May 5, 2005
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* Broadcast Information:
* Date/Site/Times: Sat., May 7, 2005 – 12:05 p.m. (EST) – Moose Krause Stadium – Notre Dame, Indiana
* Television: Saturday’s game will be televised live by College Sports Television (CSTV) with Joe Beninati and Sheehan Stanwick handling the play-by-play and color commentary. CSTV is available on DirecTV Channel 610 and on various cable outlets throughout the country.
IRISH WRAP UP 2005 SCHEDULE:
Notre Dame closes out the 2005 season with a visit from long-time rival Ohio State. The Buckeyes visit Moose Krause Stadium on Saturday, May 7 for a 12:05 p.m. (EST) game. The Irish come into the game with a 3-11 overall record and have lost their last five games. Last weekend, Notre Dame traveled to Syracuse to close out the BIG EAST schedule and fell to the Orange, 14-9. The Irish finished the year 1-4 in the BIG EAST to tie for fourth place. Ohio State will play at Northwestern on Thursday, May 5 in a 4:00 p.m. game versus the top-ranked Wildcats before facing Notre Dame on Saturday. The Buckeyes are 5-9 overall and 3-2 in the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC). Ohio State dropped a 13-7 decision to No. 20 Stanford their last home game on April 30.
IRISH VERSUS OHIO STATE:
The two teams have met nine times in the all-time series with Ohio State holding a 5-4 edge in those contests. In all, five games have been played at Notre Dame with OSU holding a 3-2 edge. At Ohio State, the series is even at 2-2. The last time the two teams met at Notre Dame – March 25, 2003 – Ohio State won by a 12-9 margin at Moose Krause Stadium. Last season, the Irish took a 14-6 decision in Columbus, Ohio. In that game, Notre Dame scored 10 straight goals on the way to a 10-1 halftime lead. Meredith Simon paced the Irish attack with three goals and three assists. Crysti Foote (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.) and Lauren Fischer each chipped in three goals and an assist. Abby Owen and Kassen Delano each scored twice and Jackie Bowers (Sr., Springfield, Pa.) had a solo goal in the win. Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) made a then career-high 14 saves in the win. Ashley Evans led Ohio State with three goals while Regina Oliver, Caroline Weatherill and Kelyn Laws had one goal each. Kim Hastings and Taryn Bowen split the goalkeeping and combined for nine saves in the game.
HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne:
Notre Dame head coach Tracy Coyne is in her ninth season as the head coach of the Irish and is the only coach in the program’s Division I history. Coyne owns a 72-59 (.550) record at Notre Dame and is 186-85 (.686) in her 18-year coaching career. In 2004, she led the Irish to a 12-5 record and a 4-2 mark in the BIG EAST, good for second in the league standings. Coyne also was selected as the 2004 BIG EAST coach of the year. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second time in the last three years where the Irish lost to Northwestern, 10-8, in a first-round tournament game. 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. A 1983 graduate of Ohio University, Coyne has coached on the international level as the head coach for the Canadian women’s lacrosse national team. She led the team to the medal round at the 2001 World Cup and will serve as head coach of Team Canada again for the 2005 World Cup. Coyne is 4-5 all-time versus Ohio State.
SYRACUSE RECAP:
Notre Dame closed the BIG EAST schedule on Saturday, April 30 with a 14-9 loss at Syracuse. The Irish struggled to get their offense going in the first half, falling behind 9-4 on the way to the five-goal loss. Crysti Foote led the Notre Dame attack with four goals and one assist. Caitlin McKinney (Fr., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) scored three goals while Brittany Fox (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) and Mary Carpenter (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) had single goals for the Irish. Monica Joines staked Syracuse to a 3-0 lead with the first three goals of the game before Foote snapped that Syracuse run to make it 3-1. Courtney Palladino and Foote traded goals to make it 4-2 before the Orange went on a four-goal run to build the lead to 8-2. Foote picked up her third goal of the game to make it 8-3 before Caitlyn Dragon of Syracuse and Carpenter traded goals for the 9-4 halftime score. In the second half, Syracuse scored just 22 seconds in, to make it 10-4 before Foote got her fourth of the game at the 2:11 mark to make it 10-5. The Orange then put the game away by scoring four of the next five goals for a 14-6 lead. McKinney (with two goals) and Fox closed the scoring over the final five minutes for the 14-9 final. Syracuse out shot Notre Dame, 30-25, in the game. Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) had eight saves for the Irish while Jen Kasel had eight for Syracuse.
