NCAA Final Four: Notre Dame's McCahon (Malvern Prep) has played all the roles for Fightin' Irish

By Matt De George
For Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/26/23

PHILADELPHIA – You can see Quinn McCahon flipping through the calendar pages in his mind to keep it all straight.

When the Malvern Prep grad arrived at Notre Dame in the fall of 2018, he expected to transition from an offensive midfielder to more of a defensive middie, at least to start his college career. As his freshman campaign rolled on, he got more offensive opportunities and made the most of them

Notre Dame’s Quinn McCahon (Photo by Rene Schleicher)

Since, he’s ping-ponged as needed, picking his moments to provide an offensive boost, defaulting to steady defensive principles. At the heart of it is a player with a high lacrosse IQ and a desire to supply whatever his team needs.

“Last year, coach asked me to play strict D-middie because we needed some depth on that end,” McCahon said Friday. “And after playing offensive midfield for the first three years, I had to do what was right for the team, and I did that. And I transitioned the second half of the year to playing a little bit of two-way.

“It’s just trusting the coaches and trusting what our team needs and doing what’s best for the team. That selfless approach is what’s brought us here, and it’s not just from me. I think everyone on this team has that selfless approach.”

That approach has Notre Dame back in the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 2015, where it will take on the University of Virginia in Saturday’s second semifinal at Lincoln Financial Field (2:30 p.m., ESPN).

McCahon’s defensive bona fides come with the caveat that he can still score a goal when needed. He’s scored 49 goals and 37 assists in 59 career games over five seasons. He was a Day 1 starter for the Fightin’ Irish, and all but five of his games (all in 2022) have been starts.

This year has trailed only 2021 in terms of his offensive production, with 12 goals and 20 points. He’s adopted what he calls, “more of a traditional, old-school style middie” role, and he radiates with pride at that description. There’s just as much delight in how he fits into the squad around him.

“It’s probably one of the best aspects of our team,” he said. “The middle of the field, we’ve got a great group of d-middies that are behind us and a great group of offensive guys. Then you mix us in there playing two-way, and we can go down the middle of the field, push transition.”

Talent has rarely been the question at Notre Dame, which often excels in recruiting. But that hasn’t always translated into postseason success. The Irish hadn’t reached a Final Four since 2015, also in Philly. They’ve twice made the national title game, both losses to Duke, in 2014 and 2010.

Last year ended with a failure that galvanized this group: The Irish were controversially left out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years. Whether they deserved that or not, veteran leaders like McCahon chose to use it as fuel.

“Not getting that opportunity to compete for an NCAA tournament really drove us this year, put a fire in our chest,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any difference in talent, but we’ve just had a great group of leaders.”

McCahon grew up as a Notre Dame fan. He recalls watching the Irish play in those Baltimore Final Fours, and he appreciates his extra COVID year in part because it allowed a chance for a finale in Philly.

Being part of the group that returns Notre Dame to national prominence is what McCahon aspired to when he first stepped foot in South Bend. Elevating them one stage further by bringing home the first national title in program history, is front and center in his mind this week.

“It’s really a dream,” he said. “We’ve still got two games left to go, but for me, I grew up watching Notre Dame. I grew up coming to this stadium, watching them play, watching them in Baltimore, and I knew that in my last senior year, I would miss this by a year, but with COVID, I got that extra year and the opportunity to play in Philly.

“To be here now and to fulfill that, it’s great. But we’ve got some unfinished business. It’s not just a celebration to make it to the Final Four. We’re here to win the whole thing.”

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships

Click here to purchase tickets

at Lincoln Financial Field
DI
Semifinals
Saturday, May 27
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Penn State, noon on ESPN2
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2