Top-Seeded Irish Welcome No. 17 Towson for Saturday's NCAA Opener

May 8, 2015

Game Notes | NCAA Interactive Bracket

TV/INTERNET
ESPNU

LIVE STATS

SETTING THE STAGE

• Top-seeded Notre Dame (10-2) entertains Towson (12-5) Saturday in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Faceoff is set for 5 p.m. (ET) at Arlotta Stadium.
• The game will air on ESPNU and WatchESPN. Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Ryan Boyle (analyst) will be on the call. Live stats are available on UND.com (Gametracker).
• In earning an at-large berth, Notre Dame is making a school-record 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship and 20th overall in program history.
• Towson rallied for a 10-8 victory Wednesday night in the NCAA First Four to earn a spot in the round of 16 after defeating High Point at home.
• The winner of the Notre Dame-Towson matchup will face the winner of the first-round contest between No. 8 seed Cornell and Albany in the quarterfinals on Saturday, May 16 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.

BACK IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

• Notre Dame, winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season crown, are appearing in the NCAA Championship for a program-best 10th consecutive year and 20th time overall. Every NCAA appearance has occurred under head coach Kevin Corrigan.
• The Fighting Irish own an all-time record of 15-19 in their 19 trips to the tournament.
• In 2014, Notre Dame adavanced all the way to the title game for the second time in program history. A year ago, the Irish earned the No. 6 seed and topped Harvard in the first round, Albany in the quarterfinals and Maryland in the semifinals before dropping an 11-9 decision in the championship contest. It marked the second time in program history that the Irish finished as runner-ups (the other time was in 2010).
• Notre Dame has been to the Championship Weekend four times (2001, 2010, 2012 and 2014).
• Notre Dame and Maryland are the only two programs to earn an NCAA berth each of the last 10 seasons, while the Irish and Duke are the only two schools to advance to the quarterfinal round of the last five NCAA Championships.
• The Fighting Irish are 5-1 at home (4-0 at Arlotta Stadium) in the NCAA tournament.

HISTORIC SEED

• Notre Dame earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history. In 2013, the Irish garnered the tournament’s No. 2 seed before falling to Duke 12-11 in the quarterfinals.
• This is the eighth time overall – and seventh time in the last eight campaigns -the Fighting Irish have earned one of the eight national seeds for the NCAA Championship. The Irish also were seeded for the 2001 (5th), 2008 (6th), 2009 (7th), 2011 (4th), 2013 (2nd) and 2014 (6th) championships.
• All five teams from the ACC are seeded – Notre Dame (No. 1), Syracuse (No. 2), North Carolina (No. 3), Duke (No. 5) and Virginia (No. 7).
• Notre Dame faced five of the other seeded teams this season and posted a 4-2 mark. Overall, the Irish went up against six teams that earned a spot in the 20-team field. Notre Dame compiled a 5-2 record against those six squads with victories over Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia and Ohio State while suffering an overtime loss to Denver and a postseason loss to the Blue Devils.

THE TOWSON SERIES

• This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
• Towson earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning the Colonial Athletic Association Championship with a 9-8 victory over Massachusetts. The Tigers were the No. 3 seed in the CAA tournament.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

• Towson enters the contest with a 12-5 overall record. The Tigers finished the season with a 3-2 record in league play.
• Following Wednesday night’s win over High Point, the Tigers enter the game having won three straight and seven of their last nine contests.
• Towson is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Divison I Men’s Championship, but has 19 NCAA tournament appearances to its credit (seven as a member of Divison II).
• The Tigers are 14-17 all-time in NCAA tournament games and 8-11 during the Division I era (which began in 1980).
• Wednesday night’s win over High Point marked the first time since 2003 that the Tigers had won an NCAA tournament game. Towson captured an 11-6 win over Penn State in the first round of championship play that year before losing to Johns Hopkins 14-6 in the quarterfinals.
• Towson has an 8-2 record playing on the road this season and is 6-2 in true road contests.

AGAINST THE CAA

• Notre Dame has played teams that currently comprise the Colonial Athletic Association on 33 occasions and is 17-16 in those contests ­ – Fairfield (4-3), Drexel (4-1), Hofstra (7-8), Massachusetts (1-4) and Delaware (1-0).
• The last matchup for a Fighting Irish squad against a team from the CAA was on March 9, 2013 versus Hofstra – an 8-7 setback at Arlotta Stadium.

ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT AWAITS IRISH

• Notre Dame will be facing a ranked opponent for the 10th consecutive outing on Saturday in its matchup with the Tigers.
• The Irish are 7-2 this season versus ranked foes.

