Notre Dame's Pat Kavanagh gives patriotic answer to why he battled through injury during lacrosse title game

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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, and Pat was asked how he was able to fight through the pain. 

His answer was one that truly resonated with the meaning behind Memorial Day. 

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Pat Kavanagh (51) of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish controls the ball against Will Frisoli (7) of the Duke Blue Devils during the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse championship game at Lincoln Financial Field May 29, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

"Honestly, I’ve been waiting too long for this game. Sixty minutes for the rest of my life," Kavanagh said. "Got a lot of support from my family, my coaches, my medical staff. And Liam Entenmann actually sent me a text message last night about Mike Day, who’s a solider who took about 20 bullet shots and a grenade and still got up and killed two of his enemies. 

"Liam said, ‘If this guy can do this, you can play through a little hamstring injury.’ So I said, ‘That’s all the motivation I needed. Thank you Liam for sending that text.’ 

"It’s Memorial Day. Couldn’t be prouder to get this done on Memorial Day. Thank you to our troops. This is just unbelievable, it’s so surreal."

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Day was a highly decorated U.S. Navy SEAL who survived being shot 27 times while in Iraq. He served 21 years