1980

President:Bob Curley, Captains: Mike Norton, Nick Gehring


  • 1980 Roster

  • 1980 Record

  • Recollections from 1980

  • Photos from 1980

  • Recognition: 

    •             
            Most Improved Player - Mike Brogan 
            Nappy Award - Nick Gehring
            Jack Tate Award - Mike Norton

  • Individual Scoring
    Name Goals Assists Points
    Nick Gehring 27 23 50
    Carl Lundblad 28 8 36
    Mike Norton 15 21 36
    Mike Lynch 21 8 29
    Dan Pace 14 12 26
    Mike Caron 16 4 20
    Mike Brogan 6 4 10
    Dan Charhut 6 3 9
    James Ortiz 8 . 8
    Steve Linehan 4 2 6
    Brett Jackson 4 1 5
    Bob Durgin 3 1 4
    Maurice Beshlihan 1 1 2
    Tracy Cotter 1 . 1
    Pat Jank . 1 1
    Dave Lewis 1 . 1
    Tim Michels . 1 1


    The 1980 Season


    The 1980 schedule was purposely designed to be rough, hping to show the University that the Irish could compete with the best, as well as prepare the team for the upcoming varsity era. The B-team, the feeder for the A-team, was also given a big, tough schedule.

    The A-team opened on a cold drizzly afternoon at Ball State. After one stanza of inconsistency, the Irish caught fire and crushed BSU in a 17-4 rout. The Irish then set off for their annual Spring "tour", this time to Houston. In the first game, ND opened quickly with a four goal margin and went on to defeat the Houston City Club by an 8-4 margin. Afterward, the Houston Alumni Club provided a "down-home" barbeque. Two days later, the Irish took on the host team, the University of Houston. The Irish were rude guests as they thrashed the Cougars, 11-4 in a very sloppy game.

    In 90º heat, the Irish outran the Texas A&M Aggies at College Station, 8-4. By the time the Irish reached Dallas, the heat and rigours of travel started to take their toll. The Dallas Club rolled over ND in a night game, 13-6. Two days later, the Irish were again gunned down in the tour-closing Texas A&M game. Bolstered by some Air Force recruits, the Red Raiders easily defeated the hapless Irish, 10-2.

    Returning to the friendly fields of South Bend, the Irish soundly defeated Lake Forest College 12-8. The Illini of Illinois were next; the Irish gave up a five goal first quarter margin, to find themselves tied at six in the third quarter. The team quickly shifted into high gear and won, 10-2.

    The Irish then played host to the Wolverines of Michigan in a freezing cold night game. It was close all through the game, but with two minutes to go, Notre Dame was down by three. Never giving up, the Irish hit the twines twice to trail by one with one minute remaining. Notre Dame peppered the Michigan goal with five shots but nothing got by the Wolverine goalie, leaving the final tally of 7-6, Michigan.

    An Ohio road trip produced two losses, the first to the Columbus Lacrosse Club (15-8) and the second to the always tough Denison College (19-12).

    Back home, the Irish pounded Detroit 15-4 in front of a large An Tostal Weekend crowd. The next day, ND prevailed over the Purdue Boilermakers, 11-6.

    At East Lansing, Co-captain Nick Gehring collected seven points while senior attackman Mike Caron added four goals to pace the 14-10 win over Michigan State. Next, the Chicago Lacrosse Club overpowered the Irish, 13-7.

    The following day, the team finished the Club Era at Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium, an indication of how far Jack Tate's 1963 vision had come. The highly inspired Irish played an awesome game against a talented Bowling Green team and ended up on top by a 8-7 count.

    Individually, Nick Gehring gathered 50 points on 27 goals and 23 assists.