Men's Lacrosse Travels to No. 6/7 Notre Dame

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's lacrosse team takes to the road this weekend with a visit to No. 6/7 Notre Dame on Sunday for a 12 p.m. faceoff on ESPN3.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • ESPN3
RADIO • None
VIDEO • WatchESPN
LIVE STATISTICS • UND.com
GAME NOTES • Army Notes
TWITTER • ArmyWP_MLax

THE OPENING FACEOFF
The Black Knights head out on the road to Notre Dame for the regular season finale against the Fighting Irish at 12 p.m. on Mother's Day on ESPN3. This is the third-straight season the two teams will be meeting on the field with the Irish winning the previous two. Notre Dame comes into the game as the sixth-ranked team in the country according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Poll. The Irish, who lost in the Atlantic Coast Conference Semifinals to Duke last weekend, have a 9-3 overall mark and have been ranked in the top 10 all season long. They have lost their last two games after winning five in a row.

LAST TIME OUT
The Black Knights made it to the Patriot League Championship for the second-consecutive year after downing Navy by a 9-3 score in the semifinals. It was the fewest goals the Mids had scored in the series since 1947 and Army won the postseason matchup for the second year in a row following a loss in the regular season. The Black Knights took on second-seeded Loyola in the title game and the Greyhounds scored six of the first seven goals of the game to pull away early for the 14-6 win. Connor Cook, Sam Finney and Cole Johnson were selected to the All-Tournament Team.

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
This is the first meeting in South Bend since the 18-17 thriller back in 2014, when the fifth-ranked Irish were able to escape six goals and seven points from John Glesener. The Black Knights had a 13-12 lead going into the final quarter after scoring seven goals in the third frame. Notre Dame will be Army's fifth top-10 opponent in the last six games. This will be a battle between two defensive teams as both are in the top-10 nationally in scoring defense. There is a connection between the schools as current Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan is the brother of Army West Point's Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The Black Knights remained as the only school in Patriot League history to reach the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament all 12 seasons. That milestone includes the last three seasons after the League expanded to nine teams and added more parity with Loyola and Boston University. Army has made the title game the last two seasons by playing three games in seven days.

ALL-LEAGUE SELECTIONS
Multiple Black Knights were honored for their on field play with All-Patriot League First and Second Team accolades. Seniors Austin Schultz and Jimbo Moore were voted onto the first team, along with juniors Cole Johnson and Dan Grabher. Rookies Nate Jones and AJ Barretto were selected to the second team. The six total postseason honors were tied with Navy for the most in the league.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
The Black Knights had three members voted onto the All-Tournament Team last weekend. Seniors Connor Cook and Sam Finney, along with Cole Johnson were picked. Johnson finished the tournament with 10 points in three games, while Cook stepped up with eight points. Finney was an anchor for the defense that shut down Lehigh in the quarters and Navy in the semifinals.

TOP SCHOLAR
Army's top defenseman was rewarded for his work in the classroom by the Patriot League. Austin Schultz was voted as the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The senior from Lancaster, Pa., has a cumulative grade point average of 3.62 as an economics major at West Point. He was joined by Jimbo Moore and Sam Finney, both first time honorees on the Patriot League All-Academic Team.

SCOUTING THE IRISH
Notre Dame enters Sunday's contest with a 9-3 record and a No. 6 ranking in the USILA/Nike National Poll. The Irish are seventh in the Maverik/Cascade Media Poll as well. They lost to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference Semifinals on April 29 with a 10-9 overtime defeat. It was the fourth overtime game for Notre Dame this season and the Irish are 2-2 in those games. They are allowing 7.75 goals per game on defense and scoring 10.67 a contest.

The Irish are headlined by three Tewaaraton Award Top-25 nominees in Matt Kavanagh, Matt Landis and Sergio Perkovic. Kavanagh has 39 points with 16 goals and 23 assists. He had four goals and an assist in last year's meeting at West Point. Perkovic has 25 goals and three helpers this year, while Matt Landis is a leader on the defensive side. He has 27 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers. He was recently named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Landis with a major award was rookie Ryder Garnsey, who was voted the league's Freshman of the Year with 19 goals and eight assists for 27 points.

In net, Shane Doss has started all 12 games for Notre Dame and has a 7.64 goals against average, which is among the nation's best. He has posted a .563 save percentage and a 9-3 record. He made 11 saves in the overtime loss to Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the seventh meeting between Notre Dame and Army that began in 1999. The teams traded venues in four-straight contests from 1999 to 2002 and renewed the series in South Bend in 2014. The Irish own a 5-1 advantage in the matchup with the Black Knights' win coming in 2002 by an 11-8 score at Michie Stadium. This is the fourth visit to South Bend for the Black Knights. The last meeting in the Midwest was a shootout with Notre Dame winning 18-17 two years ago.

Men's Lacrosse Travels to No. 6/7 Notre Dame

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Players Mentioned

AJ Barretto

Connor Cook

Sam Finney

John Glesener

Dan Grabher

Cole Johnson

Nate Jones

Jimbo Moore

Austin Schultz

Army West Point Athletics