Senior midfielder Michael Podgajny notched a hat trick on Senior Day for the Irish.

Irish And Buckeyes To Clash In Crucial GWLL Tilt On Saturday

April 26, 2007

#10 Notre Dame (9-3) at #20 Ohio State (8-4)
Saturday, April 28 • 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

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A pivotal Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) showdown awaits the No. 10 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team this Saturday at No. 20 Ohio State. Game time against the Buckeyes is set for 12:00 noon (ET). The Irish, who have won six straight games, are coming off a 14-2 victory over Lehigh last Saturday. Ohio State has won four games in a row, including a 10-9 overtime win at Denver on Sunday. The Fighting Irish are 9-3 overall, while the Buckeyes are 8-4. Both teams are undefeated in GWLL play.

ON THE LINE: Saturday’s Notre Dame-Ohio State contest could very well determine who will take the 2007 GWLL title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

FOLLOW THE GAME ONLINE: Live stats through ‘Gametracker’ will be available for the Notre Dame-Ohio State tilt via und.com … simply go to the men’s lacrosse page and click on `Schedule’ at the top of the page, find the Ohio State game and click on `Gametracker’ to follow the game for free.

ND-OHIO STATE SERIES NOTES: Saturday will mark the 30th meeting all-time between the Fighting Irish and the Buckeyes … Notre Dame owns a 20-9 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1981 … the Irish topped the Buckeyes 10-8 last season at Moose Krause Stadium … Ohio State is the most commonly faced opponent in the history of the Notre Dame program … the Irish are 8-6 against the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio … Notre Dame captured a 16-5 win in its last visit to Ohio State during the 2005 campaign.

ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (9-3, 3-0) is riding a six-game win streak, including a 14-2 victory over Lehigh on Saturday (April 21) … the Irish are ranked 10th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and 11th in the current USILA coaches poll along with being third in the latest LaxPower computer rating … Notre Dame concluded the regular-season home slate with a perfect 6-0 mark … the Irish have won a school-record 13 straight games at home … freshman attackman Will Yeatman leads the Irish in points with 37 and assists with 19 … Notre Dame has the nation’s second-best man-up offense (.565) and the third-best scoring defense (6.17) … the Irish also have the country’s sixth-best scoring offense (11.58) and are second in scoring margin (+5.42) … sophomore attackman Ryan Hoff leads the team with 30 goals, while senior midfielder Brian Hubschmann is second with 21 … junior goaltender Joey Kemp has all 12 decisions for the Irish and carries a 6.29 goals-against average and a .635 save percentage … he ranks fourth nationally in both categories … the Fighting Irish have six starters and 16 letterwinners back from last year’s team that posted a 10-5 record and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament … Kemp earned honorable mention All-America honors from the USILA last season … he ranked in the top-12 nationally in both save percentage and goals-against average … Kemp and Hubschmann were preseason honorable mention All-America selections according to Inside Lacrosse … Hubschmann led the team with 31 goals last season and tied for team-high honors in points with 50 … Kevin Corrigan is in his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish … Corrigan has an overall record of 165-91 (.645) at Notre Dame.

ABOUT OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes are 8-4 overall and 4-0 in the GWLL … Ohio State has won four games in a row, including a 10-9 overtime decision at Denver on Sunday … the Buckeyes average 11.19 goals per game and surrender 7.46 a game … Ohio State is 3-1 at home this season … sophomore attackman Joel Dalgarno leads the team in points with 43 on 23 goals and 20 assists … fellow sophomore Jeff Ryan has a team-high 26 goals … freshman Mario Ventiquattro is the reigning GWLL Player of the Week … junior Stefan Schroder has all 12 decisions in goal … he carries a 7.99 goals-against average and a .564 save percentage … the Buckeyes returned 13 starters and 30 letterwinners from a team that posted a 7-6 mark last season … Ohio State went 3-2 in GWLL play in 2006 … head coach Joe Breschi is in his 10th season at Ohio State.

