March 3, 2006
NOTRE DAME MEN’S LACROSSE NOTES PACKAGE
No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Cornell
Saturday, March 4, 2006 • 12:00 p.m. (CT)
Lisle, Illinois • Benedictine University
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The No. 12 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will hit the road for a `home’ game as they take on No. 8 Cornell at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. this Saturday (March 4). The contest, which is technically a home game for Notre Dame, will mark the first-ever NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game in the Chicagoland area. Game time between the Fighting Irish and Big Red is set for 12:00 p.m. (CT). The Irish are coming off a season-opening 8-4 win over No. 14 Penn State, while Cornell defeated Binghamton, 16-3, in its opener.
ND-CORNELL SERIES NOTES: Saturday will mark the fourth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Cornell on the lacrosse field … the Big Red has won all three previous encounters, including last year’s 11-10 affair in Ithaca, N.Y. … the first meeting between the two schools occurred in 1990, a 14-8 decision at Cornell … the two teams met again the next season at Notre Dame with Cornell coming away with a 10-3 win.
ABOUT CORNELL: Cornell downed Binghamton 16-3 in the season-opener for the Big Red on Saturday (Feb. 25) … junior David Mitchell netted eight goals in the win … Derek Haswell also contributed four goals and two assists … senior midfielder Joe Boulukos and junior goaltender Matt McMonagle are both 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy `watch list’ members … Boulukos notched two goals and two assists in the season-opener versus Binghamton … the three goals given up by McMonagle versus Binghamton were the fewest number of goals that he has given up in a full 60 minute contest … Cornell posted an 11-3 record last season, while making it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament … the Big Red were also crowned as Ivy League champs in 2005 … Jeff Tramboni is in his sixth season as head coach of the Big Red and has compiled a record of 48-22 during his tenure.
TALENT ON DISPLAY: There will be a total of six Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America honorees playing in the match … making the first team was Cornell midfielder Joe Boulukos, while Notre Dame senior attackman Pat Walsh garnered second-team honors … Walsh’s classmate D.J. Driscoll, a defenseman, was a third-team selection … receiving honorable mention honors were sophomores Taylor Clagett (M) and Joey Kemp (G) from Notre Dame and Matt McMonagle (G) from Cornell … Kemp led the nation with a .652 save percentage last season en route to being named the Great Western Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year.
LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Cornell prevailed in a tight 11-10 contest, which was the second match of the year for the Irish and the season-opener for the Big Red … the Fighting Irish held a 6-3 advantage mid-way through the second quarter, yet Cornell scored seven unanswered goals to claim a 10-6 lead … Notre Dame would make it a 10-8 game before Cornell notched its 11th and final tally of the day with 5:47 left to play … the Irish would score two unanswered goals, including Jim Morrison’s third of the day with just 44 seconds remaining, yet could not net the equalizer … Matt Ryan (2 G, 1 A) and Pat Walsh (1 G, 2 A) both had three-point performances for Notre Dame in the loss … goaltender Joey Kemp replaced Stewart Crosland in net and played 18:26, making two saves and allowing two goals … Cornell’s Sean Greenhalgh and Joe Boulukos notched five and three goals, respectively.
PENN STATE RECAP: The 12th-ranked Fighting Irish opened the 2006 season in fine fashion by downing No. 14 Penn State 8-4 in the Loftus Sports Center on Sunday (Feb. 26) … two-goal efforts from freshmen Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff and a solid day in goal by sophomore Joey Kemp helped to pave the way for Notre Dame … both teams played to a scoreless first quarter thanks to solid defense and goaltending from Kemp and Penn State’s Drew Adams … Kemp would collect 13 saves on the day, while Adams made 16 stops as they both played all 60 minutes … it would not take the Irish long to crack the scoring column in the second quarter as Christman took a pass from senior Brian Hubschmann and sent it in with 40 seconds gone by in the stanza … Penn State countered with the equalizer with 10:50 left to play in the half as Nate Whitaker scored his first of three goals with the assist to Rob Forster … the Irish, who never trailed at any point during the game, would notch back-to-back goals by Hoff and senior Matt Karweck with the assists going to sophomore Michael Podgajny and junior Bill Liva, respectively … the Nittany Lions made it a 3-2 match heading into halftime with an unassisted Greg Gurenlian goal with just 47 seconds left … Penn State evened up the contest again as Whitaker collected his second goal of the day on an assist from Brian Boyle … that marked the only scoring for either squad in the third period … the Fighting Irish would erupt for five goals in the final period of play to secure the win, yet it did not come without a fight from the Nittany Lions … Christman tallied an unassisted goal to put Notre Dame up 4-3 with 12:06 left to play … Hoff would then notch a man-up goal for his second score of the day with a feed from Podgajny at the 9:56 mark … however, Penn State would not go away as Whitaker netted the hat-trick on another assist from Boyle to make it 5-4 with just under six minutes left to play … Notre Dame’s second man-up goal of the afternoon would be pivotal as it gave the Irish a 6-4 advantage with just over four minutes remaining in the contest … Liva collected the score, while Hubschmann notched his second assist of the day … Podgajny would then net an unassisted goal at the 2:35 mark to put a capper on his three-point performance … a late goal by Pat Walsh established the final margin of 8-4.
