March 19, 2015
#15 OHIO STATE (7-2)
vs.
#3 NOTRE DAME (4-1)
Saturday, March 21, 2015 – 4 p.m. (ET)
Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
TV/INTERNET
ESPNU
WatchESPN
LIVE STATS
SETTING THE STAGE
– No. 3 Notre Dame (4-1) returns home following a two-game road trek to face No. 15 Ohio State (7-2) Saturday at Arlotta Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 4 p.m. (ET).
– The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and WatchESPN with Eamon McAnaney (play-by-play) and Paul Carcaterra (analyst) on the call. Live stats will be available via Gametracker on UND.com.
– Saturday’s contest begins a stretch that has Notre Dame playing at home in four of its next five games.
BATTLING THE BUCKEYES
– Saturday will be the 40th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Fighting Irish have won 12 straight against the Buckeyes and lead the series 30-9.
– Notre Dame topped Ohio State, 13-7, last season in Columbus.
– The two schools have met every season since Notre Dame became a varsity program in 1981. The Irish and Buckeyes were together in the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) from 1994-2009.
– Ohio State’s last win in the series was a 9-8 decision during the 2004 season at Notre Dame.
– The Fighting Irish boast a 15-3 home record against the Buckeyes.
– Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan is 23-4 all-time against Ohio State.
THE LAST TIME
– Notre Dame captured a 13-7 win last season at Ohio State behind a seven-goal output from Matt Kavanagh. The seven goals tied a Fighting Irish record. Kavanagh also had an assist in the game and his eight points were one shy of tying the program standard.
– Notre Dame held a 31-22 shot advantage and goalie Shane Doss made five saves in the victory. Scott Spencer had six stops for Ohio State.
– The Irish were held without a goal in the first quarter before tallying five in the second quarter en route to a 5-3 halftime lead. Notre Dame led 7-5 after three quarters before exploding for six goals in the final period.
A LOOK AT OSU
– Ohio State has won its last three games and the Buckeyes will bring a 7-2 record into Saturday’s showdown with the Irish.
– The Buckeyes are averaging 9.9 goals per game, while allowing 7.2 per contest.
– Ohio State is 3-2 in one-goal games this season.
– Senior midfielder Jesse King leads Ohio State in goals (21) and assists (14). Redshirt sophomore Tom Carey has all nine decisions in goal. He has a 7.29 goals-against average and a .570 save percentage.
– Last season, the Buckeyes posted a 6-8 record (3-1 ECAC).
– Ohio State is in its first season in the Big Ten Conference for men’s lacrosse.
– Head coach Nick Myers is in his seventh season at the helm of the Ohio State program.
COMMON OPPONENTS
– Notre Dame and Ohio State have faced two common opponents so far this season (Dartmouth & Denver). Both teams topped Dartmouth (ND 20-5, OSU 15-5), while Ohio State defeated Denver (13-11) and Notre Dame fell to the Pioneers (11-10 in OT).
IRISH OPEN ACC PLAY WITH A VICTORY AT VIRGINIA
– Notre Dame scored the first seven goals of the game and withstood a second-half surge from Virginia to open Atlantic Coast Conference play with an 11-9 victory at Klockner Stadium.
– Freshman attackman Mikey Wynne paced the Fighting Irish offense with five goals, while Conor Doyle chipped in three scores. Sophomore goalie Shane Doss made 10 stops for the Fighting Irish.
– The Notre Dame defense kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard for the opening 22:26 of the contest.
FIGHTING IRISH SWEEP ACC WEEKLY HONORS
– Notre Dame’s Mikey Wynne (Fr./A) and Matt Landis (Jr./D) were named the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, following Saturday’s 11-9 win at No. 7 Virginia.
– Wynne scored five goals in the victory. Three of his tallies came in Notre Dame’s 7-0 spurt to start the game.
– Landis and the Notre Dame defense held Virginia to a season-low nine goals in the win. The Cavaliers entered the game averaging over 13 goals per game.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
– The Irish rank sixth nationally in goals per game (14.4).
– This is the first time Notre Dame has netted at least 10 goals in each of the first five games of a season.
– Mikey Wynne ranks third nationally in goals per game (3.8). Matt Kavanagh is 10th nationally in both points per game (5.0) and assists per game (2.6).
– The 20 goals against Dartmouth (Feb. 28) were the most for the Irish since a 22-6 win over Butler on March 19, 2005.
IRISH IN THE POLLS
– Notre Dame is No. 3 in this week’s USILA coaches poll and the Cascade/Maverik media poll. Eight of Notre Dame’s 11 regular-season opponents are ranked in the top-20 of both polls. All eight of those opponents are the final eight regular-season foes on the Irish schedule.
KAVANAGH PRODUCING POINTS
– Matt Kavanagh has produced at least three points in every game this season and he has put up six or more points in three contests.
– The junior attackman has notched six or more points in a game 11 times during his career.
– Kavanagh’s career 3.79 points-per-game average is fourth among all active Division I players.
MANNING UP
– Notre Dame boasts the nation’s top man-up offense (.750). The Fighting Irish are 9-of-12 (.750) in extra-man opportunities this season. Mikey Wynne has a team-best four man-advantage goals. Matt Kavanagh and Sergio Perkovic both have two man-up tallies.
HOT SHOTS
– The Fighting Irish rank second nationally in shot percentage (.379). Individually, Conor Doyle is sixth in the nation in shot percentage (.533) and Mikey Wynne is eighth (.514).
