Feb. 25, 2005
#10/11 Notre Dame (0-0) vs. #21/18 Penn State (1-0)
Sunday, February 27, 1 p.m. • Holuba Hall
#10 IRISH SET TO OPEN SEASON THIS WEEKEND AT #21 PENN STATE: The 25th varsity season of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse kicks off this weekend when the 10th-ranked Irish travel to #21 Penn State (1-0) on Sunday for a 1 p.m. (EST) contest in Holuba Hall. Notre Dame returns 17 monogram winners and six starters from last year’s squad that was 7-5, finished 12th in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) rankings, and narrowly missed a bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS NOTES PACKAGE: Below are some of the top points from this notes package. For more details on any topic, consult the remainder of this release.
* Notre Dame is coming off a 2004 season in which it was 7-5, finished second in the Great Western Lacrosse League (4-1 record, behind Ohio State), and was 12th in the final USILA national rankings.
* The Irish return 17 monogram winners, including six starters, from last year’s team. Among those are junior A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.), a USILA third-team All-American in 2004 after being honorable mention as a rookie. After being one of the 15 nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy (awarded to the top player in college lacrosse) last season, he is again among the 37 selected for the Watch List for this year’s award.
* Other returning starters for the Irish are fifth-year senior G Stewart Crosland (Bethesda, Md./Landon School), senior M Brian Giordano (Princeton, N.J./Hun School), and juniors D D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Preparatory School), A Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Hun School), and M Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.). Hubschmann will miss the entire season, though, after suffering a knee injury earlier this month.
* Notre Dame is ranked 10th in the Inside Lacrosse magazine coaches’ preseason poll and the Inside Lacrosse media poll, as well as 11th in the Lacrosse magazine preseason poll. The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Associaion (USILA) does not publish its first rankings of the season until March 7.
* Notre Dame will open the season vs. Penn State for the ninth consecutive season, having beaten the Nittany Lions in six of those openers and in seven of 11 overall meetings.
* Penn State — ranked 18th by Lacrosse, 21st by the Inside Lacrosse coaches poll, and 22nd by the Inside Lacrosse media poll — is 1-0 after a 9-7 victory last weekend at home against #14 Ohio State.
* ND and PSU have a history of playing tight, low-scoring game, as three of the last four matchups have been decided by two goals or fewer and have not seen either team score more than 10 goals.
* Last year, #11 Notre Dame trailed 5-4 in the second period, but then exploded — scoring on six consecutive extra-man opportunities — for a 17-7 victory over the 17th-ranked Nittany Lions on Feb. 29 in the Loftus Sports Center. Six Irish players scored multiple times in that game (led by four goals from current junior Matt Karweck), while 2004 graduate Matt Howell led all players with seven points (3 G, 4 A). Current senior Will Jones led PSU with three goals. This year’s meeting will be the 10th in a row in which both teams enter the contest carrying national rankings.
* This year’s game will be the 11th consecutive meeting with both schools carrying national rankings at the time of the contest. It will be the fourth time in the last five — and seventh in the last nine games — that Notre Dame is the higher-ranked team.
* Notre Dame had four players mentioned on the Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America lists, with junior A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) on the second team, junior D D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep School) on the third team, and senior M Brian Giordano (Princeton, N.J./Hun School) and junior A Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton H.S.) as honorable-mention selections.
* The Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook also listed Notre Dame as the favorite to win the Great Western Lacrosse League this season, ahead of Denver, defending champion Ohio State, Air Force, Fairfield, and Butler.
* Penn State features two familiar faces for the Irish: assistant coach Guy Van Arsdale and sophomore A Brian Boyle. Van Arsdale filled the same role for Notre Dame in 2004, while Boyle spent his first season of collegiate lacrosse playing for the Irish, playing in all 12 games and finishing with six points (2 G, 4 A).
* Notre Dame has five Pennsylvania natives on its roster, all of whom hail from the Philadelphia area: juniors D D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep School) and M Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.), sophomore M Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep School), and freshmen D Sean Dougherty (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep School) and M Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.).
