Matt Jeffery Has Found Another Gear at Exactly the Right Time

Matt Jeffery changes directions at top speed better than anyone in college lacrosse.

The Notre Dame sophomore midfielder routinely blows by defenders to create scoring chances for himself or others, something that Syracuse will have to contend with in their NCAA tournament semifinal matchup 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.

“It doesn’t matter whether he gets a short stick or a pole, he can dodge both and it really doesn’t affect him that much,” said Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan. “And that’s really, really valuable because that wears on other teams. They have to decide how they’re going to slide to him, when they’re going to slide to him, and what person do they want to match up with him.”

Teams haven’t figured that out thus far. Jeffery has posted seven of his 12 assists as well as multiple goals in the Fighting Irish’s two NCAA tournament wins. On the heels of being held scoreless in their ACC championship game loss to UVA, he had two goals and a then-career-high three assists in their 18-5 win over Jacksonville and then another pair of goals and a new career-high four assists in last weekend’s 15-9 quarterfinal win over Johns Hopkins.

“Just coming off the ACC and not getting what we wanted and losing that game to Virginia definitely put a chip on my shoulder,” Jeffery said. “I wanted to be better for myself but also for the team and I just feel like I didn’t perform well in that game and I just underperformed.”

Jeffery is up to 17 goals and 12 assists on the season, part of a deep and talented midfield that has produced offensively with him and Will Angrick, Will Maheras and Jalen Seymour. His recent explosion is what they missed last year.

“This is exactly where Matt was last year and unfortunately then he stopped playing,” Corrigan said. “He was doing the exact same thing at the end of last year, just getting better game to game and that’s how he is.”

Jeffery didn’t play in last year’s ACC or NCAA tournaments after a season-ending injury in the final regular-season game against Penn, an injury that happened after he made one of his devastating directional cuts. He had the ball in his stick on the right side, came hard at his defender before cutting so swiftly that he was barely touched as he ran right by. As he shot the ball high, though, another Penn defender hit him high in the shoulder area, sending Jeffery’s helmet flying and him to the ground. Jeffery walked off the field in a precautionary neck brace, and a slight fracture in his sternum near his collarbone ended his season.

“It was just a little scary, but I had no surgery or whatever,” Jeffery said. “I had six weeks. It was really fast recovery. I healed pretty quickly.”

Three days after the injury, league coaches voted him ACC Freshman of the Year, just the second in Notre Dame history. Jeffery played the entire ACC season, but had only nine games total because he missed the first two games of the season while returning from playing football for Notre Dame.

“To be totally honest, I was kind of surprised just because selfishly I didn’t think I did as much as I thought I could have done throughout the season and could have contributed better, could have played a little bit better in those games I did play in,” Jeffery said. “And there’s a lot of mistakes I obviously learned from last year to help me improve this year. I was just definitely grateful to win that award.”

Jeffery was the top-ranked Class of 2025 player out of Cheshire (Conn.), but he didn’t know how much he’d be able to contribute as a two-sport athlete coming off football and adjusting to playing midfield after being an attackman at Cheshire.

Playing wide receiver for the Fighting Irish helped challenge him to grow athletically. But when football season cut further into his lacrosse preparation — Jeffery is all-in on whatever season he’s in — it added to his uncertainty.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen, if I was going to play or not because I was playing a lot of football and I just wasn’t there for a lot of time,” Jeffery said. “I didn’t know if I was good enough yet.”

Jeffery scored six goals, adding one assist and three ground balls in his nine games. But it was about more than numbers. His speed and athleticism had to be accounted for.

“What the coaches in our league recognize is it’s not about stats, it’s about impact,” Corrigan said. “And he impacts the game. He impacts matchups. He impacts how you have to defend him as a team, how we get to do things.”

Forced to the sidelines by his sternum injury, he could only watch as his teammates lost in the ACC tournament semifinals the next week and then lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to Penn State after topping Ohio State in their opener.

“Obviously, it’s tough watching the guys go out there and compete and not being able to be out there and impacting the team,” Jeffery said. “But I tried my best all week and in all those games when I wasn’t playing. I was trying to be in the mix and the timeouts and just be overall a good, positive character for the team and not let that impact how we played.”

The hit and subsequent injury has not affected how Jeffery plays either. He was back on the football field last fall, playing primarily special teams again at 5’11” and 195 pounds. He’s been just as aggressive on the lacrosse field too. He’s already taken several big hits this spring.

“I’ve always had that physical mindset. I can eat a check or I could go in and get a tough ground ball or go get blown up and then still get right back up,” he said. “I was kind of born with that mindset of never give up when you get knocked down.”

When Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff this year, it gave Jeffery an extra window of time to prepare for lacrosse that he didn’t have as a freshman. He got more reps with the team, had more time to work on his moves and gained confidence in his ability to help the team more before this spring. He has come back better than a year ago, and Corrigan has noticed a big improvement.

“His vision,” Corrigan said. “Last year he was intent on getting by somebody and making a certain kind of play. And this year, his poise and vision with the ball are completely different. He’s a very, very good lacrosse player. And for a guy that’s not playing lacrosse 12 months a year, it’s amazing.”

Jeffery’s ability to put defenders on skates remains one of his greatest strengths. It’s made him dangerous his whole playing career and it’s only evolving. Some of that, he credits to football.

“It’s been helping me understand my body type and the way I can move and change direction without slipping and falling,” Jeffery said. “When I was in high school, I’d make a move and I’d slip real quick just because I’m moving too fast for my feet. Practicing in football and learning those different change-of-direction moves has definitely helped me keep my balance.”

Jeffery has always had a natural speed dodge. He’s at his best using his athleticism and change of direction a few yards away from a defender, before they can get their hands on him.

“It’s kind of fun to watch him go from January as he’s re-establishing his ability to do these things,” Corrigan said, “to May when he’s doing them at a really high level.”

So far it’s been a good May for Jeffery and the Fighting Irish. He is trying to make the most of his first NCAA tournament and help Notre Dame win its third national title in four years.

“I’m super grateful being able to still strap the helmet on and play in these games that I’ve always dreamed about since I was a kid,” Jeffery said, “that I get to embody that and have the opportunity to play in these special games.”