April 22, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– The Game: Notre Dame (6-8/3-2) vs. #16/#17 Georgetown (8-5/6-0)
– Date/Time/Site: Sat., April 23, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. – Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
– Television: The Notre Dame-Georgetown game will be televised by CBS College Sports on Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. Jason Knapp and Sheehan Stanwick Burch will provide the play-by-play and color commentary.
– Internet: The Notre Dame-Georgetown game will have Gametracker available on the Notre Dame website at und.com.
REGULAR SEASON HOME FINALE: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team closes out the home schedule this Saturday afternoon, April 23 when the Irish play host to the 16th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas in a BIG EAST contest. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. at Arlotta Stadium. The Georgetown game will be televised live by CBS College Sports with Jason Knapp and Sheehan Stanwick Burch calling the action. Notre Dame enters its final home game of the season with a 6-8 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the BIG EAST. The Irish are currently tied for fourth in the conference standings with Louisville with three league games remaining. They are coming off a non-conference game on Wednesday afternoon at Nashville, Tenn., where Notre Dame fell to Vanderbilt, 12-10 in overtime. The Hoyas visit Arlotta Stadium sitting alone at the top of the BIG EAST standings with a 6-0 conference record after knocking off previously unbeaten Loyola on Tuesday evening, 15-13, in Baltimore, Md. Georgetown is 8-5 overall and entered the week ranked 16th in the IWLCA coaches’ poll and 17th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll. The Hoyas have clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament and have the inside track on the top spot in the standings with just two conference games remaining on the schedule. Following this week’s games, the Irish close out the regular season on the road at Louisville (April 29) and at Cincinnati (May 1).
NOTRE DAME AND GEORGETOWN: The Irish and Hoyas also have met 15 times in the all-time series with Georgetown having an 11-4 edge in the games played to date. At South Bend, the Hoyas are 5-2 all-time. After losing the first seven meetings in the series, the Irish are 4-4 in their last eight games with Georgetown. Two of the four wins have come in the postseason with Notre Dame winning an NCAA quarterfinal game in 2006 in South Bend and then the BIG EAST Tournament in 2009 at Georgetown. Last year, the Hoyas won the lone meeting, 12-10, in Washington, D.C., on April 3. In that game, Kailene Abt (4g, 1a) and Gina Scioscia (2g, 3a) paced the Notre Dame attack with five-point games. Megan Sullivan and Betsy Mastropieri had two goals each to round out the Irish goal scorers. Ellie Hilling made 10 saves in goal for the Irish.
SENIOR DAY: Notre Dame will honor its seven-member senior class on Saturday prior to the game with Georgetown. Seniors Kaileen Abt (Huntington, N.Y.), Shaylyn Blaney (Stony Brook, N.Y.), Jackie Doherty (Ellicott City, Md.), Lauren Fenlon (Dayton, Md.), Kaitlin Keena (Vienna, Va.), Meredith Locasto (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Ansley Stewart (Alexandria, Va.) and their parents will be recognized on the field prior to the game. The seven-member class enters the Georgetown game with a four-year record of 45-27 (.625) and has played in three BIG EAST Tournaments, won a BIG EAST Championship (2009) and has been to three NCAA Tournaments.
LAX FOR THE CURE: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will be sponsoring its LAX FOR THE CURE event at Saturday’s game with Georgetown. Fans will receive pink pom pons when entering the game while supplies last. Lax for the Cure t-shirts and Pink Crocs will be on sale for $10.00. Fans are encouraged to join the Coach Coyne Challenge. Irish head coach Tracy Coyne will donate $5 for every Irish Goal scored versus the Hoyas. To match Coach Coyne’s pledge or make your own, call 574-631-3264 or email ehess2@nd.edu. The Irish women’s lacrosse team will also auction off pink warmup jerseys that will be worn by each team member. The auction is now live on und.com and will run through noon on April 26. Visit und.com for more information on the auction. All proceeds form LAX FOR THE CURE will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation of Northern Indiana.
THE IRISH ALL-TIME: Notre Dame’s loss at Vanderbilt on April 20 drops the Irish all-time record to 143-97 in the 15th year of the women’s lacrosse program. Notre Dame now has an all-time winning percentage of .596. The record includes a 70-34 (.673) mark at home, a 59-54 (.522) record on the road and a 14-9 (.609) ledger on neutral fields.
HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne: Tracy Coyne is in her 15th season at Notre Dame and her 24th year in collegiate lacrosse. Coyne brings a 257-123 (.676) career record into this week’s games. She recorded her 250th career win on April 22, 2010 in a 12-11 victory at 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 143-97 (.596) and has guided the Irish to six NCAA tournaments (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010) where her teams have advanced to the Final Four once (2006) and the quarterfinals twice (2002, 2009). The Irish have participated in all four BIG EAST Tournaments to date, beginning in 2007 and they recorded their first BIG EAST title in 2009 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 143-97 in this, her 15th 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. As a head coach, Coyne is 4-11 all-time against Georgetown.
A LOOK BACK AT VANDERBILT: April 20 – at Vanderbilt – Freshman Kaitlyn Brosco (Shoreham, N.Y.) had a career-high, four-goal and five-point game but it wasn’t enough as Notre Dame dropped a 12-10 overtime decision at Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Sophomore Jaimie Morrison (Yorktown Hts., N.Y.) and senior Shaylyn Blaney scored twice in the game with Betsy Mastropieri (So., Richmond, Va.) and junior Maggie Tamasitis (Boyertown, Pa.) getting one each. Vanderbilt got two goals each from Courtney Kirk, Hannah Clark and Emily Franke to pace the Commodores. The Irish trailed by four goals twice in the first half but rallied on four consecutive markers by Brosco late in the opening stanza to take a 7-6 lead. Vanderbilt led 9-7 at halftime before Notre Dame tied the game in the second half on goals by Blaney and Tamasitis to make it 9-9. The Commodores took a 10-9 lead only to see Blaney tie the game with 10:02 left in the half. That would be the last scoring until overtime. Katherine Denkler scored 1:27 into the first OT and Paige Cahill got the final goal with 33 seconds left to give Vandy the 12-10 victory. The Commodores out shot Notre Dame, 27-24, in the game. Ellie Hilling (So., Rochester, N.Y.) finished with 11 saves in the game while Chelsea Pasfield had nine for Vanderbilt.
BALL HAWKS: Senior defender Jackie Doherty became Notre Dame’s all-time leader in caused turnovers versus Vanderbilt after being credited with four swipes versus the Commodores on April 20. Doherty now leads the Irish with 38 this season and has 109 for her career, passing Tina Fedarcyk’s `02 career mark of 107. Doherty leads the BIG EAST with 38 and is third in the NCAA with 2.71 per game. Teammate Shaylyn Blaney is right behind her with 30 on the year and ranks second in the BIG EAST and sixth in the nation with 2.15 per game. The duo has combined for 68 of Notre Dame’s 142 caused turnovers this season (47.9%). All-time, they are now first and fourth on Notre Dame’s list with 109 and 105 respectively.
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Senior defender Jackie Doherty continues to be a dominate force on the Irish defense this season. She enters Saturday’s game with Vanderbilt leading the team in ground balls (42), is second in draw controls (27) and first in caused turnovers with 38. She has had three games this season with six caused turnovers, tying the single-game Irish record held by Shannon Burke “09.
THE BIG EAST RACE: With two weeks left in the 2011 BIG EAST race here’s where the team’s stand.
Georgetown 6-0 (@ND, @RU)Loyola 4-1 (@RU, SYR, UCONN)Syracuse 3-1 (LOU, CIN, @LOY, @VU)Notre Dame 3-2 (GT, @LOU, @CIN)Louisville 3-2 (@SYR, @UCONN, ND)Rutgers 2-3 (LOY, VU, GT)Villanova 1-4 (@RU, UCONN, SYR)Connecticut 0-4 (CIN, LOU, @VU, @LOY)Cincinnati 0-5 (@UCONN, @SYR, ND)
GETTING IT DONE: Freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Brosco and sophomore midfielder Jaimie Morrison turned in career days in the loss at Vanderbilt. Brosco had personal highs with four goals and five points in the 12-10 loss, getting all four goals in a 2:31 span of the first half, turning a 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 Notre Dame lead. Morrison recorded her single-game bests with two goals and one assist for three points. With her four-goal game, Brosco is now second on the team in goals (22) and third in points with 28. Morrison also has career highs in goals (4), assists (3) and points (7) this season.
VERSUS THE BEST: Notre Dame saw its record this season fall to 0-5 versus ranked teams after losing in overtime to #17/#20 Vanderbilt, 12-10, on April 20. Georgetown is the last ranked team on the Irish schedule in the regular season as the Hoyas are 16th in the IWLCA poll and 17th in the Inside Lacrosse poll to start the week. Notre Dame has lost at #12/#13 Stanford (13-12), to #2/#2 Northwestern (14-11), to #5/#4 Loyola (13-10) and at #13/#15 Syracuse (12-7). In 2010, Notre Dame was 6-5 versus ranked teams.