SENIOR DAY:
The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will honor its graduating class of 2005 in ceremonies prior to Saturday’s game. The seven seniors who will be making their final appearances for the Irish are: attack Jackie Bowers, midfielder Maura Costello (Manhasset, N.Y.), goalkeeper Carol Dixon, defender Bridget Higgins (Wilton, Conn.), midfielder Jess Mikula (Chester, Md.), midfielder Lindsay Shaffer (Seneca Falls, N.Y.) and senior manager Carolyn Gass (Grand Rapids, Mich.).
TV TRIVIA:
When the CSTV cameras invade Moose Krause Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it will mark the first national television appearance for the Irish in the program’s nine-year history. Did you know that CSTV color analyst Sheehan Stanwick faced the Irish twice in her playing days at Georgetown?? On April 5, 2000, Stanwick led the Hoyas to a 14-4 win over the Irish in Washington, D. C. with four goals and an assist. The following year, she appeared at Moose Krause Stadium on April 22, 2001, helping Georgetown to a 17-7 win with two goals and two assists.
CAREER YEAR:
Despite the team struggles in the win column this season, junior Crysti Foote is in the midst of a career year for the Irish. She comes into this week’s game leading Notre Dame in scoring with 31 goals and 15 assists for 46 points. All three totals are career highs for Foote. Her previous best goal-scoring season came in 2003 as a freshman when she had 27 goals. Her fourth goal versus Syracuse moved her into fourth all-time in goals at Notre Dame with 84. She is fifth in assists (35) and fifth in points scored (119). On the year, Foote has seven games with three or more goals and nine games with three or more points. She currently has a nine-game point-scoring streak (23-11-34).
FRESHMAN LEADERS:
Caitlin McKinney ranks second on the Irish in scoring with 25 goals and 11 assists for 36 points. With one game left in the season, she currently owns the fourth-best points total for a Notre Dame freshman. She trails, Lael O’Shaughnessy and Courtney Calabrese who each had 41 points as freshmen in 1998 and Crysti Foote who recorded 38 points as a freshman in 2003.
Freshman Scoring Leaders:
1. Courtney Calabrese (1998), 38- 3-41
Lael O’Shaughnessy (1998), 27-14-41
3. Crysti Foote (2003), 27-11-38
4. Caitlin McKinney (2005), 25-11-36
5. Danielle Shearer (2000), 21-10-31
VERSUS THE BEST:
Notre Dame’s loss to No. 13 Syracuse closed out the Irish record versus top 20 teams at 0-6 this season. The Irish dropped games to Northwestern, James Madison, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and Syracuse. All-time versus ranked teams, Notre Dame is 15-38 after going 6-4 last season. Based on this week’s IWLCA poll, eight of the 20 teams currently ranked have faced Notre Dame this season although they all weren’t ranked when the Irish played them. The list includes: No. 1 Northwestern, No. 2 Duke, No. 6 Georgetown, No. 11 Johns Hopkins, No. 12 Syracuse, No. 16 Connecticut, No. 18 Vanderbilt and No. 19 Stanford.
ROUGH SEASON:
Notre Dame’s 11 losses this season are the most in the program’s history. The Irish were 5-10 in 2000 for the only other losing season. Notre Dame’s 1-4 mark in the BIG EAST is their worst in five seasons of BIG EAST play as is the fourth-place finish. COMPUTER POWER: Based on laxpower.com’s lastest computer rankings, the Irish have the ninth toughest schedule in the country. Ahead of Notre Dame are Duke, Loyola, Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia, Princeton, North Carolina and Vanderbilt. In laxpower.com’s latest computer rankings, the Irish are ranked 22nd of 82 Division I programs.
CLOSE ONES:
So far this season, the Irish have suffered four one-goal losses, three by 10-9 scores. Notre Dame lost two of those games in overtime – at Vanderbilt and Boston College. The third came on April 24 at Johns Hopkins by a 10-9 margin. The fourth one-goal loss was a 6-5 loss to Stanford on April 10th. Three of the teams other losses came by three goals – 11-8 at Cornell, 13-10 to Connecticut and 11-8 to Duke.
In seven of the 11 losses, the Irish have lost by a combined 13 goals (1.86 goals per game). The 14-6 loss to Georgetown was the largest scoring difference (8 goals) this year. The Irish also lost 10-5 to James Madison and 18-11 to Northwestern. The 11 losses have been by a total of 38 goals (3.45 per loss).
GOING OFFENSIVE:
Junior midfielder Lena Zentgraf (Charlottesville, Va.) turned in the best offensive game of her career versus Rutgers on April 3 when she scored a career-high three goals and one assist for four points in the 12-9 win over Rutgers. She added a three-point game (2g, 1a) to her resume in the loss to Johns Hopkins. Zentgraf now has a nine-game point-scoring (10-4-14). Coming into the season, Zentgraf had not scored a point. This year, she ranks fourth in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points.
OUT OF ACTION:
Sophomore midfielder Meghan Murphy (Centennial, Colo.) will be sidelined for the remainder of the season after injuring her right knee on March 6 at Cornell. Murphy had six goals and one assist for seven points in the three games she played this season.
IRISH STREAKS:
Junior Brittany Fox owns Notre Dame’s longest point-scoring streak of the season as she has now scored in 12 straight games with 18 goals and five assists. She passes Caitlin McKinney’s streak of 11 (20-11-31) that was snapped versus Georgetown. Notre Dame’s current point streaks:
Brittany Fox – 12 games (18-5-23)
Crysti Foote – 9 games (23-11-34)
Lena Zentgraf – 9 games (10-5-15)
Meghan Murphy – 3 games (6-1-7)
Mary Carpenter – 2 games (3-0-3)
SECRET WEAPON:
Junior attack Brittany Fox, Notre Dame’s top weapon off the bench for most of the season, broke into the starting lineup versus Georgetown and has now started the last three games. In 10 games off the bench, Fox had 15 goals and four assists for 19 points. In three games as a starter, she has three goals and one assist. For the year, she ranks third in scoring with 18 goals and five assists for 23 points. Included are two three-point games and a pair of games with three goals and one assist.
LOW-SCORING AFFAIR:
When Notre Dame and Stanford combined for 11 goals in their April 10th game, it tied the Irish record for fewest goals combined in a game. On April 28, 2002, the Irish combined with Rutgers to score 11 goals (a 9-2 Notre Dame win).
CAREER BEST:
Notre Dame goalkeeper, Carol Dixon, made a career-high 15 saves in the 10-9 loss to Johns Hopkins on April 24. Her previous best was a 14-save effort on April 10, 2004 in a 14-6 win over Ohio State.
ORR’S SCORES:
After playing in just two games as a freshman, sophomore midfielder Kaki Orr (Darien, Conn.) broke into the starting lineup for the Irish this season and is putting together a strong season. In 14 games this year, Orr now has 11 goals on 28 shots and an assist for 12 points. She also is second on the team and tied for 10th the BIG EAST in ground balls (32). Orr also ranks third on the team in draw controls (18).
