‘It’s a dream come true’ for Garnet Valley’s Max Busenkell to help Notre Dame defend its NCAA lacrosse title

Max Busenkell watched his Notre Dame teammates win a thrilling overtime battle against Virginia in the NCAA men’s lacrosse semifinals last year at Lincoln Financial Field.

Two days later, he saw sticks and helmets thrown in the air as he rushed the field from the bench after the Fighting Irish soared past Duke to secure the first national title in program history.

“It was surreal,” said Busenkell, a 2022 Garnet Valley High School graduate. “You could definitely tell last year how badly everyone wanted to bring a ring to Notre Dame for the first time.”

Those moments have since served as motivation for the sophomore midfielder who played in seven games during his rookie season. Busenkell wanted to be on the field, but he needed to prove that he could be an impact player.

And on Saturday, with his friends and family in attendance, he’ll have an opportunity to do so on a national stage in the Division I Final Four.

Top-seeded Notre Dame makes its second straight semifinals appearance, this time against No. 5 seed Denver at the Linc at noon. The winner will face Maryland or Virginia, who play afterward at 2:30 p.m., in Monday’s final. Both Saturday games are on ESPN2, with the final on ESPN at 1 p.m. Monday.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Busenkell, who has three goals and two assists in the last four games. “Growing up, watching games at the Linc, it was always like, ‘I want to be like those guys.’ Finally wearing that helmet, lacing up the cleats on the field — it really means a lot.”

Busenkell picked up a stick for the first time in preschool, he said, through the influence of his friend Ryan Nealon, now an attacker at Holy Cross.

Nealon’s father, Denny, once a player at the Naval Academy, was starting a rec lacrosse team through the Brandywine Youth Club. It’s what you can imagine for 5-year-olds: lots of ground balls and dog piles trying to pick it up.

“He never looked back,” said Busenkell’s mother, Kristen. “He just really loved it and he played every year for the BYC rec club. He also played football [and] basketball, but he loves lacrosse. He would spend hours in our front yard just shooting at the net.”

In sixth grade, Max asked his parents if he could join Big 4 HHH lacrosse club, founded by Billy McKinney, who coaches at Germantown Academy and played defense at Denver.

It wasn’t the closest drive, but Kristen and Busenkell’s father, Mike, were willing to make it work, they said, because their son insisted that this was what he wanted.

“This club played all summer,” Mike said. “They played against the best teams in Long Island, Baltimore, and the Boston area. Max wanted to spend his summers playing these tournaments. We would spend July 4 taking him to lacrosse games in Long Island and Baltimore.

“That’s how he got as good as he is now. That’s how he got recruited by so many good Division I teams.”

He played varsity in his freshman year at Garnet Valley under head coach Frank Urso, an All-American at Maryland who helped the Terrapins claim national titles in 1973 and 1975. Urso was named to the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1991.

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Learning the game from a legend, Max said, helped him develop a new appreciation for what’s considered the fastest sport on two feet.

“He allowed a lot of individual freedom on the field,” Busenkell said. “Just being able to see what fits a player and what doesn’t fit a player. It gave my teammates and I the opportunity to test who we are as players. It really helped in the long run to develop our identity.”

By his junior year, when college coaches could officially reach out to recruits, several major programs contacted him. Busenkell narrowed his list of schools to Notre Dame, Cornell, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard.

Academics played a large part in his decision, but joining a program that could win a national title was also heavily weighed. Plus, as a quarterback for four years for Garnet Valley, he wanted to be around college football.

After chatting with former midfielder Quinn McCahon, a Malvern Prep alum who graduated last season, Busenkell had a better understanding of the Fighting Irish culture and was sold.

“He was a good salesperson in selling the school,” Max said, laughing. “He told me there’s really no egos on the team. It’s just everyone wants what’s best for the team, and I definitely saw that last year.”

However, the college level was a transition.

Busenkell graduated high school as a nationally ranked player who set the school record for points. He was one of the best, but so is everyone else at Notre Dame.

Kristen Busenkell could hear the pressure in her son’s voice during the first couple of weeks of his freshman year. He said, “Mom, I’m not even close to one of the best here.”

“That was very humbling and a huge adjustment for him,” she added. “He slowly worked hard, gained the respect of his peers, and finally earned a spot on the field this year, and I think it’s been incredible to watch because he worked really hard for it.”

After his first year, Max knew that there would be more opportunities to get on the field with graduates moving on from the program.

But as a young talent on a team filled with stars in brothers Pat and Chris Kavanagh, Max had to work for a spot. So during the offseason, he prioritized weightlifting and implementing a healthy diet.

“He likes his sweets and he likes his ice cream,” Mike Busenkell said. “At that age, it’s easy to eat like that and stay thin. But he made an effort last summer to cut out all sweets and junk food and really eat well. He trimmed down 15 pounds, which made him a little quicker, faster, and leaner.”

Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan, who has been at the helm for 36 seasons, could tell Busenkell’s trajectory was on the rise.

“It became clear that he has a really good understanding of the game,” Corrigan said. “He’s one of those guys that makes a lot of plays, that make the people around him better.

“We call them the invisible plays; it’s the picks, it’s off-ball movement, it’s beating his guy.”

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His role has led him to compete in 13 of 15 matches this year while giving Notre Dame depth as a reliable substitute.

Corrigan compared Busenkell, who has 10 goals and six assists this season, to Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić. He does the little things that add up at the end of the game.

“He’s not the guy that’s going to jump off the page at you,” Corrigan added. “But if you watch him, possession in and possession out, you’ll see that he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”

Max hopes to showcase those skills on Saturday and help his team defend its national title.

What better place to do it than 30 minutes away from his hometown, where his lacrosse journey began?

“I want to win another championship,” Max said. “We are two wins away from that happening. I think that’s really special. I’m just trying to stay focused on Saturday and hopefully come out victorious.”