* Notre Dame is 17-7 all-time in season openers, including wins in six of the last eight.
SNAPSHOT OF THE IRISH: Notre Dame’s men’s lacrosse program has experienced a wealth of success since the arrival of head coach Kevin Corrigan in 1989. In his 15 seasons, Corrigan has guided Notre Dame to a winning record 13 times, including 10 seasons with nine or more victories, compiling a 139-79 (.638) mark. The Irish have earned 10 berths to the NCAA Championship, including quarterfinal apperances in 1995 and 2000 and a Final Four trip in 2001. Notre Dame has 35 victories over ranked opponents, including eight vs. top-10 teams and hold a 72-23 (.758) overall record at home. Notre Dame has won 12 conference titles (9 Great Western Lacrosse League, 3 MLA Great Lakes Conference) in that span. Since the formation of the GWLL in 1994, the Irish are 41-5 (.891) in conference play — including 22-2 (.917) at home — winning at least a share of the league championship in every season except 1998 and 2004. Notre Dame has had at least one player earn All-America honors in each of the last 12 seasons, a total of 23 honorees since 1994. In addition, the Irish have garnered 85 all-conference honors, highlighted by four GWLL player-of-the-year awards.
The 2005 Irish team returns 17 monogram winners and six starters from last year’s squad that was 7-5, finished second to Ohio State in the GWLL (4-1 record), and finished 12th in the final USILA national rankings, just missing a bid to the NCAA Championship.
Notre Dame had one of the top offenses in all of college lacross last year, finishing second in Division I in scoring offense (12.50 goals per game) and first in assists per game (7.9). Back from that team are five of the top seven — and three of the top four — scorers. Headlining that group is junior A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.), who was a third-team All-American and one of 15 nominees (seven attackmen, five of which are back in `05) for the Tewaaraton Trophy (awarded to the top player in collegiate lacrosse). He finished seventh in the nation in scoring in 2004 (3.92 points per game) and narrowly missed being the first Notre Dame sophomore ever to hit the 100-career-point-plateau, ending with 99 (41 G, 58 A). The Irish were slated to have another starter back at attack, as junior A Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton H.S.) — who was preseason honorable mention All-America by Inside Lacrosse — made the move back to his prep position after being a starting midfielder in 2004 (and finishing third on the team in scoring, with 18 goals and 11 assists), but a season-ending knee injury suffered earlier this month will preclude him from seeing action in 2005. As a result, Notre Dame has moved junior A Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) from being a starting midfielder to a starter on attack. He was a starter in the midfield for the Irish in 2003 and last year ran on the second midfield, mostly in an offensive roale. He has 25 goals and 11 assists in his career. The final starting slot on attack should be filled by senior co-captain A Jim Morrison (Fulton, Md./Mount St. Joseph H.S.), a former walk-on who will be Notre Dame’s top creaseman. He was earning major minutes in fall ball as a junior, but then missed all of last season due to injuries. He has played in only five games in his career, but has the potential to be a breakout player for Notre Dame. Senior A Matt Malakoff (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore H.S.), who has been a contributor throughout his career, could also see time at attack.
In the midfield, Notre Dame is led by its most-experienced player, senior co-captain M Brian Giordano (Princeton, N.J./Hun School), who is back for his fourth year as a starter. He has 40 goals, 21 assists, and 46 ground balls during his career, which has seen him be named first-team all-GWLL in each of the last two campaigns. Giordano, who had multiple goals in six of 10 games in which he played in 2004, was named preseason honorable mention All-America by Inside Lacrosse this season. Also back in a starting role is junior M Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.), who has played major roles in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he led non-seniors in ground balls with 39, and he has notched 11 goals and 14 assists during his career. The final spot on Notre Dame’s top midfield — vacated by Karweck — could be filled by a variety of players. Those candidates include seniors M Colin Fatti (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles H.S.) and M Tyler Krummenacher (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS H.S.), junior M Drew Peters (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon H.S.), sophomores M Ryan Cunn (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip H.S.), M Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep School), and M Lucius Polk (Washington, D.C./St. Albans H.S.), and freshman M Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.). Seniors M Craig Bishko (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip H.S.) and M Frank Matarazzo (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Bergen Catholic H.S.) are back after sharing the faceoff duties in 2004, but they will be pushed by talented rookie M Taylor Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md./DeMatha Catholic H.S.), whose brother Steve graduated last year.