SLAMMING THE DOOR:
Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon took over as Notre Dame’s top goalkeeper in 2004 and has now started 31 consecutive games between the pipes for the Irish. Last season she was 12-5 with an 8.57 goals-against average and a .505 save percentage while playing all but 3:28 minutes on the year. This year, Dixon has played all but 9:52 (versus Connecticut and Georgetown) and is 3-11 with a 10.83 goals against and a .455 save percentage. For her career, Dixon is now 15-16 with a 9.55 goals-against average and a .487 save percentage. She is second in games played (35), third in saves (300) and third in wins (15). She recorded a season-high and career-best 15 saves in the 10-9 loss to Johns Hopkins on April 24. Dixon leads the Irish in ground balls this season and is tied for third in the BIG EAST in that department.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUT:
Senior Jess Mikula (Chester, Md.) continues to be one of the top defensive players in the BIG EAST through 14 games this season. She currently leads the Irish with 26 draw controls and 21 caused turnovers and is third in ground balls with 30. Mikula is eighth in the BIG EAST in draw controls and sixth in caused turnovers. She scored her first goal of the season versus California and turned in career highs with six draw controls and six caused turnovers in the game.
YOUNG DEFENSE:
A pair of sophomores have taken over a majority of playing time on defense for the Irish this season. Meaghan Fitzpatrick (So., Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Kristin Hopson (So., Rosemont, Pa.) have each made their presence known on the Notre Dame back line. Fitzpatrick has started 11 of the 13 games she has played and has 24 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and seven draw controls. Hopson has started 10 of the 14 games she’s played in and has 15 ground balls, four caused turnovers and four draw controls. The are usually teamed up with fifth-year senior Bridget Higgins (Wilton, Conn.) as the top three defenders for the Irish.
OVERTIME NUMBERS:
The Irish have now lost two overtime games this season by a 10-9 score. On March 9, they fell at Vanderbilt by a 10-9 verdict and on March 26, Boston College took the win by the same score. In the nine-year history of the program, Notre Dame has now played nine overtime games, going 3-6 in those games. Remarkably, five of those nine overtime contests have ended with 10-9 scores.
TWO FOR CARPENTER:
Freshman Mary Carpenter recorded the second two-goal game of her Notre Dame career in the 10-9 loss to Johns Hopkins on April 24. She also scored two goals in the loss at Vanderbilt on March 9. In limited playing time, Carpenter has six goals and two assists for eight points this season.
SCORING DEFENSE:
Senior captain Lindsay Shaffer (Seneca Falls, N.Y.) paced the Notre Dame offensive attack in the 10-5 loss at James Madison on March 13 when she turned in the first two-goal game of her career. Shaffer, who came into the season with no goals in 19 career games, has already scored five goals and one assist this season on 12 shots.
EAGLE ACTION:
Notre Dame’s 10-9 overtime loss at Boston College marked the first time in seven all-time meetings that the Irish lost to the Eagles. Notre Dame is 6-1 all-time versus BC. The loss also marked the first time in five BIG EAST seasons that the Irish started the conference schedule with an 0-1 record.
HUSKIES SNAP STREAK:
Connecticut’s 13-10 win over the Irish marked the first time the Huskies had ever won in four tries at Notre Dame. The win was just the second for Connecticut in seven meetings with the Irish.
FOOTE LOOSE:
Junior attack standout Crysti Foote has picked up right where she left off last season in the goal-scoring department. Through the first 14 games of the 2005 season, Foote leads the team in scoring with 31 goals and 15 assists for 46 points. She has twice this season been selected the BIG EAST offensive player of the week (Feb. 28 and April 4). As a sophomore, she scored 26 goals and added nine assists for 35 points in 17 games. She was a second team all-BIG EAST selection and was a second team IWLCA Mid-Atlantic Region selection. As a freshman, she had 27 goals and 11 assists for 38 points. Following her rookie season, Foote became the first Notre Dame women’s lacrosse freshman to be named to the IWLCA first team all-Mid-Atlantic region team. She was selected as a preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse Magazine and was selected as a preseason all-BIG EAST selection in voting by the coaches. Foote will also play this summer for Team Canada in the 2005 World Cup at Annapolis, Md.
