Holy Trinity's Rogers a boost to Irish

Without the March theatrics of senior attack Sean Rogers, Notre Dame might not be playing on lacrosse's biggest stage in late May.

Rogers, a former Newsday All-Long Island player from Holy Trinity, had an amazing run of clutch performances early in the season, scoring three consecutive game-winning goals -- two in overtime -- to prevent the Notre Dame season from skidding off the road.

"He's made as many big plays for us as anybody," said Fighting Irish coach Kevin Corrigan, whose top-rated defense takes on high-flying offensive-minded Loyola (Md.) in the opener of Saturday's NCAA men's lacrosse semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Duke faces Maryland in the second game.

Rogers scored the winner with 4:42 left in a 6-5 victory over Drexel on March 3. That was just the warm-up act. Playing before friends and family at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium on March 10, Rogers had a hat trick, including the winner with 2:41 left in overtime for another 6-5 triumph.

"One of the coolest experiences of my life," Rogers said in a phone interview with Newsday this week before the team flew to Boston. "There were 80 to 100 people that I knew from high school, club lacrosse, family and friends."

Rogers thought the experience was so cool, he performed an encore March 18, scoring in overtime to defeat Denver, 10-9, in South Bend. He leads Notre Dame with 21 goals, though he is hardly the go-to guy.

"We don't really have one stud this year. We're the epitome of team. That's the culture that has been built here," Rogers said. "We still haven't reached our main goal of winning the championship."

Corrigan called Rogers a "centerpiece" of the Notre Dame offense but noted, "We don't go, 'OK, baby, carry us.' He's reliant on us playing good offense for him to get good opportunities. He has a great IQ for the game and if we're playing good offense, he'll find a way to score."

In fact, Rogers' game-winners were not set plays called for him but rather a product of a patient offense that works the ball looking for high-percentage shots.

"I'm very relaxed. I let the game come to me," Rogers said. "No one situation is more important to me. Nerves haven't played a role. I'm just lucky enough that my teammates have looked for me late in games."

Notre Dame has moved from the periphery of big-time college lacrosse programs into the elite circle during Rogers' college career, making its second Final Four appearance in the last three years.

"When I committed to college, we weren't a traditional powerhouse," Rogers acknowledged.

That has changed, thanks to a defense-first philosophy, anchored by the nation's best goaltender, John Kemp, and an opportunistic spread-the-wealth offense.

"There are no egos here. None of us care about our stats," Rogers said. "Everyone has settled into their roles. My success is a product of the offense and an overall unselfish way we play. If I don't have any goals and we win, that's fine."