Blue and Gold Illustrated

June-July 2017

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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54 JUNE/JULY 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY DAVID MCKINNEY N otre Dame's men's lacrosse team is acting like it's been here before, because it has. The Irish (9-5 overall, 2-2 ACC) made their 12th straight NCAA Championship appearance this year and advanced to the quarterfinals for the eighth consecutive year — the longest active streak in the nation — with a 15-9 home win over Mar- quette in the first round May 14. No. 7 Notre Dame was slated to take on No. 5 Denver in the quar- terfinals May 20 in Hempstead, N.Y. The two teams met previously this season, with the Irish falling 11-10 in Denver March 12. Senior midfielder and team captain Sergio Perkovic said thanks to the gauntlet of Notre Dame's regular- season slate, the Irish are very pre- pared for the challenges ahead in the postseason. "We've played a really tough schedule this year, and that should help us," Perkovic said. "Every sin- gle game we've played was a top-20 team, and we've played a lot of top- five, top-10 teams. That's going to help us with those big moments we're going to have to deliver on." Perkovic, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native, said while the regular season was important, the team understands that the end of the year is when they have to play their best lacrosse. "It's always a special time," he said. "We train and work hard from the fall all the way up to this point for these games coming up. Obviously, this is what matters. Everything else is important and gets us to this point, but this is where everything should come together so we can move on and advance one game at a time." Junior attacker Mikey Wynne, who led the Irish with 30 goals through May 14, echoed Perkovic's sentiments. "It's a new season," Wynne said. "The regular season doesn't matter. You set everything back." Prior to the NCAA Championship, Notre Dame had played in 13 games, eight of which were decided by a dif- ference of just one goal. Men's Lacrosse Is Primed For A Postseason Run Sophomore midfielder Brendan Gleason tied a school NCAA Championship record by scoring five goals in Notre Dame's 15-9 win over Marquette in the first round May 14. The Irish have now advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals eight straight years — the longest active streak in the country. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATONS

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