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. 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.

CLOSE CALLS

• Five of Notre Dame’s 12 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 12 games for the Irish and anchors a defensive unit that has yielded just 9.08 goals per game in 2015. Landis has collected 24 ground balls and caused eight turnovers.

FOUR IRISH PLAYERS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS

• Notre Dame had four players garner all-ACC honors 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 its 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 45-14 in the first quarter and 86-43 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

• Seven of Notre Dame’s 11 regular-season opponents currently appear in both the USILA (coaches) and Cascade/Maverik (media) polls, including four in the top 10.
• The Fighting Irish are 7-2 versus ranked opponents 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 ââ’¬” May 2, 2011 (USILA & media polls ââ’¬” 2 weeks)
  • March 25 ââ’¬” April 1, 2013 (USILA & media polls ââ’¬” 1 week)
  • April 22 ââ’¬” April 29, 2013 (USILA & media polls ââ’¬” 1 week)
  • March 30-April 20, 2015 (USILA & media polls ââ’¬” 4 weeks)

DOSS GETTING IT DONE

• Sophomore goalie Shane Doss is 12th nationally in save percentage (.564) and 20th in goals-against average (8.33). Doss leads the ACC in goals-against average and is second in save percentage.
• 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 9-2 record this season and a 14-5 career mark.

GETTING OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE

• Notre Dame ranks eighth nationally in scoring offense (13.58 gpg) and 19th in scoring defense (9.08 gpg).

KAVANAGH PRODUCING POINTS

• Matt Kavanagh has compiled three or more points in 10 of 12 games this season. He ranks 18th nationally in assists per game (2.00) and 18th in points per game (4.17).
• The junior attackman has notched six or more points in three games this season and in 11 games during his career.
• Kavanagh’s career 3.76 points-per-game average is fifth 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.
• With his four-goal effort against Army last Saturday, he became the sixth 100-plus goal scorer in school history. In addition to Kavanagh, the five others players to to reach the 100-goal plateau have been Randy Colley (173), Ryan Hoff (134), Joe Franklin (119), Chris Dusseau (115) and Tom Glatzel (106).

MANNING UP

• Notre Dame boasts the nation’s fourth-best man-up offense (.514). The Fighting Irish are 19-of-35 in extra-man opportunities this season. Matt Kavanagh has a team-best six man-advantage goals this season while Mikey Wynne has five and Sergio Perkovic has four man-up tallies.

HOT SHOTS

• The Fighting Irish rank fifth nationally in shooting percentage (.353). Individually, Mikey Wynne is second in the nation in shooting percentage (.516) and Conor Doyle is 15th (.444).

CONSISTENCY FROM Conor Doyle

• Senior attackman Conor Doyle had his 31-game point streak snapped against Duke on April 24 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 13 goals and 10 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.
• In Notre Dame’s win over Army last Saturday, he scored three goals and dished off a career-high five assists while finishing with a personal-best eight points.

FIGHTING IRISH SPURTS

• Notre Dame has produced significant scoring runs in each of the last 10 games.
• Against Army, the Fighting Irish led 6-0 after the fourth quarter and scored eight of the contest’s first nine goals.
• 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 nine of 12 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 32 goals this season, tying Matt Kavanagh’s single-season mark for a freshman that he set during the 2013 campaign.
• Wynne ranks 19th nationally in goals per game (2.67). He has posted two or more goals in eight of 12 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 24 goals and six assists.
• Perkovic has 18 multiple-goal games during his career (nine 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 173 career points (100g, 73a) rank fifth in the Notre Dame record book.
• Kavanagh’s 100 goals are the sixth-most in school history and the 73 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 30 multiple-goal games during his career (17 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 seven 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 in the loss to the Blue Devils.

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.

KAVANAGH NAMED TO TEWAARATON FINALIST LIST

• Matt Kavanagh (Jr./A) is one of five finalists for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour.
• The four other finalists include Wesley Berg (Denver), Myles Jones (Duke), Kevin Rice (Syracuse) and Lyle Thompson (Albany).
• Barbara Sullivan from the Fighting Irish women’s lacrosse team is also a finalist on the women’s side. Notre Dame and Syracuse are the only two schools to have both a male and female finalist.

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.

IRISH 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.

FIGHTING IRISH NOTABLES IN RECENT NCAA MEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Last Five Years (2010-14, by number of victories)

Last Four Years (2011-14)

Last Three Years (2012-14)

Last Two Years (2013-14)