Sean Rogers tallied four goals in last season's 12-9 win over Rutgers.

#3 Notre Dame Opens BIG EAST Play Sunday At Rutgers

March 22, 2013

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#3 NOTRE DAME (5-1, 0-0)
vs.
RUTGERS (2-6, 0-1)

Sunday, March 24 – 1 p.m. (ET)
Yurcak Field
Piscataway, N.J.

INTERNET BROADCAST:
RVision presented by AT&T on ScarletKnights.com

LIVE STATS:

SCORE UPDATES:
Irish Alert! text messaging

SETTING THE STAGE
– No. 3 Notre Dame (5-1, 0-0) will open BIG EAST play Sunday at Rutgers (2-6, 0-1). Faceoff is slated for 1 p.m. (ET) at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J.
– A video broadcast will be available through RVision presented by AT&T on ScarletKnights.com. Live stats will be available via Gametracker on UND.com.
– Notre Dame is the defending BIG EAST regular-season champion. The Irish had a 6-0 league mark last season.

BEATING THE BUCKEYES
– Notre Dame used seven different goal scorers in Wednesday’s 9-4 win over No. 8 Ohio State. Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh had a game-high four points on two goals and two assists. Senior attackman Sean Rogers added two goals and one assist.
– The Irish defense held the Buckeyes scoreless from the 12:14 mark of the first quarter until there was 10:47 left in the game, a span of 46:27. Ohio State entered the contest averaging 11.8 goals per game this season.
– Senior goalie John Kemp matched a season-high total with 11 saves.
– The four goals were the fewest allowed by the Irish this season.
– It was Notre Dame’s fifth win this season over a top-10 opponent.

IRISH ITEMS
– Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh leads the Irish in goals (12) and points (18). Sophomore attackman Conor Doyle has a team-high seven assists.
– Junior midfielder Jim Marlatt has a team-best seven-game goal streak. Marlatt has 11 goals and five assists.
– Senior John Kemp has played every minute in goal and carries a 7.58 goals-against average and a .548 save percentage.
– Junior Liam O’Connor is 66-of-127 (.520) in faceoff attempts.

NOTRE DAME-RUTGERS SERIES HISTORY
– Sunday will be the eighth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Rutgers. The Fighting Irish lead the series 5-2, including two straight wins over the Scarlet Knights. Notre Dame topped Rutgers, 12-9, last season at Arlotta Stadium.
– Notre Dame is 2-1 against Rutgers in BIG EAST play.
– The Fighting Irish are 3-0 all-time at Rutgers. Notre Dame won 8-3 in Piscataway during the 2011 campaign.
– Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan is 5-2 all-time against Rutgers.

SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
– Rutgers is 2-6 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play. The Scarlet Knights opened league play with a 20-13 setback to St. John’s.
– Rutgers has wins over Manhattan (15-6) and Wagner (20-10). The other losses have come against Air Force (11-9), UMBC (11-7), Stony Brook (9-8 3OT), Holy Cross (9-8) and Army (10-8).
– The Scarlet Knights are averaging 11.0 goals scored per game, while allowing 10.8 per game. Junior attackman Scott Klimchak has a team-high 20 goals, while fellow junior attackman Nick DePaolera has team-best totals in assists (12) and points (26).
– Freshman Kris Alleyne has all eight decisions in goal. He has a 9.65 goals-against average and a .571 save percentage.
– The Scarlet Knights are 8-for-29 (.276) in man-up opportunities and have a .681 faceoff winning percentage.
– Rutgers went 6-9 last season (1-5 BIG EAST).
– Head coach Brian Brecht is in his second season at Rutgers.

THE LAST TIME
– Last season, Notre Dame opened BIG EAST play with a 12-9 home victory over Rutgers. Sean Rogers scored four goals for the Irish, while Jim Marlatt had two goals and one assist. John Kemp made seven saves in the victory.
– The Irish jumped out to a 6-1 lead and were up 7-5 at halftime. Notre Dame had a 9-8 advantage after three quarters before outscoring Rutgers 3-1 in the final period.