IRISH IN SEASON-OPENERS: With the win over Penn State on Sunday, Notre Dame is now 19-7 all-time in season-openers, including a 13-5 mark in the Kevin Corrigan era … the Irish have won the last four season-openers, which were all against Penn State … the Irish last loss a season-opener in 2002, a 10-9 overtime setback at home against No. 16 Penn State … including this year, the Fighting Irish have opened their slate against a ranked opponent for 13 consecutive seasons, with 12 of those contests coming against the Nittany Lions … Notre Dame’s longest win streak in season-openers occurred from 1990-1994 as the Irish won five straight.
OPENING ACT: Seniors Pat Walsh and Matt Karweck have enjoyed much success in their four season-openers at Notre Dame … Walsh, an attackman, has registered 14 points on eight goals and six assists, while the midfielder Karweck has produced 11 points on nine goals and two assists over their four season-openers, which were all wins against Penn State … the senior duo each notched a goal in this year’s win over the Nittany Lions.
FRESH FACES: Freshmen Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff scored two goals apiece in the season-opening victory over Penn State … that marked the first time two freshmen had scored multiple goals in a game for the Irish since the 2003 season as current seniors Pat Walsh and Drew Peters both netted three goals versus Hartford.
IRISH D: The Notre Dame defense held Penn State to just four goals … the four tallies were the fewest allowed by an Irish defense since a 12-2 victory over Air Force during the 2004 season and the fewest in a season-opener since 2000, a 10-4 win over Penn State.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Four Fighting Irish players received preseason All-America honors by Inside Lacrosse and Face-Off Yearbook with senior Pat Walsh (A) leading the way as he was tabbed as a second-team selection … fellow senior D.J. Driscoll (D) was selected to the third-team, while sophomores Taylor Clagett (M) and Joey Kemp (G) received honorable mention distinction … Walsh is a three-time All-America honoree … last year, he earned STX/USILA honorable mention All-America honors along with Driscoll … Driscoll was tabbed as the 2005 Great Western Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year, while Kemp was named the GWLL Rookie of the Year … Clagett led the Irish with a .612 face-off percentage last season.
WALSH NAMED TO TEWAARATON AWARD WATCH LIST: For the third year in a row, senior attackman Pat Walsh has been listed among the 53 players on the Watch List for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top player in college lacrosse at the end of the season … Walsh is the only Irish player ever named the to watch list for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is in its sixth year, though attackman Tom Glatzel was a finalist for the award in 2001 … Walsh has gone on to be listed as a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee the past two seasons.
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame debuted in the Lacrosse magazine preseason rankings at No. 10, while the Irish were No. 12 in the Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook preseason poll … the Irish stayed at No. 12 for the most recent Inside Lacrosse media poll, which was released on Feb. 27 … the USILA rankings do not begin until later in the season.
PLAYING THE BEST: Notre Dame faced defending NCAA champion Johns Hopkins to conclude fall ball and then opened spring exhibition play versus national runner-up Duke and Bucknell in Durham, N.C. … the Fighting Irish will face five teams that appear in the latest Inside Lacrosse poll … Notre Dame opens the season with three straight home games that are all against ranked foes … No. 14 Penn State came to the Loftus Center for a season-opening showdown on Feb. 26, with the Irish claiming an 8-4 victory … eighth-ranked Cornell and 17th-ranked North Carolina will battle the Irish on March 4 and March 11, respectively … the Cornell contest will take place in Lisle, Ill., yet is considered an Irish home game … the Irish will also host No. 18 Dartmouth on Apr. 2 … Notre Dame will have a road game at No. 15 Denver on Apr. 14.
IRISH VS. TOP-10: Since 1990, Notre Dame has a 9-30 mark against teams ranked in the top-10 … the Irish will look to improve that mark versus Cornell as the Big Red enters the contest ranked eighth nationally according to Inside Lacrosse … Notre Dame’s last win versus a top-10 squad occurred last season as the Irish knocked off No. 10 North Carolina, 9-7, in the First 4 invitational in Carson, Calif.
