Notre Dame will look to keep their offensive firepower going as they take on the Pioneers of Denver this Saturday at 3 p.m. at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL.
Since their 8-6 loss to North Carolina March 8 - the team's only blemish on the season - the Irish (7-1), ranked No. 7 in the most recent Nike/Inside Lacrosse poll have gone on a tear, scoring an average of 17 goals in their last three games.
In the team's most recent contest, a 19-7 drubbing of Bellarmine last Saturday, senior midfielder Michael Podgajny led all scorers with four goals while senior attack Alex Wharton tallied three assists to go along with a goal of his own. Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan credits the offensive explosion to the team hitting its collective midseason stride.
"It's a great example of the sum being greater than the parts," he said. "Our offense has really played well together. They've developed a great chemistry and they work not only to create opportunities for themselves but opportunities for the offense. I think that's been a great formula for us and hopefully the best is yet to come."
Going into this weekend's game against Denver, Corrigan said he and his team have a lot of respect for the Pioneers, a team that has had a lot of success late in games.
"Denver is a good team that is playing well right now," Corrigan said Thursday. "They've won five of their last six games. They've come from behind in at least three of those games and won two in OT. You're talking about a team that's really worked hard to put themselves in a great position this season and own a lot of close games so we're looking forward to a good game."
Corrigan said he is particularly excited about playing in Toyota Park, the recently constructed stadium and new home of Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire.
