Notre Dame head coach Tracy Coyne and her staff will participate at the Big Ivy Challenge women's lacrosse camp at Rutgers from July 7-9.

Irish Close Out Regular Season At Connecticut On May 1

April 29, 2010

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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– The Game: #14/#14 Notre Dame (10-5/5-2) at Connecticut (9-7/2-5)

– Date/Time/Site: Sat., May 1, 2010 – Noon – Sherman Family Sports Complex – Storrs, Conn.

– Internet: The Notre Dame – Connecticut game will have live video streaming available via Husky Vision at the Connecticut website at www.uconnhuskies.com. There is a fee of $9.95 to view the game. Game Tracker will be available at both the Notre Dame (und.com) and Connecticut websites (uconnhuskies.com).

IRISH CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON AT CONNECTICUT: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will close out the 2010 regular season on Saturday, May 1 when the Irish visit Storrs, Conn., to face the Connecticut Huskies. Game time is noon at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. Notre Dame saw its five-game winning streak snapped at Rutgers on April 24 in a 12-11 overtime loss to the Scarlet Knights. The loss gave Notre Dame a 10-5 overall record and a 5-2 mark in BIG EAST play. Any combination of a Notre Dame win or a Rutgers loss this week will clinch a spot in the conference tournament that starts on May 6 at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights play host to Louisville (Friday) and Cincinnati (Sunday) this week. Notre Dame is ranked 14th in both the IWLCA coaches’ poll and the Inside Lacrosse media poll. Connecticut is 9-7 on the year and 2-5 in BIG EAST play to start the week. Saturday’s game against Notre Dame is the lone game this week for the Huskies. UConn is coming of a 12-11 overtime win at Cincinnati last Sunday. The Huskies other BIG EAST win came at home against Villanova on April 16.

IRISH AND THE HUSKIES: Notre Dame and Connecticut will meet for the 12th time in the all-time series on May 1st with the Irish holding a 9-2 advantage. At Storrs, Conn., the Irish are 5-1 in six games played. Notre Dame has won the last four contests between the two schools with the last loss coming on April 1, 2005 at Moose Krause Stadium, a 13-10 defeat. Last year, the Irish closed the 2009 home schedule with a 20-5 win over the Huskies. Nine different players got on the scoresheet for the Irish with Jillian Byers `09, setting an Irish record with 12 points (7g, 5a) in the game. The last time that Connecticut defeated Notre Dame at Storrs was April 8, 2000, a 17-7 Huskies’ victory.

A LOOK AT CONNECTICUT: The Huskies are 9-7 this season with a 2-5 mark in head coach Angela McMahon’s second season at the helm. They got off to a fast start this season winning six of their first seven games before going 3-6 over the last nine. Connecticut is averaging 11.25 goals per game while giving up 11.05 for the year. Senior attack Ashley Mitchelides leads the team in scoring with 31 goals and 15 assists for 46 points. She is followed by sophomore attack M.E. Lapham who leads the team with 36 goals and has five assists for 41 points. Sophomore attack Kiersten Tupper is third overall with 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points. Connecticut has six players with 12 or more goals and 20 or more points going into Saturday’s game. In goal, senior Jenna Moulton has started all 16 games and has an 11.10 goals-against average and a .390 save percentage with a 9-7 record.

COACHING MILESTONE: Notre Dame head coach Tracy Coyne recorded her 250th victory in the 12-11 win at Ohio State on April 22. In 23 seasons, Coyne now has a career mark of 250-113 with a .689 winning percentage. She is now the ninth coach in college lacrosse history to have 250 or more wins in her career. The 250 wins ranks her seventh among active coaches and the .689 winning percentage is 16th among active coaches with a minimum of 10 years coaching at a four-year school.

NAIL BITERS: One thing that can be said about the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team is that they keep fans on the edge of their seats. Last week’s action saw the Irish play one overtime game and have two one-goal decisions. In the 12-11 win at Ohio State, Maggie Tamasitis scored with 24 seconds left for the game winner. In the 12-11 overtime loss at Rutgers, Notre Dame trailed 7-1 at halftime and rallied to tie the game at 11-11 with three goals over the final six minutes only to lose in the extra session. In 10 of 15 games this season, the Irish have gone to overtime in three of them while all 10 have been decided by one or two goals. Notre Dame is 2-1 in overtime, 5-2 in games decided by one goal and 7-3 in games decided by two goals or less.

HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne: Tracy Coyne is in her 14th season at Notre Dame and her 23rd year in collegiate lacrosse. Coyne brings a 250-113 (.689) career record into this week’s game. She recorded her 250th career win on April 22, 2010 in a 12-11 victory over Ohio State, making her just the ninth coach in NCAA history to have 250 or more wins in her career. As the only head coach in the Notre Dame program’s history, Coyne is 136-87 (.609) and has guided the Irish to five NCAA tournaments (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009) where her teams have advanced to the Final Four once (2006) and the quarterfinals twice (2002, 2009). The Irish have been in all three BIG EAST Tournaments to date, beginning in 2007 and they recorded their first BIG EAST title last season with wins over Syracuse (16-10) and Georgetown (12-10). A 1983 Ohio University graduate, Coyne was 23-5 in two seasons at Denison (1988-89), 91-21 in seven years at Roanoke (1990-96) and 136-87 in this, her 14th season at Notre Dame. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native led Denison (1988) and Roanoke (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996) to the NCAA Division III tournament during stops at those schools. Coyne also has coached on the international level as the head coach for the Canadian women’s lacrosse national team from 1999-2005. In June of 2005, she led Team Canada to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 World Cup, her second, fourth-place finish (2001) as Canada’s field boss. Coyne is 9-2 in her coaching career versus Connecticut.

NOTRE DAME HONORS: Irish senior midfielder Maggie Zentgraf was honored by the University of Notre Dame with a Christopher Zorich Award on April 28 at the annual O.S.C.A.R.S. (Outstanding Student-Athletes Celebrating Achievements & Recognition Showcase). The Zorich Award was created to recognize contributions of Notre Dame student-athletes to the University and community at-large. The award holds the name of the two-time Fighting Irish All-American and 1991 graduate who went on to play in the National Football League for both the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins before receiving his law degree from Notre Dame in 2002. Zentgraf is a senior captain with the Fighting Irish women’s lacrosse team who has been a tremendous role model for her teammates and fellow student-athletes during her four seasons at Notre Dame, becoming the second women’s lacrosse player to earn the Zorich Award. A two-time monogram winner, she is one of the University’s top student-athletes in the area of community service. Now in her third year as a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council, she serves as that group’s liaison to the Notre Dame Monogram Board. A member of two NCAA Tournament teams (2008, 2009) and the 2009 BIG EAST Championship team, Zentgraf played 46 career games as a midfielder and attack player before her season came to an end on April 17, 2010, due to a knee injury. Known for her ability to motivate teammates and others to action, Zentgraf puts in countless hours of community service work in the South Bend community and her hometown of Charlottesville, Va. She has volunteered and interned at the Center for the Homeless in South Bend. Following Hurricane Katrina, she and her family spent 10 days in Biloxi, Miss., helping in the recovery efforts. A BIG EAST All-Academic Team choice in 2009, she works at a summer lacrosse camp for underprivileged kids in her hometown and through her church she has participated in trips to southwest Virginia to work on Habitat for Humanity projects.

RUTGERS RECAP: The Irish played their second one-goal game of the week, losing this one at Rutgers, 12-11, in overtime. Notre Dame scored just once in the first half, trailing 7-1 at halftime before out scoring the Scarlet Knights, 10-4, in the second half for an 11-11 tie. Rutgers got the only goal of overtime when Brooke Cantwell scored her third of the game with 2:02 left for the victory. Shaylyn Blaney paced the Irish attack with four goals, including two in the last 3:27 to tie the game. Gina Scioscia added three goals and an assist while Megan Sullivan, Kailene Abt, Ansley Stewart and Betsy Mastropieri had single goals. Freshman goaltender Ellie Hilling had 10 saves in the contest as Notre Dame out shot Rutgers, 39-25, for the afternoon. The loss dropped the Irish to 2-1 in overtime games and 5-2 in one-goal games for the year.

