May 1, 2015
vs. #2 NOTRE DAME (9-2, 4-0 ACC)Â
at
#18 ARMY (10-6, 4-4 ACC)
Saturday, May 2, 2015 · 1 p.m. (ET)Â
Michie Stadium · West Point, N.Y.
TV/INTERNET
CBS Sports Network
LIVE STATS
UND.com (Gametracker)
SETTING THE STAGE · No. 2 Notre Dame (9-2, 4-0) closes out the regular season on the road at West Point on Saturday, May 2 as the Irish face No. 18 Army (10-6, 4-4). Faceoff at Michie Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
· This will be the sixth meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame holds a 4-1 advantage in the series, including last year’s 18-17 thriller at Arlotta Stadium. The contest marks the second visit by an Irish team to Michie Stadium to play the Black Knights. The last time Notre Dame faced Army at West Point, the Irish dropped an 11-8 decision on April 3, 2002.
· Notre Dame has not played since suffering a 13-8 setback to Duke on Friday night (April 24) in the semifinals of the ACC Championship.
· The matchup with Army will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp (play-by-play) and Steve Panarelli (analyst) handling the call. Live stats will be available at UND.com.
ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT AWAITS IRISH
· Notre Dame will be facing a ranked opponent for the ninth straight game this season in its matchup with the Black Knights.
· Prior to the loss to Duke last Friday night, the Irish had won six straight contests versus ranked foes and own a 6-2 record against those teams.
IRISH CLAIM 2015 ACC REGULAR-SEASON CROWN
· Notre Dame won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in 2015 in just its second season as a conference member as the Irish finished with a 4-0 record.
· Coach Kevin Corrigan’s squad clinched the title with a thrilling come-from-behind 15-14 win over No. 2 North Carolina on April 18. Both teams entered the matchup with 3-0 records. THE ARMY SERIES · Saturday will be the sixth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Army with the Irish leading the series 4-1.
· The contest marks the second straight year that the two teams will be playing each other to close out the regular season.
· Last season’s matchup was the first between the two schools since 2002 and the first visit by the Black Knights to Notre Dame since 2001.
· This is just the second time Notre Dame has played Army at West Point.
A THRILLER THE LAST TIME OUT
· In a contest that featured eight ties and six lead changes, the fifth-ranked Irish defeated No. 19 Army 18-17 at Arlotta Stadium in the first meeting between the two schools since 2002.
· Current Irish senior Conor Doyle tallied his fourth goal of the day and the game-winning tally with 20 seconds left in the contest.
· Notre Dame trailed 16-15 with 4:14 remaining before back-to-back scores enabled the Irish to jump out to a 17-16 advantage with 2:11 left to play in the contest on Doyle’s third goal of the game.
· The Black Knights evened the score at 17-17 with 1:31 on the clock before Doyle tossed in the game-winning score with 20 second remaining in the contest.
CLOSE CALLS
· Five of Notre Dame’s 11 games this season have been decided by two goals or less. The Irish are 4-1 in those games (3-1 in one-goal affairs).
· Notre Dame has played two overtime contests this season — losing to Denver 11-10 in overtime and defeating Syracuse 13-12 in double-overtime.
· The 13-8 loss to Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Championship on April 24 was the largest setback suffered by a Fighting Irish squad since dropping a 15-7 decision to Duke at Notre Dame on April 5, 2014.
ANOTHER NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 AFFAIR AT ARLOTTA
· Notre Dame’s win against North Carolina on April 18 marked the second No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown at Arlotta Stadium in 2015. No. 2 Notre Dame knocked off No. 1 Syracuse 13-12 in double-overtime on March 28.
LANDIS TABBED AS TOP ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER
· Junior Matt Landis was selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
· He has started all 11 games for the Irish and anchors a defensive unit that has yielded just 9.10 goals per game in 2015. Landis has collected 22 ground balls and caused seven turnovers.
FOUR IRISH PLAYERS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS
· Notre Dame had four players garner all-ACC after having two players selected in 2014.
· Junior attackman Matt Kavanagh earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive season, while senior attackman Conor Doyle, junior defender Matt Landis and sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic were first-time honorees.
· North Carolina and Syracuse each placed five players on the 18-member all-conference team, while Duke placed three and Virginia, one.