DRISCOLL AND PETERS NAMED `06 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors D.J. Driscoll and Drew Peters have been selected as co-captains for this year’s Fighting Irish squad … Driscoll was named the Great Western Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year and was tabbed as a STX/USILA honorable mention All-American last season … he was also selected as a 2006 Inside Lacrosse preseason third team All-American … Peters, a three-time monogram winner, has played in all 38 games during his Notre Dame career … he will help to anchor the Fighting Irish midfield again this season.
HUBSCHMANN RETURNS: Senior attackman Brian Hubschmann will be a welcomed sight in the Irish lineup as he returns after missing all of last season with a knee injury … Hubschmann was a 2005 Inside Lacrosse preseason honorable mention All-America selection … as a sophomore in 2004, he totaled 29 points on 18 goals and 11 assists and copped all-GWLL second team honors … in his 2006 season debut, he started the Penn State contest and collected two assists.
IRISH OFFENSE: Notre Dame boasted the nation’s fourth highest-scoring offense last season (11.91 goals-per-game) and this year’s squad hopes to duplicate that success … All-American attackman Pat Walsh is back for his senior season after leading the Irish in scoring his first three campaigns … last year, Walsh posted 43 points on 21 goals and 22 assists … ND did lose leading goal-scorer Jim Morrison (25 G) to graduation, yet the return of senior attackman Brian Hubschmann from an injury that kept him out all of last season should help to pick up the scoring slack … Hubschmann notched 29 points (18 G, 11 A) as a sophomore in 2004 … other factors in the Irish offense will be seniors Matt Karweck (26 pts. in ’05) and Matt Ryan (21 pts. in ’05).
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior attackman Pat Walsh is currently fourth all-time in school history with 80 assists … he is eight assists shy from the third spot, 20 away from second and is 30 assists away from tying David Ulrich’s (1998-2001) program record of 110 … Walsh is also eighth in program history with 143 points coming on 63 goals and 80 assists … he is 37 points away from making it into the top-three all-time in school history … Randy Colley (1991-95) is the school record holder with 273 career points (173 G, 100 A).
FINE LINE: Close losses past two seasons have kept Notre Dame out of NCAA tournament … five of Notre Dame’s last six losses over the course of the past two seasons have been by one goal, including three in overtime … the Irish hope a stronger and more seasoned defense will make the difference this season and return them to the field of 16 … Notre Dame’s last NCAA tournament berth back in 2001 culminated with the program’s first-ever appearance in the national semifinals.
STREAKS: The following streaks are active heading into this weekend: – ND has won two consecutive overtime games (last loss: 9-8 in 2OT at #3 Maryland, 5/1/04) – Senior M Matt Karweck has at least one point in nine consecutive games (last pointless: 3/12/05 vs. #10 North Carolina)
IRISH ADD NINE FOR NEXT SEASON: Head coach Kevin Corrigan has announced the commitment of nine student-athletes who will join the program next season … the Irish will finalize their 2005-06 recruiting class during the late signing period in April … log onto und.com for more information.
NAME POSITION HIGH SCHOOL
Sean Callinan Defense Deerfield Academy (Mass.)Matt Ciambella Attack Orchard Park (N.Y.)Mike Creighton Defense Malvern Prep (Pa.)Adam Felicetti Midfield Central Bucks East (Pa.)Neal Hicks Attack Lovett School (Ga.)Grant Krebs Midfield St. Mary's (Md.)Chip Lanser Defense Dulaney (Md.)Kelly McKenna Midfield Penfield (N.Y.)Brett Vecchio Midfield Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.)
ND ON THE TUBE: The Irish will appear on television four times during the 2006 regular season … Notre Dame’s contest at Hofstra on March 25 will be aired by College Sports Television (CSTV) as will the Irish home match against Dartmouth on April 2 … the Notre Dame-Brown contest at Moose Krause Stadium on March 29 along with a road contest at Butler on April 8 will both be carried by Comcast Local.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All six of Notre Dame’s true home games will feature livestats available through und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … simply go to the men’s lacrosse page and click on `Schedule’ at the top of the page and find the game that is being played that day and click on `Gametracker’ to follow the game for free.
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.
In addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting sports information assistant Sean Carroll at Carroll.64@nd.edu … all requests for story ideas, interview access, match credentials, and further information on Irish men’s lacrosse should similarly be directed to Carroll … credential and interview requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance.