March 17, 2010
Notre Dame, Inc. –
Complete Release in PDF Format 
– The Game: #15/#9 Notre Dame (3-1) at #11/#12 Boston University (4-2)
– Date/Time/Site: Sat., March 20, 2010 – 12:00 p.m. – Nickerson Stadium – Boston, Mass.
– Internet: Fans can follow the Notre Dame-Boston University game via GameTracker on the Boston University website at www.goterriers.com. The website also will have live video streaming with a charge of $7.95 to view the event.
FROM WEST TO EAST: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team closes out its coast-to-coast two-game road trip on Saturday, March 20 at 12:00 p.m. when the Irish travel to Boston, Mass. to face the Boston University Terriers at Nickerson Field. Notre Dame will bring a 3-1 overall record into the game after winning the opening game at California, 14-12, in overtime on March 13. That gave the Irish a 2-0 record on the road this season. For Boston University, the game against Notre Dame is its second of the week as the Terriers won at Harvard, 13-9, on Wed., March 17. They are now 4-2 record and snapped a two-game losing streak from last week as BU lost at Duke (10-5) and Vanderbilt (10-6) during Spring Break. This is the first time Notre Dame and Boston University have met in women’s lacrosse. Following this weekend’s game, the Irish return home for a pair of games versus Vanderbilt (3/24) and Louisville (3/27).
THE RANKINGS: Notre Dame comes into the Boston University game ranked 15th in the IWLCA coaches’ poll and is ninth in the Inside Lacrosse poll in voting done by the media. Boston University is ranked 11th by the IWLCA and 12th by Inside Lacrosse.
THE IRISH ALL-TIME: In this the 14th season of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program, Notre Dame brings a 129-83 all-time record (.608) into the game at Boston University. That record includes a 52-46 road record (.531). At home, the Irish are 63-30 (.677) with a 14-7 all-time ledger on neutral fields.
IRISH VERSUS THE TERRIERS: Notre Dame and Boston University will meet for the first time in the all-time series this weekend. The Irish have played at Nickerson Field though as it was the site of the 2006 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships. Notre Dame dropped a 14-8 decison to Dartmouth in the NCAA semifinals on May 27, 2006.
A LOOK AT THE TERRIERS: Boston University brings a 4-2 record into Saturday’s game with Notre Dame after defeating Harvard, 13-9, on Wednesday afternoon at Cambridge, Mass. The Terriers are led offensively by senior attack Traci Landy (16g, 1a, 17pts.), senior McKinley Curro (11g, 5a, 16 pts.), who had three goals and four assists in the Harvard win, and sophomore midfielder Hannah Frey (9g, 2a, 11 pts.). Senior goalkeeper Rachel Klein is 4-2 overall with an 8.35 goals-against average and a .542 save percentage. BU is 2-0 at home and 2-2 on the road this season.
WEST COAST OVERTIME: The Irish traveled to Berkeley, Calif., on March 13 to face the University of California. The Bears gave Notre Dame all it could handle as they forced the Irish to rally from a 10-7 deficit to tie the game in regulation and then win a 14-12 decision in overtime. Junior midfielder Kailene Abt (Huntington, N.Y.) led Notre Dame with five points (2g, 3a) while Shaylyn Blaney (Stony Brook, N.Y.) had four goals. Maggie Tamasitis (So., Boyertown, Pa.), Ansley Stewart (Alexandria, Va.) and Gina Scioscia (Sr., Summit, N.J.) scored two goals while Jackie Doherty (Jr., Ellicott City, Md.) and Jenny Granger (Fr., East Setauket, N.Y.) scored one goal each. Allie Welsh led California with an eight-point game, scoring four goals and setting up four others. With the Irish trailing 10-7 with less than 10 minutes left to play, Abt scored once and Blaney twice to tie the game at 10-10 with 7:04 left in the game. The score would remain tied through regulation. In the extra period, Tamasitis and Granger scored in the first three-minute period with Cal scoring once to make it 12-11. In the second overtime, the Golden Bears tied the game, 12-12, with 1:57 left. Stewart got the game winner with 1:34 left and Scioscia locked up the win with four seconds left for the 14-12 final. Notre Dame out shot Cal, 33-21, in the game. Ellie Hilling (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) made five saves in the game for the Irish while Allie Shropshire had 11 saves for the Golden Bears.
OVERTIME ACTION: Notre Dame’s 14-12 overtime win against California on March 13 was the 15th overtime game in the program’s history and the second for the Irish versus California. All-time, Notre Dame is now 7-8 in overtime. The Irish also defeated California, 12-11, in overtime at Cal on Feb. 27, 2004.
HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne: Tracy Coyne is in her 14th season at Notre Dame and her 23rd year in collegiate lacrosse. Coyne brings a 243-109 (.690) career record into this week’s game. As the only head coach in the Notre Dame program’s history, Coyne is 129-83 (.608) 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 129-83 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 has never coached versus Boston University as her team plays its first game against the Terriers.
DOHERTY FOR THE DEFENSE: Junior defensive midfielder Jackie Doherty was a force for the Irish in the win over California last weekend. Doherty scored a late, first-half goal to cut Cal’s lead to 6-4 and then she had career highs with six ground balls and five caused turnovers in the contest. She leads the Irish in both categories through four games with 11 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Doherty ranks third in the country with 2.75 caused turnovers per game.
IN CONTROL: Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney got it done for the Irish not only in the goal-scoring department but in helping the Irish gain possession of the ball against California. Blaney scored four goals, including two in the Irish comeback with under nine minutes left. During the game, she grabbed a career-high eight draw controls, just one off the Notre Dame single-game record. She leads the Irish with 14 this season and is 22nd nationally with 3.5 draw controls per game.
TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: Two members of the Notre Dame roster have been selected among a group of 52 players to the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch Lists. The duo – junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney and senior Gina Scioscia – are two of eight players from the BIG EAST to be named to the Watch List. Blaney was selected to the Watch List last season while this is the first time for Scioscia. Both players were second team IWLCA All-Americans last year. Both were preseason all-BIG EAST selections for 2010 while Scioscia was named by the conference coaches as the preseason offensive player of the year.
ARLOTTA STADIUM OPENER: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team played its first-ever game at Arlotta Stadium on Sunday, March 7 and the final results weren’t quite what the Irish were looking for as they dropped a 12-8 decision to No. 20 Dartmouth. The state-of-the-art facility is named after Notre Dame graduate John Arlotta, president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Coram Inc. He and his wife, Bobbie, pledged the lead gift toward the stadium. The Arlotta children – Mindy, Andy and Jon – also have pledged an additional gift from The Arlotta Family Foundation toward the project. In addition to their generous donation, alumni and friends of the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs have made significant contributions. The stadium was dedicated on Oct. 17, 2009. The previous afternoon, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team defeated the Iroquois National Team, 14-8, in the first game played at Arlotta Stadium. The stadium features over 2,000 permanent seats, lights, an artificial-turf field, locker rooms, team lounges, restrooms and concession areas.
ABT TO SCORE: Junior Kailene Abt has carried the hot hand for Notre Dame over the last three games, notching nine goals and four assists for 13 points. Her five-point game against California was a season high for points and her three assists in the contest were a career high for Abt. After four games, she leads Notre Dame in scoring with 10 goals and four assists for 14 points.
STREAKING IRISH: With a pair of goals versus California, Gina Scioscia extended her point streak to 23 games. Here are the current Irish scoring streaks:
Gina Scioscia - 23 games (57g, 41a, 98 pts)Kailene Abt - 19 games (42g, 12a, 54 pts)Ansley Stewart - 10 games (12g, 4a, 16 pts)Kaitlin Keena - 9 games (10g, 8a, 18 pts)Maggie Tamasitis - 4 games (4g, 8a, 12 pts)
CHANGING ROLES: For the second game in a row, sophomore Maggie Tamasitis scored two goals in a game while getting just one assist. She started the year with six assists and since then has four goals and two helpers. On the year, Tamasitis has four goals and eight assists for 12 points. That ties her with Shaylyn Blaney for second on the team in scoring with 12 points. In 24 career games, Tamasitis already has 28 career assists.
ONE FOR 100: Junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney needs one more goal to reach 100 for her Notre Dame career. In just her third season at Notre Dame, Blaney leads the Irish in goals with 12 and is tied for second on the team in scoring with 12 points. She ranks seventh on the school’s all-time list with 99 career goals and looks to become the seventh player in program history to score 100 in her career. She is already ninth on the all-time points list with 111 career points.
IN THE GOAL: Freshman Ellie Hilling (Rochester, N.Y.) has started each of Notre Dame’s first three games. The 5-2 goalkeeper is the lone goalie on the Notre Dame roster this season and owns a 3-1 record with an 11.22 goals-against average and a .352 save percentage. She recorded a career-high nine saves in the loss to Dartmouth on March 7. A two-time honorable mention high school All-American, Hilling was a four-year starter at Brighton High School where she guided her team to a pair of state championship games.