Defense will be a key factor in Notre Dame’s fortunes this year, as it is a relatively-inexperienced unit. Junior D D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep School) is the lone returning starter, but he figures to be one of the top defensemen in the nation this year. He set a Notre Dame freshman record for ground balls (61) in 2003 and last year developed into the team’s top on-ball defender. Fighting for the other starting positions on defense will be seniors D Taylor Matthews (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS H.S.) and D James Severin (Bayville, N.Y./Chaminade H.S.), sophomores D Joey Rallo (Cockeysville, Md./Boys’ Latin H.S.) and D J.R. Stahl (Sparks, Md./Boys’ Latin H.S.), and freshmen D Ross Zimmerman (Utica, Mich./Brother Rice H.S.) and D Sean Dougherty (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep School).
The final line of defense figures to be a strength for the Irish, with fifth-year senior G Stewart Crosland (Bethesda, Md./Landon School) manning the cage again for the third season. He got a taste of being the top Notre Dame goalie in 2002 ago before establishing himself as not only the best goalkeeper on the Irish, but one of the elite players at the position in the country in 2003. Crosland was fifth in Division I in save percentage (.626) that year before ranking 11th (.599) in `04. Freshman G Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep School), who is expected to be a future star, figures to push Crosland for time in the cage.
2004 IN REVIEW: The 2004 season for the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team began with tremendous promise, but things did not play out as planned. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Irish stood 7-5 and ranked 11th by Inside Lacrosse and 12th by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, but they were left out of the 16-team NCAA Championship.
There turned out to be two seminal games during the 2004 campaign, and both ended in similar heartbreaking fashion. In both instances, Notre Dame scored late goals, but then gave up even later scores and lost by a 9-8 score. A win in either game – the late-March Great Western Lacrosse League showdown with Ohio State at Moose Krause Stadium or the May 1 season finale at #3 Maryland – would have assured the Irish a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The contest against the Buckeyes was the GWLL opener for both schools, but it would prove to be decisive in determining the conference’s champion, as none of the other league squads were able to top either OSU or the Irish. Notre Dame appeared to be in control of the contest with a minute left in the third period, holding a 7-3 advantage, but Ohio State would rally, scoring five consecutive goals to go up 8-7 with 4:27 left in the contest. Sophomore M Brian Hubschmann then knotted the score with Notre Dame’s fourth man-up tally of the game with just 28 seconds left. OSU senior Josh Lesko and Irish junior Craig Bishko faced off. The ball squirted towards the Buckeyes’ box, and both teams were battling for it when Notre Dame was called for a loose-ball push, thus awarding possession to Ohio State. The Buckeyes brought the ball down the right side and senior middie Ryan Laffey deked away from a defender and found attackman Ben Wolff open in front of the goal. The sophomore then scored from a yard away to hand OSU a 9-8 victory.
Having run off five wins since the Ohio State game and ranked 12th, Notre Dame made its first-ever regular-season trip to Byrd Stadium to take on the 10-2 Terrapins, who began the season with eight consecutive victories and rose to the #1 ranking before losing to Navy and Johns Hopkins. A win would have virtually assured the Irish one of the at-large bids to the NCAA tournament, the first-ever for a GWLL squad. Notre Dame’s defense and strong goaltending from Bethesda, Md., native Stewart Crosland – who had 10 saves in the first half – allowed the Irish to stifle the Terps’ offense, which had been averaging nearly 12 goals per game, early on. Maryland managed just a single goal and trailed 3-1 at the intermission.