NOTRE DAME NOT USED TO TRAILING
· Prior to the April 18 game against North Carolina, Notre Dame had only trailed for 19:29 the entire season.
· Entering their showdown against Marquette on April 7, the Fighting Irish had only trailed for 1:10 in their previous six games. The Golden Eagles jumped on top 2-0 and held a lead for 8:23 during that time.
· Against the Tar Heels, the Fighting Irish trailed for 2:01 through three quarters before North Carolina opened up a two-goal advantage in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame trailed from the 13:54 mark of the final stanza until tallying the game-tying goal with 33 seconds left in the contest.
· In the loss to Duke at the ACC Championship, Notre Dame never led in the game as the Blue Devils jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second quarter after a scoreless first period.
STRONG STARTS
· The Fighting Irish have outscored their opponents 39-14 in the first quarter and 77-41 in the first half this season.
· Notre Dame has led after the first, second and third quarters in all but two games this season — North Carolina and Duke. Against the Tar Heels, the Irish were tied following the first three quarters. · In the 13-8 loss to the Blue Devils, neither team scored in the first quarter and Notre Dame subsequently trailed at the end of the second (5-1) and third (10-2) quarters.
· Notre Dame did outscore Duke 6-3 in the final 15-minute stanza.
STOUT SLATE
· Nine of Notre Dame’s 11 regular-season opponents currently appear in both the USILA (coaches) and Cascade/Maverik (media) polls, including five in the top 10. · The Fighting Irish are 7-2 against those ranked teams so far this season.
NOTRE DAME FALLS FROM NUMBER ONE SPOT
· Notre Dame’s 13-8 loss to Duke dropped the Irish from the top of the national rankings after spending four weeks holding down the number-one spot. · After beating No. 1 Syracuse on March 28, Notre Dame moved to the top of the USILA (coaches) and Cascade/Maverik (media) polls.
· The Irish had been in the top spot for four weeks, which marked the program’s longest run at No. 1.
· Since the program’s inception in 1981, Notre Dame has been ranked No. 1 in both polls for eight weeks.
Here are Notre Dame’s appearances at No. 1:
April 18 — May 2, 2011 (USILA & media polls — 2 weeks)
March 25 — April 1, 2013 (USILA & media polls — 1 week)
April 22 — April 29, 2013 (USILA & media polls — 1 week)
March 30-April 20, 2015 (USILA & media polls — 4 weeks)
DOSS GETTING IT DONE
· Sophomore goalie Shane Doss is 18th nationally in save percentage (.553) and 34th in goals-against average (9.55). Doss leads the ACC in save percentage and is second in goals-against average.
· Doss made a career-high 17 saves in the win at Duke (April 4). He has made 10 or more saves in six of his eight starts this season.
· He was named the USILA Division I Defensive Player of the Week and the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after the Irish shut out Ohio State, 9-0. He earned the ACC honor once again along with being the NCAA.com Defensive Player of the Week for his career-high 17 save effort in the 15-10 win at Duke.
· Doss has a 8-1 record this season and a 13-4 career mark.
GETTING OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE
· Notre Dame ranks eighth nationally in scoring offense (13.27 gpg) and 19th in scoring defense (9.18 gpg).
KAVANAGH PRODUCING POINTS
· Matt Kavanagh has compiled three or more points in nine of 11 games this season. He ranks 17th nationally in assists per game (2.09) and 18th in points per game (4.09).
· The junior attackman has notched six or more points in three games this season and in 11 games during his career.
· Kavanagh’s career 3.73 points-per-game average is fourth among all active Division I players.
· Kavanagh had his career-best 17-game goal streak snapped against Marquette, but he did have three assists versus the Golden Eagles.
MANNING UP
· Notre Dame boasts the nation’s third-best man-up offense (.563). The Fighting Irish are 18-of-32 in extra-man opportunities this season. Mikey Wynne and Matt Kavanagh both have a team-best five man-advantage goals, while Sergio Perkovic has four man-up tallies.
HOT SHOTS
· The Fighting Irish rank seventh nationally in shooting percentage (.344). Individually, Mikey Wynne is third in the nation in shooting percentage (.534) and Conor Doyle is 20th (.429).
CONSISTENCY FROM Conor Doyle
· Senior attackman Conor Doyle had his 31-game point streak snapped against Duke last Friday night as he failed to record a goal or an assist in the game.
