- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,150,934
- Reaction score
- 59
SOUTH BEND − Stepping in front of his space in the Arlotta Stadium team room on the afternoon of May 10, Notre Dame lacrosse senior faceoff specialist Christian Gallaher stood and stared.
Noie: Statistics not the story about this Notre Dame lacrosse senior captain
He needed a minute to process the magnitude of that moment.
Gallaher was a member of the 2023 and 2024 national championship squads, so any nerves of playing high-leverage May games had long gone away. It wasn’t about facing Jacksonville in a first-round NCAA Tournament game that got to Gallaher, but rather, how he would look in that game.
D Up: How Shawn Lyght quietly keeps the peace for Notre Dame lacrosse
Gallaher stared into his locker and saw his stuff all set up. His helmet and stick. His shoulder and elbow pads. His game shorts and socks and Under Armour cleats all nice and neat and ready to wear. It was when Gallaher’s gaze got to his white game jersey that caused a pause.
His usual No. 42 was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t an oversight or equipment room error. This was how it was supposed to be.
Three years ago, near the end of his freshman season, Gallaher gathered with his teammates as Notre Dame prepared to embark on a postseason run that would deliver the program its first national championship. In the postseason, veteran head coach Kevin Corrigan explained that day in 2023, it was tradition for one senior, usually someone who wasn’t the team’s top goal scorer or ground-ball getter or defenseman, to earn the honor of wearing a certain special jersey number that meant something to that program.
A vote would be taken amongst teammates. The coaches had no say. Players could nominate any senior who they saw fit for the honor of wearing the No. 40 of former Irish attack Mike Sennett, who was one of those guys.
Not the most talented. Not the most athletic. Not the tallest or the strongest but someone who had that special something that allowed a team to be a team. Practices were better when he was around. Locker rooms were tighter when he was around. Programs were stronger when he was around.
You wanted to play with that guy. You wanted to be around that guy. That guy was Sennett.
In many ways, lacrosse was Sennett’s life. Freshman year, Sennett was rarely at practice. He battled through various injuries – a balky back, aching ankles, creaky knees – that routinely kept him holed up in the old Joyce Center first-floor training room.
Lacrosse was nothing it is today. Sennett wasn’t a main guy. He wasn’t on scholarship. He could have walked away forever. Nothing could keep him from being around the boys on gamedays.
“He was an inspiration to us all,” said former Irish defenseman Eamon McAnaney, who served as team captain alongside Sennett as seniors on a 1991 team that went 7-7. “He loved being on the team. He loved this sport. We watched him and said, ‘If he can go through that every day, what are we complaining about?’”
∎ ∎ ∎
The Irish watched Sennett and decided that since he didn’t complain, they wouldn’t. If he practiced that hard and was that dedicated, they had better be. Nobody called him Mike. Nobody called him Sennett. Everybody called him Steel. Few know why. Maybe it was because his family was in the steel business back home in Michigan.
Maybe because every fiber of his being was as solid as steel.
“He was just a guy who loved being part of the team,” Corrigan said. “He was never a great player, but there was nobody that worked harder, nobody that cared more about his teammates than Mike. He was that way from the day I got here, and he was that way every day of his life.”
A life that ended too soon at, ironically, a lacrosse tournament in Culver, Indiana. On April 28, 2007, the 38-year-old Sennett suffered a fatal heart attack while coaching a St. Louis (Missouri) DeSmet High School lacrosse program that he started from scratch and had steered to six state championships.
If there’s a patriarch of lacrosse in Missouri, it would be Sennett.
At the start of every postseason, Corrigan shares Sennett’s story. And every year, right around the time Notre Dame lacrosse became a staple in the NCAA Tournament, at least one senior wears Sennett’s No. 40 in postseason. For the Jacksonville game, it was Gallaher. For the quarterfinals victory over one-time perennial power Johns Hopkins, it was senior midfield Thomas Porell.
When it came time for the 53 players to elect one senior, votes were cast for 10. Gallaher and Porell tied for the most votes, so they would share the jersey. One game for Gallaher, the next for Porell.
“You see the jersey and know the story behind it, you’re grateful that the guys think of you that way,” Porell said. “Nobody outside knows the significance of 40, but all that matters is we know.”
That’s why Gallaher needed a moment before the Jacksonville game. Wearing No. 40 was never a goal, but when that day arrived, he was emotional. It took Gallaher back to his freshman year and the moment he had dreamed of growing up in New York. He stared into his locker that day as a freshman and saw his No. 42. He was emotional then. On this day as a senior, he saw No. 40 and was just as emotional. Tears may have been shed.
“When you see that number in your locker, it means a whole lot more than your own number,” Gallaher said. “You represent Noter Dame and your brothers in this program, (but) when you wear 40, you represent a little more. You represent Mike Sennett’s legacy and everyone who came before you who got that opportunity to wear that number.”