SLOW START: Notre Dame’s one goal in the first half of the 12-8 loss to Dartmouth was the fewest goals scored by the Irish in a half since April 9, 2008 when they were held scoreless (11-0) in the first half of a 16-2 loss at Northwestern.
A WINNING LEGACY: Notre Dame’s 16 wins in 2009 are the most in a single season for the Irish, surpassing the mark of 15-4 set in 2006. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Irish are 57-23 (.713).
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame goes into the Boston University game with a 2-0 record on the road this season. Last year, the Irish were 6-3 away from home with the six road wins equaling the most the Irish have ever won on the road in the program’s 14-year history. In 2008, Notre Dame was 6-3 in nine road games. The Irish also were 2-0 in neutral site games for a total of eight wins away from Alumni Field and the Loftus Center. The three road losses came at Syracuse (14-13) and at Vanderbilt (18-11) in the regular season and at North Carolina (16-10) in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame is 0-5 on the road in NCAA Tournament games in five trips to the tournament.
VERSUS THE BEST: Boston University will be the second ranked team that Notre Dame will face this season as the Terriers are ranked 11th in the IWLCA poll and 12th by Inside Lacrosse. The only other game came on March 7 when the Irish dropped a 12-8 decision to No. 20 Dartmouth at home. After going 8-5 a year ago against ranked teams, the Irish are 0-1 this season.
VERSUS THE RANKED: As of March 17, nine teams that are on the 2010 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse schedule are ranked in the IWLCA coaches’ poll’s top 20. This season, the Irish will face: No. 1-ranked Northwestern followed by No. 7 Georgetown, No. 8 Syracuse and No. 11 Boston University. That group is followed by No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 16 Dartmouth, No. 17 Loyola (Md.), No. 19 Hofstra and No. 20 Rutgers. Ohio State enters the week receiving votes. Going into this week’s rankings, a total of five BIG EAST teams are ranked in the top 20 in the coaches’ poll. A year ago, Notre Dame played 13 games versus ranked teams and was 8-5 on the season.
FOR OPENERS: Notre Dame’s win over Duquesne improved the Irish to 9-5 in home openers in the 14 years of the program. The win at Hofstra (Feb. 23) improved the Irish to 12-2 all-time in opening games. In road openers, the Irish are 13-1.
IRISH FIRSTS: Four members of the Notre Dame lacrosse team recorded college firsts in the home-opening win over Duquesne. Sophomore midfielder Kate Newall (Middlesex, England) scored the first goal of her career and added an assist for her first multiple-point game. Freshman midfielder Jenny Granger (East Setauket, N.Y.) recorded the first goal of her career and then added a second goal for her first multi-goal game of her career. Freshman Betsy Mastropieri (Richmond, Va.) scored the first goal of her career in her first game and sophomore Flannery Nangle (Auburn, N.Y.) picked up her first career assist in the win. Against Dartmouth junior Jackie Doherty (Ellicott City, Md.) scored her first goal of the 2010 season.
THE CAPTAINS: Four members of the 2010 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will serve as captains this season. Three seniors – Gina Scioscia, Rachel Guerrera (Wantagh, N.Y.) and Maggie Zentgraf (Charlottesville, Va.) – will have leadership roles with the Irish. They will be joined by junior Shaylyn Blaney. All four are in their first season as captains.
MAKING THE JUMP: Three members of the Notre Dame offensive attack had huge jumps in their scoring totals from the 2008 season to the 2009 campaign. Leading the way was midfielder Kailene Abt who saw a +46 improvement from her freshman year to last year. As a rookie, she had nine points and saw the number jump to 55 (46g, 9a) a year ago. Her 46-point increase is the biggest in the program’s history, just one behind Gina Scioscia’s 47-point increase from her freshman to sophomore year. Behind Abt was junior Ansley Stewart who had a 42-point improvement, going from 0 points as a freshman to 42 (30g, 12a) last season. Making her second appearance on the list is Scioscia, who saw her numbers jump 41 points as she went from 55 as a sophomore to 96 (53g, 43a) last season.
PRESEASON HONORS: Three members of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team were selected to the BIG EAST preseason team in voting by the league’s coaches. Senior attack standout Gina Scioscia was a unaminous selection to the all-BIG EAST preseason team and was named the preseason offensive player of the year. Senior defender Rachel Guerrera and junior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney join Scioscia on the team. The Irish were selected to finish third by the coaches, getting two first-place votes behind Georgetown and Syracuse.