TAKING DOWN TOP-10 TEAMS
– All five Notre Dame wins this season have come against a team ranked in the top 10 of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll at the time of the contest.
– The Irish have defeated (in order) #6 Duke (13-5), #8 Penn State (10-9 OT), #9 North Carolina (10-9 3OT), #5 Denver (13-12 OT) and #8 Ohio State (9-4).
– This is the first time ever the Irish have five wins over top-10 teams during the same regular season. Notre Dame downed five top-10 opponents during the 2010 campaign (including postseason).

IRISH ON THE VERGE OF 300
– Notre Dame’s next victory will be the 300th in the history of the varsity program. The Fighting Irish boast an all-time record of 299-152 (.663) since gaining varsity status prior to the 1981 season.

BIG EAST BEASTS
– Notre Dame has a 13-5 (.722) record all-time in BIG EAST regular-season 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 in 2011 with a 5-1 mark. The Fighting Irish won the league’s 2012 regular-season title with a perfect 6-0 record.

DOWNING DENVER
– Notre Dame captured a 13-12 overtime victory at Denver on Saturday in the Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic. Junior midfielder Jim Marlatt scored the game winner just over a minute into the first overtime period.
– Senior attackman Sean Rogers tallied three goals and one assist against the Pioneers. He was named game MVP in addition to being selected to the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll for that performance.

CAPTURING THE CLOSE ONES
– Notre Dame has played four one-goal games, including three overtime affairs, this season. The Irish are 3-1 in those contests and have won all three overtime games.
– Over the last two seasons, the Fighting Irish have played in 10 games that have been decided by a single goal. The Irish are 7-3 in those games.
– Notre Dame has won its last five overtime contests.

FINISHING STRONG
– Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 22-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime this season.

DOYLE DELIVERING FOR IRISH
– Sophomore attackman Conor Doyle has six goals and four assists in the last three games.
– He had two goals and two assists last Saturday at Denver and then tallied one goal and two assists on Wednesday against Ohio State.
– Doyle produced his second hat trick of the season with a game-high three goals in the 8-7 setback to Hofstra (March 9). He also deposited three goals in a 10-9 overtime win at Penn State (Feb. 24).
– Doyle has 10 goals and seven assists this season. The 17 points are the second-most on the team.

KAVANAGH IN THE CLUTCH
– Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh has scored an overtime game winner twice this season. He scored 15 seconds into the third overtime period in a 10-9 victory over North Carolina (March 2). Kavanagh scored with 1:34 remaining in the first extra period in the 10-9 win at Penn State (Feb. 24).
– Kavanagh assisted on Sean Rogers’ goal that tied the Denver game (12-12) with 47 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
– He has tallied four or more points in three games this season.
– The rookie notched four goals and one assist in his debut at Duke. He had four goals, including the overtime game winner, and two assists versus North Carolina.
– He had two goals and two assists versus Ohio State.

HOME SWEET HOME
– Notre Dame is 42-5 (.894) at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.

FACEOFF FIREPOWER
– Junior Liam O’Connor was 17-for-28 (.607) in faceoff attempts in Saturday’s 13-12 overtime victory at Denver. O’Connor was 6-for-9 in the fourth quarter and overtime. He also scored a goal against the Pioneers.
– O’Connor was 17-for-25 (.680) in faceoff attempts in the 10-9 triple-overtime victory against North Carolina (March 2). O’Connor was 6-for-8 in the fourth quarter and overtime. He also had an assist and a career-high nine ground balls versus the Tar Heels.
– O’Connor scored two goals immediately after faceoff wins in the 10-9 overtime victory at Penn State (Feb. 24). Both goals occurred in the fourth quarter after an Irish goal. The first tally evened the contest (7-7) with 9:28 remaining in regulation. The second score put the Irish up 9-8 with 18 seconds left in the period.
– O’Connor has three goals and one assist this season. He has six goals and three assists during his career.

MAKING IT HAPPEN IN MARCH
– Notre Dame is 12-1 in its last 13 games in the month of March.

PLAYING ON THE BIG STAGE
– Saturday’s game at Denver was Notre Dame’s ninth game in an NFL stadium in the last five seasons. The Irish are 6-3 all-time in NFL venues.
– Notre Dame is 2-0 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Broncos). The Irish have posted a 2-1 record at Baltimore (Ravens), while going 1-0 at both Jacksonville (Jaguars) and East Rutherford, N.J. (Giants & Jets). Notre Dame is 0-2 in Foxborough, Mass. (Patriots).

IRISH HAVE FOUR ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
John Kemp (Sr./G), Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Sean Rogers (Sr./A) were named to the initial 92-man Tewaaraton Award watch list. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top player. Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh recently was added to the list.
– The watch list will be narrowed to 25 nominees in late April. Five finalists will be announced in mid-May. Kemp was a Tewaaraton Award nominee last season.

Matt Miller A SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
– Defenseman Matt Miller has been named one of 20 candidates for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award in the men’s lacrosse division.
– 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.
– The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot.
– Miller has started every contest over the past two seasons on Notre Dame’s stellar defensive unit. He earned honorable mention All-America honors last season in addition to being named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

A PERFORMER BETWEEN THE PIPES
– Senior goalie John Kemp boasts a 30-9 (.769) career record to go along with a 6.69 goals-against average and a .605 save percentage.
– Last season, Kemp led the nation in goals-against average (6.27) and save percentage (.637) and was named to the USILA All-America First Team.
– He finished the 2011 campaign ranked second nationally in goals-against average (6.61) and fourth in save percentage (.602) and received honorable mention All-America accolades.

CONSISTENCY IN THE CAGE
John Kemp is the third straight Notre Dame goalie to receive All-America honors. Kemp was named to the USILA All-America First Team last season after earning an honorable mention citation in 2011.
– 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 SUCCESSFUL STRETCH
– Notre Dame is 68-18 (.791) since the beginning of the 2008 season. That percentage is the second-best nationally during that time.
– The Fighting Irish have been to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship four times in the last five seasons. Notre Dame made the program’s first-ever NCAA title game appearance in 2010 and the Irish were a semifinalist in 2012.
– Since the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Championship, Notre Dame has gone 32-8 (.800), with three of those losses coming in overtime.

BROTHERLY BOND
– Senior defenseman Matt Miller is joined by his older brother David Miller on this season’s roster. David, a short-stick defensive midfielder, spent four seasons at Maryland and is using his final year of eligibility with the Irish. David played in 30 games with the Terrapins.

NOTRE DAME TO PLAY IN TWO INSIDE LACROSSE EVENTS
– Notre Dame faced Denver on Saturday in the second annual Whitman’s Samper Mile High Classic at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. It was Notre Dame’s first appearance in the event.
– The Fighting Irish will play BIG EAST rival Syracuse April 27 at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Princeton and Cornell will meet in the day’s first game.
– Notre Dame topped St. John’s, 13-6, in last season’s Big City Classic.

THREE IRISH PLAYERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADES
– Notre Dame’s John Kemp (Sr./G), Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Matt Miller (Sr./D) were selected as preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse. Kemp was named to the first team, while Marlatt and Miller were selected to the second and third teams, respectively.

FOUR CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2013 CAMPAIGN
– Seniors Quinn Cully (M), Ryan Foley (M), Matt Miller (D) and Sean Rogers (A) have been named Notre Dame team captains for the 2013 season. All four student-athletes are first-time captains for the Fighting Irish.

FOUR PLAYERS PICKED IN MLL DRAFT
– Four Fighting Irish players were selected in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. Seniors John Kemp (G), Matt Miller (D), Steve Murphy (M) and Quinn Cully (M) were picked in the draft, which was held Jan. 11 in Philadelphia.
– The Rochester Rattlers picked Kemp with the first selection of the fourth round (25th overall). Kemp was the first goalie nabbed in the draft. Rochester later selected Miller in the sixth round (44th overall). The New York Lizards picked Murphy in the seventh round (53rd overall), while Cully went to the Boston Cannons in the eighth round (62nd overall).