The Terps scored four of the first five goals of the third quarter to go up 5-4. That advantage would last just 1:23, and it would be Maryland’s only lead until the end of the game. Two goals by senior midfielder Steve Clagett – a native of Chesapeake Beach, Md., and DeMatha Catholic High School graduate – put Notre Dame back on top, 7-6, heading into the final period. Sophomore Bill McGlone tied the game with just under 12 minutes left in the game, and the defenses would take control for most of the remainder of the affair.
That ended when Irish sophomore All-America attackman Pat Walsh found junior midfielder Brian Giordano, who in turn found the back of the net to give Notre Dame – on the verge of registering its biggest regular-season win (in terms of national rankings) in program history – an 8-7 advantage with 1:23 remaining in the contest. The Terps won the ensuing faceoff, but then turned the ball over, and Bishko corralled it to give his team possession and a chance to run out the clock, which had just one minute left on it. Maryland’s defense came through when it needed to, though, getting a turnover with 40 seconds remaining. Irish senior defenseman Brennan Creaney momentarily regained control of the ball, but he had it knocked out of his possession, and Terp J.R. Bordley scooped up the ball on a scramble and fired it into the goal with 19 seconds remaining to tie the score at 8-8.
After a fairly even first overtime (ND held a 4-3 advantage in shots), Maryland won the opening faceoff in the second extra session and, after a timeout, saw Brendan Healy cut past an Irish defender to the front of the net and bounce the ball in to give the Terps a victory and send Notre Dame to its sixth consecutive overtime defeat, as well as end the Irish season.
Coming off a 2003 campaign in which Notre Dame was 9-5 and just missed a trip to the NCAAs, hopes were high for the Irish – returning eight starters from that team – at the beginning of `04. After trailing 5-4 in the second quarter of the season opener against #17 Penn State, the Irish exploded – scoring on six straight extra-man opportunities – on the way to a 17-7 victory.
That victory, as well as some early-season upsets, vaulted Notre Dame all the way to #5 in the USILA national rankings, making the ’04 group just the second Irish team to crack the top five. Up next for the team was Notre Dame’s first-ever trip to the Carrier Dome to face #3 and eventual national champion Syracuse. The Irish held a 10-7 third-quarter lead before the Orangemen went on a 9-1 run en route to a 19-13 victory. Just two days later, Notre Dame lost to another top-10 team, #9 North Carolina, falling behind 5-1 in the first quarter and losing 14-11. After a road loss (13-7 at # 16 Loyola) in their first outdoor game of the season, the Irish got back on track with a 19-11 upset of #11 Hofstra before opening league play.
Included in the five-game winning streak were the top back-to-back defensive performances in school history, coming in wins against Dartmouth (10-3) and Air Force (12-2), as well rallying from a 9-6 deficit with 20 minutes to play for a 14-12 road victory against #17 Denver. The final home game of the campaign saw senior attackman Matt Howell go out in style, scoring five goals and assisting on three others vs. Fairfield to fall just one shy of the Irish record for points in a game.
Notre Dame faced an extremely difficult schedule, as eight of 12 opponents were nationally-ranked at the time of the game and just two were not at least receiving votes when playing the Irish. Four of Notre Dame’s five defeats came against squads that finished in the top six of the USILA rankings.
Walsh led a quartet of first-team all-GWLL honorees (also Howell, Giordano, and sophomore defenseman D.J. Driscoll), while also becoming just the second Irish attackman to be named to one of the USILA All-America teams, as a third-team pick. Walsh, who fell just one point shy of becoming the first Notre Dame sophomore ever to reach 100 career points, also was one of 15 nominees (seven of them attackmen) for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top player in college lacrosse. He led the GWLL in both scoring (3.92 points per game) and assists (2.17) and ranked seventh and sixth, respectively, in the nation. Walsh was the top performer for an offensive unit that finished second (behind Syracuse) in scoring offense with an average of 12.50 goals per game.
