Feb. 26, 2009
Dartmouth (1-1) at #8 Notre Dame (2-0)
Saturday, Feb. 28 • 11:30 a.m. (ET)
Loftus Sports Center • Notre Dame, Ind.
Live broadcast on und.com
Gametracker on und.com
SETTING THE STAGE: The No. 8 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will open the home portion of its 2009 schedule when the Irish play host to Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 28. The contest is slated for an 11:30 a.m. (ET) start inside the Loftus Sports Center. Notre Dame is 2-0 on the season and coming off a 13-8 win at Penn State. The Fighting Irish will carry a program-record 19-game home win streak into the tilt against the Big Green, who are 1-1 this season.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Saturday’s showdown between Notre Dame and Dartmouth can be viewed via a live broadcast and live stats on the official Notre Dame athletics web site, und.com … simply go to und.com and find the `Men’s Lacrosse’ page and click on `Schedule’ … once there, find the Dartmouth game and there will be links to both `Gametracker’ for live stats and a `Watch’ link that will show the game for free … you can also sign up for `Irish Alert’, a text messaging service designed to give fans game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame improved to 2-0 with a 13-8 victory at Penn State on Feb. 22 … junior attackman Neal Hicks led the way with eight points on four goals and four assists … the eight points were one off the school record of nine … Hicks was named the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) player of the week for his performance … Grant Krebs and Ryan Hoff both chipped in two tallies for the Fighting Irish … senior goalie Scott Rodgers moved to 2-0 by making a career-high 20 saves against the Nittany Lions … Hicks leads the Irish in goals (7), assists (4) and total points (11) … Notre Dame opened the season with a 10-9 win over Loyola in Powder Springs, Ga. … Hicks notched his first career hat trick in that contest, while Krebs produced four points on three goals and an assist en route to being named the GWLL player of the week … Notre Dame returned five starters and 18 letterwinners from last year’s team that posted a 14-3 record and won the GWLL title before advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals … Kevin Corrigan is in his 21st season as the head coach of Notre Dame … he has a 183-95 (.658) record during his Fighting Irish tenure.
ND-DARTMOUTH SERIES NOTES: This will be the eighth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Dartmouth … the Fighting Irish hold a 5-2 edge in the series … Notre Dame defeated Dartmouth, 19-7, last season at The Lovett School in Atlanta, Ga. … prior to that contest, the last three encounters in the series all were decided by one goal … the Big Green are 0-3 at Notre Dame … Dartmouth’s last victory in the series was a 7-6 decision in Hanover, N.H. in 2007 … the first meeting between the two schools occurred in 1996 at Dartmouth … the Irish prevailed in that meeting, 14-13, and captured a 15-5 win the next season at Notre Dame … the series resumed in 2004, with the Irish claiming a 10-3 victory at home … in 2005, Dartmouth registered a 10-9 home win, while the Irish responded with an 8-7 triumph at Moose Krause Stadium in 2006.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame will carry a program-record 19-game home win streak into Saturday’s showdown with Dartmouth … the Fighting Irish went 6-0 at home last season … the Irish have gone three straight seasons without losing a home contest … the current streak stems back to a 14-13 overtime win against Air Force on April 10, 2005 … Notre Dame’s last loss at home was a 9-6 setback to Denver on April 7, 2005 … the Irish went a perfect 6-0 at home during the 2006 campaign and followed it up with a 6-0 mark in 2007 … four of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while 12 have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium, the former home of Irish lacrosse … one victory last season took place at School Field in South Bend and the last two during the ’08 campaign occurred at Alumni Field … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 120-35 (.774) during the 28-plus years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
HOME OPENERS: The Fighting Irish are 25-3 all-time in home openers … Notre Dame has won its last six home openers, including last season’s 15-9 victory over Penn State … the last Irish loss in a home lid-lifter occurred in 2002, a 10-9 overtime setback to Penn State.
LEAGUE HONORS: Notre Dame has produced the past two recipients of the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) player-of-the-week award … junior midfielder Grant Krebs claimed the honor on Feb. 17, while his classmate Neal Hicks received the distinction on Feb. 24 … Krebs garnered the award after notching a team-best four points on three goals and an assist in the 10-9 season-opening win over Loyola on Feb. 14 … Hicks produced career-best single-game numbers in goals (4), assists (4) and points (8) in Notre Dame’s 13-8 win at Penn State on Feb. 22 … these were the first-ever GWLL player-of-the-week honors for both Krebs and Hicks.
HOFF MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior attackman Ryan Hoff ranks in a tie for fourth all-time in program history with 106 career goals … as a rookie, he tallied 21 goals before becoming the first Fighting Irish player to register back-to-back 40-goal campaigns with 40 in 2007 and 41 in 2008 … Hoff has four goals this season … the senior needs 10 goals to move past Chris Dusseau (1996-1999) and into third place … Randy Colley (1992-95) is the program record holder with 173 career goals.
HOFF ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: Ryan Hoff has been named to the 60-man watch list for the 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy … the award is presented annually to the nation’s top men’s and women’s collegiate lacrosse player … Hoff, a USILA All-America honoree last season after scoring 41 goals, has scored four goals this season in helping the Irish to a 2-0 start … the ninth annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2009, at the University Club of Washington, D.C.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH: The Big Green are 1-1 this season following a 12-9 setback to Bryant on Feb. 24 … Dartmouth opened the ’09 campaign with an 11-10 overtime win against Hartford … senior midfielder Jimmy Mullen has a team-high six goals, while senior attackman Brian Koch has five tallies … junior Michael Novosel has started both games in goal … Novosel has surrendered 19 goals, while making 15 saves … last season, Dartmouth posted a 7-7 record, including a 3-3 mark in the Ivy League … the Big Green returned eight starters and 36 letterwinners from that squad … head coach Bill Wilson is in his sixth season at Dartmouth … he has a 37-44 record at the school.
THE LAST TIME: Notre Dame topped Dartmouth, 19-7, last season (3-15-08) at The Lovett School in Atlanta … that marked the first-ever Division I men’s lacrosse game in the state of Georgia … current Fighting Irish players were key reasons to the win … Ryan Hoff notched a hat trick, while Duncan Swezey had a goal and four assists … Grant Krebs deposited two goals, while Neal Hicks and Peter Christman both recorded one goal and two assists … Jonathan Livadas and Brian Koch had two goals apiece for the Big Green … Notre Dame led 5-0 after the first quarter and 7-4 at halftime … the Irish carried a 12-6 lead into the fourth quarter before outscoring Dartmouth 7-1 in the final period.
IRISH AGAINST THE IVY LEAGUE: Notre Dame is 16-14 all-time against the Ivy League … the Irish went 1-0 against the Ivy League last season … the win was a 19-7 triumph of Dartmouth … the Big Green are the only Ivy League school on Notre Dame’s 2009 schedule.
HICKS LIGHTING IT UP: Junior attackman Neal Hicks is off to a stellar start this season … Hicks leads the Irish in goals (7), assists (4) and total points (11) … the Atlanta native returned to his home state and registered the first hat trick of his career in a 10-9 win over Loyola in the season opener … Hicks followed that up with an eight-point performance on four goals and four assists in a 13-8 win at Penn State … all of those numbers were single-game career-high marks for the junior … the eight points were one off the program record of nine.
WORTH THE WAIT: Entering the 2009 season, senior goalie Scott Rodgers had only appeared in seven career games while backing up three-time All-American Joey Kemp … after not playing at all last season, Rodgers made his first collegiate start in the 10-9 win over Loyola on Feb. 14 … Rodgers came up with two huge saves in the final minute to preserve the win for the Fighting Irish and collect the first victory of his career … the senior followed that performance up with a career-high 20 saves in a 13-8 win over Penn State on Feb. 22.
STREAKING: Junior midfielder Grant Krebs carries a team-best 18-game point streak into Saturday’s tilt against Dartmouth … the streak ranks in a tie for seventh nationally … he has notched 42 points on 31 goals and 11 assists during the streak … Krebs has tallied seven points on five goals and two assists this season … senior attackman Ryan Hoff is riding a team-best 16-game goal streak … he has four goals on the season.
BACK TO GEORGIA: The season-opening tilt against Loyola at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Ga. marked the second time in as many seasons that Notre Dame has played in the Atlanta area as part of the `Southern Showdown’ … the Fighting Irish are 2-0 in their treks to the Peachtree State … last March, the Irish topped Dartmouth, 19-7, at The Lovett School in Atlanta … that was the first-ever NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game played in the state of Georgia.
IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame currently ranks in the top 10 in three of the major collegiate lacrosse polls … the Fighting Irish are No. 8 in the USILA coaches poll, the Inside Lacrosse media rankings and in the Lacrosse Magazine poll … Notre Dame peaked this season at No. 7 in the Lacrosse Magazine preseason rankings.
QUALITY COMPETITION: The Fighting Irish have four teams on their 2009 slate that appear in the most recent Inside Lacrosse media poll … Notre Dame opened the campaign with a 10-9 win over current No. 18 Loyola … the Irish will host No. 4 North Carolina on March 8 … both Denver and Ohio State are tied at 16th … Notre Dame will travel to Denver for a GWLL showdown on April 11 … another key GWLL tilt will take place at Ohio State on April 25.
IRISH TABBED TO WIN GWLL: Notre Dame has been picked to win the 2009 Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title according to a preseason poll done by the conference’s head coaches … the Irish won the GWLL last season by capturing the league’s inaugural postseason tournament … the poll, which was published in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook, had Denver in the No. 2 slot followed by Ohio State … Air Force, Bellarmine and Quinnipiac round out the poll, respectively … the GWLL enjoyed unprecedented success last season as three teams qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time ever … Notre Dame, Ohio State and Denver all were among the 16-team NCAA field … the Irish and Buckeyes both advanced to the quarterfinals, making it the first time the league ever had two teams among the final eight.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Two Fighting Irish players were named to the 2009 All-Great Western Lacrosse League preseason team, which was selected by the league’s head coaches … seniors Ryan Hoff (A) and Regis McDermott (D) were selected to the 13-man squad.
IRISH NAME ’09 CAPTAINS: Seniors Peter Christman, Regis McDermott, Davey Melera and Scott Rodgers all are first-time captains for the Fighting Irish during the 2009 campaign … Christman, a midfielder, started all 17 games last season and posted career-high numbers in goals (14), assists (20) and points (34) … overall, he has played in 49 career games, including 22 starts, and totaled 54 points on 25 goals and 29 assists … McDermott will be looked upon to anchor the Fighting Irish defense … last season, he started all 17 games and picked up 37 ground balls and was a key force behind one of the nation’s top defenses … Melera, a defensive midfielder, has played in 38 career games, totaling 11 points on six goals and five assists along with picking up 39 ground balls … in 2008, he appeared in 16 games and matched a career-best total with five points on two goals and three assists … Rodgers will be looked upon to fill the shoes of three-time All-American Joey Kemp in goal … Rodgers has played in nine career games and carries a 7.45 goals-against average in 193:20 of play … he has made 54 saves, while allowing 24 goals for a .692 save percentage.
IRISH DEFENSE AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: Notre Dame boasted the nation’s fifth-best scoring defense in 2008 by allowing 7.04 goals per game … in 2007, the Fighting Irish ranked fourth nationally by surrendering a program-record 6.66 goals per game … this season, Notre Dame is surrendering 8.50 goals per game through two contests.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: As the Notre Dame defense has been one of the best in the nation over the past two seasons, so has the Fighting Irish offense … in 2007, Notre Dame averaged 11.65 goals per game, which ranked fourth in the nation … the Irish averaged 12.09 goals per game last season and that placed them fifth among NCAA Division I teams … Notre Dame is averaging 11.50 goals per game this season through two contests.
BACK IN THE ATTACK:The Fighting Irish return a bulk of their high-scoring offense that ended the 2008 season ranked fifth nationally by averaging 12.09 goals per game … senior Ryan Hoff followed a 40-goal sophomore campaign with 41 tallies last season en route to garnering honorable mention All-America honors … he is the first player in program history to notch back-to-back 40-goal seasons … Hoff also earned All-GWLL first-team accolades … fellow senior attackman Duncan Swezey tallied 22 goals and 17 assists one season ago … junior Neal Hicks played primarily in the midfield last season and notched 12 goals and six assists … he will occupy the third attack spot this season … Hicks leads the Irish in goals (7) and assists (4), while Krebs has five goals and two assists … Hoff has four goals and Swezey has notched one goal and three assists.
MANNING UP: Last season, the Fighting Irish ranked fourth nationally in man-up offense by converting on 44.6 percent (29-for-65) of their chances … Ryan Hoff had a team-best seven man-up goals, while current juniors Grant Krebs and Matt Ciambella both notched four man-up tallies … the Irish are 5-for-9 (.556) in man-up opportunities this season … Krebs has a team-high three man-up goals.
RECAPPING ’08: Notre Dame produced a 14-3 record during the 2008 season … the Fighting Irish won the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title by capturing the inaugural GWLL tournament … that marked the 11th GWLL crown for the program … Notre Dame garnered the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Championship and topped Colgate, 8-7, in overtime before falling to eventual national champion Syracuse, 11-9, during the quarterfinals … that was the fourth time the Irish had advanced to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals … it was Notre Dame’s 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament and the second time the Irish had earned a seed … Notre Dame has been eliminated from the tournament by the eventual national champion in each of the past three seasons (Virginia, 14-10, in ’06 and Johns Hopkins, 11-10 in overtime, in ’07) … the Irish offense and defense both concluded the ’08 season ranked fifth nationally … the offense averaged 12.09 goals per game, while the defense surrendered just 7.04 per contest … the Irish finished the season ranked fifth in the final USILA poll and sixth according to Inside Lacrosse.
BIG EAST AWAITS: The 2009 season will be the last for Notre Dame in the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) … the Fighting Irish will begin play in the BIG EAST Conference in 2010 … the six other conference schools that will participate in the newly-formed league are Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova … the teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule … the BIG EAST will apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship field … men’s lacrosse will be the BIG EAST’s 11th men’s sport while the Conference conducts 13 women’s sports … Notre Dame already is a member of the BIG EAST in 23 other sports … Notre Dame has been a member of the GWLL since 1994 … the Fighting Irish have captured 11 regular-season GWLL titles in addition to winning the inaugural GWLL Tournament in 2008.
ARLOTTA STADIUM: Arlotta Stadium will become the new home for the Notre Dame men’s and women’s lacrosse programs upon completion, which is scheduled for June of 2009 … construction of the facility began in August of 2008 … conceptual plans suggest a 2,000-seat, lighted stadium that would include an artificial-turf field, locker rooms, restrooms and concession areas … the state-of-the-art facility is named after Notre Dame graduate John Arlotta, president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Coram Inc. … he and his wife Bobbie pledged the lead gift toward the stadium to be built to the east of the Joyce Center as part of the University’s new athletics quadrangle … the Arlotta children – Mindy, Andy and Jon – also have pledged an additional gift from The Arlotta Family Foundation toward the project … in addition to their generous donation, alumni and friends of the lacrosse programs have donated over two million dollars.
WATCH ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All Notre Dame home games will feature a live broadcast on und.com, the school’s offical athletics web site … simply go to the front page of und.com and click on the `Live Events’ tab and select the game to view the broadcast … live stats will be available through Gametracker via und.com by going to the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse page and clicking on `Schedule’ to select the game to follow.
SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: Go to und.com to sign up for Irish ALERT, a text messaging service designed to give fans game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame … Irish men’s lacrosse fans can sign up to receive scores following each quarter.
KEEPING UP WITH ND MEN’S LACROSSE: Log onto und.com for the latest information on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse program … und.com, the official athletics web site for the University of Notre Dame, features press releases, game stories, feature stories, video interviews, stats, rosters and more … fans also can call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 … the hotline provides schedules and result information for all 26 varsity sports … in addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting assistant sports information director Sean Carroll at Carroll.64@nd.edu or (574) 631-2664 … 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.