March 29, 2012
#6 NOTRE DAME
vs.
ST. JOHN’S
Konica Minolta Big City Classic
Sunday, April 1 – 1:00 p.m. (ET)
MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, N.J.
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LIVE STATS:
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IRISH TO FACE ST. JOHN’S IN BIG CITY CLASSIC
– No. 6 Notre Dame (6-1, 1-0) will face BIG EAST foe St. John’s (5-3, 1-1) on Sunday in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Faceoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. (ET) and the contest will be the first game of a tripleheader.
– Duke and Syracuse will meet in the day’s second game, while North Carolina and Johns Hopkins will square off in the third and final game at MetLife Stadium, which is home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets. This will be Notre Dame’s first appearance in the Big City Classic.
– ESPN3 will broadcast the Notre Dame-St. John’s game. Live stats will be available via GameTracker on UND.com.
– The Fighting Irish will bring a five-game win streak into Sunday’s contest. Notre Dame opened BIG EAST play on Sunday with a 12-9 home win over Rutgers. The 12 goals were a season-high total for the Irish.
NOTRE DAME-ST. JOHN’S SERIES HISTORY
– Sunday will be the fourth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and St. John’s. The Fighting Irish lead the series 3-0. – Notre Dame captured a 10-7 home win last season over St. John’s. The Irish and Red Storm first met in 2009, a 12-2 Notre Dame home win. The Fighting Irish won at St. John’s, 13-6, in 2010 during the first season of BIG EAST play.
A LOOK AT ST. JOHN’S
– St. John’s is 5-3 this season, including a 1-1 mark in the BIG EAST. The Red Storm opened league play with a 9-8 setback to Syracuse before defeating Rutgers 7-6.
– The Red Storm are averaging 10.0 goals scored per game, while allowing 9.6 per contest. Senior midfielder Terence Leach has a team-high 16 goals, while sophomore attackman Kieran McArdle has team-best totals in points (29) and assists (15). Junior Jeff Lowman has started all eight games in goal. He has a 9.62 goals-against average and a .553 save percentage.
– St. John’s went 4-10 last season, including 2-4 in the BIG EAST. The Red Storm returned seven starters from last season’s squad.
– Head coach Jason Miller is in his sixth season at St. John’s.
THE LAST TIME
– Notre Dame defeated St. John’s 10-7 last season at Arlotta Stadium. The Irish trailed 5-2 at halftime, yet responded by outscoring the Red Storm 5-2 in the third quarter and 3-0 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
– Notre Dame’s David Earl had three goals, while St. John’s was led by a four-goal effort from Colin Keegan. Goalie John Kemp made 11 saves for the Irish. Jeff Lowman had 13 stops for St. John’s.
ROGERS ON A ROLL
– Senior attackman Sean Rogers scored a career-high four goals in Sunday’s 12-9 win over Rutgers. It was the first four-goal effort for a Notre Dame player since Neal Hicks netted four in a 12-7 win over Cornell in the semifinals of the 2010 NCAA Championship.
– Rogers was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second straight week for his performance against the Scarlet Knights.
– After being held without a goal in the first two games of the season, Rogers has scored 12 times in the last five games. The 12 goals are a team-high total this season.
IRISH IN THE BIG EAST
– Notre Dame has an 8-5 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.
CAPTURING THE CLOSE ONES
– 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.
PLAYING ON THE BIG STAGE
– Playing in MetLife Stadium for the Big City Classic will be 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, in Bridgeview, Ill.
– 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.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
– Eighteen different Notre Dame players have scored a goal this season.
– The Fighting Irish used eight different goal scorers in wins over Denver (10-9) and Rutgers (12-9).
– Four Notre Dame players scored their first career goals last week. Tyler Andersen (Jr./LSM), Tyler Brenneman (So./M) and Liam O’Connor (So./FO) netted their first collegiate goal on Wednesday at Ohio State, while Will Corrigan (Fr./M) scored for the first time on Sunday against Rutgers.
IRISH GET OFFENSIVE
– Notre Dame produced a five-goal first quarter in Sunday’s 12-9 win over Rutgers. That matched a season-best scoring total for a single quarter. The Irish had five second-quarter goals in the 10-9 triple-overtime triumph of Denver.
CALL HIM CLUTCH
– Senior attackman Sean Rogers has scored three game-winning goals 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).
MARLATT MAKING AN IMPACT
– Sophomore midfielder Jim Marlatt, who did not play last season due to injury, is tied with Sean Rogers for the team lead in points with 13. Marlatt’s nine goals are the second-most for any Irish player this season.
– Marlatt was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on March 12 following a career-high four-point effort at Hofstra. He tallied two goals and two assists against the Pride.
– Marlatt has four two-goal games this season.
FORMIDABLE FOES
– Notre Dame’s first five opponents this season all were ranked at the time of the game. The Irish went 4-1 against those teams. There currently are seven squads on Notre Dame’s 2012 schedule that appear in this week’s USILA poll.
A DOMINATING DEFENSE
– Notre Dame’s defense ranks third nationally by surrendering just 6.0 goals per game this season.
– Notre Dame held its first four opponents this season to five goals or fewer. That was the first time the Irish limited opponents to five goals or fewer in four consecutive games since the 2007 campaign.
– Notre Dame’s man-down defense ranks first nationally (.882). That unit has given up just two goals in 17 chances.
– Senior Kevin Randall has made 38 straight starts in the Irish close defense, while junior Matt Miller and sophomore Stephen O’Hara are first-time starters this season.
SCORELESS STREAKS
– The Notre Dame defense has posted a scoreless streak totaling 20 minutes or longer six times this season.
– The Fighting Irish posted a season-best 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.
– The Irish defense held Penn State scoreless for the first 20:59 of the contest on Feb. 26. Notre Dame also produced a 24:50 scoreless stretch later in the game.
– At Drexel, Notre Dame held the Dragons scoreless for 33:27 from midway through the first quarter to the 3:33 mark of the third quarter.
– At Hofstra, the Irish posted a scoreless stretch that reached 24:19. It began with 3:28 left in the first quarter and ended with 9:09 remaining in the third period.
– At Ohio State, Notre Dame held the Buckeyes without a goal from the 1:03 mark of the first quarter until the 7:32 mark of the third quarter, a span of 23:35.
A PERFORMER BETWEEN THE PIPES
– Junior goalie John Kemp ranks first nationally in save percentage (.656) and second in goals-against average (5.81). He also ranks seventh in saves per game (11.4).
– Kemp made a career-high 18 saves in the 4-3 overtime setback to Penn State (Feb. 26). In the 7-3 season-opening win over Duke, he tied a then career-high total with 14 saves. He was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Blue Devils.
– He finished the 2011 campaign ranked second nationally in goals-against average (6.61) and fourth in save percentage (.602).
– Kemp boasts an 18-6 (.750) career record at Notre Dame.
– Kemp is one of 73 student-athletes up for the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player.
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 86 games), the Irish defense has limited opponents to seven goals or fewer 59 times. Notre Dame has held foes to four goals or fewer 15 times during that stretch.
– Notre Dame has surrendered 10 goals or more in a game just 10 times since the beginning of the `07 season.
HOME SWEET HOME
– Notre Dame is 37-4 (.902) at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.
FOUR IRISH PLAYERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADESv – 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.
RANDALL TABBED AS A LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
– Notre Dame defenseman Kevin Randall is one of 20 candidates 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.
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).
A SUCCESSFUL STRETCH
– The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse program has achieved unprecedented success over the past few seasons. The Fighting Irish are 56-15 (.789) since the beginning of the 2008 season. That is the third-best winning percentage nationally during that time.
– In 2008, the Fighting Irish hosted an NCAA tournament game for the first time in program history. Notre Dame defeated Colgate 8-7 in overtime.
– The 2009 campaign featured the Irish posting the first undefeated regular season (13-0) in program history before extending their record to a school-best 15-0 in the Great Western Lacrosse League tournament. Notre Dame fell to Maryland, 7-3, in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament.
– In 2010, Notre Dame reached the title game of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. The Fighting Irish fell to Duke 6-5 in overtime.
– Last season, the Irish reached No. 1 in the national polls for the first time in program history.
BYRNE HONORED
– Notre Dame’s Gerry Byrne was named the 2011 Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) National Assistant Coach of the Year for NCAA Division I.
– Byrne instructed a Fighting Irish defense that finished the 2011 season ranked second nationally by allowing just 6.57 goals per game. The Irish held their opponents to seven goals or fewer 10 times during the 2011 campaign.