Bright Lights, Big City Classic

2013 Big City Classic - #9 Syracuse (10-3, 4-1) vs. #2 Notre Dame (10-2, 4-1)
Details	Saturday, April 27 \| East Rutherford, N.J. \| 6:30 p.m. MetLife Stadum \| Tickets \| Weather
Game Coverage	TV: ESPNU \| Radio: WTKW 99.5 FM / ESPN 97.7 FM (Syracuse) WatchESPN.com: Watch Orange All Access: Listen \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse, @sumenslax
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide
Notre Dame Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Notes \| Guide

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- No. 9 Syracuse (10-3, 4-1 BIG EAST) wraps up the 2013 regular season against No. 2 Notre Dame (10-2, 4-1 BIG EAST) in the second game of the Konica Minolta Big City Classic on Saturday, April 27 at MetLife Stadium. The BIG EAST regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament are on line. Syracuse, Notre Dame and Villanova are all tied atop the conference standings with 4-1 league records.

The Orange can claim at least a share of the regular-season crown with a victory. Syracuse wins the regular-season championship outright, and earns the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament with a victory against the Irish and a Villanova loss to Providence.

Notre Dame clinches its second straight conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament with a victory over the Orange.

Tickets are available online at BigCityClassic.com. Saturday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU. Fans can also hear the action live on the radio home of the Orange - ESPN Radio (97.7 FM). Live audio is available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All-Access.

ABOUT THE BIG CITY CLASSIC
This is the fifth year of the Konica Minolta Big City Classic, an event organized by Inside Lacrosse. This year's edition features two games. Princeton versus Cornell starts things off at 4 p.m. followed by Syracuse-Notre Dame at 6:30 p.m.

The Orange has been part of the Big City Classic since its inception in 2009. Syracuse holds a 2-2 all-time record in the event splitting two-game sets with Princeton and Duke.

CLOSE SHAVES
Syracuse has played eight one-goal games in 2013, the most in the nation, and the team's most ever in one season. So far the Orange is 5-3 in those contests with consecutive one-goal wins against Princeton (April 6), Cornell (April 10) and Rutgers (April 13). Overall, Syracuse's last five games have all been decided by a single tally. The only loss in that stretch was a 13-12 defeat against Hobart on April 16.

COMETTI HEATS UP
Syracuse senior midfielder Luke Cometti was selected has a team-best 13 goals over the last four games (3.25 goals per game). He leads the Orange with 14 goals in conference play.

MARASCO TIED FOR NINTH NATIONALLY IN ASSISTS PER GAME
Senior JoJo Marasco ranks second in the BIG EAST and is tied for ninth nationally in assists per game (2.31). Among midfielders, Marasco's 2.31 helpers per contest are second in the NCAA to Bucknell's David Dickson (3.0). Marasco has at least three assists in four different games so far this season, including five in the opener against Albany on Feb. 17 and five more against Rutgers on April 13.

Marasco is tied with Brad Kotz for second on SU's season list of most assists by a midfielder. Paul Gait holds the record with 34 in 1990.

SCOUTING THE IRISH
The Fighting Irish have spent most of the year ranked in the top five. The Irish are currently No. 2 in the USILA Coaches' Poll and have won their last four since a 12-10 loss to St. John's on March 30. Their current winning streak includes a 13-9 victory over Villanova in their last outing.

Four players account for nearly 60 percent of all Notre Dame's goals and assists. Freshman attackman Matt Kavanagh (23 goals, 13 assists), who led the U.S. U-19 National Team to the gold medal last summer, is the team's top scorer. Two points behind him is senior attackman Sean Rogers (20 goals, 11 assists). Midfielder Jim Marlatt (18 goals, 9 assists) and attackman Conor Doyle (15 goals, 9 assists) have 27 and 24 points, respectively.

Senior goalie John Kemp anchors the nation's eighth-ranked scoring defense (7.92 goals per game). Kemp was named the nation's top netminder last season and was voted the BIG EAST Preseason co-Defensive Player of the year in 2013. He has 106 saves and ranks eighth in the NCAA in goals-against average (7.76). The trio of Matt Miller, Stephen O'Hara and Brian Buglione have combined to start every game on close defense.

Head coach Kevin Corrigan is in his 25th season at Notre Dame and owns a 240-111 (.684) record with the Irish. Overall, he is 250-126 (.665) in 27 seasons as a college head coach. Corrigan ranks seventh among active Division I coaches in winning percentage and sixth in victories. He's guided the Irish to the Final Four in two of the last three years.

THE SERIES
The Orange is 5-1 all-time against Notre Dame. The Orange won the first five games in the series. Notre Dame ended Syracuse's reign with an 8-6 win at Arlotta Stadium last season. Overall, Syracuse is 2-0 against the Irish at neutral sites with triumphs in the 2001 NCAA semifinals (12-5) and the 2008 NCAA quarterfinals (11-9).

UP NEXT ...
The pairings for the upcoming 2013 BIG EAST Championship will be released on Sunday, April 28. The four-team tournament begins with two semifinal games on Thursday, May 2. The championship game is slated for Saturday, May 4 at 12 p.m. Villanova is the tournament host for the second straight season.

Syracuse University Athletics

Next Event

Related Videos