Junior Michael Podgajny scored a career-high four goals against Penn State on Sunday.

Fighting Irish Back Home For A GWLL Showdown With Ohio State On Saturday

April 28, 2006

Ohio State vs. #20/15 Notre Dame
Saturday, April 29 • 3:00 p.m. (ET) (following ND women’s game vs. Syracuse)
Moose Krause Stadium • Notre Dame, IN

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Notre Dame returns home following a four-game road trip that saw the Irish post a 2-2 mark. The 15th-ranked Fighting Irish will face GWLL rival Ohio State at Moose Krause Stadium on Saturday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m. Notre Dame is 8-4 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Buckeyes are 6-5 and 3-1 in the league. The Irish are coming off a 10-7 victory over Lehigh on Sunday and the team will wrap up regular season play against GWLL newcomer Quinnipiac next Saturday (May 6).

SNAPSHOT OF THE IRISH: Notre Dame stands at 8-4 overall (1-2 GWLL) … Notre Dame is averaging 8.08 goals-per-game, while limiting its opponents to just 7.17 … the Irish are coming off a 10-7 victory against Lehigh on Sunday … that game was played at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. … Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 97-86 … senior attackman Pat Walsh, a three-time All-America honoree, leads the team with 36 points on 17 goals and a team-high 19 assists … he registered a four-goal game against Lehigh … senior attackman Brian Hubschmann has a team-best 22 goals to go along with 13 assists … he also notched four points against the Mountain Hawks on two goals and two assists … Hubschmann has eight multiple-goal games this season … senior midfielder Matt Karweck is second on the team with 13 goals … freshman Ryan Hoff is having a solid rookie campaign with 15 goals … sophomore Joey Kemp has started every game in goal and has an 8-4 record … he has allowed 84 goals, while making 121 saves and boasts a .590 save-percentage and a 7.10 goals-against average … both of those marks rank him ninth in NCAA Division I.

ABOUT OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes are 6-5 overall and 3-1 in the GWLL … Ohio State is 2-1 on the road this season … the Buckeyes are averaging 9.54 goals per game, while allowing 9.63 a game … freshman Joel Dalgarno leads the team with 35 points on 22 goals and 13 assists … sophomore Kevin Buchanan also has over 30 points for the Buckeyes on 21 goals and 12 assists … senior Andrew Bender has a team-high 14 assists … freshman John Bolen has a 5-2 mark in goal, with an 8.20 goals-against average and a .575 save percentage … Ohio State is coming off an 11-7 victory against Air Force in league play … a 13-9 loss to Denver last Friday snapped a five-game winning streak for the Buckeyes … prior to that, OSU had dropped its first four games of the season, including a 14-13 overtime loss to Penn State.

ND-OSU SERIES NOTES: Saturday will mark the 29th meeting all-time between the Fighting Irish and the Buckeyes … Notre Dame owns a 19-9 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1981 … the Irish topped the Buckeyes 16-5 in Columbus last season … Ohio State is the most commonly faced opponent in the history of the Notre Dame program … the Irish are 10-3 against the Buckeyes at home … Ohio State captured a 9-8 win over Notre Dame in its last trip to Moose Krause Stadium during the 2004 campaign … the Fighting Irish have outscored the Buckeyes 332-212 during the series.

LAST YEAR’S MEETING: Notre Dame had an offensive outburst during last season’s finale, a 16-5 victory over Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio … the Fighting Irish had 12 different players score a goal in the game, including a hat trick from Michael Podgajny … he also collected an assist for a career-high four-point game … Pat Walsh (2 G, 2 A) and Matt Malakoff (1 G, 3 A) matched Podgajny with four-point games of their own … Notre Dame tallied four goals in each quarter of the contest … the Buckeyes were held scoreless in the first and third quarters … no Ohio State player recorded more than one point in the game … Joey Kemp made 16 saves, while allowing three goals in 45 minutes of action for the Irish.

LEHIGH RECAP: Pat Walsh netted three fourth quarter goals to help propel Notre Dame to a 10-7 non-league win over Lehigh on Sunday, April 23 at Georgetown Prep … Walsh also tallied a goal in the second quarter en route to collecting a season-high four goals … fellow senior Brian Hubschmann also had a four-point day for the Irish on two goals and two assists … with the score tied 6-6 after three quarters of play, Walsh went to work as he tallied his second goal of the game on an assist from classmate Drew Peters with 12:19 remaining in the final period … Lehigh then tied the game once again on a goal from Michael Zurfluh with 4:35 left in the contest … the Irish countered 21 seconds later as Walsh deposited a pass from junior Brannon Halvorsen to put Notre Dame on top for good … Walsh added his fourth score of the day at the 3:42 mark of the fourth quarter on an assist from senior Matt Ryan … for good measure, Ryan collected his second assist on a Hubschmann goal with 1:37 left to produce the final margin of 10-7 … Walsh’s four goals matched a season-high for the team, which was established by Hubschmann against Villanova … Lehigh cracked the scoring column first with a goal from Richard Cornetta at the 11:11 mark of the opening period … the Fighting Irish responded behind Hubschmann, who had a hand in the next two scores … the senior tallied a goal on an assist from junior Bill Liva with 7:38 left and then picked up the assist on Ryan Hoff’s tally at the 5:59 mark … Hoff, a freshman, has now scored a goal in six straight games and has a total of 15 on the season … the Mountain Hawks made it a 2-2 contest at the end of the first period with a score at the 4:17 mark … back-to-back goals from Stephen Marino and Alec Hooff gave Lehigh its largest lead of the game at 4-2 with 11:57 remaining in the first half … Notre Dame surged back to knot the game at 4-4 on unassisted tallies from Liva and freshman Peter Christman and then Walsh scored on a pass from Michael Podgajny to put the Irish up 5-4 at the half … senior midfielder Matt Karweck scored on a pass from Hubschmann less than four minutes into the second half to give the Irish a two-goal advantage … Lehigh goals from Mike Moran and Hooff made it a 6-6 game at the end of the third period … Taylor Clagett and Steve Panos combined to go 12-19 in faceoffs for the Irish … sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp returned home to play at Georgetown Prep and picked up his eighth win of the season and the 13th of his young career.

ON THE ROAD: Notre Dame wrapped up its four-game road trip with a 2-2 record … the Irish defeated Butler (9-8) in the first game before falling to Denver (8-5) and Air Force (9-8) … the Irish concluded the trek with a 10-7 win over Lehigh last Sunday … this marked the longest stretch away from home since the 2002 season when the Irish also played four straight contests away from home … the Irish began that trip with three straight victories over Denver, Air Force and Butler before dropping the final contest to Army.

GWLL HISTORY: Notre Dame is 45-9 all-time in GWLL play with nine league titles in 12 seasons … the Irish went 3-2 in conference play last season to finish third.

SECOND QUARTER SCORING: Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 32-14 during the second quarter this season.

NCAA RANKINGS: Joey Kemp is ninth nationally with a .590 save percentage and he is also ninth in Division I with a 7.10 goals-against average … Kemp led the nation with a .652 save percentage last season … Pat Walsh is averaging 1.58 assists per game, which places him 14th in the NCAA this season … as a team, Notre Dame is eighth in scoring defense nationally as the Irish are allowing just 7.17 goals per game … the Irish are seventh in man-down defense (.769).

HAT TRICKS: Three different Irish players have notched hat tricks this season … Brian Hubschmann leads the team with three hat tricks on the year … Hubschmann had a career-high tying four-goal effort against Villanova to go along with three-goal efforts versus Hofstra and Air Force … Pat Walsh has two hat tricks on the season … he scored three times against Butler and he registered his 11th career hat trick with a four-goal effort against Lehigh … freshman Ryan Hoff netted the first hat trick of his college career in the 11-5 win over Brown on March 29 … the last Irish freshman to register a hat trick prior to Hoff was current sophomore Michael Podgajny in the 2005 regular season finale at Ohio State.

HUBSCHMANN BACK IN ACTION: Senior attackman Brian Hubschmann, who is back in the Irish lineup after missing all of last season to injury, is leading the team with 22 goals and is second in points with 35 … he has notched eight multiple-goal games this season, including a career-high tying four-goal effort versus Villanova on March 14 … for his career, he has eight games with four or more points … he also netted a hat trick against Hofstra and Air Force … 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.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Seniors occupy the top three spots on the Irish point-leaders list … Pat Walsh leads with 36 (17 G, 19 A), while Brian Hubschmann is right behind his classmate with 35 (22 G, 13 A) and Matt Karweck is third with 20 (16 G, 4 A) … freshman Ryan Hoff is next on the list with 15 points (15 G).

STREAKING: Brian Hubschmann is riding a 12-game point streak … senior Pat Walsh and freshman Ryan Hoff have both scored goals in six straight games … Walsh has started all 49 games during his Fighting Irish career … Notre Dame has won its past four games at Moose Krause Stadium, including 10 of its last 13.

GOING FOR TWO: Notre Dame has had two players score multiple goals in 11 of 12 games this season.

DOUBLE DIGITS: The Fighting Irish have tallied 10 or more goals three times this season and they have won all three contests … the first time was in a 10-7 win over Villanova on March 14 … the Fighting Irish had their largest scouring output of the season in an 11-5 win over Brown on March 29 … the Irish notched a 10-7 win over Lehigh on April 23 … Notre Dame scored in double-figures in seven of its 11 games one season ago … five of those contests were wins.

RUNNING: Notre Dame has registered runs of three or more goals in 11 of 12 games this season … the Irish used key 5-0 runs in back-to-back hard fought wins over North Carolina and Villanova earlier in the season … another 5-0 run was used to break open the Brown contest, which the Irish won 11-5.

THREE IN-A-ROW: The Fighting Irish have put together two three-game winning streaks this season … Notre Dame has won at least three games in-a-row in 23 of 26 varsity seasons … the only years that the Irish failed to win three consecutive was during the first varsity campaign in 1981 then again in 1983 and 1991.

SECOND HALF SHUTOUT: Notre Dame’s second half shutout against Bellarmine marked the first time a Fighting Irish defense held a team scoreless in a half since the first half against Butler during the 2003 campaign … the Irish would go on to win that contest 9-2 … the two tallies versus Bellarmine were the fewest allowed by an Irish defense since a 12-2 victory over Air Force during the 2004 season.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior attackman Pat Walsh is currently third all-time in school history with 99 assists … he is one assist shy from second and is 11 assists away from tying David Ulrich’s (1998-2001) program record of 110 … Walsh is also fourth in program history with 178 points coming on 79 goals and 99 assists … he is three 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).

WALSH POINT-LESS: In Notre Dame’s 8-2 win over Bellarmine, Pat Walsh was held without a point for just the third time in his collegiate career … he was also held point-less in a 9-6 loss at Denver last season and in a 10-4 setback to Maryland in 2003.

FIRST-TIMERS: The Irish have three first-time opponents on the 2006 ledger … Notre Dame defeated Bellarmine, 8-2, in the first-ever meeting between the two Midwest schools on March 18 … the Irish also topped Brown 11-5 in their first-ever clash … Notre Dame will have its inaugural showdown with GWLL newcomer Quinnipiac on May 6.

FRESH FACES: The two-goal performances by Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff against Penn State 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 … both Hoff and Christman are enjoying solid rookie campaigns … Hoff is fourth on the team with 15 points (15 G), while Christman has eight points (4 G, 4 A) … fellow freshman Regis McDermott has played every game this season in the Irish defense, while his classmate Duncan Swezey has appeared in 10 contests, collecting two goals and two assists.

SAVING THE DAY: Sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp boasts a .615 save percentage on the year, which places him eighth nationally … he has made 96 saves, while allowing 60 goals … Kemp led the nation with a .652 percentage in 2005, making 131 saves and giving up 70 goals … he also has a 6.79 goals-against average on the season, which ranks him 11th in the country.

CLEARING THE WAY: Notre Dame has a .800 clear percentage, while the Irish have held opponents to a .690 percentage … last season, the Irish had a .763 clear percentage and their opponents had a mark of .771.

FAN SUPPORT: The Irish have played in front of crowds of at least 1,000 people in 10 contests over the past two seasons … Notre Dame is averaging 1,689 fans per game this season … the Notre Dame-Cornell game in Lisle, Ill. on March 4, which was technically a home game for the Irish, drew 3,523 fans … … the Notre Dame-Hofstra contest attracted 4,363 fans at James M. Shuart Stadium on March 25 … the Fighting Irish and Bellarmine played in front of 2,700 fans at Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. on March 18 … last year’s meeting with North Carolina in the First 4 invitational drew 7,182 fans into the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. … that was the largest crowd ever for a lacrosse contest west of the Mississippi River.

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 are No. 15 in the most recent Inside Lacrosse media poll, which was released on April 24 … the latest USILA coaches poll (April 24) has the Irish 20th.

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 have four teams that appear in the latest USILA coaches poll on their 2006 ledger … Notre Dame opened the season with an 8-4 victory over No. 14 Penn State … Notre Dame fell to current No. 4 Cornell, 9-6, on March 4 and current No. 2 Hofstra, 13-5, on March 25 … the Irish dropped an 8-5 decision at No. 15 Denver on April 14.

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 49 games during his Notre Dame career … he will help to anchor the Fighting Irish midfield again this season.

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.

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 five times during the 2006 regular season … Notre Dame’s contest at Hofstra on March 25 was aired on Fox Sports New York … the Notre Dame-Brown game at Moose Krause Stadium on March 29 was carried on Comcast Local as will the Butler tilt on April 8 … the Irish home match against Dartmouth on April 2 was carried by College Sports Television (CSTV) … a road tilt at Denver was broadcast on Comcast-Denver.

FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All Notre Dame 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.

NOTRE DAME ANNOUNCES IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: The University of Notre Dame Department of Athletics, in conjunction with Centennial Wireless and Notre Dame Sports Properties, has announced a new service for Fighting Irish fans. Irish ALERT, a text messaging service designed to give fans up-to-the-minute game updates, will cover four varsity sports this spring – baseball, softball, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse … this is a FREE trial program that will run until the completion of each sport’s 2006 season … log onto und.com to sign up.