April 26, 2012
#17 SYRACUSE
vs.
#3 NOTRE DAME
Saturday, April 28 – 5 p.m. (ET)
Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
TV/INTERNET:
ESPNU/ESPN3
Joe Beninati (play-by-play)
Paul Carcaterra (analyst)
LIVE STATS:
GameTracker on UND.com
UPDATES:
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#3 IRISH HOST #17 SYRACUSE ON SATURDAY
– No. 3 Notre Dame (10-1, 5-0) will play host to No. 17 Syracuse (7-6, 3-2) at 5 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Arlotta Stadium. The game is the regular-season finale for both teams. The contest is sold out.
– The Fighting Irish already have clinched a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title and the top seed for next week’s inaugural BIG EAST Championship. It’s Notre Dame’s first BIG EAST title.
– Saturday’s game will be aired on ESPNU/ESPN3. Joe Beninati will handle play-by-play duties, while Paul Carcaterra will serve as the analyst. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on UND.com.
– The Irish will bring a nine-game win streak into Saturday’s contest. Notre Dame is coming off a 10-7 win at Villanova.
– Notre Dame’s defense ranks first nationally by allowing just 5.73 goals per game.
NOTRE DAME-SYRACUSE SERIES HISTORY
– Saturday will be the sixth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Syracuse. The Orange have won all five of the previous encounters. Syracuse topped Notre Dame, 11-8, last season inside the Carrier Dome. The Orange visited South Bend for the first time in 2010 and captured a 12-6 decision.
A LOOK AT THE ORANGE
– Syracuse is 7-6 overall and 3-2 in BIG EAST play. The Orange is coming off a 10-8 setback to Georgetown. Syracuse is averaging 10.31 goals scored per game, while allowing 9.77 per contest.
– Sophomore attackman Derek Maltz has a team-high 26 goals, while senior attackman Tommy Palasek has team-best totals in points (40) and assists (21). The trio of Matthew Lerman (R-So.), Bobby Wardwell (Fr.) and Dominic Lamolinara (So.) have split time in goal. Both Lamolinara and Wardwell are 3-2, while Lerman is 1-2.
– Syracuse went 15-2 last season, including a 6-0 mark in BIG EAST play. The Orange fell to Maryland, 6-5 in overtime, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.
– Head coach John Desko is in his 14th season at the helm of the Syracuse program.
FIELD SET FOR BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
– Notre Dame is the top seed for next week’s inaugural BIG EAST Championship, which will be hosted by Villanova. The Irish will face No. 4 seed St. John’s in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on Thursday. Second-seeded Villanova will face No. 3 seed Syracuse in the second semifinal. The final is slated for noon on May 5. All three games will be aired on ESPNU/ESPN3.
CONFERENCE CROWNS
– With Notre Dame already owning a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title, it marks the 20th regular-season conference championship in program history.
– The Fighting Irish won 12 Great Western Lacrosse League titles during their time in the conference (1994-2009).
– Notre Dame won seven Midwest Lacrosse Association titles from 1981-93.
COMEBACK KIDS
– Notre Dame has overcome four-goal deficits in each of the last two games. On Saturday, the Irish fell behind Villanova 4-0 in the first quarter before scoring eight straight goals en route to the 10-7 victory.
– The Irish trailed Georgetown by four goals (5-1) at halftime on April 15, yet outscored the Hoyas 8-2 in the second half to secure the 9-7 win. The Irish tallied six straight goals to open the second half.
– The four-goal halftime deficit was the largest Notre Dame has ever overcome to win a game in the Kevin Corrigan era, which began in 1989.
SECOND HALF SHUTDOWNS – The Irish have outscored their opponents 54-30 in the second half this season, including 31-7 in the last four games.
– Notre Dame is 4-0 this season when trailing at halftime.
STREAKING
– Notre Dame’s current nine-game win streak is tied for the third-longest in program history. The school record is 15 straight wins, which occurred in 2009.
A PERFORMER BETWEEN THE PIPES
– Junior goalie John Kemp ranks first nationally in goals-against average (5.67) and save percentage (.656). He ranks 13th in saves per game (10.9).
– Kemp is one of 25 nominees up for the Tewaaraton Award.