∎ ∎ ∎
As Sennett transitioned from an OK player to an awesome coach, he broke every team huddle at DeSmet with three words: “Count on me.” As a relative newbie college coach in the early 1990s, when going to NCAA Tournaments and challenging to win national championships for the third time in four seasons were too big to dream, Corrigan could count on Sennett.
Every, Single. Day.
As No. 2 seed Notre Dame (12-2) prepares to meet Atlantic Coast Conference colleague Syracuse (13-5) in Saturday’s semifinal in Charlottesville, Virginia, Corrigan can count on Gallaher and Porell − not for goals or ground balls or even a mere minute of playing time, but to keep the Irish strong. Keep them believing. Keep them fighting.
They work hard. They care. They’re good teammates. They’re program guys. Win or lose, they’ve been there. Like Sennett.
“That’s what those guys are like,” Corrigan said. “They’ve got that work ethic. They’ve got the sense of being a part of the team and not putting themselves ahead of anyone else or the team.”
Wearing that No. 40 meant something to Gallaher for the Jacksonville game. It was like putting a certain red “S” and crest across your chest. You do that with that number, you feel like you can do anything. Beat anybody.
“It feels a little different when you wear it,” Gallaher said. “You do notice it. It speaks to what your teammates think of you and how they view you. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Should Notre Dame advance to Championship Monday, Porell will wear No. 40.
“It’s a heavy weight on your back, but when you have 53 guys behind you, that weight is distributed amongst all 53,” Porell said. “It’s heavy, but it’s awesome.”
Now an anchor/reporter for SNY-TV in his native New York, the 57-year-old McAnaney was in the Shuart Stadium stands as a fan to watch Notre Dame handle Johns Hopkins and get to its eighth Final Four. Like many that day out on Long Island, he watched Josh Yago tally seven points. He watched Matt Jeffrey work his open-field magic. He watched Thomas Ricciardelli be a brick wall in goal.
He also watched out for No. 40. When there was a break in the action, McAanney would let his eyes wander down the Irish sideline. There he spotted Porell. When he did, McAnaney’s mind drifted back to all those days and nights on campus with Sennett − and all those stories.
His friend has been gone for nearly 20 years. Thanks in part to Corrigan’s postseason tradition decision, he’s never really left.
“It makes you emotional when No. 40 pops out of nowhere on that sideline and somebody is wearing it,” McAnaney said. “We’re always thinking about him. He won’t be in the media guide for any of his numbers, but he helped make that program what it is.”
Forty. Forever.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame lacrosse takes aim at third national championship in four years
Continue reading...
Noie: Statistics not the story about this Notre Dame lacrosse senior captain
He needed a minute to process the magnitude of that moment.
Gallaher was a member of the 2023 and 2024 national championship squads, so any nerves of playing high-leverage May games had long gone away. It wasn’t about facing Jacksonville in a first-round NCAA Tournament game that got to Gallaher, but rather, how he would look in that game.
D Up: How Shawn Lyght quietly keeps the peace for Notre Dame lacrosse
Gallaher stared into his locker and saw his stuff all set up. His helmet and stick. His shoulder and elbow pads. His game shorts and socks and Under Armour cleats all nice and neat and ready to wear. It was when Gallaher’s gaze got to his white game jersey that caused a pause.
His usual No. 42 was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t an oversight or equipment room error. This was how it was supposed to be.
Three years ago, near the end of his freshman season, Gallaher gathered with his teammates as Notre Dame prepared to embark on a postseason run that would deliver the program its first national championship. In the postseason, veteran head coach Kevin Corrigan explained that day in 2023, it was tradition for one senior, usually someone who wasn’t the team’s top goal scorer or ground-ball getter or defenseman, to earn the honor of wearing a certain special jersey number that meant something to that program.
A vote would be taken amongst teammates. The coaches had no say. Players could nominate any senior who they saw fit for the honor of wearing the No. 40 of former Irish attack Mike Sennett, who was one of those guys.
Not the most talented. Not the most athletic. Not the tallest or the strongest but someone who had that special something that allowed a team to be a team. Practices were better when he was around. Locker rooms were tighter when he was around. Programs were stronger when he was around.
You wanted to play with that guy. You wanted to be around that guy. That guy was Sennett.
In many ways, lacrosse was Sennett’s life. Freshman year, Sennett was rarely at practice. He battled through various injuries – a balky back, aching ankles, creaky knees – that routinely kept him holed up in the old Joyce Center first-floor training room.
Lacrosse was nothing it is today. Sennett wasn’t a main guy. He wasn’t on scholarship. He could have walked away forever. Nothing could keep him from being around the boys on gamedays.
“He was an inspiration to us all,” said former Irish defenseman Eamon McAnaney, who served as team captain alongside Sennett as seniors on a 1991 team that went 7-7. “He loved being on the team. He loved this sport. We watched him and said, ‘If he can go through that every day, what are we complaining about?’”
You must be registered for see images
∎ ∎ ∎
The Irish watched Sennett and decided that since he didn’t complain, they wouldn’t. If he practiced that hard and was that dedicated, they had better be. Nobody called him Mike. Nobody called him Sennett. Everybody called him Steel. Few know why. Maybe it was because his family was in the steel business back home in Michigan.
Maybe because every fiber of his being was as solid as steel.
“He was just a guy who loved being part of the team,” Corrigan said. “He was never a great player, but there was nobody that worked harder, nobody that cared more about his teammates than Mike. He was that way from the day I got here, and he was that way every day of his life.”
A life that ended too soon at, ironically, a lacrosse tournament in Culver, Indiana. On April 28, 2007, the 38-year-old Sennett suffered a fatal heart attack while coaching a St. Louis (Missouri) DeSmet High School lacrosse program that he started from scratch and had steered to six state championships.
If there’s a patriarch of lacrosse in Missouri, it would be Sennett.
At the start of every postseason, Corrigan shares Sennett’s story. And every year, right around the time Notre Dame lacrosse became a staple in the NCAA Tournament, at least one senior wears Sennett’s No. 40 in postseason. For the Jacksonville game, it was Gallaher. For the quarterfinals victory over one-time perennial power Johns Hopkins, it was senior midfield Thomas Porell.
When it came time for the 53 players to elect one senior, votes were cast for 10. Gallaher and Porell tied for the most votes, so they would share the jersey. One game for Gallaher, the next for Porell.
“You see the jersey and know the story behind it, you’re grateful that the guys think of you that way,” Porell said. “Nobody outside knows the significance of 40, but all that matters is we know.”
That’s why Gallaher needed a moment before the Jacksonville game. Wearing No. 40 was never a goal, but when that day arrived, he was emotional. It took Gallaher back to his freshman year and the moment he had dreamed of growing up in New York. He stared into his locker that day as a freshman and saw his No. 42. He was emotional then. On this day as a senior, he saw No. 40 and was just as emotional. Tears may have been shed.
“When you see that number in your locker, it means a whole lot more than your own number,” Gallaher said. “You represent Noter Dame and your brothers in this program, (but) when you wear 40, you represent a little more. You represent Mike Sennett’s legacy and everyone who came before you who got that opportunity to wear that number.”
You must be registered for see images attach
∎ ∎ ∎
As Sennett transitioned from an OK player to an awesome coach, he broke every team huddle at DeSmet with three words: “Count on me.” As a relative newbie college coach in the early 1990s, when going to NCAA Tournaments and challenging to win national championships for the third time in four seasons were too big to dream, Corrigan could count on Sennett.
Every, Single. Day.
As No. 2 seed Notre Dame (12-2) prepares to meet Atlantic Coast Conference colleague Syracuse (13-5) in Saturday’s semifinal in Charlottesville, Virginia, Corrigan can count on Gallaher and Porell − not for goals or ground balls or even a mere minute of playing time, but to keep the Irish strong. Keep them believing. Keep them fighting.
They work hard. They care. They’re good teammates. They’re program guys. Win or lose, they’ve been there. Like Sennett.
“That’s what those guys are like,” Corrigan said. “They’ve got that work ethic. They’ve got the sense of being a part of the team and not putting themselves ahead of anyone else or the team.”
Wearing that No. 40 meant something to Gallaher for the Jacksonville game. It was like putting a certain red “S” and crest across your chest. You do that with that number, you feel like you can do anything. Beat anybody.
“It feels a little different when you wear it,” Gallaher said. “You do notice it. It speaks to what your teammates think of you and how they view you. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Should Notre Dame advance to Championship Monday, Porell will wear No. 40.
“It’s a heavy weight on your back, but when you have 53 guys behind you, that weight is distributed amongst all 53,” Porell said. “It’s heavy, but it’s awesome.”
Now an anchor/reporter for SNY-TV in his native New York, the 57-year-old McAnaney was in the Shuart Stadium stands as a fan to watch Notre Dame handle Johns Hopkins and get to its eighth Final Four. Like many that day out on Long Island, he watched Josh Yago tally seven points. He watched Matt Jeffrey work his open-field magic. He watched Thomas Ricciardelli be a brick wall in goal.
He also watched out for No. 40. When there was a break in the action, McAanney would let his eyes wander down the Irish sideline. There he spotted Porell. When he did, McAnaney’s mind drifted back to all those days and nights on campus with Sennett − and all those stories.
His friend has been gone for nearly 20 years. Thanks in part to Corrigan’s postseason tradition decision, he’s never really left.
“It makes you emotional when No. 40 pops out of nowhere on that sideline and somebody is wearing it,” McAnaney said. “We’re always thinking about him. He won’t be in the media guide for any of his numbers, but he helped make that program what it is.”
Forty. Forever.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame lacrosse takes aim at third national championship in four years
Continue reading...