A SIX PACK: Maggie Tamasitis equaled a pair of Notre Dame single-game records in the 15-5 win over Connecticut on April 16. Her six-assist game tied a mark set by Gina Scioscia `10 on March 17, 2009 against Rutgers and by Kerry Callahan `99 on March 17, 1999 versus Gannon. Tamasitis had four assists in the first half to tie a mark set by Jillian Byers `09 in the second half against Connecticut on April 18, 2009 and by Callahan in the first half versus Gannon.
OVER 30 CLUB: Maggie Tamasitis extended her current point-scoring streak to 32 games with a goal and an assist in the loss at Vanderbilt on April 20. That gives her the fourth longest point streak in Notre Dame history. She is just one of five players in the program’s history to have a scoring streak of 30 games or more. Tamasitis scored a point in all 18 games as a sophomore in 2010 and continued the run this season with at least one point in all 14 games to date. In her streak, Tamasitis has 33 goals and 58 assists for 91 points. She is currently 11th on the all-time points list with 124 points on 46 goals and 78 assists.
TOP SCORING STREAKS (30 or more):Caitlin McKinney (51 games)Gina Scioscia (37 games)Danielle Shearer (36 games)Maggie Tamasitis (32 games)Jillian Byers (30 games)
STREAKY IRISH: While Tamasitis’s streak has reached 32 games, she is joined by three other players with active point streaks for the Irish. Going into Saturday’s game with Georgetown, these players have point streaks for the Irish.
Maggie Tamasitis – 32 games (33g, 58a, 91 pts) Shaylyn Blaney – 9 games (16g, 5a, 21 pts.) Kaitlyn Brosco – 4 games (9g, 4a, 13 pts.) Ansley Stewart – 4 games (7g, 3a, 10 pts.) Jaimie Morrison – 2 games (3g, 1a, 4 pts.) Betsy Mastropieri – 2 games (3g, 0a, 3 pts.)
OVERTIME IRISH: Notre Dame’s 12-10 overtime loss to Vanderbilt on April 20 was the second overtime loss for the Irish this season. On March 20, they dropped a 6-5 double overtime decision to Cornell. Notre Dame has now played 21 overtime games in the program’s history and is now 8-13 in those games. Last season, Notre Dame played in four overtime games, including the longest game in BIG EAST history, a 72:58 affair against Syracuse in the conference semifinals, and was 2-2 in those games.
ROAD WARRIORS: With two road games left on the regular-season schedule, Notre Dame is now 3-4 this year away from South Bend, Ind. The Irish close the regular season on the road at Louisville (April 29) and Cincinnati (May 1). The Irish have had their share of success on the road since the 2008 season, winning six road games in each of the last three campaigns. Since the 2008 season, Notre Dame is 21-14 (.600) away from Arlotta Stadium.
SHARE THE WEALTH: Notre Dame has eight players on the roster with 18 or more points and eight players with 15 or more goals. Maggie Tamasitis leads the team in points (47) and assists (32). Shaylyn Blaney is tops on the squad with 23 goals this season.
CENTURY CLUB: Senior midfielder Kailene Abt became just the ninth player in the history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program to score 100 goals in her career. She reached the “Century” mark on April 16 when she scored three goals in the win over Connecticut. That gave her 101 career goals. For her career, Abt is 10th all-time in scoring with 128 career points.Junior Maggie Tamasitis became the 12th player in the 15-year history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program to score 100 or more points in her career earlier this season. Tamasitis has now played in 53 career games and has 46 goals and 78 assists for 124 career points. She is 11th on the all-time points list at Notre Dame entering this weekend’s action.
TOP OF THE LIST: With five draw controls in the win over Connecticut, senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney became Notre Dame’s all-time leader in draw controls with 156. That moved her past Jillian Byers `09 who had 154. Blaney, added three more against Vanderbilt and now has 159. She continues to show that she is one of the top midfielders in the nation and a standout performer all over the field. At Notre Dame, she ranks fourth all-time in goals (150), seventh in points (174), seventh in ground balls (124), first in draw controls (159) and fourth in caused turnovers (105).