SCOUTING PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions, ranked as high as 18th in the preseason polls, opened the 2005 season last weekend with a 9-7 home victory against #14 Ohio State. Junior A Nate Whitaker led the Nittany Lions with three goals, but the real difference was the PSU defense, which held the Buckeyes to just one second-half goal. After Sunday, Penn State will play host to Loyola on March 5 at 1 p.m. (EST). The Nittany Lions returned 17 letterwinners and eight starters from last year’s team that finished 6-7 and fourth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Confeerence (0-3 record). Penn State is coached by Glenn Thiel, who is in his 28th year leading the program and has compiled a 197-144 (.578) record. In 37+ years overall as a head coach, he has a 274-180 (.604) mark.
IRISH-NITTANY LIONS SERIES NOTES: Notre Dame and Penn State will meet for the ninth consecutive season and 12th time overall, with the Irish holding a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have split six contests in University Park, though Notre Dame has won in its last two visits. The schools first played in 1989, with Penn State claiming a 9-1 home victory. The next meeting, in 1994, featured the first Notre Dame triumph in the series, a 12-9 decision at home in a contest between two schools both tied for 17th in the national rankings. The tradition of playing in February began in 1994 and has continued every year but two since then (did not play in 1996, played on March 1 in 1998), with Notre Dame winning seven of those 10 contests. An Irish win this year would give them the first three-game winning streak by either team in the series. The last PSU victory was a 10-9 overtime affair in the Loftus Sports Center in 2002. The last time the Nittany Lions won at home was 1999, in a 13-8 contest. This is the 11th consecutive meeting between the schools with both listed in the national rankings. It is the fourth time in the last five years that the Irish are the higher-ranked squad at game time.
ND-PSU LAST YEAR: Six players netted multiple goals and five had four or more points as #11 Notre Dame opened the season with a 17-7 victory over #17 Penn State on Feb. 29 in the Loftus Sports Center. Among the offensive leaders for the Irish were sophomore M Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy), who had a career-high four goals, senior A Matt Howell (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington H.S.) and sophomore M Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton H.S.), who each registered career highs in points with seven and six, respectively. After Penn State took a 5-4 lead with 6:28 remaining in the first half on an unassisted goal by Charlie Perry, Notre Dame dominated the remainder of the contest. In the final 36:28, the Irish outscored the Nittany Lions 13-2, converting on all six extra-man opportunities and getting 12 saves from senior G Stewart Crosland (Bethesda, Md./Landon School), who finished with 16. Karweck, who scored on each of his shots in the contest, notched just 10 goals all of last season and netted multiple scores just once — a hat trick against #23 Pennsylvania. A trio of Irish players had three goals each. Howell, who took just five shots, had three fourth-quarter tallies in a span of three minutes and three seconds, while also adding four assists. The seven points were a career high, while it was the sixth multiple-goal outing for Howell in the 13 games in which he has played over the last two-plus campaigns. Sophomore A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) had three goals and two assists for his third career hat trick. In his 15 career games, he has posted five or more points on six occasions. For the 12th time in his career, senior A Dan Berger (Phoenix, Md./Boys’ Latin H.S.) had three goals in a game. His first two came on Irish extra-man opportunities late in the first half. His game-high four assists gave Hubschmann six points on the day, which matched his total from all of last season (three goals, three assists) and exceeded his career assists heading into the day. Junior M Brian Giordano (Princeton, N.J./Hun School) also had four points, with a pair of goals and two assists. Junior M Craig Bishko (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip H.S.) led the Irish with five ground balls, all on faceoffs, while sophomores D D.J. Driscoll (Downington, Pa./Malvern Preparatory School) and M Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.) each had four. Ryan made his first career start in the contest. After an unsuccessful attempt in the opening quarter, Notre Dame converted on all six of its ensuing extra-man opportunities.
ND-PSU CONNECTIONS: Two Nittany Lions have Notre Dame ties, as assistant coach Guy Van Arsdale filled the same spot for the Irish in 2004, and sophomore a Brian Boyle spent his first collegiate season with the Irish, playing in every game and registering six points (2 G, 4 A). Notre Dame has five Pennsylvania natives, all of whom hail from the Pennsylvania area: juniors D D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep School) and M Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.), sophomore M Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep School), and freshmen D Sean Dougherty (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep School) and M Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.).
