Feb. 22, 2013
#3 NOTRE DAME (1-0)
vs.
#8 PENN STATE (2-0)
Sunday, February 24 – Noon (ET)
Holuba Hall – University Park, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO:
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LIVE STATS:
Gametracker (UND.com)
SCORE UPDATES:
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SETTING THE STAGE
– A top-10 showdown is on tap for Sunday in University Park, Pa., as No. 3 Notre Dame (1-0) travels to No. 8 Penn State (2-0). Face-off is scheduled for noon (ET) inside Holuba Hall.
– Live stats via Gametracker will be available on UND.com.
– Notre Dame opened its 2013 campaign Saturday with a 13-5 victory at Duke.
PLAYING PENN STATE
– Sunday will be the 20th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Penn State. The Fighting Irish lead the series 14-5, including wins in nine of the last 10 showdowns. This is the 17th consecutive season the two teams have squared off.
– Last season, Penn State captured a 4-3 overtime win at Notre Dame.
– Notre Dame is 7-4 all-time at Penn State. The Irish won on their last trip to Penn State, 6-2, during the 2011 season.
LOOKING AT THE NITTANY LIONS
– Penn State will bring a 2-0 record into Sunday’s game. The Nittany Lions opened the season with an 11-6 win at Michigan and then topped Denver, 15-12, on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.
– Junior attackman Shane Sturgis has a team-high eight goals, while freshman attackman TJ Sanders has seven goals and one assist to tie Sturgis for the team’s lead in points.
– Junior Austin Kaut has played every minute in goal during the first two games and carries a 9.0 goals-against average and a .550 save percentage.
– Penn State went 9-6 last season and posted a 5-1 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Nittany Lions returned seven starters from last season’s squad.
– Head coach Jeff Tambroni is in his third season at Penn State.
THE LAST TIME
– Notre Dame fell to Penn State, 4-3 in overtime, last season at Arlotta Stadium. Ryan Foley netted two goals for the Irish, while Quinn Cully also added a score.
– Irish goalie John Kemp made a career-high 18 saves in the contest.
– Matthew Mackrides had two goals for Penn State. He scored the game winner with two seconds left in the first overtime period. Goalie Austin Kaut made 18 saves for the Nittany Lions.
IRISH AGAINST THE CAA
– Notre Dame is 23-13 all-time against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Penn State is one of two CAA opponents on Notre Dame’s 2013 schedule. The Irish will play host to Hofstra March 9.
– The Fighting Irish went 2-1 against CAA foes last season. Notre Dame defeated Drexel (6-5) and Hofstra (6-5 in OT) and fell to Penn State (4-3 in OT).
FANTASTIC FEBRUARYS FOR THE FIGHTING IRISH
– Notre Dame is 16-1 in its last 17 games in February. Fighting Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan is 21-4 in the month of February during his Notre Dame tenure.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
– The Fighting Irish scored the game’s first six goals in Saturday’s 13-5 win at Duke. Notre Dame scored twice in the final 13 seconds of the first half and led 8-1 at halftime.
– The 13 goals versus Duke were the most for the Irish in a season opener since a 14-6 win over Penn State in 2005.
DEFENSE DOES IT AGAIN
– The Notre Dame defense held Duke scoreless for the first 29:21 of Saturday’s contest. The Blue Devils did not score a goal in the first quarter and were held to one goal in both the second and fourth quarters.
– The Irish have allowed five goals or fewer in a game six times in the last two seasons.
CAREER DAY FOR MARLATT
– Junior midfielder Jim Marlatt notched career-high totals in goals (5), points (6) and ground balls (5) in the season opener at Duke.
– The five goals were the most for a Notre Dame player since David Earl scored five times at Princeton in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Championship. Marlatt is the first Irish player with at least six points in a game since the 2009 season.
QUITE A DEBUT
– Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh had four goals and an assist in his Fighting Irish debut versus Duke.
– He was named the Cascade Rookie of the Week for his performance against the Blue Devils.
FIGHTING IRISH SWEEP BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS
– John Kemp (Sr./G) and Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) received honors from the BIG EAST for their performances in the win at Duke. Kemp was named the league’s defensive player of the week and Marlatt was selected as the offensive player of the week.
– Kemp and the Irish defense held Duke scoreless for the first 29:31 of the game. He finished the contest with 10 saves.
– Marlatt tallied a career-high five goals and also had one assist.
– It was the sixth such honor for Kemp and the second for Marlatt.
IRISH HAVE THREE ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
– John Kemp (Sr./G), Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Sean Rogers (Sr./A) all have been named to the 92-man Tewaaraton Award watch list. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top player.
– The list will be narrowed to 25 nominees in late April. Five finalists will be announced in mid-May. Kemp was a Tewaaraton Award nominee last season.
Matt Miller A SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
– Defenseman Matt Miller has been named one of 20 candidates for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award in the men’s lacrosse division.
– An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
– The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot.
– Miller has started every contest over the past two seasons on Notre Dame’s stellar defensive unit. He earned honorable mention All-America honors last season in addition to being named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
IRISH SENSATIONAL IN SEASON-OPENERS
– Saturday’s 13-5 win at Duke was Notre Dame’s program-record 11th straight victory in a season opener. Notre Dame is 26-7 all-time in season-openers, including a 20-5 record in the Kevin Corrigan era.
– Notre Dame has opened the last four seasons with a victory over Duke.
– The Irish have opened their slate against a ranked opponent in each of the last 20 seasons.
A PERFORMER BETWEEN THE PIPES
– Senior goalie John Kemp boasts a 26-8 (.765) career record to go along with a 6.48 goals-against average and a .617 save percentage.
– Last season, Kemp led the nation in goals-against average (6.27) and save percentage (.637) and was named to the USILA All-America First Team.
– He finished the 2011 campaign ranked second nationally in goals-against average (6.61) and fourth in save percentage (.602) and received honorable mention All-America accolades.
CONSISTENCY IN THE CAGE
– John Kemp is the third straight Notre Dame goalie to receive All-America honors. Kemp was named to the USILA All-America First Team last season after earning an honorable mention citation in 2011.
– Scott Rodgers earned third-team All-America honors in 2009 and was an honorable mention pick in 2010. He also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 NCAA Championship.
– Joey Kemp, John’s older brother, was a three-time All-America honoree at Notre Dame. He copped first-team honors in 2008 in addition to honorable mention accolades in 2006 and 2007.
A DOMINATING DEFENSE
– Notre Dame is the only team in NCAA Division I to finish in the top five nationally in scoring defense in each of the last six seasons.
– The Irish led the nation last season with a 6.31 goals-against average. Notre Dame also ranked first nationally in 2009 by allowing a program-record 6.19 goals per game. The Irish were second in 2010 (7.53) and 2011 (6.57), fourth in 2007 (6.66) and fifth in 2008 (7.04).
– Since the beginning of the 2007 season (a span of 96 games), the Irish defense has limited opponents to seven goals or fewer 67 times. Notre Dame has held foes to four goals or fewer 16 times during that stretch.
– The Irish have allowed 10 or more goals just twice in the last 35 games.
HOME SWEET HOME
– Notre Dame is 40-4 (.909) at home since the beginning of the 2006 season.
A SUCCESSFUL STRETCH
– Notre Dame is 64-17 (.790) since the beginning of the 2008 season. That percentage is the third-best nationally.
– The Fighting Irish have been to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship four times in the last five seasons, including the program’s first-ever NCAA title game appearance in 2010 and a semifinalist finish in 2012.
– Since the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Championship, Notre Dame has gone 28-7 (.800), with three of those losses coming in overtime.
BROTHERLY BOND
– Senior defenseman Matt Miller is joined by his older brother David Miller on this season’s roster. David, a short-stick defensive midfielder, spent four seasons at Maryland and is using his final year of eligibility with the Irish. David played in 30 games with the Terrapins.
IRISH PICKED AS FAVORITE TO WIN BIG EAST
– With five first-place votes, Notre Dame was selected as the favorite to win the 2013 BIG EAST championship in a poll by the league’s seven head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own programs.
– Fighting Irish senior goalie John Kemp was tapped as the league’s preseason co-defensive player of the year.
– Kemp was one of five Notre Dame players selected to the All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Joining Kemp as a unanimous choice were his teammates Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Matt Miller (Sr./D). Sean Rogers (Sr./A) and Westy Hopkins (Jr./A) also appeared on the 15-man squad. Notre Dame’s five selections were the most of any school.
NOTRE DAME TO PLAY IN TWO INSIDE LACROSSE EVENTS
– Notre Dame will face Denver March 16 in the second annual Whitman’s Samper Mile High Classic at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. The event’s first game will feature Loyola versus Air Force followed by the Irish and Pioneers.
– The Fighting Irish will play BIG EAST rival Syracuse April 27 at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Princeton and Cornell will meet in the day’s first game.
– Notre Dame topped St. John’s, 13-6, in last season’s Big City Classic.
ESPN EXPOSURE
– Notre Dame will appear on the ESPN family of networks four times during the 2013 regular season. The Fighting Irish will have three games broadcast on ESPNU/WatchESPN and one contest on ESPN3.
– The Notre Dame-Denver showdown on March 16 at the Whitman’s Sampler Mile High Classic can be seen on ESPN3.
– Notre Dame will appear on ESPNU three consecutive weekends in April. The first two games are home dates with BIG EAST opponents Georgetown (April 14) and Villanova (April 20). ESPNU also will air the Notre Dame-Syracuse clash at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic (April 27).
THREE IRISH PLAYERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA ACCOLADES
– Notre Dame’s John Kemp (Sr./G), Jim Marlatt (Jr./M) and Matt Miller (Sr./D) were selected as preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse. Kemp was named to the first team, while Marlatt and Miller were selected to the second and third teams, respectively.
FOUR CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2013 CAMPAIGN
– Seniors Quinn Cully (M), Ryan Foley (M), Matt Miller (D) and Sean Rogers (A) have been named Notre Dame team captains for the 2013 season. All four student-athletes are first-time captains for the Fighting Irish.
FOUR PLAYERS PICKED IN MLL DRAFT
– Four Fighting Irish players were selected in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft. Seniors John Kemp (G), Matt Miller (D), Steve Murphy (M) and Quinn Cully (M) were picked in the draft, which was held Jan. 11 in Philadelphia.
– The Rochester Rattlers picked Kemp with the first selection of the fourth round (25th overall). Kemp was the first goalie nabbed in the draft. Rochester later selected Miller in the sixth round (44th overall). The New York Lizards picked Murphy in the seventh round (53rd overall), while Cully went to the Boston Cannons in the eighth round (62nd overall).
IRISH IN THE BIG EAST
– Notre Dame has a 13-5 (.722) record all-time in BIG EAST regular-season play. The 2010 campaign marked the first season of BIG EAST men’s lacrosse and the Irish posted a 2-4 record. Notre Dame finished second in the league in 2011 with a 5-1 mark. The Fighting Irish won the league’s 2012 regular-season title with a perfect 6-0 record.