TOO MANY GOALS:
The 18 goals scored by Northwestern on March 3 were the most given up by the Irish in a game since an 18-9 loss at Vanderbilt on Apr. 13, 1999. The 18 goals are the most given up by Notre Dame at home since a 20-9 loss to Syracuse on April 11, 1998, the second year of the program.
THE CAPTAINS:
Serving as captains for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team in 2005 will be seniors Carol Dixon (Pennsauken, N.J.), Jess Mikula (Chester, Md.) and Lindsay Shaffer (Seneca Falls, N.Y.). Each player begins their first year as captains for the Irish.
ON THE RIGHT FOOTE:
Crysti Foote got her season off to a fast start with a career-high eight-point game (5g, 3a) game at Ohio University. The five goals was also a career high for the junior attack standout. She has since added a pair of six-point games versus California on March 22 and Connecticut on April 1. She had four goals and two assists in each game.
BIG EAST HONORS:
Junior Crysti Foote has been selected BIG EAST offensive player of the week twice this season. On April 4, she was the co-offensive player in the conference after scoring seven goals in games versus Connecticut and Rutgers. In the opening week of the season she turned in a career-high eight-point game (5g, 3a) in a 16-10 win over Ohio University. She also received honorable mention for Inside Lacrosse national player of the week honors. Senior Jess Mikula led Notre Dame’s defense in the win over Ohio. She grabbed three ground balls and had then career highs in caused turnovers (4) and draw controls (5) in the victory. For her play, Mikula was named the BIG EAST defensive player of the week.
CAREER BESTS:
Sophomore midfielder Meghan Murphy (Centennial, Colo.) had a career-high four goals and four points versus Ohio University. Her previous best was a three-goal game in her freshman year versus Cornell. Junior midfielder Lena Zentgraf (Charlottesville, Va.) had a career-high two assist game in the Ohio victory and had a career-best three-goals and four points versus Rutgers (4/3). Lindsay Shaffer had a career-high two-goals in the 10-5 loss at James Madison on March 13. Freshman Heather Ferguson recorded a career-best three-point game (2g, 1a) in the 18-8 win over California. Fellow freshman Mary Carpenter (Rochester, N.Y.) had two goals at Vanderbilt and then had a two-assist game versus California on March 22. Brittany Fox has had a pair of four-point games (3g, 1a) at Vanderbilt (3/9) and versus California (3/22).
WELCOME BACK:
Tracy Coyne welcomes back two of her former players as members of her coaching staff for the 2005 season. Returning as an assistant coach is 2002 graduate Alissa Moser who replaced former assistant Jen Newitt last August. Moser was a two-time captain and four-time monogram winner during her playing days. A native of North Wales, Pa., Moser finished her career tied for sixth in points (85), is seventh in goals (67) and is first in draw controls (126). She will work with the Notre Dame offense in 2005. Also joining Coyne’s staff as a volunteer assistant is 2004 graduate Kristen Gaudreau. A two-time monogram winner, Gaudreau was a starter on defense in each of the last two seasons and helped lead the Irish to the second-best goals-against average (8.54) in the program’s history last season. She returned to Notre Dame to work on her Master’s Degree in accountancy.
FOR OPENERS:
Notre Dame is now 7-2 all-time in season openers after defeating Ohio University. The Irish are 7-2 in road openers and 5-4 in home openers after the loss to Northwestern in the first nine seasons of the women’s lacrosse program.
BEATING THE ALMA MATER:
Notre Dame improved its record to 6-0 all-time versus Ohio University with the 16-10 win on Feb. 27. The Irish have now won three times at home versus the Bobcats and three times in Athens, Ohio. Ohio University just happens to be Irish head coach Tracy Coyne’s alma mater. She is a 1983 graduate.
