March 12, 2016
By Leigh Torbin
Don’t let half of your half penny opportunity slip past as No. 6 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse welcomes No. 7 Princeton to Arlotta Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the first of two game where commemorative “half penny” coins will be distributed to honor Irish head coach Christine Halfpenny.
The shipment of specially-made bronze half pennies with Halfpenny’s likeness will be split in half and distributed to Irish fans on Sunday and also at the April 18 game against No. 12 USC.
At each game, the first 300 fans will receive a numbered ticket upon entry to Arlotta Stadium. At half time, half of the ticket holders will win a half penny. If Notre Dame has scored an even number of first half goals, even numbered ticket holders will win and likewise should the Irish score an odd number of goals before halftime.
Tickets for the Princeton and USC games are, fittingly, just a half a penny each, although they must be purchased in groups of two.
Leading the nation in scoring offense (16.63 goals per game), ranking second in scoring margin (+10.88 gpg) and fourth in scoring defense (5.75 gpg), Notre Dame has been one of the country’s top teams to start the 2016 season. The Irish moved as high as No. 4 in the polls by posting a 7-1 overall record and a 2-1 mark in ACC play. At the offensive end, Cortney Fortunato leads the nation in goals (28), points (45) and points per game (5.63) while on defense the Irish lead the nation in caused turnovers (15.25 per game) led by Barbara Sullivan who stands fifth nationally.
#####
Leigh Torbin, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2013 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team while serving as the football publicity team’s top lieutenant. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Torbin graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He has previously worked full-time on the athletic communications staffs at Vanderbilt, Florida, Connecticut and UCF.