The Fighting Irish are scheduled to have 10 regular-season games broadcast on TV or the Internet.

Irish Freshman Class Ranked Eighth By Inside Lacrosse

Aug. 24, 2011

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame boasts the No. 8 freshman men’s lacrosse class according to Inside Lacrosse, while four members of the 10-man class are listed in the publication’s Power 100 Freshman Rankings. The rankings appear in the September issue of Inside Lacrosse magazine.

This marks the fifth time in the past six years that the Notre Dame coaching staff has hauled in a top-10 recruiting class according to Inside Lacrosse. The Irish also had the eighth-best rookie class in 2010.

Attackman Conor Doyle (Towson, Md./Gilman) is rated as the third-best freshman overall in the country and goalie Conor Kelly (St. Davids, Pa./The Haverford School) is 17th. Kelly is the top-ranked rookie goalie by Inside Lacrosse. Doyle and Kelly both were Under Armour All-Americans.

“I like the variety of plays that Conor (Doyle) can make from the attack position,” says Fighting Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan. “He can get to the goal, he can play without the ball, he can attack with the ball in his stick from behind, he can feed and he can quarterback an offense. He’s a guy that brings an awful lot to our team.”

“Conor (Kelly) is terrific. We thought he was very talented all along but it became very apparent in his senior year that he was one of the best guys in the country. We are thrilled to get a guy with his talent coming in. He expects to come in and compete for playing time right away. If he does that, he’ll only make us better. He’s a great kid and a great fit for Notre Dame.”

Henry Williams (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) is ranked as the 17th-best defenseman in the class and he is 56th overall. Logan Connolly (Davidsonville, Md./St. Mary’s) appears at No. 26 on the list of freshman attackmen and he is 87th overall. Kyle Runyon (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) is ranked 35th on the attackman list.

“When you watch Henry (Williams) play you can tell that he enjoys playing the game,” states Corrigan. “He has a great joy in the way he plays. He’s really aggressive and unafraid and is willing to make plays and put himself out there. He’ll be a guy that we’ll work with and mold his game a little bit, but he has all the tangibles and intangibles physically that you’d want a guy to have.”

“Logan (Connolly) is a terrific feeder and has a great sense for the game. He really understands what’s going on and he makes his teammates better. He sees the field very well and has a great awareness. It’s great to have an attackman that has those skills where you can create things and put the ball in their stick and they are going to make sure it ends up where it’s supposed to be. As he develops physically he’s going to find himself with the ability to make even more plays.”

“Kyle (Runyon) has played some really good lacrosse over the past couple of years. He has a lot of versatility. He can play midfield and he can play attack. He can dodge with the ball in his stick. He can also feed and get to the goal. The thing that excites me about all of our incoming attack guys is they have versatility in their game. Kyle also has the ability to get by people. Wherever we decide to play him, that’s going to be something that’s going to help us.”

Rounding out Notre Dame’s eighth-ranked rookie class are midfielders Will Corrigan (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s), William Gilmartin (Nesconset, N.Y./St. Anthony’s/Lawrenceville School [PG Year]), Connor McCollough (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield), Jack Near, Jr. (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville) and Nick Ossello (Wheat Ridge, Colo./Wheat Ridge).

“As a whole, this is just a great group of kids that fit with our program here at Notre Dame,” adds Corrigan. “They also fit with what we needed as a class and with our team. We have three guys coming in at the attack position who are all really talented and very capable and they offer different skills. We have five guys coming in at the midfield that offer us athleticism and a high lacrosse IQ and different abilities with their size and strength. At defense and in the cage, we just have one kid at each spot but they are both very, very good.”

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