Notre Dame’s season has been one of ups and downs, but the body of work is still impressive enough for the Fighting Irish to rank No. 7 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Men’s Division I poll.

Losses to Richmond, Virginia and Ohio State by a combined four goals have limited how high Notre Dame can climb in the polls, but coach Kevin Corrigan is pleased — for the most part — with his team’s level of play.

“You get what you’ve earned,” Corrigan said. “Being close, you don’t get any extra credit for being close. Do I think we’ve played consistently well? Yes.”

A loaded schedule with “no byes” brings Notre Dame its next challenge on Saturday, when the Irish travel to Durham, N.C., for an ACC matchup against Duke.

NO. 7 NOTRE DAME AT NO. 8 DUKE
WHEN: Saturday, April 6, Noon
WATCH: ESPNU

Corrigan said that, “At different times, we’ve done everything well.” He knows it will take a complete team effort against Duke, which thrives when it gets out in transition. Joe Robertson (39 points), Brad Smith (32) and Joey Manown (29) are accustomed to putting up gaudy stat lines for this reason.

Notre Dame will have to limit its 17.5 turnovers per game, but it’ll also take a concerted effort by the attackmen to ride, limit fouls and not take bad shots.

“There are no key guys,” Corrigan said. “It’s everybody.”

High-percentage shooters like Connor Morin (.480), Wheaton Jackoboice (.458) and Brendan Gleason (.441) could be even more important than usual with the pressure of having to take quality looks at the cage.

Charles Leonard, who Corrigan called “a battler,” matches up with Brian Smyth at the faceoff X in another matchup with major implications.

“I know our guys have great confidence that Charles is going to battle,” Corrigan said.

Other games to watch this weekend include:

• No. 14 Lehigh at No. 3 Loyola
  Saturday, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network

A Patriot League bout between two contenders takes place in Baltimore on Saturday morning. Lehigh hasn’t lost since a three-game skid to close February, while Loyola hasn’t truly been tested since a 12-7 loss to Duke on March 7. Much of the focus, of course, will be on the dynamic duo of Pat Spencer and Kevin Lindley, who combined average 12.11 points per game for Loyola. The Lehigh defense needs to be on high alert for their locations at all times, but this unit isn’t unprepared for the challenge. Lehigh is tied for fifth nationally in terms of defense, allowing only 8.6 goals per game. During Lehigh’s six-game winning streak, five teams have been held to eight or fewer goals.

• No. 6 Ohio State at No. 1 Penn State
  Sunday, 7 p.m., Big Ten Network

Fresh off a 14-6 loss to Rutgers, Ohio State doesn’t get a breather. The Buckeyes head to State College for a clash with No. 1 Penn State and its potent offense. Grant Ament was officially deemed questionable by PSU coach Jeff Tambroni before playing Maryland last weekend, but Ament suited up and attracted the requisite attention by the Terps. Penn State can score without its leading assist man, but Ament adds an element to PSU’s feeding game that it lacks without him. The Nittany Lions average 17.78 goals per game, more than two goals better than Cornell, which ranks second in the nation. Ohio State’s defense ranks 17^th nationally at 10.00 goals per game, so one of these units could break from the norm.

MORE GAMES ON OUR RADAR

All times are listed in E.T. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV/Streaming listing page.

SATURDAY, APRIL 6

Noon

Boston U at No. 15 Army (Patriot League Network)

No. 11 Cornell at Harvard (ESPN+)

Air Force at No. 18 High Point (WatchESPN)

1 p.m.

Richmond at Jacksonville (ESPN+)

No. 19 North Carolina at No. 5 Virginia (ACC Network Extra)

Delaware at Drexel (Lax Sports Network)

No. 17 UMass at Hofstra (Hofstra Athletics)

No. 12 Towson at Fairfield (Facebook Live)

2 p.m.

No. 16 Rutgers at No. 20 Johns Hopkins (ESPNU)

Michigan at No. 4 Maryland (Big Ten Network)

Navy at Colgate (Patriot League Network)

3 p.m.

Dartmouth at No. 2 Yale (ESPN+)

4 p.m.

No. 10 Penn at Brown (ESPN+)

5 p.m.

Villanova at No. 9 Denver (CBS Sports Network)