March 9, 2016

University of Notre Dame senior men’s lacrosse All-America defenseman Matt Landis has been named the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Lids Team Sports Defensive Player of the Week.

That follows a similar defensive honor Monday from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Irish goaltender Shane Goss previously won the USILA defensive award after the Notre Dame season-opening win over Georgetown.

Landis spearheaded a standout team defensive effort Saturday in top-rated Notre Dame’s 9-4 triumph over eighth-rated Maryland in the Pacific Coast Shootout in Costa Mesa, California. The Irish captain defended primarily against standout Maryland attack Matt Rambo and held him to one goal and six shots (Rambo was Maryland’s top returning point-scorer from a year ago with 59 and top returning goal-scorer with 40).

Notre Dame holding the Terps to four goals qualified as the best effort by an opposing team defense since Johns Hopkins defeated Maryland 7-4 in 2013. Landis had three ground balls versus the Terps and played a key role as the Irish forced Maryland into 21 turnovers and six failed clear attempts. The Irish defense currently ranks second nationally while allowing 5.5 goals per game.

Landis last month received the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award representing an honorary postgraduate scholarship from the ACC. The 6-2, 195-pound defenseman from Pelham, New York (Pelham Memorial High School), is a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business.

Landis received the William C. Schmeisser Award from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as the outstanding defensive player in Division I as a junior in 2015. He was a 2015 USILA first-team All-American, the 2015 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a 2015 first-team All-ACC selection. A two-time selection as ACC Defensive Player of the Week in 2015, Landis was named the Lacrosse Magazine Player of the Week last May after holding Albany star Lyle Thompson to a single goal and four assists in a 14-10 Notre Dame NCAA Championship quarterfinal win over the Great Danes in 2015. He also was a 2015 ACC All-Academic Men’s Lacrosse Team selection.

Landis led Notre Dame to a 12-3 record as junior in 2015, including the ACC regular-season title, the number-one overall seed in the NCAA Championship and a berth in NCAA Championship weekend. He paced Notre Dame to a 12-6 record as a sophomore in 2014, including the ACC Tournament crown and an NCAA Championship title game appearance.

He is in his third season as a starter on defense for Notre Dame in 2016.

Last month Landis was a first-round pick (third overall selection and first defenseman picked) by the Florida Launch in the 2016 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.

Landis and his teammates lead Notre Dame (4-0 and ranked number one in the Inside Lacrosse media and Lacrosse magazine polls) against 5-0 Denver (ranked number one in the USILA poll of coaches) at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday at Arlotta Stadium on the Notre Dame campus.