April 7, 2014
#10 NOTRE DAME (4-4)
vs.
MARQUETTE (4-7)
Tuesday, April 8 – 4 p.m. (CT)
Uihlein Park – Milwaukee, Wis.
TV/INTERNET
None
LIVE STATS
SETTING THE STAGE
– No. 10 Notre Dame (4-4) steps away from Atlantic Coast Conference play for a Tuesday afternoon showdown at Marquette (4-7). Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CT) at Uihlein Park in Milwaukee, Wis.
– The Fighting Irish and Golden Eagles will be meeting for just the second time ever. Notre Dame bested Marquette, 17-5, last season in Wilmette, Ill.
– Live stats for Tuesday’s game will be available via Gametracker on UND.com.
– Notre Dame is coming off a 15-7 loss to Duke on Saturday. Marquette topped St. John’s 11-10 in double-overtime on Sunday.
– This will be the first of two non-conference showdowns this week for the Irish. Notre Dame plays host to Robert Morris on Saturday (1 p.m. ET).
THE LAST TIME
– John Scioscia tallied six goals and one assist in last season’s 17-5 win over Marquette at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill. Scioscia entered the contest with two career goals. Matt Kavanagh added two goals and two assists for the Fighting Irish.
A LOOK AT MARQUETTE
– The Golden Eagles are 4-7 overall and 2-1 in Big East play. Marquette is averaging 9.8 goals per game, while allowing 11.9 per contest.
– Tyler Melnyk (R-Sr./A) leads Marquette in goals (32) and assists (14). Jimmy Danaher (Fr.) has a 3-4 record in goal and carries an 11.4 goals-against average and a .452 save percentage. JJ Sagle (Sr.) is 1-3 with a 12.2 goals-against average and a .278 save percentage.
– Marquette went 5-8 last season, which was its first campaign as a varsity program.
COMMON OPPONENTS
– Notre Dame and Marquette have three common opponents this season (Jacksonville, Ohio State, Duke). The Fighting Irish topped Jacksonville (19-7) and Ohio State (13-7) and fell to Duke (15-7). The Golden Eagles fell to all three squads (Ohio State 11-7, Jacksonville 9-8, Duke 20-9).
Conor Doyle ON A HOT STREAK
– Conor Doyle is the only Fighting Irish player to notch a point in all eight games this season. His overall point streak stands at 11 games. He has scored a goal in 10 straight contests.
– Doyle has tallied five goals and three assists in the last two games. He scored a career-high four goals in the 11-10 loss at Syracuse (March 29). Doyle recorded a goal and matched a career-high mark of three assists Saturday against Duke.
STATE OF AFFAIRS
– Tuesday will be Notre Dame’s ninth game of the season and the Irish will be playing in their seventh different state. The Fighting Irish already have played in Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, California, Ohio and New York.
HOME STRETCH
– After playing five of its first seven games of the season away from home, four of Notre Dame’s final five regular-season contests will take place at Arlotta Stadium. Tuesday’s game at Marquette will be Notre Dame’s final true road contest of the season.
KAVANAGH’S SEVEN GOALS TIES PROGRAM RECORD
– Sophomore attackman Matt Kavanagh tied a Notre Dame record with seven goals in the 13-7 win at Ohio State on March 25.
– The seven goals matched the program record held by Randy Colley (1993 vs. New Hampshire) and Ryan Hoff (2007 vs. Drexel). Kavanagh also had an assist in the game and his eight points were one shy of tying the program standard.
PHENOMENAL FACEOFFS
– Notre Dame ranks second nationally in faceoff winning percentage (.636).
– Individually, senior Liam O’Connor is eighth nationally with a .631 mark (111-176). O’Connor also has three goals and one assist this season.
– Junior Nick Ossello is 14-for-19 (.737) in the faceoff X and he has scored seven goals.
EXTRA-MAN EFFICIENCY
– Notre Dame has the country’s fourth-best man-up offense percentage (.545). The Fighting Irish have scored on 18 of their 33 man-up opportunities this season.
– Freshman midfielder Sergio Perkovic has a team-best six man-up goals, while John Scioscia has five and Conor Doyle has three.
– The Irish also have three man-down goals this season. Matt Kavanagh and Liam O’Connor scored seven seconds apart in a man-down situation against Ohio State, while Scioscia netted a man-down tally versus Duke.
FOURTH QUARTER FURY
– The Fighting Irish have outscored their opponents 32-20 in the fourth quarter.
– Notre Dame’s nine-goal fourth quarter against Virginia marked the most goals for the Irish in a single quarter since they netted 11 in the second period versus Bellarmine on March 29, 2008 (a 19-7 Notre Dame victory).
HIGHS AND LOWS
– Notre Dame is averaging 15.3 goals per game in its four wins, while the Irish have been limited to 7.8 goals per game in their four setbacks. Notre Dame has been held to seven goals in three of the four losses.
– The Fighting Irish are allowing 8.3 goals per game in their victories and 11.0 in the setbacks.
– Duke’s 15 goals on Saturday were the most allowed by Notre Dame since a 19-13 loss at Syracuse on March 11, 2004. The eight-goal defeat was the worst for the Fighting Irish since a 13-5 setback at Hofstra on March 25, 2006.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Nineteen different Fighting Irish players have scored a goal this season. Notre Dame is averaging 15.3 goals per game in its four wins. The Irish are averaging 9.5 goal scorers per game in those four victories.
HAT TRICK CLUB
– Four Fighting Irish players have recorded at least one hat trick this season.
– Sophomore attackman Matt Kavanagh has a team-best five hat tricks, including a seven-goal output against Ohio State and a four-goal effort versus Virginia.
– Conor Doyle (Jr./A) had a career-high four goals versus Syracuse and opened the season with a hat trick at Jacksonville.
– John Scioscia (Sr./A) and Nick Ossello (Jr./M) tallied three goals versus Denver and Virginia, respectively.
KAVANAGH KEEPS COMPILING BIG NUMBERS
– After leading the Irish in goals (32) and assists (16) last season, sophomore attackman Matt Kavanagh has notched team-bests in goals (20) and assists (13) so far this season.
– Kavanagh matched a school record with seven goals in the win at Ohio State on March 25. He has scored at least three goals in five of the team’s seven games this season.
– Kavanagh has scored two or more goals in 16 of his 24 career games with the Irish. He has netted three or more goals on nine occasions.
SOLID SLATE
– Seven Notre Dame opponents are ranked in the latest Warrior media poll. Six of those squads appear in the top 10 (#2 Duke, #3 Maryland, #4 North Carolina, #5 Denver, #7 Syracuse, #10 Virginia). Army (#18) also is ranked.
– The Irish are 2-4 against ranked foes this season, including a 2-2 mark versus top-10 teams.
– Notre Dame is 7-5 against top-10 opponents in the last two seasons.
GOING BACK TO CALI
– The showdown with Denver on March 8 in Costa Mesa, Calif. was Notre Dame’s third regular-season appearance in Southern California and the first since 2005 when the Irish captured a 9-7 victory over North Carolina at The Home Depot Center in Carson. The Fighting Irish defeated Air Force, 12-11, in San Diego during the 1990 campaign. Notre Dame also ventured to the Golden State in 2010 to face Johns Hopkins in the San Francisco Fall Classic.
FIGHTING IRISH ENTER THE ACC
– Notre Dame is in its first season of Atlantic Coast Conference play.
– The Fighting Irish have defeated every other ACC member at least once in the last four seasons and the Irish have a 10-10 record against its ACC counterparts (including Syracuse) since the beginning of the 2010 campaign.
– The ACC is Notre Dame’s third different league in the last six seasons. The Irish left the Great Western Lacrosse League following the 2009 campaign to join the BIG EAST.
IRISH RETURN OFFENSE
– Notre Dame returned 111 of its 159 goals (.698) from last season. The Fighting Irish welcomed back four of their top five goal scorers from the 2013 campaign (Matt Kavanagh 32, Conor Doyle 20, Jim Marlatt 20, John Scioscia 14).
A LOOK BACK
– Notre Dame went 11-5 last season and finished third in the Big East with a 4-2 mark. The Fighting Irish finished the 2013 regular season with the nation’s top RPI and earned a program-best No. 2 seed for the NCAA Championship before advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fourth straight season. The Irish fell to Duke, 12-11, in the quarterfinals.
– Attackman Matt Kavanagh led the Irish in goals (32) and assists (16). The 32 goals established a program record for a freshman. Jim Marlatt was the leading midfielder scorer with 20 goals to go along with 12 assists.
– The Fighting Irish finished the 2013 season ranked 10th nationally in scoring defense with an 8.31 goals-against average. Notre Dame returned two starting close defensemen in seniors Brian Buglione and Stephen O’Hara.
IRISH EXPOSURE
– Nearly every Notre Dame game this season can be seen on TV or the Internet. The Fighting Irish will have five contests on ESPNU (vs. Virginia, at Syracuse, vs. Duke, vs. Maryland, vs. Army), one game on ESPN3 (at North Carolina) and the season opener at Jacksonville aired on the NBC Sports Network.
– WatchND.tv streamed the Penn State contest and will also provide a free broadcast for Saturday’s game against Robert Morris.
– The Lacrosse Network covered the Denver tilt and Notre Dame’s showdown at Ohio State aired on Fox College Sports.
O’HARA A SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
– Notre Dame team captain and standout defenseman Stephen O’Hara has been named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award in the men’s lacrosse division.
– To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
– Finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 20 candidates announced in February. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through May 12. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Lacrosse Championships in Baltimore May 24-26. For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
– O’Hara is the fifth Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse player to be named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Ryan Hoff (2009), Scott Rodgers (2010), Kevin Randall (2012) and Matt Miller (2013) also were among the final 10 student-athletes in contention for the award, which was first presented in 2007.
A QUARTET OF PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
– Four Fighting Irish players received preseason All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse. Stephen O’Hara (Sr./D) was a first-team pick, while Jim Marlatt (Sr./M) appeared on the second team and Matt Kavanagh (So./A) was a third-team selection. Matt Landis (So./D) garnered honorable mention accolades.
MARLATT & O’HARA TO CAPTAIN THE IRISH
– Seniors Jim Marlatt (M) and Stephen O’Hara (D) will serve as team captains for the Fighting Irish in 2014. Both are first-time captains.
O’HARA PICKED IN MLL DRAFT
– Senior defenseman Stephen O’Hara was selected by the Ohio Machine with the first pick of the sixth round (41st overall) of January’s 2014 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Draft.
– O’Hara has started every game over the last three seasons in Notre Dame’s close defense, which has been one of the best in the nation over that time. The Fighting Irish allowed just 8.31 goals per game last season. That mark ranked 10th nationally and the Irish were first in 2012 after notching a 6.31 goals-against average. O’Hara, a Fighting Irish team captain, was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team last season.
DOUBLE DOYLE
– Junior attackman Conor Doyle is joined by his older brother Jack Doyle on this season’s roster. Jack, a midfielder, graduated from Harvard and was on the Crimson squad for four seasons. He combined to play in 27 games during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but did not play last two years due to injury. He tallied 14 goals and eight assists at Harvard.
– The duo had a strong showing against Virginia (March 16) as Conor posted one goal and a career-high three assists, while Jack registered a goal and an assist.
ELITE COMPANY
– Notre Dame and Maryland are the only two programs to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship field in each of the last eight seasons.
– Notre Dame and Duke are the only two schools to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship in each of the last four seasons.