April 28, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Junior Matt Landis’ stellar defensive play has been on display all season long for the University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team. On Tuesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference recognized him as the 2015 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league’s five head coaches.
Landis (Pelham, New York) helped the Irish capture the ACC regular-season crown with a 4-0 record en route to its current 9-2 record and No. 2 ranking. A two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Week honoree this season, he also is among 25 nominees (along with two of his teammates junior attackman Matt Kavanagh and sophomore midfielder Sergio Perkovic) for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour.
“This is a well-deserved honor for Matt as he has had an outstanding season for us,” head coach Kevin Corrigan says. “Since his sophomore season, he has developed into a complete and multi-faceted defender and has been a consistent and steady player all year long for us. Matt plays with a relentlessness that has been a key for our success throughout the season.”
Three other major awards were handed out today as well with Syracuse attackman Kevin Rice nabbing the ACC Offensive Player of the Year honor and Duke attackman Justin Guterding being named the ACC Freshman of the Year, Syracuse’s John Desko, who led his squad to the 2015 conference tournament crown, was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year.
Landis has led a Fighting Irish defensive unit that has yielded just 9.10 goals per game this year. He has started all 11 contests, collected 22 ground balls and caused seven turnovers. By virtue of winning the regular-season title, Landis and his Notre Dame teammates earned the number-one seed at the ACC Championship. The Irish also spent four straight weeks sitting atop the national rankings prior to its loss to Duke in the ACC Championship semifinals.
A starter since his sophomore season, Landis has played in 44 career outings for the Irish and made 28 starts.