CAREER YEAR: Sophomore midfielder Jenny Granger (East Setauket, N.Y.) has already put up career numbers for the Irish in her second season. Through 14 games, Granger already has scored 18 goals with nine assists for 27 points, all career highs. As a freshman in 16 games during the 2010 campaign, she had 12 goals and three assists for 15 points. Included in her season is a career-high four-goal, two-assist, career-best six-point game at California in the season opener.
MAKING THE STOPS: Sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Hilling has now started 32 consecutive games in goal for Notre Dame. As a freshman she played all but 2:17 of the season and was 11-7 with a 9.69 goals-against average and a .421 save percentage. This season, she is 6-8 with an 9.13 goals-against average and a .443 save percentage. She has played all but 11:34 this season. Against Syracuse, Hilling had a career-high 14 saves, making seven stops in each half. Her previous best was 13 in the season opener at California.
AHEAD OF PACE: After 14 games this season, senior midfielder Kaitlin Keena has already passed her goal output of the 2010 season. One of Notre Dame’s fastest players, Keena had four goals and eight assists for 12 points as a junior. In 14 games this season, the speedster is seventh in team scoring with 15 goals and six assists for 21 points. Keena’s best year for the Irish was 2009 when she had 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.
FOR STARTERS: Two members of Notre Dame’s highly touted freshman class made their first career starts in the game at Hofstra (3/27). Kaitlyn Brosco and Margaret Smith (Westminster, Md.) were in the starting lineup against the Pride. Brosco has played in all 14 games this season, making seven starts and is third in scoring with 22 goals and six assists for 28 points this season. Smith has played in all 14 games, making six starts. Versus Vanderbilt, she led the Irish with five ground balls, had one draw control and two caused turnovers. This season, Smith has 23 ground balls, 10 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers in her rookie year.
SEASON LOW: The four goals scored by Villanova on April 8 was a season low defensively for the Irish. The 12 shots that Notre Dame surrendered in the game also was a season low as were the seven shots on goal by the Wildcats
CLOSE ONES: Through the first 14 games of the 2011 season, Notre Dame has been involved in five “close” games – contests decided by one or two goals. In those games, the Irish are 1-4, losing three games by one goal and one by two goals. Included in those totals are a pair of overtime losses. During the 2010 campaign, the Irish got in this habit as 11 of their 18 games were decided by two goals or less with eight decided by one goal, three by two goals and four games going to overtime. Notre Dame was 5-3 in one-goal games, 7-4 in games decided by two goals or less and 2-2 in overtime.
SLOW START: Notre Dame’s 6-8 start after 14 games is the worst record for the Irish since the 2005 campaign when they were 3-11 after 14 contests. Since the start of the 2006 season, Notre Dame is 71-36 for a .664 winning percentage. Three of Notre Dame’s losses this season have come to unranked opponents – Ohio State, Cornell and Hofstra. The last time the Irish had two consecutive losses to unranked teams in one season was 2008 when they lost at Stanford (3/2) and to Oregon (3/6) on a neutral field.
DOME DOLDRUMS: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team won’t be disappointed to not see the Carrier Dome in Syracuse until the 2013 season. With the 12-7 loss on April 10 versus the Orange, Notre Dame is now 0-8 all-time at the Dome. The Irish are 0-7 versus Syracuse there and they also have a loss to Georgetown in the 2007 BIG EAST Tournament to add another bad memory to the all-time record.
BLANKING THE WILDCATS: A year ago, Notre Dame pitched a shutout versus Villanova, blanking the Wildcats, 16-0, at Arlotta Stadium on April 9, 2010. This season, the Irish continued the shutout streak against Villanova, holding the Cats off the scoreboard until the 2:52 mark of the first half. That gave the Irish, and goalkeeper Ellie Hilling, an 87:08 shutout streak versus Villanova over the last two seasons.
FRESHMEN FIRSTS: A pair of freshmen picked up the first goals of their careers in the win at Villanova. Molly Shawhan (Fulton, Md.), who has seen action in 10 games this season recorded her first goal, while fellow midfielder Grace Dooley (Chicago, Ill.), scored a goal in her first career game. Dooley missed the first 10 games of the season recovering from offseason surgery and is expected to see more action the remainder of the year.
A SCORING MACHINE: Sophomore Betsy Mastropieri turned in a career-best five-point game (4g, 1a) in the 15-4 win at Villanova on April 8. Her four-goal game equaled a career-high set in the 13-8 loss to Ohio State (3/10). As a freshman, Mastropieri played in 15 games and scored seven goals. This year, in 14 games off the bench, she has 15 goals and three assists for 18 points.