver is 3-0 against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers won 11-10 in overtime in a 2015 national semifinal, a game that also was played in Philadelphia and served as a big step toward Denver’s national title. The Pioneers won 16-4 in a 2017 quarterfinal and 9-7 in the first round in 2018. Denver is 8-2 over its past 10 matchups with Notre Dame.

Expect another tight one. Five of the past 12 games were not decided until overtime.

"We took our lumps from Notre Dame for many, many years,” Brown said.

The latest edition of the rivalry is a contrast of strengths. Notre Dame brings with it the No. 1 scoring team in college lacrosse, while Denver has the No. 2 scoring defense.

“I wish I could give you a good glib answer on (solving Denver’s defense) and tell you we’ve cracked the code. But honestly I’m not sure,” Corrigan said. “You have to put pressure on them. You can’t be impatient in what you’re doing. They play very good team defense. Their goalie’s playing well. You’ve got to know what you’re working for and stay focused on that.

“As far as the particulars on that and how that’s going to work, it’s still a work in progress.”

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NCAA Final Four (at Philadelphia)

Saturday (ESPN2)

10 a.m. — No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Denver

12:30 p.m. — No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 7 Maryland