April 22, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The top-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team has had much to celebrate over the past few days after the Irish clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title on Saturday with their come-from-behind 15-14 win over No. 2 North Carolina.
The program received more good news on Wednesday with four of its top players named to the 18-man 2015 All-ACC Team. Junior attackman Matt Kavanagh (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Chaminade/Hotchkiss), senior attackman Conor Doyle (Towson, Md./The Gilman School), junior defenseman Matt Landis (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) and sophomore midfield Sergio Perkovic (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) all earned all-conference honors with Kavanagh garnering all-ACC accolades for the second consecutive season.
Kavanagh leads the Irish in scoring with 43 points and in assists (22) and is tied for second in goals scored (21). He also is tied for first with five man-up goals and is third on the team with 25 ground balls.
Kavanagh ranks among the statistical leaders in the ACC in several categories, including assists per game (fourth, 2.20), points per game (sixth, 4.30), shots per game (10th, 6.4) and man-up goals (fifth, .50). A starter in all 10 of the Irish games this season, he has netted three or more goals on four occasions in 2015, including Saturday’s four-goal outburst in the win over North Carolina. Kavanagh scored two of Notre Dame’s final three tallies against the Tar Heels, including the game-winner with seven seconds remaining in the contest. For his efforts, he copped ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time this season.
A member of the Tewaaraton Watch List, Kavanagh stands sixth on the all-time Notre Dame career scoring list (166 points), is tied for seventh all-time in career goals (95) and is fifth in assists (71).
Doyle, who earlier this season was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week on April 6, is tied for second in scoring with 43 points. A starter in all 10 games, he also is tied for second in goals scored (21) and ranks second in assists (12). Doyle leads the Irish in shooting percentage (.488) and stands sixth nationally in that category as well as second among all ACC players.
Doyle scored a career-high four goals earlier this season in Notre Dame’s 14-7 win over Marquette and dished off a personal-best four assists in the 15-10 victory over Duke on April 4. He has registered four hat tricks this season, his most recent coming against Tar Heels on Saturday. The Chesapeake Bayhawks in the Major League Lacrosse Draft drafted Doyle earlier this year.
Landis, a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, is tied for sixth with 17 ground balls and has five caused turnovers on the season. He also has been in the starting lineup for the Irish in all 10 of its contests. During his two-plus seasons, Landis has been a starter in 27 of 43 contests. He also has been named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
Perkovic has started all 28 games during his career in an Irish uniform. This season, the talented sophomore has 20 goals and six assists as Notre Dame’s fourth-leading scorer with 26 points. Perkovic has registered four hat tricks this season that includes a three-goal performance in Saturday’s win over North Carolina.
Named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, he is third on the team with four man-up goals. In addition to the game against the Tar Heels, Perkovic also scored three goals in the Georgetown, Dartmouth and Marquette contests.
North Carolina and Syracuse led all ACC schools with five honorees.
Notre Dame (9-1, 4-0 ACC) will look to defend its 2014 ACC Championship tournament crown beginning on Friday evening at 5:30 pm when the top-seeded Irish face fourth-seeded and No. 6 Duke (10-4, 1-3) at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania in the first semifinal game of tournament.
ESPNU will broadcast Friday’s two semifinal games and Sunday’s championship contest. All three of those contests also will be available on the WatchESPN app.
2015 All-ACC Men’s Lacrosse Team
Deemer Class, Jr., M, Duke
Will Haus, Sr., SSM, Duke
Myles Jones, Jr., M, Duke
Jake Bailey, Sr., D,North Carolina
Jimmy Bitter, Sr., A, North Carolina
Ryan Kilpatrick, Sr., LSM, North Carolina
Joey Sankey, Sr., A, North Carolina
Chad Tutton, Sr., M, North Carolina
Conor Doyle, Sr., A, Notre Dame
Matt Kavanagh, Jr., A, Notre Dame
Matt Landis, Jr., D, Notre Dame
Sergio Perkovic, So., M,Notre Dame
Dylan Donahue, Jr., A,Syracuse
Nicky Galasso, Sr., M, Syracuse
Brandon Mullins, Jr., D, Syracuse
Kevin Rice, Sr., A, Syracuse
Ben Williams, So., F/O, Syracuse
Matt Barrett, So., G, Virginia
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The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.
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