FIGHTING IRISH SPURTS
– Notre Dame has produced significant scoring spurts in each of the last four games.
– The Fighting Irish scored the first seven goals in last Saturday’s 11-9 victory at Virginia.
– Notre Dame surrendered the first goal to Denver before scoring five straight times, but the Irish would suffer an 11-10 overtime setback.
– After Dartmouth tied Notre Dame, 2-2, the Fighting Irish rattled off 14 consecutive tallies in the 20-5 victory.
– The Irish overturned a 1-0 deficit at Michigan with nine straight goals en route to the 17-8 victory.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Fifteen different Notre Dame players have scored a goal this season. Three Fighting Irish players have a double-digit goal total (Mikey Wynne 19, Matt Kavanagh 12, Sergio Perkovic 11).
WHAT A START FOR WYNNE
– Freshman attackman Mikey Wynne has a team-high 19 goals this season.
– He has posted three or more goals in four of five games this season. Wynne produced six goals against Georgetown in the season opener and followed that with four goals at Michigan. He scored three times versus Dartmouth and had five goals on Saturday at Virginia.
PERKOVIC A PLAYMAKER
– Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic has registered 11 goals and four assists this season.
– Perkovic has scored two or more goals in nine of the last 11 games dating back to last season.
– He tied a career-high mark of five points with three goals and two assists against Georgetown in the season opener.
– Perkovic has 13 multiple-goal games during his career, including four games of three-plus tallies.
– Perkovic netted 28 goals last season, including five in the national title game.
CONSISTENCY FROM Conor Doyle
– Senior attackman Conor Doyle has a 26-game point streak, which ranks 15th nationally and is the longest on the team.
– Doyle has produced 68 points (44g, 24a) during the streak.
KAVANAGH IN THE IRISH RECORD BOOK
– Junior attackman Matt Kavanagh’s 148 career points (86g, 62a) rank seventh in the Notre Dame record book.
– Kavanagh’s 86 goals are the eighth-most in school history and the 62 assists are tied for seventh.
– Kavanagh produced Fighting Irish single-season records for points (75) and assists (33) in 2014.
– Kavanagh’s 42 goals last season were the most for a Notre Dame player since Randy Colley netted a school-record 49 goals in 1995.
– Kavanagh is the only player in Notre Dame history to register 30 goals and 30 assists in the same season (42g, 33a in 2014).
– He has 27 multiple-goal games during his career (14 with three-plus goals).
– Kavanagh matched a school record with seven goals in last season’s win at Ohio State.
FOUR ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
– Matt Kavanagh (Jr./A), Matt Landis (Jr./D), Jack Near (Sr./M) and Sergio Perkovic (So./M) are among 50 players who recently were named to the 2015 Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
– Kavanagh was a Tewaaraton Award nominee last season.
FIVE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
– Five Notre Dame players garnered preseason All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse. Junior attackman Matt Kavanagh was selected to the first team, while sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic was placed on the second team. Junior defenseman Matt Landis earned a third-team citation and Garrett Epple (So./D) and Jack Near (Sr./M) both were honorable-mention picks.
VETERAN TRIO TO CAPTAIN THE IRISH
– Seniors Jim Marlatt, Conor Doyle and Jack Near have been named team captains for the 2015 campaign. Marlatt, a fifth-year senior, is a two-time team captain, while Doyle and Near are in their first year in the leadership position.
KAVANAGH IS CLUTCH
– Matt Kavanagh has three overtime game-winning goals during his career. He netted the deciding goal in last season’s triumph over Albany in the NCAA quarterfinals. During his freshman campaign, he scored in overtime against Penn State and North Carolina (3ot).
THREE IRISH PLAYERS PICKED IN MLL DRAFT
– Three Notre Dame seniors – Jack Near (M), Conor Doyle (A) and Nick Ossello (M) – were selected in the 2015 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. – The Rochester Rattlers picked Near in the first round with the seventh overall selection. Doyle went to the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the sixth round (43rd overall), while the Denver Outlaws picked Ossello in the eighth round (60th overall).
GAME CHANGERS AWARD
– Members of the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team have been recognized as Atlantic Coast Conference/United Way “Game Changers” and were honored during the 2015 New York Life ACC Tournament. The “Game Changers” initiative was introduced this year as part of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s unique and longstanding partnership with United Way. It seeks to recognize and highlight specific ACC team involvement with its local United Way chapter.
ELITE COMPANY
– Notre Dame and Duke are the only two schools to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship in each of the last five campaigns.
– Notre Dame and Maryland are the only two programs to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship field in each of the last nine seasons.
– The Fighting Irish are 10-5 in the NCAA tournament over the last five seasons.
IRISH ATHLETICS TO HONOR FATHER HESBURGH
– The University of Notre Dame athletics department will commemorate the legacy of long-time University president Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., in a number of ways. Father Hesburgh died February 26 at age 97. He served as University president from 1952-87.
– Notre Dame athletic teams will wear “Fr. Ted” patches or stickers on some combination of their uniforms, warm-ups or helmets.
– Moments of silence will be observed prior to home events in each of Notre Dame’s 26 varsity sports.
– In the near future, there will be commemorative signage created for each Notre Dame home athletic venue–to be featured either on the field or court itself or displayed elsewhere at the facility.