· Heading into the matchup against the Blue Devils, Doyle had registered 89 points (57g, 32a) during the streak. It began on May 2, 2013 versus Syracuse.
· Doyle has notched 10 goals and five assists in the last four games. He tied a career-high mark of four goals in the win over Marquette after producing seven points on three goals and four assists in the victory at Duke. The point and assist totals against the Blue Devils were career highs.
FIGHTING IRISH SPURTS
· Notre Dame has produced significant scoring runs in each of the last nine games.
· After trailing Duke 12-2 in the the semifinals of the ACC Championship with 12:04 remaining, Notre Dame rattled off six straight goals to pull the Irish to within four (12-8) with 4:14 to play.
· The Irish tallied the final three goals of the game in a span of 1:15 to secure a 15-14 come-from-behind victory over North Carolina.
· Marquette claimed a 2-0 lead over Notre Dame before the Fighting Irish scored seven straight goals en route to the 14-7 win.
· The Irish netted seven of the game’s first nine goals in the 15-10 victory at Duke. · The Fighting Irish extended their 5-3 halftime lead against Syracuse with four straight second-half scores to claim a six-goal advantage (9-3) before going on to win 13-12 in double-overtime.
· Notre Dame scored every goal in the 9-0 win over Ohio State on March 21.
· The Fighting Irish scored the first seven goals in the 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
· Notre Dame has had at least six different goal scorers in eight of 11 games this season.
· Notre Dame had a season-high 10 goal scorers in wins over Dartmouth and Michigan. The Irish had a season-low four goal scorers in the win at Virginia.
WHAT A START FOR WYNNE
· Freshman attackman Mikey Wynne has a team-high 31 goals this season.
· Wynne ranks 16th nationally in goals per game (2.82). He has posted two or more goals in eight of 11 games this season.
· Wynne scored six goals versus Georgetown in his collegiate debut.
PERKOVIC A PLAYMAKER
· Sophomore Sergio Perkovic is Notre Dame’s leading midfield scorer this season with 22 goals and six assists.
· Perkovic has 17 multiple-goal games during his career (eight this season), including four games of three-plus tallies.
· He tied a career-high mark of five points with three goals and two assists April 7th versus Marquette. He had a hand in four straight Fighting Irish goals (2g, 2a) during the second quarter of that contest.
· Perkovic netted 28 goals last season, including five in the national title game. The 28 goals were the most ever for a freshman midfielder at Notre Dame.
KAVANAGH IN THE IRISH RECORD BOOK
· Junior attackman Matt Kavanagh’s 168 career points (96g, 72a) rank sixth in the Notre Dame record book.
· Kavanagh’s 96 goals are the seventh-most in school history and the 72 assists are the fifth most.
· 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 29 multiple-goal games during his career (16 with three-plus goals). · Kavanagh matched a school record with seven goals in last season’s win at Ohio State.
OSSELLO ON A ROLL
· Senior midfielder Nick Ossello has registered a career-high three points in four of the last six games. He scored three goals against Ohio State and then tallied two goals and one assist versus Syracuse. Ossello deposited three goals against Duke and Marquette.
· Ossello was named to the ACC Championship All-Tournament Team after scoring two goals.
NOTRE DAME BLANKS THE BUCKEYES
· Notre Dame posted the second shutout in program history with the 9-0 blanking of No. 15 Ohio State on March 21 at Arlotta Stadium.
· Notre Dame sophomore Shane Doss started between the pipes and stopped 11 Buckeye shots, while senior Conor Kelly came off the bench to play the final 4:25 of the game and made two saves to preserve the shutout. Notre Dame’s only other clean sheet in program history came in a 15-0 win over Mt. Union on April 10, 1984.
· Notre Dame’s man-down defensive unit halted all five of Ohio State’s man-up chances.
THREE ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
· Matt Kavanagh (Jr./A), Matt Landis (Jr./D), and Sergio Perkovic (So./M) are among 25 nominees named to the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour.
· The ACC was represented by 12 players on the list, the most of any conference. Syracuse led the way with four nominees, while Notre Dame and North Carolina each had three individuals named to the list.
· Kavanagh was a Tewaaraton Award nominee last season.
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).
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. I
RISH 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 “Father 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.