THE LAST TIME VS. OHIO STATE: Notre Dame downed Ohio State 10-8 last season at Moose Krause Stadium … the Irish were ranked 20th at the time of the contest and the Buckeyes were unranked … Brian Hubschmann had a six-point day on three goals and three assists, while Pat Walsh had two goals and two assists … Michael Podgajny, Matt Karweck, Matt Ryan and Lucius Polk also netted goals for the Irish … Joey Kemp made 12 saves for Notre Dame to earn the win … Josh Wittenberg, Jason Lutz and Craig Nolan all scored two goals for the Buckeyes … goaltender John Bolen picked up the loss.

RECAPPING LEHIGH: A stifling defensive effort powered No. 11 Notre Dame to a dominating 14-2 victory over Lehigh in non-conference men’s lacrosse action on Saturday, April 21 in front of 1,252 fans at Moose Krause Stadium. The Fighting Irish defensive unit held the Mountain Hawks without a goal until the fourth quarter as the Irish offense opened the contest with a 10-0 run. Sophomore attackman Duncan Swezey netted a career-high four goals to help the Irish capture their sixth straight win overall and extend their program-record home win streak to 13 games. Notre Dame (9-3) led 2-0 after the first quarter of play behind goals from John Greaney and Swezey. Freshman attackman Will Yeatman collected the assist on Greaney’s goal. A six-goal second quarter would give the Irish an 8-0 lead at halftime. Alex Wharton was the first to strike in the period as he took a pass from Ryan Cunn and scored at the 12:02 mark. Wharton then fed Ryan Hoff to make it 4-0 before Peter Christman and Davey Leach notched unassisted tallies. Hoff collected his second goal on an assist from Michael Podgajny. Podgajny would then score with 15 seconds remaining before intermission off a Lucius Polk pass. Prior to today, the last time the Irish held a team scoreless in a half was the second half of last season’s Bellarmine contest. The only scoring in the third quarter came from Swezey, who scored twice in a span of 12 seconds. His second goal of the game came off a Hoff pass, while his third goal was unassisted with 6:45 left in the period. Lehigh (4-9) scored its first goal of the game at the 12:27 mark of the fourth quarter as David Gaunt found the back of the net against Irish sophomore goaltender Scott Rodgers, who came on in relief of junior Joey Kemp. Kemp played 37:10 without surrendering a goal, while making eight saves. Rodgers made 10 saves and allowed two scores. Swezey netted his fourth goal off a Kevin Cullinane pass to make it 11-1 in favor of the Irish. That was the first career point for the sophomore Cullinane. Freshman midfielder Brett Vecchio collected the first two goals of his Irish career as he sent home passes from classmate Neal Hicks and Swezey. The trend of career-firsts continued as sophomore midfielder Dan Gibson registered his first collegiate goal to give Notre Dame a 14-1 advantage. Lehigh’s Matthew Hichborn scored with 12 seconds remaining to make it a 14-2 final in favor of the Fighting Irish with 4:47 left in the game. Notre Dame got big contributions on the defensive end from starters Joey Rallo, Sean Dougherty and Ross Zimmerman. The two goals were the fewest surrendered by the Irish since an 8-2 victory at Bellarmine last season. Notre Dame has only allowed 23 goals during the course of its current six-game winning streak. The Irish went 18-for-19 in clearing opportunities along with holding a 47-33 advantage in shots. Junior Taylor Clagett went 8-for-12 in faceoffs.

SIX IN A ROW: Notre Dame is currently riding a season-best six-game winning streak with wins over Bellarmine (11-3), Brown (11-3), Villanova (15-5), Air Force (16-4), Denver (14-6) and Lehigh (14-2) … Notre Dame’s last six-game win steak occurred in 2001 as the Irish ran off nine straight victories.

HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has won a program-record 13 straight games at home … 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 … the Irish wrapped up this year’s regular-season slate with a perfect 6-0 mark … two of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while the other 11 have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 115-35 (.767) during the 26-plus years of varsity lacrosse at the University.

IRISH D: Notre Dame boasts the third-best scoring defense among all NCAA Division I teams … the Irish are allowing just 6.17 goals per game … the Irish have only surrendered 23 goals during the team’s current six-game winning streak (3.83 gpg) … Notre Dame had the nation’s 11th-best scoring defense last season by surrendering 7.67 goals per game.

SCORELESS STRETCH: The Notre Dame defense produced a 65:31 scoreless stretch, which spanned parts of the Denver and Lehigh contests … Denver’s last goal against the Irish came with 2:58 left in the third quarter … Notre Dame then held Lehigh without a goal until the 12:27 mark of the fourth quarter … junior Joey Kemp was in goal for 55:08 of the stretch … that marks a career-long scoreless streak for the All-American … his previous high was 43:22, which occurred this season against Drexel. SECOND-HALF SCORING: The Fighting Irish have out scored their opponents 75-32 in the second half this season, including a 45-18 advantage in the third quarter.

SCORING MARGIN: Notre Dame has out scored its opponents 139-74 this season … that is an average of 5.42 goals per game, which ranks second among all NCAA Division I teams.

DOUBLE FIGURES: Notre Dame has scored in double figures in eight of 12 contests this season, including in each game of the current six-game winning streak … the Irish scored 10 or more goals in six of 15 games last season.

CONSISTENT PERFORMERS: Michael Podgajny (Jr., M) has scored a goal in every contest this season … Ryan Hoff (So., A) has scored a goal in all but one game (Dartmouth) … the duo has helped Notre Dame boast the sixth-best scoring offense in Division I with a 11.58 goals per game average.

BALANCED ATTACK: The Irish have five players that have scored at least 13 goals this season … Ryan Hoff leads the way with 30, while Brian Hubschmann has 21 followed by Michael Podgajny (20), Will Yeatman (18) and Lucius Polk (13) … all five of those players have had at least one game this season with three or more goals … Alex Wharton also has a three-goal game this season.

DOUBLE DUTY: Will Yeatman spent this past fall playing tight end for the Fighting Irish football team … the freshman played in 12 of Notre Dame’s 13 games on the gridiron … the San Diego native was a prep All-American in lacrosse at Rancho Bernardo High School … on Saturday, April 21, he competed in the Irish’s lacrosse match against Lehigh and then took part in Notre Dame’s annual Blue-Gold spring football game.

INSTANT IMPACT: Freshman Will Yeatman leads the Irish in points with 37 and assists with 19 … his 18 goals rank him fourth on the team … the attackman has notched at least two points in every game but one (Lehigh) this season … his biggest point output to date came in a 16-5 win over Drexel as he tallied six points on two goals and a season-high four assists.

HOT START: Notre Dame is off to a 3-0 start in Great Western Lacrosse League play for the first time since 2002 … the Irish will try to improve to 4-0 in the GWLL when they travel to Ohio State this Saturday.

IRISH IN THE GWLL: Notre Dame is 49-9 (.845) all-time in GWLL play with nine league titles in 12 seasons … the Irish went 3-2 in conference play last season to finish second … Denver won the 2006 league title with a perfect 5-0 mark.

SAVING THE DAY: Notre Dame junior goaltender Joey Kemp has had a huge impact on the Irish during his first two campaigns … as a freshman, he started nine games, posting a 5-2 record and led the nation with a .652 save percentage en route to being tabbed the Great Western Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year … he followed that up with another stellar season in 2006 … he went 10-5 and ranked eighth nationally with a .596 save percentage and 12th with a 7.54 goals-against average … he earned USILA Honorable Mention All-America honors along with being a first-team all-GWLL selection … this season he carries a 6.29 goals-against average and a .635 save percentage … both of those marks rank fourth among all NCAA Division I goaltenders.

MAN-UP: The Irish have converted on 26 of 46 man-up opportunities this season (.565) … that percentage ranks second nationally behind Colgate’s .600 mark … Michael Podgajny leads the Irish with nine man-up goals, while Ryan Hoff has six … Notre Dame has limited its opponents to just a .293 (12-41) man-up conversion percentage this season.

FACING OFF: Junior midfielder and faceoff specialist Taylor Clagett has won 137 of 226 (.606) faceoffs this season … that mark ranks him 12th nationally … he won 126 of 205 faceoff attempts last season … his .615 winning percentage in 2006 would have ranked him sixth nationally, however he missed four games due to injury and could not qualify among NCAA statistical leaders in that category … his career winning percentage is .611 (394-645).

SEVENTH HEAVEN FOR HOFF: Ryan Hoff’s seven goals in a 16-5 win over Drexel on March 13 tied a Notre Dame record … he equaled the school record originally set by Randy Colley in 1993 against New Hampshire … Hoff’s seven tallies also established a program record for the most goals scored in a road game … the previous high was six by eight different Irish players and most recently by Pat Walsh against Hofstra in 2005 … the seven goals scored by Hoff ties him for second among all NCAA Division I men’s players this season for goals scored in a single game … Virginia’s Ben Rubeor also tallied seven in a contest against Towson, while Matt Girsh from Siena netted eight goals against VMI.

NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame is ranked 10th in this week’s Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … the Irish are ranked 11th in the latest USILA coaches poll … Notre Dame’s highest ranking this season was eighth in the USILA poll during the week of Feb. 26th … the Fighting Irish peaked at No. 8 in last season’s USILA poll the week of April 3rd.

QUALITY COMPETITION: The Fighting Irish have five teams on their 2007 regular-season schedule that appear in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … Notre Dame defeated then-No. 13 Loyola 9-7 in the season opener … the Greyhounds are currently ranked 13th … the Irish fell to current No. 1 Cornell 13-8 and then dropped an 11-8 decision to current No. 9 North Carolina on March 10 … Notre Dame downed Drexel, 16-5, on March 13 when the Dragons were ranked 19th in the USILA coaches poll … Drexel is currently ranked 18th in the Inside Lacrosse poll … this Saturday’s opponent, Ohio State, is ranked 20th.

HUBSCHMANN AND KEMP NAMED TO TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH LIST: Brian Hubschmann (Sr., M) and Joey Kemp (Jr., G) have been named to the 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy Preseason Watch List … the award is presented annually to the nation’s top player … the athletes on the list are considered early season indicators of who to watch as the 2007 lacrosse season begins … the list of 51 players will be voted upon by coaches and narrowed as the season progresses, ultimately reaching a final list of five who constitute the award’s finalists.

IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Senior midfielder Brian Hubschmann and junior goaltender Joey Kemp were selected as preseason honorable mention All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook … Hubschmann was the team’s co-leading scorer last season with 50 points on a team-high 31 goals and 19 assists … Kemp was a USILA honorable mention All-America selection in 2006 … he started all 15 games, posting a 7.54 goals-against average and a .596 save percentage … he ranked eighth nationally in save percentage and 12th in goals-against average … Kemp was joined on the Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-GWLL Team by his classmates Taylor Clagett (M/FO) and Ross Zimmerman (D).

HUBSCHMANN, LIVA AND KEMP NAMED `07 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors Brian Hubschmann and Bill Liva along with junior Joey Kemp have been named captains for the 2007 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team … Hubschmann, a midfielder, is in his fifth season with the Irish after missing all of his junior campaign with a knee injury … he led the team in goals last season with 31 and tied for the team lead in points with 50 … Liva has been a fixture in the Irish lineup during his first three seasons … he has played in 32 games, totaling 20 points on 12 goals and eight assists … Kemp has emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the nation throughout his first two seasons, ranking in the top-10 nationally in save percentage both years … he also was an honorable mention All-American in 2006.

COACHING CHANGES: The freshmen are not the only new faces on the Irish this season … head coach Kevin Corrigan has brought in two new assistant coaches, Gerry Byrne and Brian Fisher, to replace Kevin Anderson and Dave Cornell … Anderson stepped away from coaching, while Cornell took the head coaching job at Connecticut College … Byrne will not be a new face to everyone at Notre Dame since he served as an assistant under Corrigan from 1989-91 … most recently he held the head coaching position at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. … Fisher comes to Notre Dame from Rutgers, where he had a stellar four-year career from 1998-2001 followed by a five-year coaching stint with the Scarlet Knights.

BACK TO THE DANCE: Notre Dame returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 for the first time since the 2001 season … the Fighting Irish posted a 10-5 record last season, including a 3-2 mark in the GWLL, which placed them second behind conference champion Denver.

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KEEPING UP WITH ND MEN’S LACROSSE: For 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 assistant sports information director 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.