– Kemp made a career-high 18 saves in the 4-3 overtime setback to Penn State (Feb. 26). He has made 10 or more saves in a game six times this season.
– He finished the 2011 campaign ranked second nationally in goals-against average (6.61) and fourth in save percentage (.602).
– Kemp boasts a 22-6 (.786) career record at Notre Dame.
A DOMINATING DEFENSE
– Notre Dame’s defense ranks first nationally by surrendering just 5.73 goals per game this season. That mark is on pace to eclipse the program-record 6.19 goals-against average from the 2009 season.
– Notre Dame has held five opponents this season to five goals or fewer for the entire game.
KEEPING THEM DOWN
– Notre Dame’s man-down defense ranks first nationally. That unit has given up just two goals in 26 chances (.923).
SCORELESS STREAKS
– The Notre Dame defense has posted a scoreless streak totaling 30 minutes or longer five times this season, including two streaks over 40 minutes in length.
– The Irish had a season-best scoreless streak of 41:57 in the 9-1 win over Providence (April 7). After scoring their lone goal with 11:57 left in the second quarter, the Friars did not score for the remainder of the contest.
– The Fighting Irish posted a scoreless streak of 40:24 in the 7-3 season-opening win over Duke. That streak began at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter and ended with 18 seconds left in the contest.
ROGERS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
– Sean Rogers was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his game-high four points on three goals and one assist in Saturday’s 10-7 win at Villanova.
– All three of Rogers’ goals occurred during Notre Dame’s 8-0 run, which reversed Villanova’s 4-0 lead. His first goal sliced the Wildcat lead to two (4-2), while his second goal tied the game (4-4) and he completed his hat trick by giving Notre Dame its first lead of the game (5-4). Rogers assisted on the final goal of the contest to secure his third four-point game of the season.
– Rogers has a team-high 16 goals this season.
BIG EAST BEST
– Junior goalie John Kemp is the only player in the BIG EAST to earn the league’s defensive player of week honor twice this season, while senior attackman Sean Rogers is the only two-time BIG EAST offensive player of the week this season.
IRISH GET OFFENSIVE
– The Notre Dame offense is averaging 10.6 goals in the last five games after averaging 6.7 goals in the first six contests of the season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Nineteen different Notre Dame players have scored a goal this season.
– The Fighting Irish used a season-high nine goal scorers in the 13-6 win over St. John’s (April 1).
– The Irish had eight different goal scorers in wins over Denver (10-9 in 3OT), Rutgers (12-9), Georgetown (9-7) and Villanova (10-7).
MARLATT MAKING AN IMPACT
– Sophomore midfielder Jim Marlatt leads the Irish in points (23) and assists (9), while his 14 goals rank second on the team. Marlatt did not play last season due to injury.
– Marlatt has totaled three points or more in a game six times this season. His three assists on Saturday at Villanova were the most for any Notre Dame player this season.
– Marlatt was named the MVP of the Notre Dame-St. John’s game at the Big City Classic. Marlatt scored a game-high – and career-high – three goals in the Irish victory. All three goals came within a span of 1:19 to increase Notre Dame’s lead to five (10-5) by the 11:15 mark of the fourth quarter.
HOME SWEET HOME
– Notre Dame is 38-4 (.905) at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.
CAPTURING THE CLOSE ONES
– Notre Dame’s five road wins this season have come by a combined seven goals.
– Notre Dame has played five one-goal games this season. All five of those contests were in succession. The Irish went 4-1 in those games, including two overtime victories. Notre Dame’s lone loss this season was a 4-3 overtime setback to Penn State.
– It was the first time in program history that Notre Dame played five straight one-goal games. It also was the first time the Fighting Irish had ever captured four straight one-goal decisions.
– The 10-9 win over Denver was the first triple-overtime game in Fighting Irish history.
RANDALL A LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
– Notre Dame defenseman Kevin Randall is one of 10 finalists up for the 2012 Lowe’s 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.
CONSISTENCY IN THE CAGE
– Junior John Kemp is the third straight Notre Dame goalie to receive All-America honors. Kemp was an honorable mention All-America selection by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) last season.
– Scott Rodgers earned third-team All-America honors in 2009 and was an honorable mention pick in 2010. He also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 NCAA Championship.