OHIO STATE RECAP: Freshman Maggie Tamasitis scored her only goal of the game with 24 seconds left to lead Notre Dame to a 12-11 win at 18th-ranked Ohio State on April 22. Tamasitis’ goal came after the Buckeyes had scored twice in the final 5:35 of the game to tie the score at 11-11. Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney scored five goals to lead the Irish offensive attack. Gina Scioscia checked in with three goals and an assist while Kailene Abt scored twice and Ansley Stewart joined Tamasitis with a single goal. Notre Dame had a 32-21 advantage in shots on goal in the contest. Ellie Hilling made seven saves for the Irish. The win extended the Irish winning streak to five straight games and was the final non-league game on the schedule.

200 CLUB: In two games last week, senior attack standout Gina Scioscia’s had six goals and two assists, giving her 107 goals and 99 assists for 206 career points at Notre Dame. Versus Ohio State, she became the fourth player in school history to reach 200 points for her career, joining Jillian Byers `09, Crysti Foote `06 and Caitlin McKinney `08. Scioscia now needs just one assist to become the first player in the program’s history to have 100 career assists and the only player with 100 goals and 100 assists for her career.

MAGIC 100: With her first-half goal at Rutgers, junior midfielder Kailene Abt became the 11th player in the history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program to reach 100 points for her career. Abt’s goal was the 79th of her career and moved her into 10th place on Notre Dame’s all-time goal-scoring list. She also has 21 assists in her three years with the Irish. Abt is the second Notre Dame player to go over 100 points this season as she joins fellow junior Shaylyn Blaney who recorded her 100th point in the season opener at Hofstra.

VERSUS THE BEST: Notre Dame’s 12-11 win over 18th-ranked Ohio State improved the Irish to 5-4 against teams ranked nationally. So far this season, the Irish have wins over No. 11 Boston University, No. 19 Louisville, No. 13 Loyola and No. 7 Syracuse. During the 2009 season, the Irish were 8-5 against ranked teams.

10 OR MORE: Notre Dame’s win at Ohio State improved the Irish to 10-4 for the season. The 10 wins makes this year’s senior class of Rachel Guerrera, Gina Scioscia and Maggie Zentgraf the second class in the program’s history to have four 10-win seasons for their careers as they join the 2009 class. With one regular-season game left, the 2010 senior class is 49-23 for a .681 winning percentage.

STREAKY IRISH: Five different Notre Dame players bring scoring streaks into Saturday’s regular-season finale at Connecticut. The list includes:

Gina Scioscia - 34 games (79g, 57a, 136 pts)Maggie Tamasitis - 15 games (14g, 22a, 36 pts)Kailene Abt - 7 games (12g, 5a, 17 pts)Ansley Stewart - 7 games (8g, 2a, 10 pts)Shaylyn Blaney - 6 games (18g, 0a, 18 pts)

THE IRISH ALL-TIME: In this the 14th season of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program, Notre Dame brings a 136-87 all-time record (.609) into this week’s game at Connecticut. That record includes a 55-49 road mark (.529). At home, the Irish are 67-31 (.684) with a 14-7 all-time ledger on neutral fields.

MAKING THE STOPS: Freshman goaltender Ellie Hilling enters the game at Connecticut with a 10-5 record and a 9.12 goals-against average with a .424 save percentage in her rookie season. The 5-2 netminder’s goals-against average is currently the third-best single-season mark in the program’s history:

Goals-Against Leaders1.  Jen White (2002)            7.492.  Carol Dixon (2004)          8.573.  Ellie Hilling (2010)        9.124.  Jen White (2001)            9.255.  Jen White (2003)            9.866.  Carol Dixon (2006)          9.987.  Erin Goodman (2007)        10.328.  Erin Goodman (2008)        10.749.  Carol Dixon (2005)         11.0410. Erin Goodman (2009)        11.11

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE: Over a three-game span from April 9 to April 17, the Notre Dame defense gave up just 10 goals (0 to Villanova, 5 to Syracuse and 5 to Cincinnati) for a 3.33 goals-against average. As a team, the Irish are 21st in the nation, giving up 9.40 goals per game.

