May 17, 2012
NCAA Tournament Central | Complete Notes Packet 
#5 VIRGINIA
vs.
#4 NOTRE DAME
NCAA Championship Quarterfinals
Sunday, May 20 – Noon (ET)
PPL Park – Chester, Pa.
TV/INTERNET:
ESPNU/ESPN3
Eamon McAnaney (play-by-play)
Quint Kessenich (analyst)
Paul Carcaterra (analyst)
LIVE STATS:
GameTracker on UND.com
SCORE UPDATES:
Irish Alert! text messaging
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IRISH TO FACE VIRGINIA IN NCAA QUARTERFINALS
– No. 4 seed Notre Dame (12-2) will face No. 5 seed Virginia (12-3) on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship. The contest is scheduled for noon (ET) at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.
– The game will be aired on ESPNU/ESPN3 with Eamon McAnaney (play-by-play), Quint Kessenich (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (analyst) calling the action. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on UND.com.
– The Fighting Irish defeated Yale, 13-7, in the first round, while Virginia bested Princeton, 6-5.
– Notre Dame is making its fourth NCAA quarterfinal appearance in the last five seasons. Virginia is the defending national champion.
– Sunday will be the seventh meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Virginia. The Cavaliers lead the series 5-1, including a 3-0 mark in the NCAA tournament. All six previous encounters took place in Charlottesville, Va. The last meeting was a 14-10 Cavalier victory in the first round of the 2006 NCAA tournament. Notre Dame bested Virginia, 11-8, during the 2001 regular season.
– The winner of the Notre Dame-Virginia contest will face the winner of the quarterfinal tilt between Loyola and Denver in the semifinals on Saturday, May 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
– Loyola is the tournament’s top seed, while Denver is unseeded.
NOTRE DAME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
– The Fighting Irish are 10-16 in 17 NCAA tournament appearances. Every trip has occurred under head coach Kevin Corrigan.
– Notre Dame has advanced to at least the quarterfinals on seven occasions, including four times in the last five seasons. This is the first time the Irish have advanced to the quarterfinals in three consecutive tournaments.
– The best finish for the Irish was a title game appearance in 2010. Notre Dame was a semifinalist in 2001.
– Last season, Notre Dame also garnered the tournament’s No. 4 seed and defeated Penn, 13-6, in the first round before falling to Duke, 7-5, in the quarterfinals.
– This is the fifth time that the Fighting Irish have earned one of the eight national seeds for the NCAA Championship. The No. 4 seed matches the highest-ever for Notre Dame. The Irish also were seeded for the 2001 (5th), 2008 (6th), 2009 (7th) and 2011 (4th) tournaments.
A LOOK AT VIRGINIA
– Virginia will bring a 12-3 record into Sunday’s game. The Cavaliers went 2-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play.
– The Cavaliers are averaging 11.6 goals per game, while allowing 8.4 per contest. Senior attackman Steele Stanwick has 73 points on 27 goals and 46 assists. The point and assist totals lead the team, while fellow senior attackman Chris Bocklet has a team-high 34 goals. Senior Rob Fortunato has started all 15 games in goal and carries an 8.25 goals-against average with a .578 save percentage.
– The Cavaliers returned seven starters from their 2011 national championship squad that went 13-5 overall.
– Head coach Dom Starsia is in his 20th season at the helm of the Virginia program.
COMMON OPPONENTS
– Notre Dame and Virginia have four common opponents this season (Duke, Drexel, Ohio State, Syracuse). Both the Irish and Cavaliers defeated Drexel (ND 6-5, Virginia 9-8), Ohio State (ND 8-7, Virginia 11-9) and Syracuse (ND 8-6, Virginia 14-10). Notre Dame topped Duke, 7-3, while Virginia fell to the Blue Devils, 13-5.
IRISH AGAINST THE ACC
– Notre Dame is 10-21 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams. The Fighting Irish are 5-4 versus ACC competition over the past three seasons, including a 7-3 win over Duke in the 2012 season opener.
– The Irish are 2-7 against ACC foes in the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame has fallen to an ACC team in each of the last three NCAA tournaments. The Irish suffered a 7-3 setback to Maryland in the first round of the 2009 tournament. Duke topped Notre Dame 6-5 in overtime in the 2010 title game and the Blue Devils claimed a 7-5 decision over the Irish in the 2011 quarterfinals.
– Notre Dame’s last victory against an ACC squad in the NCAA Championship was a 7-5 quarterfinal triumph over Maryland in 2010.
THE LAST TIME
– Notre Dame and Virginia last met in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Championship and the Cavaliers came away with a 14-10 victory en route to the national title. The four-goal margin of victory was the narrowest for Virginia during the `06 tournament.
– Joey Kemp, the older brother of current Notre Dame junior goalie John Kemp, made 20 saves that day against the Cavaliers. That is tied for the second-most saves in an NCAA tournament game for a Notre Dame goalie.
CORRIGAN CONNECTION
– Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan was a midfielder for Virginia from 1979-81 and served as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers during the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Kevin’s father, Gene Corrigan, was the head coach of the Cavaliers from 1959-67 and returned for a 10-year stint (1971-81) as director of athletics at Virginia. Gene was the director of athletics at Notre Dame from 1981-87.
DEJA VU
– Each of the last three years Notre Dame has beaten an Ivy League opponent in the first round (Princeton in 2010, Penn in 2011, Yale in 2012)–and each of the last three years has faced an ACC opponent in the quarterfinals (Maryland in 2010, Duke in 2011, Virginia in 2012).
CHALLENGING THE CHAMPS
– Notre Dame is 1-3 all-time when facing the defending national champion. The Irish opened the 2011 campaign with a 12-7 win over 2010 national champion Duke.
– Notre Dame’s first crack at the defending national champion came in 1994 when Princeton topped the Irish 6-4. The other two occurrences came against Syracuse. The Orange bested the Irish 12-5 during the 2000 NCAA Tournament. In 2010, Syracuse defeated Notre Dame 12-6 during the regular season.
FAMILIAR WITH PHILLY
– This weekend will mark Notre Dame’s third trip to Philadelphia in the last month. The Irish played at Villanova on April 21 and headed back to Villanova for the BIG EAST Championship (May 3). Notre Dame also ventured to the City of Brotherly Love in early March for a showdown at Drexel.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Notre Dame matched season-high totals in goals (13) and goal scorers (9) in Sunday’s win over Yale. The Irish also achieved those figures in a 13-6 win over St. John’s on April 1.
– The Irish used eight different goal scorers in wins over Denver (10-9 in 3OT), Rutgers (12-9), Georgetown (9-7) and Villanova (10-7).
– Twenty different Irish players have scored a goal this season, while five Notre Dame players have tallied 12 or more goals.
– Six different Notre Dame players have posted a team-high goal total in a game this season. Senior attackman Sean Rogers has done it a team-best five times.
MARLATT MAKING THINGS HAPPEN
– Sophomore midfielder Jim Marlatt tallied a career-high five points on three goals and two assists in Sunday’s first-round win over Yale. It was the second career hat trick for Marlatt, who did not play at all last season due to injury.
– Marlatt leads the Irish in points with 29 on 18 goals and a team-best 11 assists.
– Marlatt was named the MVP of the Notre Dame-St. John’s game at the Big City Classic. Marlatt scored a game-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.
BEATTIE IS BACK
– Senior attackman Nicholas Beattie scored Notre Dame’s first goal of the season in the 7-3 triumph of Duke. However, he suffered a leg injury on the play and missed the next nine contests. The team captain cracked the scoring column once again in Sunday’s first-round win over Yale.
FIGHTING IRISH AGAINST THE FIELD
– Notre Dame went 3-0 during the regular season against teams that made the NCAA Championship field. The Irish defeated Duke (7-3), Denver (10-9 in 3OT) and Syracuse (8-6).
A DOMINATING DEFENSE
– Notre Dame’s defense ranks first nationally by surrendering just 6.0 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 four goals in 33 chances (.879).
SECOND HALF SHUTDOWNS
– The Irish have outscored their opponents 70-42 in the second half this season, including 47-19 in the last seven games.
– Notre Dame is 4-1 this season when trailing at halftime.
A PERFORMER BETWEEN THE PIPES
– Junior goalie John Kemp ranks first nationally in goals-against average (5.96) and save percentage (.641). He is 13th in saves per game (10.71).
– Kemp was 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 on Feb. 26. He has made 10 or more saves in a game eight times this season, including a 12-save performance in Sunday’s first-round win over Yale.
– He finished the 2011 campaign ranked second nationally in goals-against average (6.61) and fourth in save percentage (.602).
– Kemp boasts a 24-7 (.774) career record at Notre Dame.
SCORELESS STREAKS
– The Notre Dame defense has posted a scoreless streak totaling 30 minutes or longer six times this season, including two streaks over 40 minutes in length.
– Notre Dame held Syracuse off the scoreboard for the first 37:53 of the contest on April 28.
– 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.
COMEBACK KIDS
– Notre Dame has overcome a four-goal deficit twice this season. The Irish fell behind Villanova 4-0 in the first quarter before scoring eight straight goals en route to the 10-7 victory on April 21.
– 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.
BIG EAST BEST
– Notre Dame garnered three major awards during the BIG EAST Conference men’s lacrosse awards banquet. Senior Kevin Randall was named the league’s defensive player of the year, while junior John Kemp was selected goalkeeper of the year and Kevin Corrigan received the coach-of-the-year award.
– A total of six Irish players were named to the all-BIG EAST first or second team. Joining Randall and Kemp on the all-league first team were Sean Rogers (Sr./A) and Jim Marlatt (So./M). Randall and Rogers were unanimous picks. Max Pfeifer (Sr./M) and Matt Miller (Jr./D) copped second-team honors.
CONFERENCE CROWNS
– With Notre Dame capturing the BIG EAST regular-season title, it marked 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/Great Lakes Conference regular-season titles from 1981-93.
IRISH GET OFFENSIVE
– The Notre Dame offense is averaging 10.1 goals in the last eight games after averaging 6.7 goals in the first six contests of the season.
– The Irish scored on 13 of their 23 shots (.565) in Sunday’s win over Yale.
KEEPING IT CLOSE
– Notre Dame has played six one-goal games this season. The Irish are 4-2 in those games, which includes two overtime victories and one overtime setback.
– The Irish played five consecutive one-goal affairs this season. The Irish went 4-1 in those contests. 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 on March 18 was the first triple-overtime game in Fighting Irish history.
– Notre Dame’s five road wins this season came by a combined seven goals.
HOME SWEET HOME
– Notre Dame is 40-4 (.909) at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.
WINNING WAYS
– Notre Dame’s 12 victories are the fourth-most in program history. The Irish won a school-record 15 games (15-1) in 2009 and captured 14 victories in both 2001 (14-2) and 2008 (14-3). The Fighting Irish have notched a double-digit win total in each of the last seven seasons.
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 93 games), the Irish defense has limited opponents to seven goals or fewer 65 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 32 games. That occurred in last season’s 11-8 setback at Syracuse (4/30/11).
FORMIDABLE FOES
– Notre Dame went 7-1 against teams that finished the regular season in the top 25 of the RPI. The Fighting Irish ended the regular season with the nation’s No. 5 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. That made it a happy homecoming for the Long Island native.
– 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 62-16 (.795) since the beginning of the 2008 season. That percentage ranks third nationally during that time.
– The Fighting Irish have been to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship four times in the last five seasons, including the program’s first-ever NCAA title game appearance in 2010.
– Since the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame has gone 26-6 (.813), with three of those losses coming in overtime.
– On April 18, 2011, the Irish reached No. 1 in the national polls for the first time in program history.
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 last season with a 5-1 mark. The Fighting Irish won this year’s regular-season league title with a perfect 6-0 record.
PLAYING ON THE BIG STAGE
– Sunday’s game at PPL Park, home to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer (MLS), will be Notre Dame’s latest chance to compete in a major venue.
– Earlier this season, the Fighting Irish faced St. John’s at MetLife Stadium, which houses the New York Giants and New York Jets, during the Konica Minolta Big City Classic.
– 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).