– Joey Kemp, John’s older brother, was a three-time All-America honoree at Notre Dame. He copped first-team honors in 2008 in addition to honorable mention accolades in 2006 and 2007.
A DEPENDABLE DEFENSE
– Over the last five seasons, the Notre Dame defense has been one of the best in the nation. The Irish are the only team in NCAA Division I to finish in the top five nationally in scoring defense in each of those five campaigns. Notre Dame produced the nation’s top defense in 2009 by allowing a program-record 6.19 goals per game. The Irish were second in 2010 (7.53) and 2011 (6.57), fourth in 2007 (6.66) and fifth in 2008 (7.04).
– Since the beginning of the 2007 season (a span of 90 games), the Irish defense has limited opponents to seven goals or fewer 63 times. Notre Dame has held foes to four goals or fewer 16 times during that stretch.
– The Irish have allowed 10 or more goals just once in the last 29 games.
FORMIDABLE FOES
– Notre Dame is 7-1 against teams currently in the top 25 of the RPI. Syracuse will be the ninth team in the top 25 of the current RPI that Notre Dame will face this season. The Irish are third in the RPI.
CALL HIM CLUTCH
– Senior attackman Sean Rogers scored three consecutive game-winning goals earlier this season, including two overtime tallies.
– He deposited the game winner in the 10-9 triple-overtime triumph against Denver (March 18).
– Rogers also produced the overtime game winner at Hofstra (March 10) in Notre Dame’s 6-5 victory.
– He deposited the deciding goal with 4:42 left in regulation in the 6-5 win at Drexel (March 3).
– Rogers scored a career-high four goals in the 12-9 win over Rutgers (March 25).
A SUCCESSFUL STRETCH
– Notre Dame is 60-15 (.800) since the beginning of the 2008 season. That is tied for the second-best winning percentage nationally during that time.
– The Fighting Irish have been to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals three times in the last four seasons, including the program’s first-ever NCAA title game appearance in 2010.
– Last season, the Irish reached No. 1 in the national polls on April 18 for the first time in program history.
– Since the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame has gone 24-5 (.828), with three of those losses coming in overtime.
IRISH IN THE BIG EAST
– Notre Dame has a 12-5 record all-time in BIG EAST play. The 2010 campaign marked the first season of BIG EAST men’s lacrosse and the Irish posted a 2-4 record. Notre Dame finished second in the league last season with a 5-1 mark.
PLAYING ON THE BIG STAGE
– Playing in MetLife Stadium for the Big City Classic against St. John’s was Notre Dame’s latest chance to compete in a major venue.
– The Irish opened the 2011 campaign against Duke at Everbank Field, which is home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Notre Dame faced Duke in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals at the home venue of the New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium.
– Not only did the Irish compete at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore during the 2010 final four, they also played Loyola in the facility during that season’s Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic.
– In 2009, Notre Dame played Ohio State at Ohio Stadium (The Horseshoe) in Columbus, Ohio. Two weeks prior, the Irish faced Denver at Invesco Field, which is home to the Denver Broncos.
– In 2008, Notre Dame and Denver met at Toyota Park, home to the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer (MLS) and former residence of Major League Lacrosse’s Chicago Machine.
– Notre Dame and North Carolina met at the Home Depot Center, which houses the MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy, during the 2005 First Four Invitational in Carson, Calif.
FOUR IRISH PLAYERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADES
– Four members of the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team garnered preseason All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse. Junior goalie John Kemp was named to the preseason All-America third team, while seniors Kevin Randall (D) and Sean Rogers (A) along with sophomore Liam O’Connor (M/FO) were honorable mention selections.
SENIOR TRIO TO CAPTAIN IRISH DURING 2012 CAMPAIGN
– Seniors Nicholas Beattie (A), Max Pfeifer (M) and Kevin Randall (D) will serve as team captains for the Fighting Irish during the 2012 campaign. All three are first-time captains for Notre Dame.
RANDALL SELECTED IN MLL DRAFT
– Notre Dame senior defenseman Kevin Randall was selected by the Charlotte Hounds in January’s Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. Randall was the first pick in the seventh round (49th overall selection).