GETTING IT DONE: Junior defender Jackie Doherty is in the midst of a strong season for the Irish. She currently leads the team in ground balls (46) and caused turnovers (36) and is second in draw controls with 27. Second to her in both categories is junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney who has 34 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers while leading the team with 30 draw controls. The dynamic duo have their names in or are about to enter the top 10 in all three categories.

Groundballs1.   Kathryn Lam (1999-02)          1932.   Tina Fedarcyk (1999-02 )       1773.   Shannon Burke (2006-09 )       1394.   Erin Goodman (2006-09)         1285.   Maureen Henwood (1999-02)      1266.   Andrea Kinnik (2001-04)        123     Meredith Simon (2001-04)       1238.   Danielle Shearer (2000-03)     1209.   Carol Dixon (2003-06)          11710.  Natalie Loftus  (1999-02)      116 --  Jackie Doherty (2007-)         114 --  Shaylyn Blaney (2007-)          91
Draw Controls1. Jillian Byers (2006-09) 1542. Alissa Moser (1999-02) 1263. Shannon Burke (2006-09) 1244. Shaylyn Blaney (2007- ) 1195. Kaki Orr (2004-07) 1106. Crysti Foote (2003-06) 1037. Tina Fedarcyk (1999-02) 968. Meredith Simon (2001-04) 919. Kathryn Lam (1999-02) 9010. Danielle Shearer (2000-03) 76 -- Jackie Doherty (2007-) 71 -- Kailene Abt (2007-) 66
Caused Turnovers1. Tina Fedarcyk (1999-02) 1072. Shannon Burke (2006-09) 1063. Becky Ranck (2005-08) 83 Kathryn Lam (1999-02) 835. Maureen Henwood (1999-02) 756. Shaylyn Blaney (2007-) 727. Jackie Doherty (2007-) 678. Kelly McCardell (2000-03) 669. Andrea Kinnik (2001-04) 6310. Caitlin McKinney (2005-08) 60

RECORD SETTER: Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney is known for her goal-scoring ability as she already has well over 100 goals for her career. In the 15-5 win over Cincinnati on April 17, she put on a clinic at both ends of the field. Blaney scored three goals in the game while grabbing six ground balls, winning four draw controls and causing a Notre Dame school-record with seven caused turnovers versus the Bearcats.

ONE-TWO PUNCH: A warning to opposing offenses. You may want to stay away from Notre Dame juniors Jackie Doherty and Shaylyn Blaney. The Irish duo are among the BIG EAST league leaders in ground balls and caused turnovers. Doherty, Notre Dame’s defensive whiz, leads the Irish in ground balls (46, 3.07 per game) and caused turnovers (36, 2.40 per game) to lead the BIG EAST in both categories. Blaney checks in with 34 ground balls (2.13 per game) and 34 caused turnovers (2.13). She is second in caused turnovers. Nationally, Doherty is 13th in ground balls and third in caused turnovers while Blaney is eighth in caused turnovers.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: With three goals in the 15-5 win over Cincinnati, senior Gina Scioscia became the eighth player in Notre Dame history to reach 100 goals for her career as she joined midfielder Shaylyn Blaney who reached the “Century Mark” on March 20 at Boston University. Scioscia now has 107 career goals, 99 assists and 206 career points while Blaney has moved to sixth with 122 goals in her career. Blaney is now ninth with 136 career points for the Irish. The Stony Brook, N.Y., native has now scored 20 or more goals in each of her three seasons at Notre Dame.

CAREER LISTS: Senior Gina Scioscia has carried the hot hand for Notre Dame over the last seven games and the Irish are 5-2 in them. She turned in back-to-back five-point games (2g, 3a) versus Georgetown and Loyola. On April 9, she had a goal and two assists in the 16-0 win over Villanova and followed that with two goals and an assist versus Syracuse. She followed that with a seven-point game against Cincinnati and back-to-back four-point games (3g, 1a) at Ohio State and Rutgers to give her 16 goals and 15 assists over the last seven games. For her career, Scioscia now has 107 career goals with 99 assists for 206 career points. Her 99 assists rank her fifth among active NCAA players and her 206 points tie her for 15th among active players. For the Irish all-time, Scioscia is eighth in goals, first in assists and fourth in points.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Three Notre Dame players were honored by the BIG EAST and WomensLax.com for their play in the three Irish wins the week of April 5-11. Notre Dame swept the BIG EAST awards with Shaylyn Blaney getting the offensive player of the week and Jackie Doherty the defensive player. Blaney had six goals on the week, getting three in the second-half comeback at Loyola and the game winner versus Syracuse. She added seven ground balls, five draw controls and eight caused turnovers. Doherty anchored the Notre Dame defense that gave up five goals per game. She had 11 ground balls, six draw controls and seven caused turnovers. Ellie Hilling was named WomensLax.com’s rookie of the week as she won all three games and turned in 98:33 minutes of shutout play, including a 16-0 blanking of Villanova. Hilling had a 5.00 goals against average and a .545 save percentage for the three games.

SLAMMING THE DOOR: On April 5 in the 11-10 win at Loyola, the Irish gave up the Greyhounds’ final goal of the game with 4:38 left on the clock. Notre Dame would then shutout Villanova for the full 60 minutes and then added 30 minutes in the first half versus Syracuse. When Michelle Tumolo scored just 3:55 into the second half for the Orange, it ended Ellie Hilling and the Notre Dame defense’s shutout string at 98:33, the longest scoreless streak by the Irish in the program’s 14-year history.

SHUTOUT NOTES: Notre Dame’s 16-0 shutout of Villanova was the first in the program’s 14-year history. The shutout was the second this season at the Division I level as Penn blanked St. Joseph’s, 14-0, on March 17, 2010. Prior to getting the shutout versus Villanova, Notre Dame owned the BIG EAST record for fewest goals in a game as the Irish did it twice, giving up two goals in a 9-2 win over Rutgers on April 28, 2002 and then reduced the mark to one goal in an 11-1 defeat of Loyola on March 25, 2007.

BENCH STRENGTH: Of the 16 goals scored by Notre Dame in the win over Villanova, nine of them were scored by Irish players who came off the bench. Ansley Stewart led the way with three goals. Jordy Shoemaker scored twice and Flannery Nangle, Kelly Driscoll, Jaimie Morrison and Betsy Mastropieri each had one goal. Amy Bernier and Jenny Granger each had assists in the game.

TEN-GOAL OUTBURST: Notre Dame’s 10 goals in the second half at Rutgers marked the fourth time this season that the Irish scored 10 or more goals in a half. The first time came Feb. 27 when the Irish scored 11 versus Duquesne in a 15-10 Notre Dame win. The second time was on April 9 when they got 10 versus Villanova in the 16-0 win over the Wildcats with the third time coming on April 17 with 11 in the first half of a 15-5 win over Cincinnati.

THE PLAYMAKER: Sophomore attack standout Maggie Tamasitis is fourth in scoring for Notre Dame with 14 goals and a team-high 22 assists for 36 points. As a freshman, the playmaker had 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points. In just 36 career games, Tamasitis already has 42 career assists to rank ninth on Notre Dame’s all-time assist list. Her 22 assists and 36 points are career highs for Tamasitis in both categories.

BLANEY DOES IT ALL: Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney enters the Ohio State game ranked first in goals (35) and second in points (36). But Blaney’s game isn’t all about offense. The talented midfielder gets in done at both ends of the field. She currently leads the Irish with 30 draw controls, is second with 34 ground balls and is second in caused turnovers with 34.

KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Sophomore Megan Sullivan has become a key contributor to the Irish offense this season. She already has career highs in goals (12), assists (5) and points (17). In the 11-9 win over Louisville on March 27, Sullivan had a career-high four goals versus the Cardinals.

ROAD WARRIORS: Through the first 15 games of the 2010 season, Notre Dame is 5-3 on the road. A year ago, the Irish were 6-3 away from home to equal the program’s all-time best road mark set in 2008. Over the last two-plus seasons, Notre Dame is 17-9 (.654) away from home.