University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse player Pat Kavanagh battled through a brutal hamstring injury to help the Fighting Irish win the NCAA championship against Duke University on Memorial Day .
After the game, Kavanagh and his younger brother and teammate, Chris, were interviewed on the field, with Pat being asked how he was able to deal with the pain.
His answer was one that really resonated with the meaning behind Memorial Day.
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s Pat Kavanagh (51) controls the ball against Duke Blue Devils’ Will Frisoli (7) during the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on May 29, 2023 in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
«Honestly, I’ve waited too long for this game. Sixty minutes for the rest of my life,» Kavanagh said. «I got a lot of support from my family, my coaches, my medical staff. And Liam Entenmann texted me last night about Mike Day, who is a soldier who took about 20 rounds of bullets and a grenade and still got up and killed two of his enemies.
“Liam said, ‘If this guy can do this, you can play with a little hamstring injury.’ So I said, ‘That’s all the motivation I needed. Thank you, Liam, for sending me that message.’
«It’s Memorial Day. I couldn’t be more proud to do this on Memorial Day. Thank you to our troops. This is just amazing, it’s so surreal.»
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Day was a highly decorated US Navy SEAL who survived 27 shots while in Iraq. He served 21 years in the Navy and, after retiring, became an author and advocate for wounded military veterans.
Day died on March 27, but his story and sacrifice will never be forgotten, as Kavanagh proved.
Pat Kavanagh (51), Chris Kavanagh (50), Eric Dobson (8) and Griffin Westlin (31) of Notre Dame Fighting Irish react against the Duke Blue Devils during the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championship game in Lincoln Financial Field on May 29, 2023, in Philadelphia. Notre Dame defeated the Blue Devils 13-9. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Kavanagh was on «The Pat McAfee Show» Tuesday and showed the former NFL kicker just how serious the injury was.
While he was heavily taped during the game, Kavanagh showed off the significant bruising found just above the back of his knee, and it didn’t look pretty.
Kavanagh, a native of Rockville Centre, New York, was one of the main reasons the Fighting Irish was able to challenge for their first national championship. He is a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award for best college lacrosse player, the second nomination of his career.
The attacker couldn’t find the back of the net in this game, but he did have an assist on a Brian Tevlin goal in the third quarter. Chris Kavanagh scored twice for the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s Pat Kavanagh celebrates a goal during the Division I men’s lacrosse championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on May 29, 2023 in Philadelphia. (Photos by Larry French/NCAA via Getty Images)
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Pat Kavanagh finished the season with 25 goals and 52 assists in 16 games for 77 points.