HEAD COACH Kevin Corrigan: Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan is in his 17th season at the helm of the Notre Dame program. He has led the Irish to a 139-79 (.638) mark, while holding a 149-94 (.615) overall record in 19 seasons. Corrigan’s Notre Dame teams have earned 10 NCAA tournament berths since 1990, highlighted by quarterfinal appearances in 1995 and 2000 and a Final Four trip in 2001. Only six other Division I schools have as many postseason appearances in that span, while Corrigan and Princeton’s Bill Tierney are the only two mentors in the country to have led their current teams to 10 NCAA tournaments since `90. Corrigan’s teams have had 12 winning seasons, including 10 with nine or more victories. He has had at least one player earn All-America honors in each of the last 12 seasons for a total of 23 All-Americans since 1994. In addition, 85 players have garnered all-conference mention under Corrigan. The Irish also have claimed at least a share of 12 conference titles (9 Great Western Lacrosse League, 3 Great Lakes Conference). In a three-year playing career as a midfielder at Virginia, Corrigan helped the Cavaliers to the NCAA final in 1979. He previously was an assistant at Notre Dame in 1983 and served as head coach of Randolph-Macon College for two years (1985-86).
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Notre Dame is well-represented in the national rankings. The Irish are ranked 10th in the Inside Lacrosse magazine coaches’ preseason listing, 10th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll, and 11th in the Lacrosse magazine preseason poll. The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Associaion (USILA) does not publish its first rankings of the season until March 7. The Irish finished last season 12th in those rankings.
WALSH ON TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH LIST: Junior A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) was one of 37 players named to the watch list for the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top player at the conclusion of the season. The award will be presented at a banquet in Washington, D.C. on June 3. Walsh, who was on of 15 nominees for the award last year, is the only Irish player ever named the to watch list for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is in just its fifth year, though A Tom Glatzel was a finalist for the award in 2001.
GWLL DOMINANCE: For the 12th year in a row, the Irish will compete in the Great Western Lacrosse League, along with Air Force, Butler, Denver, Fairfield, and Ohio State. Notre Dame has won nine GWLL titles and holds a 41-5 (.891) all-time record in league play, including 22-2 (.917) at home. Last year, the Irish lost 9-8 to the Buckeyes and finished 4-1 in conference action, second in the standings behind OSU.
FOUR EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA MENTION: Four Irish players were mentioned on the Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America lists. Junior A Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh H.S.) led the way as a second-team selection, while junior D D.J. Driscoll (Downingtown, Pa./Malvern Prep School) was on the third team, and senior M Brian Giordano (Princeton, N.J./Hun School) and junior A Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton H.S.) were honorable-mention selections.
TOUGH SLATE: Notre Dame will face a difficult road to the 2005 NCAA Championship. This year’s Irish schedule features 11 games, with eight of those opponents listed in the Inside Lacrosse preseason coaches’ top 25, while the other three were receiving votes. Additionally, Notre Dame will have just three home games in 2005.
START ME UP: For the nine consecutive year, Notre Dame will open its season by playing Penn State. The Irish are 17-7 all-time in season openers, including wins in six of the eight games with the Nittany Lions.
MEN’S LAX GOLD GAME TO BE APRIL 7 vs. GWLL RIVAL DENVER: On Thursday, April 7, at 4 p.m., the two teams picked by Inside Lacrosse to be the best in the Great Western Lacrosse League this year will face off at Moose Krause Stadium. It will be the men’s lacrosse “Gold Game” this season. That distinction was created by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council to encourage the entire Notre Dame community to attend designated contests, each determined to be the most significant home event of the season for the respective team.
KEEPING UP WITH ND MEN’S LACROSSE: For the fastest results of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse games, call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #5 and #1. The hotline provides schedules and result information for all 26 varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the match recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website, www.und.com. The hotline is the first medium updated with results of each Notre Dame men’s lacrosse match. In addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting assistant sports information director Bo Rottenborn at Rottenborn.2@nd.edu. All requests for story ideas, interview access, match credentials, and further information on Irish men’s lacrosse should similarly be directed to Rottenborn. Credential and interview requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance.