March 9, 2016

— #2/#1/#2 DENVER (5-0) vs. #1/#2/#1 NOTRE DAME (4-0)
— Sunday, March 13, 2016 – 5:30 p.m. EDT
— Arlotta Stadium (capacity 4,500)- Notre Dame, Indiana
Rankings are Inside Lacrosse (media)/USILA (coaches)/Lacrosse magazine

TV/INTERNET/STREAM ESPNU live telecast

LIVE STATS UND.com (Gametracker)

2016 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE AND SCORES (4-0)

2016 RANKINGS
Notre Dame began the 2016 season rated first in both the Nike/Lacrosse magazine and Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse media preseason polls, while the Irish were second (behind 2015 NCAA champion Denver) in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association preseason poll of coaches. Notre Dame moved to the top spot in the Feb. 15 USILA poll, then went back to second in the Feb. 22 and 29 and March 7 USILA listings. Here are the March 7 polls (italics indicate 2016 Notre Dame opponent):

— USILA (coaches): 1.Denver, 2.Notre Dame, 3.Syracuse, 4.Yale, 5.Brown, 6.Towson, 7.Duke, 8.Harvard, 9.Loyola, 10.North Carolina, 11.Johns Hopkins, 12.Maryland, 13.Villanova, 14.Hofstra, 15.Albany, 16.Rutgers, 17.Virginia, 18.Stony Brook, 19.Boston University, 20.Ohio State.

— Cascade/Maverik/Inside Lacrosse (media): 1.Notre Dame, 2.Denver, 3.Syracuse, 4.Yale, 5.(tie)Brown and Towson, 7.Harvard, 8.Loyola, 9.Duke, 10.North Carolina, 11.Maryland, 12.Villanova, 13.Hofstra, 14.Johns Hopkins, 15.Albany, 16.Rutgers, 17.Virginia, 18.Boston University, 19.Ohio State, 20.Stony Brook.

— Nike/Lacrosse magazine: 1.Notre Dame, 2.Denver, 3.Syracuse, 4.Yale, 5.Towson, 6.Harvard, 7.Loyola, 8.Duke, 9.Brown, 10.North Carolina, 11.Johns Hopkins, 12.Hofstra, 13.Maryland, 14.Virginia, 15.Villanova, 16.Albany, 17.Boston University, 18.High Point, 19.Rutgers, 20.Ohio State.

Here’s where the Irish ranked week by week in 2016 in the three polls:
Date USILA Inside Lacrosse Lacrosse magazine
Preseason 2 1 1
Feb. 15 1 1 1
Feb. 22 2 1 1
Feb. 29 2 1 1
March 7 2 1 1

NOTRE DAME AND THE NUMBER-ONE SPOT
Notre Dame ranked first in all three polls in the Feb. 15, 2016, versions of those ratings.
— The Irish spent four weeks holding down the number-one spot in 2015, losing that ranking by virtue of a 13-8 loss to Duke in an ACC Championship semifinal match.
— After beating #1 Syracuse on March 28, 2015, Notre Dame moved to the top of the USILA (coaches) and Inside Lacrosse Cascade/Maverik (media) polls.
— Since the program’s inception in 1981, Notre Dame has been ranked #1 in both polls for nine weeks. Here are Notre Dame’s appearances at #1:
* April 18/May 2, 2011 (USILA and media polls — 2 weeks)
* March 25/April 1, 2013 (USILA and media polls — 1 week)
* April 22/April 29, 2013 (USILA and media polls — 1 week)
* March 30/April 20, 2015 (USILA and media polls — 4 weeks)
* February 15, 2016 (USILA and media polls ââ’¬” 1 week)

THE ACC IN 2016
Team ACC Overall Next
#2 Notre Dame 0-0 4-0 3/13 #1 DENVER; 3/19 #17 VIRGINIA
#3 Syracuse 1-0 4-0 3/12 ST. JOHN’S; 3/19 @#11 Johns Hopkins
#7 Duke 0-0 4-3 3/12 @#9 Loyola; 3/19 GEORGETOWN
#10 North Carolina 0-0 3-2 3/12 @Massachusetts; 3/14 @Manhattan; 3/19 RICHMOND
#17 Virginia 0-1 3-3 3/12 @Cornell; 3/19 @#2 Notre Dame
Rankings based on March 7 USILA poll

ACC Offensive Player of the Week
Feb. 8: Steve Pontrello, North Carolina
Feb. 15: Dylan Donahue, Syracuse
Feb. 22: Sergio Perkovic, Notre Dame
Feb. 29: Shane Simpson, North Carolina
March 7: Tim Barber, Syracuse

ACC Defensive Player of the Week
Feb. 8: Jake Matthai, North Carolina
Feb. 15: Nick Mellen, Syracuse/Kyle Rowe, Duke
Feb. 22: Shane Doss, Notre Dame, and Ben Williams, Syracuse
Feb. 29: Stephen Kelley, North Carolina
March 7: Matt Landis, Notre Dame

THE DENVER SERIES
Sunday will be the 21st meeting between Notre Dame and Denver–and the Irish hold a 14-6 advantage in the series.
— The Fighting Irish are 5-3 in the last eight showdowns with the Pioneers. The two teams met twice last season with Denver earning an 11-10 overtime victory at home on March 7 and then winning by an identical 11-10 score (again in OT) in the NCAA national semifinals in Philadelphia (the first time the teams met in the NCAA Championship). Four of the last five contests have been decided in overtime.
— The last six meetings have been decided by a combined eight goals.
— Notre Dame has suffered setbacks in the last three meetings after winning five straight from 2009-13.
Home: 6-1; Away: 7-2; Neutral: 1-3
Date Location Result Rankings (ND-DU)
4-20-92 Denver, CO W 25-4 —/—
3-8-98 Colo. Springs, CO W 12-7 9/—
3-5-99 Notre Dame, IN W 17-9 19/—
3-11-00 Denver, CO W 12-8 15/—
4-7-01 Notre Dame, IN W 16-6 7/—
3-30-02 Denver, CO W 15-8 —/—
3-30-03 Notre Dame, IN W 9-8 13/—
4-11-04 Denver, CO W 14-12 18/17
4-7-05 Notre Dame, IN L 6-9 11/—
4-14-06 Denver, CO L 5-8 9/18
4-15-07 Notre Dame, IN W 14-6 11/—
4-5-08 Bridgeview, IL * L 8-9 7/19
4-11-09 Denver, CO ^ W 10-8 4/—
3-16-10 Notre Dame, IN W 14-7 9/—
3-12-11 Denver, CO W 10-9 3/14
3-18-12 Notre Dame, IN W 10-9 (3OT) 7/9
3-16-13 Denver, CO ^ W 13-12 (OT) 3/5
3-8-14 Costa Mesa, CA L 7-10 6/12
3-7-15 Denver, CO L 10-11 (OT) 3/4
5-23-15 Philadelphia# L 10-11 (OT) 1/2
3-13-16 Notre Dame, IN ??? 2/1
* Toyota Park
^ Sports Authority Field at Mile High
# NCAA Championship

DENVER IN 2016 (5-0; 17-2 in 2015)
2/13 @Air Force W 10-9
2/20 #7 Duke (@Atlanta) W 14-12
2/27 SACRED HEART W 18-7
2/28 DARTMOUTH W 16-6
3/5 @#10 North Carolina W 13-12 (OT)
3/13 @#2 Notre Dame
3/19 #20 OHIO STATE
3/26 PENN STATE
4/2 @Georgetown
4/9 @#13 Villanova
4/16 ST. JOHN’S
4/23 @Providence
4/30 MARQUETTE
5/5 and 5/7 BIG EAST Championship @Denver
rankings are based on March 7 USILA poll

THE LAST MEETING: OT IN 2015 NCAA SEMIFINAL It was heartbreak for the top-seeded Notre Dame’s lacrosse team in its 2015 NCAA Championship national semifinal game against Denver at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Wesley Berg’s goal with 2:03 left in overtime lifted the No. 4 seed Pioneers to an 11-10 decision over the Irish. Berg’s score came after Notre Dame rallied from a four-goal deficit (10-6) with 4:23 left in the contest. Senior midfielder Nick Ossello sent the game into overtime when he cashed in on his second goal of the game with nine seconds left in regulation. Sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic proved to be unstoppable in the final 15-minute stanza as he netted all five of his goals in the fourth quarter. Perkovic matched his career high with a five-goal performance he had a year ago in 2014 when Notre Dame lost to Duke in the national championship game. The Irish, who were making a program-first second consecutive appearance in the national semifinals and fifth overall appearance in Championship Weekend, saw their season come to an end at 12-3. That contest ended much like the first meeting between the two teams March 7 in Denver where the Pioneers rallied for the game-winner with 3:18 left in overtime for a similar 11-10 victory. The contest marked the 10th overtime affair in NCAA semifinal history.

FOUR OF FIVE IN OVERTIME A RARITY
Notre Dame and Denver have combined to play four overtime meetings in their last five battles:
3-18-12 #7 Notre Dame 10, #9 Denver 9 (3OT) at Notre Dame
3-16-13 #3 Notre Dame 13, #5 Denver 12 (OT) at Denver
3-8-14 #12 Denver 10, #6 Notre Dame 7 at Costa Mesa, CA
3-7-15 #4 Denver 11, #3 Notre Dame 10 (OT) at Denver
5-23-15 #2 Denver 11, #1 Notre Dame 10 (OT) at Philadelphia (NCAA semifinal)
Here are the two other times that happened:
— Ohio State and UMBC played four of five games into OT (three went double OT) from 2004-09 (UMBC won three of the four)
— North Carolina and Navy played four of five games into OT in 2000-04 (each team won two; one game went four OTs, one went six OTs; the one game that did not go to OT was decided by a single goal)

Here are the Denver game notes in their entirety.