Feb. 21, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame men’s lacrosse players John Kemp and Max Pfeifer earned weekly honors from the BIG EAST Conference for their performances in Saturday’s 7-3 season-opening win over No. 2 Duke. Kemp, a junior goalie, was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, while Pfeifer, a senior midfielder, was selected to the league’s weekly honor roll.
Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) matched a career-high save total with 14 in the win over Duke. Kemp and the Irish defense held the Blue Devils scoreless for a stretch of 40:24, which started at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter and ended with 18 seconds remaining in the contest. The Irish posted seven unanswered goals during that stretch. This is Kemp’s third career BIG EAST defensive player-of-the-week honor.
Pfeifer (Crozet, Va./Western Albemarle) had a hand in four of Notre Dame’s seven goals against the Blue Devils as he registered two goals and two assists. The four points matched a career-high total. Pfeifer assisted on the second-quarter goals that tied the game (2-2) and gave the Irish the lead for good (3-2). His first goal gave the Irish a 5-2 advantage in the third quarter and his second tally upped the lead to five (7-2) in the fourth quarter.
The victory over Duke propelled Notre Dame to No. 2 in this week’s United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll. The Fighting Irish return to action on Sunday with a home showdown against Penn State. Face-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (ET).
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