PRESEASON HONORS:
Two Notre Dame players were selected by BIG EAST coaches as preseason all-BIG EAST team members. Making the list are senior Jess Mikula (Chester, Md.) and junior Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.). Both players were second team all-BIG EAST selections in 2004. Mikula recorded 33 ground balls and had 22 caused turnovers from here defensive position last season. Foote is Notre Dame’s top returning scorer after getting 26 goals with nine assists for 35 points last season. She was also named a preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse Magazine. COACH OF THE YEAR: Head Coach Tracy Coyne was named the BIG EAST coach of the year following the 2004 season. For Coyne, this was her first BIG EAST coach of the year honor. She is no stranger to coach of the year honors as in 1990 she was selected as the NCAA Division III coach of the year at Roanoke and was the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) coach of the year in 1990 and 1995. Prior to her stint at Roanoke (1990-96), Coyne spent two years at Denison College (1988-89) where she was the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) coach of the year in 1988.
FAMILY TIES:
Five members of the Notre Dame lacrosse team have family ties to the program and one other has ties to the men’s lacrosse program. Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon (Pennsauken, N.J.) played two seasons (2002 and 2003) with her sister, Angela, who graduated in May of 2003. Notre Dame’s third and fourth sister acts arrived on campus in the fall when twins Heather and Lindsey Ferguson (Newtown Square, Pa.) joined the Irish along with fellow freshman Julie Foote (Suffern, N.Y.) who is the sister of junior attack standout Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.). The Dixon’s, Ferguson’s and Foote’s give Notre Dame four sets of sisters to play on the women’s lacrosse team, joining Amy and Mara Grace who played in the first year of the program. Sophomore midfield/attack player, Megan O’Shaughnessy (Englewood, Colo.) is the cousin of Irish scoring great Lael O’Shaughnessy, a 2001 graduate. Sophomore defender Lena Zentgraf (Charlottesville, Va.) is the niece of men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan and associate athletic director Boo Corrigan, as well as, the granddaughter of former Notre Dame athletic director Gene Corrigan.
FIRST TIMERS: With the dawning of a new season, several Notre Dame players made their first career starts in the opener versus Ohio University. Freshman Caitlin McKinney made her first start at midfield. Joining her in the midfield in their first starts were Lena Zentgraf (Jr., Charlottesville, Va.) and Kaki Orr (So., Darien, Conn.). Making her first career start on defense was sophomore Kristin Hopson (Rosemont, Pa.). Since the opener, Heather Ferguson has started seven games and Brittany Fox has made two starts, the first coming versus Cornell. Mary McGrath was in the starting lineup for the first time when the Irish defeated California on March 22.
NCAA APPEARANCES:
Notre Dame has now made two appearances in the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament. In 2004, the Irish lost in the first round at Northwestern by a 10-8 score. In 2002, the Irish advanced for the first time, defeating Ohio State at Moose Krause Stadium, 11-7, before losing to top-ranked Princeton, 11-5, in the quarterfinals.
ALL-AMERICANS:
Notre Dame had three players receive All-American honors in 2004, the most ever in the program’s eight-year history. Leading the way was senior Meredith Simon who became the school’s first-ever first team IWLCA All-American. She also was a second team Inside Lacrosse and womenslacrosse.com All-American. Defensive standout Andrea Kinnik took IWLCA second team honors and was a third team selection by both Inside Lacrosse magazine and womenslacrosse.com. Midfielder Abby Owen also took All-American honors as a third team selection by both IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse magazine.
STREAKY IRISH:
Notre Dame opened the 2004 season with 10 consecutive wins, the most ever for the Irish at the start of a season. Combined with wins in the final four games of 2003, Notre Dame put together a school-record 14-game winning streak. The streak went from 4/22/03 to 4/17/04. Prior to that, the longest winning streak the Irish ever had was a six-game streak from 3/13/01 to 3/31/01.