Sean Rogers scored the game winner in triple-overtime in last season's 10-9 victory over Denver.

#3 Notre Dame To Face #5 Denver Saturday In Mile High Classic

March 13, 2013

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#3 NOTRE DAME (3-1)
vs.
#5 DENVER (5-1)

Saturday, March 16 – 4:30 p.m. (MT)
Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic
Sports Authority Field at Mile High Denver, Colo.

INTERNET BROADCAST:
ESPN3
Mark Dixon (play-by-play)
Jamie Munro (analyst)

LIVE STATS:
DenverPioneers.com

SCORE UPDATES:
Irish Alert! text messaging
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SETTING THE STAGE
– No. 3 Notre Dame (3-1) will take on No. 5 Denver (5-1) Saturday in the second game of the second annual Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic in Denver, Colo. The game is slated for 4:30 p.m. (MT) at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
– The contest can be seen live on ESPN3. Mark Dixon (play-by-play) and Jamie Munro (analyst) will be on the call.
– Loyola will face Air Force at 2 p.m. (MT) in the event’s first game.
– Denver will be the fifth straight ranked opponent the Fighting Irish have faced this season. The Pioneers will be the third top-10 team the Irish have squared off against.

PLAYING THE PIONEERS
– Sunday will be the 17th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Denver. The Irish hold a 13-3 advantage in the series. The Fighting Irish have won the last four showdowns against the Pioneers, including a 10-9 triple-overtime triumph last season in South Bend.
– Denver’s last win over the Irish was a 9-8 decision during the 2008 season in Bridgeview, Ill.
– This will be the second meeting between the Irish and Pioneers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, which is home to the Denver Broncos. Notre Dame topped Denver, 10-8, in 2009 at the venue.
– The two teams have met every season since 1998. Notre Dame and Denver were together in the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) from 1998-2009.
– Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan is 13-3 all-time versus Denver.

A LOOK AT DENVER
– Denver will bring a 5-1 record into Saturday’s showdown. The Pioneers have won their last four contests. Denver has wins over Duke (14-12), Lehigh (18-10), Canisius (11-4), Penn (15-12) and Ohio State (10-9). The lone loss was to Penn State (15-12).
– The Pioneers are averaging 13.3 goals per game, while allowing 10.3 per contest. Wes Berg has a team-high 18 goals, while Eric Law leads Denver in assists (15) and points (28).
– Ryan LaPlante is 4-1 in goal and he has a 10.8 goals-against average to go with a .553 save percentage.
– Last season, Denver posted a 9-7 record (3-3 ECAC) and fell to Loyola, 10-9, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.
– Head coach Bill Tierney is in his fourth season at Denver.

COMMON OPPONENTS
– Notre Dame and Denver have two common opponents this season (Duke & Penn State). The Fighting Irish defeated both the Blue Devils (13-5) and Nittany Lions (10-9 OT), while the Pioneers bested Duke (14-12) and fell to Penn State (15-12).

THE LAST TIME
– Notre Dame defeated Denver 10-9 in triple-overtime last season at Arlotta Stadium. Sean Rogers scored the game winner with 2:35 left in the third overtime period. Rogers and Jim Marlatt both netted two goals for the Irish. Mark Matthews had two goals and three assists for the Pioneers.
John Kemp made seven saves for Notre Dame, while Jamie Faus had 11 stops for Denver.

HEAD COACHES HEAD-TO-HEAD
– Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan is 3-1 all-time against Denver’s Bill Tierney. Corrigan and the Irish have won the three meetings with the Pioneers since Tierney came to Denver in 2010. Tierney’s Princeton squad bested Notre Dame, 6-4, in 1995.

IRISH AGAINST THE ECAC
– Denver will be the first of two straight opponents from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame will play host to ECAC foe Ohio State on Wednesday.
– Notre Dame went 2-1 against ECAC teams last season. The Irish defeated Denver (10-9 in 3OT) and Ohio State (8-7) during the regular season and fell to Loyola (7-5) in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.

TAKING DOWN TOP-10 TEAMS
– Denver will be the fourth top-10 team Notre Dame has played this season. The Irish are 3-0 this season against teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of the contest (#4 Duke, #8 Penn State, #9 North Carolina).

NOTRE DAME NO STRANGER TO NFL VENUES
– Saturday will be Notre Dame’s ninth game in an NFL stadium in the last five seasons. The Irish are 5-3 all-time in NFL venues.
– Notre Dame is 1-0 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Broncos). The Irish defeated Denver, 10-8, in the stadium in 2009.
– 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).

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
– Notre Dame has played three straight one-goal games, including two overtime affairs. The Irish are 2-1 in those contests.
– Over the last two seasons, the Fighting Irish have played in nine games that have been decided by a single goal. The Irish are 6-3 in those games.
– Notre Dame has won its last four overtime contests.

FINISHING STRONG
– Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 14-7 in the fourth quarter and overtime this season.

ANTOHER HAT TRICK FOR DOYLE
– Sophomore attackman Conor Doyle produced his second hat trick of the season with a game-high three goals in Saturday’s 8-7 setback to Hofstra. Doyle also deposited three goals in a 10-9 overtime win at Penn State (Feb. 24).
– Doyle has seven goals and three assists this season.

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).

ROOKIE ON A ROLL
– Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh leads the Irish in goals (9) and points (12) this season. His three assists are tied for the team lead.
– He has two four-goal efforts this season (Duke & North Carolina).
– Kavanagh has scored two overtime game winners.
– He was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for his four-goal, two-assist performance against North Carolina.
– Kavanagh had four goals and one assist in his collegiate debut versus Duke. He was named the Cascade Rookie of the Week for his performance against the Blue Devils.

HOME SWEET HOME
– Notre Dame is 41-5 (.891) at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.

FACEOFF FIREPOWER
– Junior Liam O’Connor was 17-for-25 (.680) in faceoff attempts in the 10-9 triple-overtime victory against North Carolina on 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 has also contributed to Notre Dame’s offensive attack. He scored two goals immediately after faceoff wins in the 10-9 overtime victory at Penn State on 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.
– The two goals were a career-high total for O’Connor, who has five goals and two assists during his Irish career.

MAKING IT HAPPEN IN MARCH
– Notre Dame is 10-1 in its last 11 games in the month of March.

IRISH HAVE THREE ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
John Kemp (Sr./G), Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Sean Rogers (Sr./A) all have been named to the 92-man Tewaaraton Award watch list. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top player.
– The 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 28-9 (.757) career record to go along with a 6.62 goals-against average and a .611 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 66-18 (.786) since the beginning of the 2008 season. That percentage is the third-best nationally.
– 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 30-8 (.789), 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.

IRISH PICKED AS FAVORITE TO WIN BIG EAST
– With five first-place votes, Notre Dame was selected as the favorite to win the 2013 BIG EAST championship in a poll by the league’s seven head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own programs.
– Fighting Irish senior goalie John Kemp was tapped as the league’s preseason co-defensive player of the year.
– Kemp was one of five Notre Dame players selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Joining Kemp as a unanimous choice were his teammates Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Matt Miller (Sr./D). Sean Rogers (Sr./A) and Westy Hopkins (Jr./A) also appeared on the 15-man squad. Notre Dame’s five selections were the most of any school.

NOTRE DAME TO PLAY IN TWO INSIDE LACROSSE EVENTS
– Notre Dame will face Denver on Saturday in the second annual Whitman’s Samper Mile High Classic at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.
– 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.

ESPN EXPOSURE
– Notre Dame will appear on the ESPN family of networks four times during the 2013 regular season. The Fighting Irish will have three games broadcast on ESPNU/WatchESPN and one contest on ESPN3.
– The Notre Dame-Denver showdown on Saturday at the Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic can be seen on ESPN3.
– Notre Dame will appear on ESPNU three consecutive weekends in April. The first two games are home dates with BIG EAST opponents Georgetown (April 14) and Villanova (April 20). ESPNU also will air the Notre Dame-Syracuse clash at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic (April 27).

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).

IRISH IN THE BIG EAST
– 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.